Welcome to That Solo Life: The Solo PR Pro Podcast!
That Solo Life: The Solo PR Pro Podcast

That Solo Life: The Solo PR Pro Podcast

That Solo Life: Co-hosted by Karen Swim, APR, founder of Words for Hire, LLC and owner of Solo PR Pro and Michelle Kane, founder of VoiceMatters, LLC, we keep it real and talk about the topics that affect solo business owners.

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348
July 20, 2026

The Hidden Messages for Solo PR Pros in the Muck Rack State of PR Report

Muck Rack’s State of PR 2026 report surveyed 971 PR professionals. This episode takes three of the report’s most significant findings and translates them through the lens of the solo PR practictioner.
347
July 13, 2026

Why Senior PR Pros Should Focus on Development Not Decline

That Solo Life Episode 347: Why Senior PR Pros Should Focus on Development Not Decline Episode Summary Are you in the later stages of your Solo PR career? Today’s episode of That Solo Life is one of the most grounded, research-backed, and genuinely useful conversations the show has had about what it means to be a late-career practitioner in an AI-dominated landscape — and why the narrative telling experienced pros they're behind the curve is not only wrong, it's the exact opposite of what the
346
July 6, 2026

Why Independent PR Firms Are Outperforming Holding Companies Right Now

That Solo Life Episode 346: Why Independent PR Firms Are Outperforming Holding Companies Right Now Episode Summary It's the week after the Fourth of July, and Karen and Michelle are talking about a different kind of independence. It turns out that the future of PR looks a lot like its past: closer to the work, the relationships, and the accountability that got lost as holding companies scaled. Karen and Michelle walk through the data backing that argument — holding company headcount cuts, a Fo
345
June 29, 2026

The New Rules of Trust but Verify

That Solo Life Episode 345: The New Rules of Trust but Verify Episode Summary Every solo PR pro has heard the same directive for the past year: show up in AI search. Get cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, and the rest. But Karen and Michelle pose a different question: when AI mentions your client, does anyone actually believe what it says? New research says visibility and believability are two distinct jobs, and most practitioners have only been working on one. Karen walks through Burson's new Credibil
344
June 22, 2026

The Secrets that Filmmakers Know About Marketing That Most Business Owners Never Learn

Jake Isham is a filmmaker and accidental marketer. In this episode he shares the lessons he has learned about branding, marketing, and running a business without letting go of your art.
343
June 15, 2026

What Solo PR Pros Need to Know About IP, AI Legal Risk and Building a More Valuable Agency

Sharon Toerek, founder and principal of Legal+Creative and an intellectual property attorney discusses how agencies can turn legal into a profit center.

Recent Blog Posts

June 8, 2026

Are PR Professionals More Anxious Than Their Clients? What New Research Says

Every year, the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations releases its Global Communications Report. The 2026 edition is titled A Quiet Shift, though anyone working in PR right now could reasonably argue that the pace of change feels anything but qu…

About the Host

Karen Swim, APR