The topics that journalists and producers cannot get enough of

In this NEW episode of Dauntless PR Unfiltered, Catherine Ball and I get into the topics journalists and producers can’t get enough of… and the kind of voices they’re actively looking for right now 🤩

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Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to Dauntless PR Unfiltered. What we're going to talk about today are the topics that journalists and producers cannot get enough of.

Speaker 0:11

So I'm not going to just start listing a load of topics here because it kind of is more simple than that. I think it's things that speak to almost like the universal human experience. So, like, what are the things that are like deeply relevant to all of us? Those are the things that are going to do super well. So that's what it might be will vary depending on what the what expertise people are. But if you can find a way to get your message in a way that will speak to everybody and be relevant to people and they can pick different parts of it, then you're going to do really well. So one of the ones I always think is a real winner in the media is anything to do with sex and relationships.

Speaker 1 0:58

Oh, oh, they love that.

Speaker 1:01

And it's so I always say to people if you're a sex therapist or a relationship expert or a couples counsellor who isn't already doing really well in the media, like, come on, like you've got such potential. But it's about more than that because it isn't just about the people whose expertise is that niche. It can also be about sharing your own stories related to that. How does your own expertise like help people navigate their own relationships? And there is a much wider part of that. So we've had brilliant people in the past who maybe they've been something completely different, but they've been able to apply their wisdom and knowledge to these kind of parts of people's lives, and people can't get enough of them because it's the one thing we all have. We all have relationships with other people, even if we don't have relationships, then that's something we're thinking about. Maybe you're thinking about the fact that that's not going well in your life, and that's something you want to improve. It's something that everybody has this kind of vested interest in, and so it's something that the media are always hugely interested in.

Speaker 1 2:13

Completely. And if you if we look at the PR that I've done, like obviously our audience are business people, but business people don't just read business publications, they don't just listen to business podcasts, they are everywhere, they are experiencing life. And something that I have noticed that has really, really surprised me over the years is that it's often the more personal stories that it's when I'm not talking strictly business that brings more people in. And the reason is because that's what they connect with, like business pieces and stuff like that, the niche stuff that is great. I'm not saying like don't do that, of course, do that for obvious reasons. But from my experience and what I've seen in clients over the years, what I know and what they have told me as well, is that more people come to them when it's a topic that's more universal, that more people can relate to.

Speaker 3:22

Yeah. It's about saying something that stays with someone, that hits them somewhere. And often that stuff isn't the kind of the nitty-gritty kind of you're teaching them some some complex thing. It's just saying something that they really resonate with, and they're like, wow, I I get this. I'm interested in more about what this person says. I think another one is it isn't just sex and relationships that's a brilliant topic. So health and well-being is another one. Again, we all have health and well-being. Even if you're in really poor health, that's a that's something that you're thinking about. It's a universal thing, and it's something that can be applied to almost any expertise you can think of, can think of a way that that relates to whether it's your physical health, your mental health, your general well-being, how you feel about yourself, your like thoughts, your self-talk, any of those things all kind of fall in this topic. And it's a real growth area, I think, in the media, where more and more people are writing or producing shows or things on health and well-being topics because we are getting much more conscious that really that's one of the most important parts of anyone's life is how do you actually feel? Are you happy? Are you able to get up in the morning and thrive? And it so it's it's a topic that I would say you don't have to be a doctor to be taking advantage of health or well. You don't even have to be like, oh well, I'm a well-being expert. Everybody has messages that are really relevant to those topics because it affects all of us. I have a little test I sort of apply when I'm kind of coming up with really great angles for clients. Clearly, there are some angles which are going to be niche angles and they go to the niche outlets and they're great. But I also always try to make sure that every person we work with has something that like you could go up to a person at the bus stop and they would be interested in it. Like, have have they got something to say that everybody would be like, that's an interesting story, or I hadn't thought about it like that, or that's a really interesting point. They are the things that really explode that have got that universal experience of being like, wow, that really answers a question I had, or it tells me something I didn't already know, or it's something that could, you know, make change my life, make me think differently, approach stuff differently.

Speaker 1 6:16

Yeah, and that's what like the people I've seen who really, really fly, that's what they understand on a deep level, isn't it? Like they know what really hooks people in, what they really want to know about, where they're not trying to restrict themselves into just talk about this exact thing in this exact way. And it's I don't believe it's their fault at all. I think the reason this happens is because people like PR and marketing are all are so often like lumbered into the same box. So advice for marketing, people will bring that into PR, thinking that PR is a sort of marketing where actually PR is in a category all by itself.

Speaker 7:11

So then they try to like bring the you know the rules of marketing into PR. We've been told things, haven't we, about marketing, which are they're useful things for for that area, but we've been told to niche down, niche down, niche down. We've also all been told to picture a very specific ideal client and only speak to that ideal client. And where things can work really well in one thing, so us saying that isn't necessarily the most effective approach for PR doesn't take away from those marketing messages, but it can cause what I would say is like slight confusion and issues with people who are just sort of getting started and they're thinking they have to restrict themselves. So, like it's it's that kind of difference between like replacing book with and isn't it? It's like you can go for all the things that you have in your marketing strategy. You're kind of I'm talking to this person, this person reads X, Y, and Z, and I want to go in that. And you can also say some other things that are going to go in other things you do not have to choose with PR. And I think that is one of the things I love most about PR is you are not at most people. Imagine they're standing at a fork in the road and they have to pick. Do I talk about this thing in these outlets, or do I talk about these other things I've got to say, these other great stories, these other things? And they imagine that they are at a fork in the road and they have to choose. And what I like to think is you're not at a fork in the road, you are actually at like a multi-lane highway where you can be going in all of these different directions at once, where you can move from lane to lane with ease and without problem, and it will all take you to your destination that much quicker than this fork in the road, where you're wondering what would have happened if I'd gone in that direction. You have got all those choices that you can go to, all of those places, and you can dip in and out. So you could be doing an interview with Forbes one week about like how to be the best leader in the world, and then you could be sharing your daily routine for success and talking about your like health and well-being things and how they help you in a women's magazine the next day. You could be sharing your inspirational life story, you could be if you are a lifestyle expert, you can be giving your tips for having great relationships in one place, and then you can also be sharing your own personal uh things and your things you've overcome. Like you, it's not an either-or, and I think that's one of the biggest things, and that's that's the best thing about PR, that you can be doing all of these things at once.

Speaker 1 10:20

It's really suited to people who have a lot of things that they they are happy to talk about, that they're excited about. Like we would never try to get somebody to force themselves to talk about something that they're not interested in. But when people have like a lot when people are multi-passionate and they've got a lot of different things to speak about, and they might have their one big passion. But I think the key thing is like, for example, I'm a I'm a businesswoman, I don't just read Forbes, I'm more likely to read Vogue or Cosmopolitan or OK magazine. You know, it's like people are people. Like if somebody is in business, it doesn't mean that they're only interested in business things. Like, what if you connect with them on what if they connect with you on something that's about relationships or even about parenting or health, or or they resonate with something that you've gone through. And I know that like this is what's happened more times than I can count, is that people have come to me, they've landed in my inbox after press has gone out talking about something that's got nothing to do with business, and then it's turned out well they they're in business as well, and some of those have become clients, like it's it's like you say, it's not that either or it that's the beauty of PR. It is unlimited, do it all, do it all, and the phrase that I hear quite often, not among you know, not among our ideal clients, but that I hear people say out there is things like I wouldn't muddy my message by talking about anything other than my exact thing. I don't want to confuse people, but the people who get really far with PR, they understand that that's not the case. Like them, they're there's they're them, like they're not a robot with a one-track mind, they're a person, they're human, and that's what people want. They want that human, human connection, especially now these days with AI being all over the place. People are craving that human connection more and more and more. And when they find that, that's what takes them, isn't it? To be like not just oh, a good choice among other great choices, among all of these other people who have also accomplished these great things and have all this credibility. It's like, well, once you find that deep connection with somebody, they become the only one then.

Speaker 13:03

Yeah, well, you seek them out because you're like, I like this person. So when I think about, and we can apply this when we think about things like social media. Do you only ever follow social media accounts that all talk about the same thing and it's this one thing that you want to know? No, of course not. You seek out people that just say things that maybe you just like their vibe, maybe you just think they're an interesting person. But if you are liking them, you're then gonna listen to what they have to say. And if what they have to say, then actually you think, oh, okay, they've got a book out, and that's something I want to know about. Like you aren't gonna you're you don't have a limited number of words you can speak, you're not gonna use them all up. You if you say something and it's heard by someone who isn't your ideal client, you're not gonna explode, like it's gonna be. Yeah, it's like you don't have to ration your message. I think that's a really good thing. You can share what you've got to say and talk about things interest and excite you. So I'm not saying all like make something up that you don't care about, just think of all of the many, many things you've got that are interesting and exciting. And if you're interested and excited in what you're you've got to say, other people will be as well.

Speaker 1 14:28

That is it, and that is a fantastic point to end with there. I could speak about this all day, but we have run out of time. Any questions or comments, email is on hello at dauntlesspr.com.