PR Expert Chelsey Baker Shows You How To Improve Your Media Exposure

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Chelsey Baker started her career in the stock market, but by the time she was twenty she already knew that wasn’t the career for her. Now, after years of experimenting with various successful businesses, she helps other entrepreneurs raise their profile in the media through the power of public relations training.

In the podcast, Chelsey and I discuss:

• How practice makes perfect when it comes to public speaking, and how being thrown into the deep end kickstarted Chelsey’s career.
• Two key tips that can help anyone reduce nerves and improve their speaking.
• How to craft a short, sharp pitch that will convince any journalist to write about you.
• Why public relations are more important than traditional advertising to your business.
• And how to enter and win relevant awards that show off your expertise to your clients.

Chelsey is an all-action individual who always has multiple projects on the go – as well as running Broadcasting Your Business, she’s also preparing for National Mentoring Day, which promises to be an excellent way to raise the profile of a really important topic. I urge you to check out both websites once you’ve listened to the podcast.

Did you enjoy this week’s episode? Do you have any suggestions for future Hardcore MBA podcasts? Let us know in the comments!

Transcript

Erlend : Hello from Norway. I thought that make it extremely Norwegian here today with the wooden wall and the courts so I’m signing in from about four hours north of Oslo where are you today.

Chelsey : I’m in London today.

Erlend: So Chelsea can you tell us a bit about yourself and about you know how we go started.

Chelsey: Yup, my name is Chelsea Baker. I’m the founder of Broadcasting your business so did I get in to business and stuff. I originally started in a very early on. Trading stock market and had a career in publishing media and communications  20 years in experience and running in different businesses and I know work in the company to mentor them and I won alot of awards to my work so it’s helping business to raise your own home profile now. And get that media exposure that they are looking for . And you know start mentoring to increase every aspect to that business. Part in sales, pr, marketing so yeah it keeps you busy.

Erlend: So in terms of trading . Why did you go to trading? At what point did you decide to go out of it.

Chelsey: Most of early on in my career and I watch a film called trading places with Eddie Murphy. So i just thought wow , this is quite easy and it looks great. It will bring me a quick buck and it will give me a freedom to not have a job. To not do the 9-5 rat-race. So I thought yeah financial trading it’s sounds fantastic.

Erlend : So i thought..

Chelsey : Yeah , honestly with trading it goes up and it goes down . So you know it is based on psychology in greed and fear . And when you are talking about the psychology in the market . You know in day trading it was very big when I was starting out my career in  the stock market. And the pressure , you know it’s  so volatile the swings . You know you need a lot of money to ride out the bad losing trades. So I did that a quite a few years. And I got more and more cautious.Trading in longer term rather than the day trading which work out much better and I thought it was 1920 , I thought hold on a minute this is not a carreer. I am watching on a TV screen, I get up late because you know what time it is in New York and you know I sit there and looking at the computer that I felt that it wasn’t that is putting on earth to do. And I wanted to you know I love writing and I started writing and started working for my self lately .

Erlend : How did you get stress out in situations that you get a lost of money? If so how did you deal it?

Chelsey: Well anything will stress out if they losing money but it’s all about not having all of your eggs in one basket and with trading it’s all about spreading the risk so for that reason I become a lot easier time went on and I pretty much got to grips in psychology of trading so it became a lot easier.

Erlend : So you’ve been on TV  alot. You have presented a lot. You host a lot of events and lots of famous people. For a lot of people that would be very extremely intimidating as we know public speaking is one of the most feared things that we do. How did you or is it something that you comes natural to you or is it something that you would always be good at.

Erlend : No one is born natural public speaker. They learn that part. They learn to perfect it and polish it as time goes on.And I was very fortunate to be thrown in the deep end on a national or a global TV channel. And I got thrown in the deep end and I started presenting and it was five cameras on me and I learn very quickly on how to present a television show. And it was all in these experiences that I went on to do key notes some of us and speak all over the world. I present a lot of awards ceremonies in you cam film festival in  Madrid, Berlin , London compare in this show. So it’s a wonderful career to be able to speak and now that each others  in how to do it. And it is very rewarding because some people talk to me and their hands are shaking. You know they’re very scared in public speaking and one of the difference is with myself is that I have been there and I have done it so that I would do their speech for them and they are copying me. So I have a thousand hours on television of presenting live, live presenting , outside broadcast, you name it. So my experience a compass[00:05:56]  to all the different things but I actually help them by doing it for them and they just copying me so could be an accent softening. I have clients, Russian clients to Eastern European Spanish and the last lady was a Portuguese. And I speak in a certain way and they follow me and it’s all about the ups and downs of the language and the tone and the body language that sometimes people are going to like this and their hand movement. So they are watching me and that way they are not so scared or  fearful cause I help them.

Erlend : And when you do that did you video tape yourself and give them a video to look at and train before you …

Chelsey: No they meet me in person. I can do it in Skype or video but they meet me in person. They email me their speech before hand. And then I process it, I can make  an adjustment to my speech if it is a national TV or presence of you. I write the questions for my clients and sometimes the television channel is reading questions for my clients. We will rehearse them.

Erlend: Right. What about nerves before , I mean you are thrown into it and you just caught at it cause basically a repetitions.

Chelsey: Yup

Erlend: So how could people get less nervous before the big presentation.

Chelsey: My biggest persentation, in fact I give you two tips here Erland. Number 1 , I’ m not sure if you are aware of diaphragmatic breathing.

Erlend : What is that?

Chelsey: You best google it but you breathe by pushing your stomach out . So you breath in but your stomach comes out and you get a very big breath that it goes to all in the body and in the organs. So it makes you very relax. Not with your shoulder’s up , the only thing that should be moving will be your stomach coming out like a big fat belly. So you are breathing in pushing your stomach out and it is very relaxing.

Erlend : How many repetitions to do like 10 or …

Chelsey : I do four.

Erlend: But before you go on screen..

Chelsey:  But I only do one extra for luck. (laughs)

Erlend : Before go on screen you have to do kind of breathing or .. ?

Chelsey : Sure a lot of singer, a lot of dancers, a lot of actors. They do this breathing so they are ready and they energize with you and relaxes you. And the other thing that I like to do is when I’m on stage and I am giving a presentation. I just say hello to my audience and I go  back to my lecture. And I am going off to presenting to cooperate events in 2 hours now. And I will walk it into the rimmer[00:09:22]  500 to a thousand people. And I take my mike and say Good evening everyone and welcome and I gonna be starting the show in just a few minutes time. I put my microphone down. I look at my paper work and that means I broken the ice.

Erlend: Right

Chelsey: So I am not nervous anymore.

Erlend: So just starting a ball to roll and it’s often..

Chelsey: Yep . So you just say hello everyone . I start in a minute or Good Evening Everyone.

Erlend : Do you say to yourself or you would say that to the audience.

Chelsey: No , I would really say it to the whole audience. The beauty of when I do things is my show. So I could do what I like but you know I would always break the ice by saying a couple of key words then I concentrate and refocus then  I start. Because sometimes I’ve been speaking for 1 hour to four to five hours. So you know it’s a long shift.

Erland : One thing that I started thinking about I say I’m giving a presentation is that actually I am getting more nervous thinking about it than I actually doing it.

Chelsey: Yeah the thought is very much worth than the actual doing and yeah.

Erland: How about visualization,practicing , these kind of things. Did you have this kind of habits on a big event ?

Chelsey: I don’t because I’ve been doing it for so long. I believe very much in power in visualization many things that I have today. I visualize when before they ar here. You know but in terms of were I’m coming from in public speaking. There is a lot of tips that I give to people  but I don’t need it to do it myself anymore. I’ve been doing it in 20 years. (laughs)

Erland: Okay. What are those some tips that you give ?

Chelsey: Well the breathing and the best thing that I can is that if you are in that there is a lot of entrepreneur out there. You know this days that they wanna be in success. They are business sauna.They want to be in the news so you need to have a professional media training. You know that I have been work with my clients. We do the pretend journalist interviews cause I was been a journalist. I used to write. It’s priceless to go over your story with somebody who knows how the press works. So you know this many tips that I think that it have been the problem this days is that entrepreneurs that they come up with an idea. They think that they have a  good marketing story. I was with the business yesterday. And I said what is the story. What is the marketing story to go with your product? And when they told me it was terrible. So I added a lot of few things that  I would do because  I got 20 years in experience in PR, marketing, you know getting that message out there. And I said if you do  XYZED[00:12:43] have you thought about this. Your story could hit the press in the really big way. There has to be a reason. What is your reason that I have been buy your product . What is your Y and that is the story and things that go viral very quickly if you get the message right . So that’s what my company does broadcasting your business is all about getting the right media exposure. Getting the right message and helping entrepreneurs to raise their profile.

Erland : And in terms of getting in the media. How did you start? Like you just called up the PR company or do you work it with yourself ? What is the first action step?

Chelsey: Well the first thing is that you have your story correct. You know a typical magazine or newspaper. They can get 10,000 emails. You know like is almost daily . So unless you have a great story and has a reason and an existing contract. It is very difficult. I like it how my you know a lot of people in the National Press and sometimes I start locally with the local newspaper to them. So it is all about crafting the story correctly first with PR  agents. You are paying a lot of money. You know you are paying in England 3,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds a month. Star talks [00:14:23] don’t have that so that’s what I work with creating a good story that the local and national news will hopefully pick up.

Erland : And it’s about their audience, it’s all about their product so if you want to make it relevant to their audience. Am I Right?

Chelsey: Yeah , I’ll sum it up in one sentence. Why should I write about you? I am a journalist. Give me a reason to write about you. What’s that reason ? That is what you are really created and a very strong,clear and cunning way.

Erland : And when that journalist wants is that most as many as the people as possible read  the article. So they wanna see like a 100,000 facebook likes.

Chelsey: Yeah so if you have to be news worthy Erland that’s the key. We live in a a very busy society today where the age of the entrepreneur is here. And you know in England 581,000+ businesses to started last year. They are all gonna write in press release that all gonna be wanting to get in the national press. And it’s where something that myself with the contacts and the experience when you can help people getting to the press. And then not one piece of press could lead to the another and another and another.

Erland: Do you often find that like a big story that is followed by a lot of story it’s like a snowball or when you start that…

Chelsey: They definately syndicate, you have so much online media this days. So in terms of one article. I remember one’s in the guardian and then it was replicated a story in Scotland. Exactly the same content so you know national.. local newspapers look to their national newspapers  for  ideas on their story and the magazines do as well.

Erland : Right. In terms of where media people hang out. So lets say so you wanna network more with so that the PR and the media people to get know where you gonna work with. What are the good places for that?

Chelsey : Well , I speak a lot in business hows and if you want. You have to think about where do you want to be. And a top business mentor , why do I have to be in a certain of a magazine. My audience where are they? They have to think about where do you wanna like to appear. So when I speak it all of the business shows. We have on the business magazines often they have a stand there. So at that point , you have to think about who your media is . You are not suitable to every media. Who is your audience and what to they read ? So if I want to be in the business magazines , I would approach them at the relevant industry shows. And you have to have your pitch correct. So you have to have a really short fantastic compelling 30 second pitch to go to them and speak to them. You know they must get 100 of people say ” hi  you know can you price about me ?”. It doesn’t work like that you have to recommending a business card. And then working on your sales . Your sales peek in started then. Obviously writing to the magazine or email the person you have met at the show. And then giving all of your fantastic pitch for a story.

Erland : But sure . What is your favorite success story in terms of media? So somebody that you have an X factor right ? the opera singer , Paul Potts and that’s a media success story where you have on millions of use, albums and this and this and that. What is your favorite success story in terms of using media to get exposure to them that you snowball that into a success?

Chelsey : You have to look into the Youtube. You have got so many . The whatever videos that I love the most was the dollar shape club. I don’t actually seen that but you know is just about having. What I like about viral videos is that anybody the small entrepreneur can stand up against the big boys this days. And become a huge overnight success story. So there’s many people who have started with video and video blogs, blogging . You got the pixie wool dolls and started doing their make up tutorials . A huge success, there is just so many so you know my advice is to have a look on your industry. Who is speaking about what they are speaking about. And think about how to do your something and the difference. And create those fantastic videos that potentially go viral.

Erland : What about money spend on advertising that you’re own contents? Do you recommend that or you have that or you could say a hundred videos and one videos that is so popular. But it’s only about 10,000 views. But you know if you market it maybe you got a million.

Chlesey: I will answer with a different answer or a different idea or thought or proccess. I work with clients to get to PR. PR is free and it doesn’t cost me anything. So that is the thing that I like specialize because you are wasting your money paying with huge adverts. I’m not talking about facebook adverts , Twitter ads and youtube ads that you know they’re great. But PR  is worth a fortune. PR  is more believed than advertising . So for my clients I wanna work with to get them a great story to the national press. And then we upload that to our website so they can increase their sales , their traffic. You know one article in the newspaper could make a company. So PR is much more than the advertising.

Erland: Would you say that in terms of Richard Brandson, so you would say that he’s skill set is so comes for the PR and getting of the papers and building his company and it’s business that way?

Chlesey: Yeah and he’s everywhere but what I liked about Richard is that he is continuously inventing himself. He doesn’t sit there and go to one company . He’s always hungry in next idea and I liked it from the market’s point of view that he reinvented himself. I reinvent myself , you know I am the media mentor at the moment. I am pitching expert . Was I a pitching expert 20 years ago, no. Was I am on a pitching expert here in England. It cause everyone is trying to raise investments. They are trying to made money in their business. So in 20 years in experience in public speaking, presenting and creating your sales  pitch. And then I was a judge on big investment show here in England. And I did that for 9 years and I was judging business and pitches. Yeah for investment , I learn so much from that I witness is over 900 business pictures. So i became very experience in what to do and I saw exactly when investors say yes that I give you money. I saw that point over 9 years or 8 years. However it has been that I’ve learned  what investors want. What they are looking for and so i became a pitching expert  to pass on my skills and experience to others of what I have seen. But in times in reinventing yourself, that  was the meek that I created for myself and now I am the UK’s number 1 pitching expert. You have to reinvent yourself according to the changes and the happening in the society. You know I write articles inside on pitching funding, pitching for investment, that was not around 20 years ago. I work on entrepreneurs now to help them get their crowd funding videos that slide index order. This is all new.

Erland : I guess where always pitching to each other. So usually the second thing you say to somebody is what you do. At least at your standard questions. It’s like what is your name or  what did you do?  I guess when we say what we do where actually pitching ourselves to them.

Chelsey: Yeah. Of course, that is what you called 30 seconds elevated pitch but you know I work with people all the time and I say when I met them you know what is your 30 second pitch to me. And often people think is to boring . You have to intrigue me. The key to 30 second pitch or an intro pitch is make me want to know more. Yeah make me want ask you another question afterwards so do you don’t say I’m builder. You don’t say what you do. You say some benefits of what you do. You intrigue so the next question is “Oh could you tell me more ? or I liked to know some more? How’s that?”. You know intriguing questions.

Erland : Absolutely. So in terms of media, you have been on the TV , radio presenting awards. All these things add your credibility as a person. In your career how is that really catapult to you in forwards?

Chelsey: So when did you get into the press. You know it’s somebody else rather than yourself endorsing you. So it is in the press, it must be true. People are you know I mean  from my national day I was in Forbes . You know some very high profile newspapers   and the guardians and the eating standard . And you know it certainly increases of your following in social media. But it brings about a lot more opportunity. So partners , you know the potential JB and that all sorts of thinking come about from new being in the national press. So it definitely propels your career. Sometimes though I have been in a cover of four to five magazines.It sometimes thought doesn’t  necessarily produce a  rely  [00:26:30] and it doesn’t necessarily increase your sales that I wake in the next morning and I got 25 new clients. So you have to be very careful with PR that I teach a lot of people to try to do their on PR as well because it’s free. But it went successfully it really is a beneficial and you don’t pay for it.

Erland:  Do you do courses like becoming a 3 day course with you and learn how do with this all the media skills, PR skills that you have spent a whole time learning?

Chelsey: Yes , but I do it all arond the bracket of mentoring. So it’s media mentoring , that is what my company broadcasting their business stuffs . And you have catch down a few different subjects now. If you are going on a television and you are going on an interview that’s one thing. If you want to be a fanstastic public speaker and start doing your conference,seminars and lectures that’s another thing. If you want press that’s another area. So what I actually do is I need a company I sign out what is missing, what did I need to grow to get next stage and then we gonna work in a very aspects of the business. It’s no good getting into the national press or on television if you have crack websites. It’s not good in getting exposure if you’re products is not good or your service is not that standard. You’re wasting it . You get one chance of the media. So if you have a product….

Erland : So you are saying is be prepared for your success.

Chelsey: Yes, but the way that I work with my clients is I won’t hook it out in the spotlight if they are not ready. Is my number one role, I will fix that in their website and I will fix them up. I will fix that all sorts of things. The mission statement , the tag lines , the name of the company ,  the marketing material, everything so when they go out there and they get pressed they can capitalized on it. Otherwise it is a waste of time and money.

Erland : So if your to get a bad article so the upside of being out there in the media is more sales more clients or what if something or somebody write about you . Something really bad and it gets viewed by millions of people .How do you its a two part of question. How do you deal with that psyschologically and secondly how do you deal with it as a company?

Chelsey : Okay ,  I don’t need to because I never had it. And that may sound be a bold statement but when I am working with my clients that doesn’t happen. So I never had a bad article or neither of my clients had a bad article. Because if you do things in a correct way and you have this engaging story. I am very much in the believe in a positive press.So I have never had a client who has not had anything negative written about them cause what is negative about somebody starting a business becoming a success and having a fantastic product because nothing negative to write. So that is a lot of companies do what we called crisis management and for that reason I always states my clients , we have to had a nominate spokes person. So it something did go wrong , he’s the person got to be involve in a national television and apologize and say we made a mistake . You know it’s working to always make or what I do is about testing people. So we have somebody , we know who is going to be there that says with the company. The nominated spokesperson but it terms of the product that going wrong. The reason is not gonna happen to me because I choose who I work with. I have to believe in the companies products. I don’t just take one any client . I am privilege to be able to choose who I work with. So with my experience , I can see the story. You know very clearly in my head. So would I take on somebody who makes pens with no story. No. (laughs).

Erland : I have a pink pen too.My pen here is pink.

Chelsey: That is a very good story (laughs). So you know like I said I’ve a lot of experience in this and there is so many hours in a day. So I get to choose which company that will I work with. I see and assess their PR potential. So you know if the client emails me into “Chelsey I want to work with you”. I said “Alright , what do you offering and you know why do you want to work with me? What do you want to achieve ?”. We have an hour with the conversation and then I get to assess whether or not I want to take on that client because I want people to begin to success. I want people to start winning awards and I want to share in their success. So it’s making sure that all the star talks and needed in the success in the companies. Really do have a good story that I can run with to marketing and PR . And get that message out there.

Erland : So in terms of winning awards . So having like award to your name how does that help you as an entrepreneur?

Chelsey: It could help massively. They are very big. (laughs)

Erland : Congratulations. Do you have in the shelf?

Chelsey : I do , downstairs so  I won five now one of it is last week. And .

Erland : Congratulations.

Chelsey: Thank you and fantastic. And when you get nominated but when you win a title like businessmen of the year . What would I need to say? I don’t need to sell myself anymore because that award will work and do itself. So it’s very important  there are a lot of awards this days. You know so you have to choose your rewards that you are into carefully. It is going to be relevant to your industry.

Erland : Is there something like a directory or do you like how did you find them?

Chelsey: Well when I work with the client. I find out what the industry were in. I have this with the different awards that you can enter. And it’s no good in entering award in the beginning . So when I speak on people wants a month . I will enter that in their marketing strategy in the award because it might have anything great for this stage. You have to make sure that you adhere all the regulations on the awards. You have enough evidence.

Erland: Right. Absolutely. So what  did you currently working on that inspires you?

Chelsey : So what did I work that inspires me gotta be national mentoring day. You know I created a new awareness day to celebrate mentoring and it’s absolutely wonderful. I got the whole nation to get involve. We got schools, colleges ,universities , [00:34:41] . Just so many emails that I have been receiving you know that everybody gets involve . So it was a great idea but the fact that everyone announce to be a part of it and get involve it’s just wonderful. It’s just very inspiring.

Erland : So what is it exactly is it a one day  a year everybody gets together.

Chelsey: One day a year where the nation that get involve and they can share their experiences in mentoring and they can learn mentoring initiatives. All the public sector companies. All the public services . They on the day on this one national awareness day.They can promote the mentoring initiatives that they have within the business , colleges, universities what mentoring initiatives do you have. What mentoring programs that you have and everyone comes together last year we  did have a huge event in London. This year we hope that many events all up in down to England, Scotland, Whales island that we are taking place simultaneously on the same day.

Erland : And why is mentoring is so important?

Chelsey : Because it works . It is proven. You know I have been mentoring now but years and years I have been worked int he companies whether it doesn’t one of those things that works. I wont be sitting here today. I will not won all this rewards if it didn’t work. So the proof is out there that you know you have somebody to work with you whose been there before. You know so if you are in a start up company or you are a company that is perhaps become a little stale. You now your sales have dropped.You know what do you do you get the mentor . You get somebody whose been there and done it and have the experience. So if you take my background 20 years in media, PR , marketing, sales, public speaking, pitching all in that information on and help them get to where you want to be. So it’s so rewarding as well.

Erland : So I know you choose your clients. What kind of clients are currently looking for?

Chelsey: I am very much involve in clients who are working in the health in well being sectors and I can it too much more but I am working with some fantastic companies that are involve in organic products. One particular company which is about low frequency radiation or high frequency radiation. All things to make the a person better. So health and wealth being sector I learned [00:37:53] .

Erland: So if we been listening watching this episode where can we get information about you online.

Chelsey : You come into my website which is broadcastingyourbusines.com. My twitter at chelseybaker, national mentoring day that has an own website as well which is nationalmentoringday.org with the twitter handle @mentoringrocks.

Erland : So guys if you have enjoyed this episode.Please make sure hit a like down below here or if you are listening why not share it in social media so that more people get to learned all the inside secrets that Chelsey Baker has shared with you today. Thank you Chelsey for being here in our show.

Erland : Thank you so much Erland.

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