April 29, 2024
Everything Old is New Again
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That Solo Life: Episode 247Everything Old is New AgainIn this Episode
Karen Swim, APR, of Solo PR, and Michelle Kane, of Voice Matters delve into the importance of getting back to basics in our PR and marketing businesses.
Today’s conversation is sparked by an email from Peter Shankman, the founder of the original "Help a Reporter Out" platform, which was eventually sold to a large corporation. Shankman has now launched a new platform called "Help Every Reporter Out," and in his announcement he shared his “back to basics” inspiration and how it led him to return to something he was no longer doing.
As PR professionals, we often find ourselves constantly reinventing our workflows, tools, and client work in an effort to keep up with the ever-evolving industry. But new is not always better. Sometimes returning the old things can improve not only how we do our jobs but how we feel about them.
We delve into the topic of technology, staying true to our natural skill sets and passions in our careers, and how the basics include having a supportive community of fellow professionals.
Episode Highlights:
- [00:00:18] - Old but new. The value of getting back to basics and the importance of realigning and retooling.
- [00:02:09] - Be a hero. How Peter Shankman, Help Every Reporter Out inspired us to be a hero to ourselves by focusing on our areas of expertise.
- [00:05:04] - Reevaluating Tools and Subscriptions. All the shiny new tools hold so much promise and you can accumulate a pile of clutter.
- [00:09:35] - Recognizing Natural Skillsets. It is important to recognize and focus on your natural skillsets and passions in order to maintain satisfaction and success in a career.
- [00:10:29] - Scaling Back for Success. Karen and Michelle discuss the idea of scaling back team members or business models to maintain a manageable workload and find fulfillment in solo work.
Resources:
- Help Every Reporter Out (HERO) - free sign-up for PR Pros and Journalists
- Back to basics in your business model -From Solo PR to Agency and Back Again
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00:17 - Introduction to That’s Solo Life Podcast
03:15 - Importance of Staying True to Core Expertise
06:17 - Reevaluating Subscriptions and Tools
07:18 - Embracing Simplicity in Tools and Workflows
10:26 - Considering Scaling Back Team Members
11:25 - Finding Freedom in Solo Work
12:11 - Seeking Support and Accountability within the Community
That Solo Life, Episode 247 -Everything Old is New Again
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (00:18):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane with Voice Matters, and my ever steady co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi, Karen. How are you doing this week?
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (00:34):
I am great, Michelle. How are you doing? I'm good, too.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (00:38):
You know, springtime, it just does, you know, puts a little pep in your step and it makes you think of fresh, new things, which is kind of what we're going to talk about today. A little reset, a little back to basics, It's just a good time of year. We made it through the first quarter, and it's a great time to just look at your business and figure out maybe what you can realign, retool, and go get them.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (01:05):
Yeah, I love that. So you sent me an email that I missed from Peter Shankman, who was the founder of Hero, help a reporter out, the original before it got sold to Cision and they killed it. Yeah. For a few years after it was sold, it was, you know, it remained the same beloved HARO, but eventually, you know, corporate America. They're the reason we can't have nice things. Sorry. Completely killed it. And now they have basically sent it to the graveyard by putting it behind a new platform that I have heard is not very user-friendly. And the quality of the queries had severely declined over the past year or two anyway. So, Peter Shankman sent out an email that said that by demand, and I saw those public requests for him to create something like that again. So he has. So the new one is called HERO, help every reporter out. And it's free, just like the original version, and it's back to basics. And he, in his email, he talked about back to basics. That's such a good message and it reminded me that sometimes we can keep reinventing things until we lose our way. That goes for... Yeah. our workflow, it could be a tool. Sometimes the client work, we just keep reinventing because we want to, quote unquote, keep pace with things and we want to keep evolving until you stop for a second and you think, I don't even recognize this anymore. And then it's a good time to just as he said, you know, and was, I believe that he said his therapist, you know, reminded him because he, you know, he has been very public about having ADHD. Yeah. Back to basics. What are the things that you're good at, you know, and stripping away all of the other things like, what are you good at? Let's do that. And it's such a great message for us as PR pros, but it's also a great message to Ask your clients and make sure that you're checking in regularly and making sure that they're not losing sight of their core expertise.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (03:34):
And that's so true. And, you know, not just that, but losing sight of their actual goals for PR and promotion and marketing, because you can get so far away from shore. You can no longer see the shoreline and you wonder, whoa, how did we get out here? Oh, are we chasing too many of the shiny things? We really need to get back to what we do best and telling people about what we do best. And I think part of that is, part of that slide can happen because we're good at what we do, right? And after a while, not that every day is easy. No, far from it. But, you know, there's a certain ease in what we do. And over time, you can just, I don't want to say get bored with that, but think, oh, I don't feel like my skills are being challenged. So it must be wrong, necessarily. And I expect everyone's gone through that. So don't necessarily, you know, lose sight of the fact that it's okay. if the actual day-to-day of what you do comes easy to you. That's why we're in this profession. That's why we're not dentists or whatever. So yeah, I think not losing sight of that and also not losing sight of that for our clients as well.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (04:54):
I completely agree. And I'm also reminded that technology is a beautiful thing, but sometimes we can just keep adding tools to things and then you look and it's kind of like if you cook, then you probably at some point in your life have bought gadgets that do something faster, better, easier. And you can, you know, one day look in your kitchen and go, why do I have all this stuff? I have all of these things. And then you're like, I don't need these things. You know, the basic tool, like a knife could do this too. A blender could do the same thing. So, you know, you find yourself, well, it's the same way with our tool set. We can add a bunch of stuff. And then you look up and you're like, my God, I have like a million subscriptions to do all of these things. And I don't even understand, like, I'm spending so much time now using these things that are supposed to save me time that I'm stressed and overwhelmed. And maybe I just need to grab my notebook again and, you know, write things down or do things this way. And I don't think that that's a bad thing to walk back because just because we are a technological society doesn't mean that everything has to be solved by technology. You going back to the basics mean what really works and what am I really good at? What am I really good at using? What really serves me? So I think that that's another way to apply that is, you know, start to look at all those subscriptions because the costs really do add up to and really think through like, is that really the best way personally? Is it saving me time or is it causing me frustration and costing me money?
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (06:37):
Yeah, that's so true. I mean, we use these tools to save us time, and by saving time, we save money, because it either frees us up to do other work or it just frees us up to relax a little bit. But if using these tools becomes too laborious and too much of a time taker, then They really aren't serving us, but we can get so caught up, right? You get so caught up in the day-to-day and, okay, I want to use this thing, and ugh, it's taking me so long, but I'll figure it out someday. It'll work well someday, and the next thing you know, three, four, five months go by, and you're still wrestling with it. So, you know, don't be afraid or don't think it's a big deal to just ditch something if it's not working for you. If like you say, if like just going down and writing things down is better. I mean, I can't tell you how many, how many project management tools I've moved in through and from. And yes, I do use one. I mean, I finally tripped on one that was in front of me all along and I thought, Oh, Oh my gosh, this does exactly what I want. And it's not a major cost.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (07:47):
Yeah. You know, I also, in Peter's email, I did love the very simple advice that was given to him. And it's advice that we know and we forget about getting back to the basics of what you're good at. Because as PR professionals, we are pressed into service for so many different things, and we can find our careers. adding on skill sets and, you know, us being able to offer an expanded scope of work. And, you know, we may look up and, you know, five, 10 years later, we're doing a lot of things. And maybe all those things don't make us happy. And I remember being in corporate America. And one of the things that was frustrating is being required to do things just because they were part of a job description, not necessarily because you were passionate about it or good at it. So you're forced to learn things that just were not your natural skill set. And I don't mean learning new things, but really being forced into an area of weakness just because it just wasn't your jam. It's like taking someone who really is Not great at writing creative writing and forcing them to write every day just because it's part of their job description that doesn't make sense. Well, as PR pros, we may have boxed herself into those same corners and getting back to basics. and taking a look at what am I good at today? What am I really good at? And more, the second question that should follow that is, what really satisfies me as part of my career and getting back to doing those things? Because sometimes we get so far away from that thing that we're so good at and the thing that makes us so happy that we can become disillusioned with our career path.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters( 09:35):
That is so true. And that can change as time goes on too. I mean, you want to pay attention to your natural skillset, what your superpower, what you're really good at. And even let's say, even if you do love it, that may change over time. You might find something new, but to get back to your point is, you know, isn't that why we try and have healthy relationships with the vendors that compliment our skills? so that we can still offer the things that our client may want or need. But, you know, we shouldn't be the one doing everything because we can't know everything. And yeah, I'll never forget the day a dear friend who's in the similar business, it won't can't know everything. And I thought, you're right, I have to remember that I am not responsible. That's so true. I knew it realistically. That's the same time. And you're like,
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (10:29):
And I mean, at certain points, and we've talked about this on previous episodes, at certain points in your solo journey, back to basics might also mean scaling back some of those team members. Maybe it's just become unmanageable or overwhelming and scaling back to just you again, it doesn't mean that you're a failure. Sometimes in our careers, that's such a happy place where it's just you and the work. and less stress and it's okay to give yourself permission to say, you know, my back to basics is getting away from this whole big agency-like model and letting it just be me and my work. There is a certain freedom in that. I've been there before and I can tell you that sometimes it's just easier. To just do it and tell everybody else how to do it and manage the people doing it. It's like, oh, for Pete's sake, what am I doing over here? Right.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (11:26):
It's so true. So very true. Now, and I think that is what it comes down to. You know, you forged your path as a solo. Because, you know, for most of us, I would think, because we wanted to work this way, we found that it is better for us. So you need to make sure that that experience continues to be the best thing for you.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (11:54):
And to do that, that means being your own career coach and your own manager in terms of looking at how you manage accounts. You've got to manage yourself and, you know, because you don't have anyone overseeing you. So you are in charge of that, of looking at things and saying, hey, I think you need a pivot here or why are you doing it this way? And, you know, great thing about our community, sorry, shameless plug, is that you do have other people that can help you with your gut check and to help you with their discovery. And you can find accountability partners and people that you can hop on a call with and say, hey, I don't know what I'm doing right now.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (12:41):
Exactly. And that's what I love about the people in our industry. There is that camaraderie. And especially, my goodness, in the solo PR pro group, you can certainly, I know I could pop in there any day and say, oh, can we do a 180 with each other and just, you know, anyone interested in taking a look at each other's business and seeing where you might make suggestions. and a sounding board. Sometimes all you need is a sounding board. 100%. Yeah. So I know I am super grateful for that. And that does keep us all back to basics, right? You need that community where you can do the gut check. Because let's face it, how many times have any of us been sitting alone at our desks and having the conversation with themselves? Do I suck at this? I don't know what I'm doing. Do I? I do. Yeah, I think I do. I don't know. Do I have anything to show for that? Well, I do. Or I did. No, I do. Anyway, sorry, there's a little... And then, you know, do you finally see the results of something? You go, I do know what I'm doing.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (13:45):
Yes. We have all been there multiple times. Oh, yeah.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (13:52):
But we hope this has been an inspiration for you. I love when we have topics like this because it ends up inspiring me as well. So yes, you know, but we so appreciate you giving your time to this podcast. Please share it around. Head over to soloprpro.com and subscribe. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (00:18):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane with Voice Matters, and my ever steady co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi, Karen. How are you doing this week?
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (00:34):
I am great, Michelle. How are you doing? I'm good, too.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (00:38):
You know, springtime, it just does, you know, puts a little pep in your step and it makes you think of fresh, new things, which is kind of what we're going to talk about today. A little reset, a little back to basics, It's just a good time of year. We made it through the first quarter, and it's a great time to just look at your business and figure out maybe what you can realign, retool, and go get them.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (01:05):
Yeah, I love that. So you sent me an email that I missed from Peter Shankman, who was the founder of Hero, help a reporter out, the original before it got sold to Cision and they killed it. Yeah. For a few years after it was sold, it was, you know, it remained the same beloved HARO, but eventually, you know, corporate America. They're the reason we can't have nice things. Sorry. Completely killed it. And now they have basically sent it to the graveyard by putting it behind a new platform that I have heard is not very user-friendly. And the quality of the queries had severely declined over the past year or two anyway. So, Peter Shankman sent out an email that said that by demand, and I saw those public requests for him to create something like that again. So he has. So the new one is called HERO, help every reporter out. And it's free, just like the original version, and it's back to basics. And he, in his email, he talked about back to basics. That's such a good message and it reminded me that sometimes we can keep reinventing things until we lose our way. That goes for... Yeah. our workflow, it could be a tool. Sometimes the client work, we just keep reinventing because we want to, quote unquote, keep pace with things and we want to keep evolving until you stop for a second and you think, I don't even recognize this anymore. And then it's a good time to just as he said, you know, and was, I believe that he said his therapist, you know, reminded him because he, you know, he has been very public about having ADHD. Yeah. Back to basics. What are the things that you're good at, you know, and stripping away all of the other things like, what are you good at? Let's do that. And it's such a great message for us as PR pros, but it's also a great message to Ask your clients and make sure that you're checking in regularly and making sure that they're not losing sight of their core expertise.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (03:34):
And that's so true. And, you know, not just that, but losing sight of their actual goals for PR and promotion and marketing, because you can get so far away from shore. You can no longer see the shoreline and you wonder, whoa, how did we get out here? Oh, are we chasing too many of the shiny things? We really need to get back to what we do best and telling people about what we do best. And I think part of that is, part of that slide can happen because we're good at what we do, right? And after a while, not that every day is easy. No, far from it. But, you know, there's a certain ease in what we do. And over time, you can just, I don't want to say get bored with that, but think, oh, I don't feel like my skills are being challenged. So it must be wrong, necessarily. And I expect everyone's gone through that. So don't necessarily, you know, lose sight of the fact that it's okay. if the actual day-to-day of what you do comes easy to you. That's why we're in this profession. That's why we're not dentists or whatever. So yeah, I think not losing sight of that and also not losing sight of that for our clients as well.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (04:54):
I completely agree. And I'm also reminded that technology is a beautiful thing, but sometimes we can just keep adding tools to things and then you look and it's kind of like if you cook, then you probably at some point in your life have bought gadgets that do something faster, better, easier. And you can, you know, one day look in your kitchen and go, why do I have all this stuff? I have all of these things. And then you're like, I don't need these things. You know, the basic tool, like a knife could do this too. A blender could do the same thing. So, you know, you find yourself, well, it's the same way with our tool set. We can add a bunch of stuff. And then you look up and you're like, my God, I have like a million subscriptions to do all of these things. And I don't even understand, like, I'm spending so much time now using these things that are supposed to save me time that I'm stressed and overwhelmed. And maybe I just need to grab my notebook again and, you know, write things down or do things this way. And I don't think that that's a bad thing to walk back because just because we are a technological society doesn't mean that everything has to be solved by technology. You going back to the basics mean what really works and what am I really good at? What am I really good at using? What really serves me? So I think that that's another way to apply that is, you know, start to look at all those subscriptions because the costs really do add up to and really think through like, is that really the best way personally? Is it saving me time or is it causing me frustration and costing me money?
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (06:37):
Yeah, that's so true. I mean, we use these tools to save us time, and by saving time, we save money, because it either frees us up to do other work or it just frees us up to relax a little bit. But if using these tools becomes too laborious and too much of a time taker, then They really aren't serving us, but we can get so caught up, right? You get so caught up in the day-to-day and, okay, I want to use this thing, and ugh, it's taking me so long, but I'll figure it out someday. It'll work well someday, and the next thing you know, three, four, five months go by, and you're still wrestling with it. So, you know, don't be afraid or don't think it's a big deal to just ditch something if it's not working for you. If like you say, if like just going down and writing things down is better. I mean, I can't tell you how many, how many project management tools I've moved in through and from. And yes, I do use one. I mean, I finally tripped on one that was in front of me all along and I thought, Oh, Oh my gosh, this does exactly what I want. And it's not a major cost.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (07:47):
Yeah. You know, I also, in Peter's email, I did love the very simple advice that was given to him. And it's advice that we know and we forget about getting back to the basics of what you're good at. Because as PR professionals, we are pressed into service for so many different things, and we can find our careers. adding on skill sets and, you know, us being able to offer an expanded scope of work. And, you know, we may look up and, you know, five, 10 years later, we're doing a lot of things. And maybe all those things don't make us happy. And I remember being in corporate America. And one of the things that was frustrating is being required to do things just because they were part of a job description, not necessarily because you were passionate about it or good at it. So you're forced to learn things that just were not your natural skill set. And I don't mean learning new things, but really being forced into an area of weakness just because it just wasn't your jam. It's like taking someone who really is Not great at writing creative writing and forcing them to write every day just because it's part of their job description that doesn't make sense. Well, as PR pros, we may have boxed herself into those same corners and getting back to basics. and taking a look at what am I good at today? What am I really good at? And more, the second question that should follow that is, what really satisfies me as part of my career and getting back to doing those things? Because sometimes we get so far away from that thing that we're so good at and the thing that makes us so happy that we can become disillusioned with our career path.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters( 09:35):
That is so true. And that can change as time goes on too. I mean, you want to pay attention to your natural skillset, what your superpower, what you're really good at. And even let's say, even if you do love it, that may change over time. You might find something new, but to get back to your point is, you know, isn't that why we try and have healthy relationships with the vendors that compliment our skills? so that we can still offer the things that our client may want or need. But, you know, we shouldn't be the one doing everything because we can't know everything. And yeah, I'll never forget the day a dear friend who's in the similar business, it won't can't know everything. And I thought, you're right, I have to remember that I am not responsible. That's so true. I knew it realistically. That's the same time. And you're like,
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (10:29):
And I mean, at certain points, and we've talked about this on previous episodes, at certain points in your solo journey, back to basics might also mean scaling back some of those team members. Maybe it's just become unmanageable or overwhelming and scaling back to just you again, it doesn't mean that you're a failure. Sometimes in our careers, that's such a happy place where it's just you and the work. and less stress and it's okay to give yourself permission to say, you know, my back to basics is getting away from this whole big agency-like model and letting it just be me and my work. There is a certain freedom in that. I've been there before and I can tell you that sometimes it's just easier. To just do it and tell everybody else how to do it and manage the people doing it. It's like, oh, for Pete's sake, what am I doing over here? Right.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (11:26):
It's so true. So very true. Now, and I think that is what it comes down to. You know, you forged your path as a solo. Because, you know, for most of us, I would think, because we wanted to work this way, we found that it is better for us. So you need to make sure that that experience continues to be the best thing for you.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (11:54):
And to do that, that means being your own career coach and your own manager in terms of looking at how you manage accounts. You've got to manage yourself and, you know, because you don't have anyone overseeing you. So you are in charge of that, of looking at things and saying, hey, I think you need a pivot here or why are you doing it this way? And, you know, great thing about our community, sorry, shameless plug, is that you do have other people that can help you with your gut check and to help you with their discovery. And you can find accountability partners and people that you can hop on a call with and say, hey, I don't know what I'm doing right now.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (12:41):
Exactly. And that's what I love about the people in our industry. There is that camaraderie. And especially, my goodness, in the solo PR pro group, you can certainly, I know I could pop in there any day and say, oh, can we do a 180 with each other and just, you know, anyone interested in taking a look at each other's business and seeing where you might make suggestions. and a sounding board. Sometimes all you need is a sounding board. 100%. Yeah. So I know I am super grateful for that. And that does keep us all back to basics, right? You need that community where you can do the gut check. Because let's face it, how many times have any of us been sitting alone at our desks and having the conversation with themselves? Do I suck at this? I don't know what I'm doing. Do I? I do. Yeah, I think I do. I don't know. Do I have anything to show for that? Well, I do. Or I did. No, I do. Anyway, sorry, there's a little... And then, you know, do you finally see the results of something? You go, I do know what I'm doing.
Karen Swim, APR, Solo PR (13:45):
Yes. We have all been there multiple times. Oh, yeah.
Michelle Kane, Voice Matters (13:52):
But we hope this has been an inspiration for you. I love when we have topics like this because it ends up inspiring me as well. So yes, you know, but we so appreciate you giving your time to this podcast. Please share it around. Head over to soloprpro.com and subscribe. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.