On this episode of The Storytelling Lab, Rain sits down with Ashley Bernardi, a media relations expert and publicist whom he previously reached out to in regard to his own book, Six Second Stories: Maximize Your Impact in Minimal Time, which comes out in early 2021. Ashley has an impressive background in journalism and gives us the inside scoop on how to best position yourself to the media and step-by-step advice on how to attain success.
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In 2017 when I was about to release my film, Raise Up, I knew we had a great story.
The heart was there, the characters were compelling, and the story was unique.
But no one knew about it.
The characters were only celebrities in an underground subculture and the director, me, was an unknown first-time filmmaker. There were no big names attached and it wasn’t produced by an established studio.
I felt like all I needed was a chance. If I could just get in front of the right audience, I could sell the film and it would be a success.
But there was a problem.
I didn’t know how to get in front of the right audience.
I booked a few podcasts, got some local television coverage, and was even interviewed for Men’s Health. Then it all stopped.
I had no idea where to go from there. And since I'd sold the rights to Red Bull Media House and made enough money to get out of the debt I incurred, I kind of let the steam fizzle away.
I learned a lot of lessons the hard way while making that film and used them to launch my next business, “Six Second Stories,” as well as using those lessons to inform many of the decisions I’d make moving forward.
So when I started writing my book, Six Second Stories: Maximize Your Impact in Minimal Time, I knew I needed to understand how publicity worked and start promoting my book very early on.
Along my educational journey, I was listening to an episode of Christina Nicholson’s podcast (Become a Media Maven) called “How to Market a Non-Fiction Book for More Sales.”
Bingo. I was hooked by the title alone.
Then I heard her guest, Ashley Bernardi, speak and I was more than hooked. I was hooked, pulled into the boat, and loaded up in the cooler.
Her energy is incredible and she truly loves the work that she does. She helps people get their messages out into the mainstream media, and she helps authors (many of them thought-leaders and experts in their fields) understand how to craft their message in a clear way, book time with talk show hosts, podcast hosts, writers, and deliver that message effectively when their opportunities came.
“Your message is your masterpiece.”
I set up a call with her the next day. I was still a long ways off from completing my book (still finishing it, actually), but she took the call and we understood each other immediately. She told me that she thought my idea was great and gave me things to consider when deciding when and how to release my book.
Over the next year, we established a friendship and she’s since connected me with several people to guide me along this book-writing process.
If you are one of those people who have a project that you want people to know about, then this is the episode for you!
Some of the highlights of our conversation:
Working with book authors, entrepreneurs, CEO’s, and nonprofits in the lifestyle, business, health and wellness, and academic space through media relations
Discovering her passion as a kid where she produced family newscasts - always knew she wanted to be an editor, writer, and journalist
Working at CBS news in NYC and traveling the world
Hosting a cooking show in New York
Working at Bloomberg and The Washington Post
Starting a PR firm in D.C.
How to pitch yourself and your work
Labeling yourself as an expert in your field
How to entice journalists to pick up your story and product
The importance of always having the next thing in mind
Knowing WHY you want to be out in the media and establishing your goal
How to identify your best strategy
The importance of being willing to put in the time.
Using the Covid-19 times to your advantage
How to leave an impact on an audience, especially on Zoom or Skype
How to nail an interview
Focusing on your individual message
Tips on how to make an impression on broadcast
How to get over your beginner’s fears
The importance of sharing your struggle and your story
How to best be of service to your audience
As always, I hope you enjoy the episode!
Peace and Love,
Rain
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For more storytelling tips and tricks,
Visit my website rainbennett.com
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