Personal Brand Story and Public Relations,
with Reme Mancera and Melanie Whittaker

Welcome to Intersection Chats. I am Reme Mancera, a personal brand story strategist. And today, we are going to talk about the intersection between personal brand story and public relations. And I am delighted to have here today to add Melanie. Thank you, Melanie, for accepting this invitation.

Oh, thank you for having me. Nice. So please tell us a bit about what you do. Yeah. So I help people with their marketing and also public relations.

So they generally will come to me when they want more eyeballs on what they’re doing. So they feel like, yeah, they’re doing well, but they feel like they’re swimming in the same pool and they wanna go bigger. Nice. So let’s start with the topic of today. I look I would love to know in your experience, how is that intersection between personal brand story and public relations?

How has been for you working with clients and in your experience? Yeah. Well, as an entrepreneur, you know, we hear it all the time that you are your brand, and you are. And it’s not just a case of you are the face of the brand. You are the personality.

You you are the one steering the ship. Okay? And, you know, you only have to look a good example is looking at reality TV. People get really invested in reality TV stars. They like to see where they hang out, where they shop, where they get their hair done, their makeup done, where they go on holiday, they’re really interested in that reality TV star, right?

And you have to view yourself as the same. And this is it’s interesting because when clients come to me, they don’t really see why people would be that interested. Because everyone kind of thinks, well, my life is dull. It’s boring. I haven’t got anything exciting to talk about.

And that’s so not the truth. And so many people, for the longest time, especially in the online space, they’ve been selling the perfect life. So I live in the perfect house. I have the perfect car. We get to eat out every night.

We go on these extravagant holidays, and I’m not bashing that. That’s that’s not why I’m saying this. But there’s this feeling of your life has to look perfect. And so when clients come to me, they’re hesitant about talking about things in their life that weren’t perfect, because they worry if people won’t take them seriously because of this whole perfect persona that’s been sold. And what I say to them is that’s that’s the furthest thing from the truth.

What people are looking for is someone who’s real and relatable. And if someone can see that you’ve been through something that they are needing help with, they’re going to be inclined to want to reach out to you just because you were human about it. I totally agree on this idea of how you want to show, like, your uniqueness. It’s like sharing your stories is going to help to build that trust and show that you are relatable as you said and show and create that genuine connection with the other people, especially when it’s related to business. You are trying to attract aligned clients.

You want to to attract people that you are looking forward to work with. So using your stories and using your personality and what is important to you, your values is a great way to to attract those those people. And I feel like it’s really important for me at least. It’s like, it’s not that you need to convince people. It’s just for them to have the information to make the decision and to for them to feel how they they react with each other and how these these feelings or, oh, how this person make me feel, and I want to be closer or I want to collaborate with them in a way.

So I feel that that for that storytelling can be a great tool. Well, it’s interesting you say that because you hear about attraction marketing all the time, and this takes it even further. Because what we have to realize is you can’t be liked by everybody, and this is why so many of us let ourselves down. We’re trying to be liked by everyone thinking if I if everyone likes me, I’m gonna get all the clients. And what you have to realize is by showing up as your unique self because we’re all unique.

Right? When you show up totally as yourself, you’re really being authentic. You’ve got nothing to hide. You’re attracting and you’re repelling at the same time. And people, once they learn that, it’s like a magic switch that goes off in their head.

Because the more that my clients get comfortable in being who they are, they’re like, oh, I can see what’s going on now. Like, I’m having you know, I had a conversation with one of my clients last week. We’re going through how he’s showing up. He’s he’s been very nervous about being so vulnerable online. Right?

And he said to me in a conversation that we had last week, he’s so glad that he’s doing this because he’s having more genuine conversations than before because he’s now shared things that were vulnerable to him, things that he’s been afraid to talk about for fear of not being viewed as serious. And now he’s actually saying to me, oh my goodness. It’s the reverse. People are actually reaching out to me and saying thank you so much for addressing this because I’ve been through that too. And this is why I get so angry about this perfect persona that has been sold because it’s actually let so many people down.

Yeah. I feel like, this an important point because sometimes, of course, we have all this idea of the perfect persona and how success should look like, and be and all that. And then also this idea of, oh, but if I have this failure in my in my journey, I don’t want to share about that because that’s as you say, it’s like, I am positioning myself as someone not serious or someone not professional. And then I invite people to think about what were the lessons of that moment. Mhmm.

And think about the there are some connection there with how your clients or your potential clients feel now, or there is some kind of lesson that made you take action in a different direction. From that moment, I’m sure you will have some takeaways. So think about that and think about those that can be connected to your audience on what you offer. I have a client, and she’s an email strategist for ecommerce. And one of the when we were working on her personal brand story, one of the moments were how she had two ecommerce businesses, but both of them were not good and she need to chat chat them off.

And for her, it was a bit at the beginning, it was a bit yeah. I didn’t know sure if I I should, share about this or how to do it in a way that makes sense for my audience and my business. Business. And in the end, it was a way for her sharing that story, makes connecting to the the ecommerce owners because she was in their shoes. And, actually, her business is not working as she wanted.

Make her go deeper into email strategy and learning more about that. And then people asking her, hey. Can you help me with my email strategy for my ecommerce? And that’s how she she become, the role that she has now. For her was the starting point of this new business that actually has helped so many other selling so much in their ecommerce.

So something that looks like a failure, it could be a great way to to make them understand. I don’t just know about my topic, about my the tools that I need to know, about the the strategy that that I need to know. I all I also know your emotions. So that’s why I invite everyone to think about their own case in that way because the lessons that you get from there, how that could be a motivation starting point, how that could be a story that you share and is impactful for your audience. Exactly.

You know, we’re all just going through life, and the nature of life is that we have highs and we have lows. You know? The it’s not linear. And so Yeah. When we are you know, it’s interesting, and I get it because, you know, when we’re talking about things online, it’s like, well, how much do I tell people?

And what I say to my clients is you’re the one steering the ship. You still need to have a private life, but you get to say how much of the story you’re willing to tell. And the more that they branch out and start dropping these nuggets of this wasn’t perfect, but this was how I turned it around, or this was what I used to struggle with, but now I do this. People are like, wow. Because it’s very easy when we’re looking at people online.

We just create a story around people. It’s it’s human. Of course, you’re going to. Most people you meet online, they’re strangers. And so when you’re seeing someone with a business and we start to pay attention to their marketing, we just have this story around this person.

But when you actually start letting people into your world and start letting them see the journey that led you to the point you’re at now, now you’re a real human being. And, you know, we hear it all the time in marketing, the know, like, and trust factor. Well, the trust is going to come from you opening up about things that maybe weren’t brilliant, but how you overcame it. So it’s not about being the victim. It’s not about being a victim at all.

It’s about showing how you’ve been through situations in your life, but you’ve turned it around, and people take comfort in that. Because if they’re going through something similar, they’re paying attention to what you’ve got to say now. I think you make a such a great point there with the difference between private and personal because it’s like you are sharing how your combination of personality, values, your background, your expertise, but that doesn’t mean that you are sharing all your private life. No. There is that difference, and it’s like you are the one setting the boundaries, and you are the one deciding how much dip you go into that or if you don’t share one part of your life at all.

Yeah. And it’s okay. I am super, super private person so that when I work with clients, something that I really understand so well because I remember myself when starting my my business, I’m feeling like, oh, people are telling me I should tell my story. I should, use storytelling. I should be vulnerable.

And it was like, oh, I am not ready for that. And it it was a process and it’s a practice. And then it’s like setting your boundaries. And for me, something important is understanding why I am sharing specific story. And that was the the the why I created my my framework that way because it’s like for me, each moment that you are highlighting from your journey is connected to your offer.

It’s connected to your offer. It’s like 100% highlighting one benefit of your offer or something that differentiate your offer. That for me make is like it makes sense that they share that story. Yeah. And that’s why it’s helping people, that they feel they have so many stories that they don’t know which one to choose, but also those who feel they don’t have an epic story and they feel they need that.

And it’s like, no. You don’t need an epic story. It’s just choosing the meaningful moments in your journey that are sharing who you are as a person, why the work that you do is important to you, and also what makes your approach different to others so people can learn more about what how is this different from someone else offering something similar. Yeah. And your journey is such a great part of that because how you do your processes and how you approach your services or or your offers is basing who you are as a person, what is important to you, and how you want to make your your clients feel.

Yes. That’s so true. It is. Because when people find that connection with you, it just makes it so much easier. You know, they’re going you know, we know that client you know, potential clients are doing due diligence now before they’re ever gonna hire somebody.

And so they start looking at your website more. They start looking at your social media. They start looking at your videos. And then it becomes an easy decision because they’re like, there’s something about this person. It isn’t just even the case of, do I wanna work with this person?

It’s like, do I respect this person? Do I feel like this person will understand me? And once you can do all that with your marketing, it’s an easy sell. Yeah. Especially in certain kind of services, it’s like what you just said about the understanding.

So important. Like, yeah, you feel understood and you feel seen. Yes. And you feel safe to talk about Sometimes it’s talking about tough topics. And I work a lot with coaches, and they they help people that are going through, and and addressing stuff that is challenging for them.

So it’s like sharing that part of your stories is helping you build trust, and and they can feel that you are someone that is going to respect them, is going to see them, and and listening to them in a way that they feel comfortable to to explore those those heavy topics. Yeah. And even if it’s not a heavy topic, I I work with web designers and and this is something like a a tool for your business, something to help. Again, sharing your personal stories is a way to connect in the human level, and it’s a way to show how we are multifaceted. It’s not just one person without nuances.

I love how and that’s all the other reason why I bring in my framework not just one story, but 10 of them is, like, you have nuances about how the person is. I would love to know because for for your work with clients, how you address that part? Because if it’s related to businesses and they want to to amplify the impact of their business, how you have them to figure it out, what stories can make more sense for sharing in their in their PR and and that part? How how do you help, like, in that This all happens right at the very beginning when I sit down with them, and I create their pitch and if a press release is needed as well. And I interview them just the way that I mean, I’m not I’m not trained.

I’ve not gone off and got all these qualifications. I I’m just self taught on all of this. But the way a journalist would sit down with you and interview you, that is exactly what I do with them. And obviously, I’ll have looked at their website and social media before so I know a little bit of background. But then I go deeper.

And I get information and I say go as far back as you want to go, you’re in control. And when they tell me information, what I think would be very useful for them, I would stop on that. And I would say, at the end of the day, you have to be comfortable about what you’re going to talk about when you do your interviews. But let’s I’m gonna give an example. Let’s say a woman had been through a messy divorce.

Mhmm. The nature would be she wouldn’t wanna talk about that. Right? Because she just wants to leave that in the past. If I came across that, I would say to the lady, you don’t have to go into the messy part of that divorce.

But my advice, if you’re willing to do so, is to actually say that you went through one. And the reason that I would advise them to do it if they feel comfortable is someone who is either going through a messy divorce right here, right now, or they’ve been through one, there’s an instant connection. Instant connection because you were vulnerable enough to say that’s what had been in your life. So you don’t have to talk about the messy part, but you you know, just by saying that that was part of your journey, people now view you as someone who’s real, someone who’s going about their life. They’ve had highs.

They’ve had lows, but they’re still in the game and they’re still doing what is necessary. And so someone who’s going through a messy divorce, straight away, they’re like, oh my goodness. And as I said earlier, it’s very easy to create stories of what we think people are online when we don’t know them. But that that’s just being human. Right?

But when someone actually lets you know that certain parts of their life have been a bit rocky, all of a sudden, this perfect persona that you thought they were, now they’re a real person living a real life. And so when I sit down with my clients and we we dig deep and we we look at their journey, their life journey, the highs, the lows, the in betweens, I will get all that information, and then I obviously create the pitch for them. But what I say is, have a think on what you’re willing and not willing to discuss. Because, obviously, when I’m pitching them, if there’s something that they definitely don’t wanna talk about, then, obviously, I would make sure, please do not discuss this topic. But I always say to them, start thinking now about things that you’re willing to discuss.

Because the more open you’re gonna be, the more genuine you are, and the more you’re willing to talk about your life, people pay attention to that. It’s like I said earlier, people pay attention to reality TV stars. They get excited about where a woman gets her hair done. So if someone can get excited about a reality TV star getting their hair done, don’t you think they’re gonna have more interest in something that you’ve overcome as a person that wasn’t great, but you’ve overcome it, and now look at the life you’ve built. And it’s interesting because when I work with my clients, eventually, the penny drops, and they’re like, wow.

If only I’d known this sooner that by sharing these parts of me is acceptable. And I’m like, it’s totally acceptable. It’s just that in the online space, we have all heard the phrase smoke and mirrors, and people love to portray this perfect life when, actually, we just need to be ourselves. Yeah. I feel like this idea of how by us sharing our our stories on who we are is a way to yeah.

The the people will have assumptions. We all have. Right? And it’s like you are trying to position yourself in a certain way for a certain role, and it’s like how using your stories in an intentional way to build that connection and and showing more size of you as a human. So I always say that this, like, giving volume to the person.

It’s not to this. Like, okay. Here is a real human, and and I love this idea of how sharing those highest and lows is helping the other person to understand that, yeah, you are human too. And something that I also like to to invite people is not yeah. Things that has been turning points, meaningful moments in the sense of, oh, this has changed my life or or is important.

But also sometimes there are stories that without the context can look like small stories or or that doesn’t have a lot of meaning. But then when you know the context is, wow, this is a meaningful moment for this person. Yeah. It’s helping me to understand better. For myself, I always use the story about how I was super excited when they opened the first public library in my neighborhood.

I was so excited all the books that I was going to read and and all that. I was super excited to exploring all the stories. And I got one of the first five, like, of the library card numbers because I I was just there. So it’s like so telling that story that is not epic at all, and it’s a small moment in my whole life, But this a way for me to talk about how I am passionate about stories and how I am genuinely curious when I get to listen to my clients’ journeys. I’m helping them identify that moment.

And it’s like helping my it’s like my curiosity is is useful for them, but it’s something natural. And it’s not just a framework or a or a tool that I know how to use. It’s something also, that is natural to me. And that’s something that I invite my clients to think about skills that are natural to you, but are so valuable for your clients. And I have a a client who’s a business coach, and she has this overview, like, ability of overview things and having different scenarios.

So for her, when we were exploring her journey, she told me that she was playing chess with with her auntie, and she was, like, having a couple of moves ahead in her her brain. It’s like having these scenarios. I told her, exactly the same that you do with your business, that you are happy. You are presenting them different scenarios, different approaches, and you have that in your mind because that’s your, like, overview way of thinking and how that’s natural skill for you, but it’s valuable for your client. Yeah.

So thinking about something that is a value, that is a skill that is natural, and you see how people are telling you, oh, you are this so helpful this way of doing things and seeing things and try to look for other moments in your life maybe, when you are doing hobbies maybe in a past work experience and use that as a way to explain that yeah this natural to me has been useful for others, and now it’s useful for you in my service or in my offer in this way. Yes. Yeah. It’s so true. Nice.

Yeah. And this is why all these little snippets that we tell people, it helps them to connect the dots. And so now they’re seeing you as a real living person with a real business, and now they’re like, oh, I like this person. I like how they show up. I like how they see the world.

And, you know, know, it’s like when you meet a stranger, maybe you go out with a group of people, and there’s people in that group that you didn’t know. There’s certain people you’re just gonna connect with, and it could be just a story that you tell each other. And you’re like, oh my goodness. I didn’t know you’ve been through that too. And all of a sudden now there’s that bond because you connect through that particular story.

And it’s the same with business. Like, the more you open up, the more you start sharing things, people are like, wow. I I really like this person. I like the way they’re conducting their business. I like the way they show up to life.

Like what I said about just being true to you. When you are true to you, you’re not worried about the competition. You’re not worried about what they’re saying and what they’re doing, and you’re not worried about being different. Because if you can’t be yourself, you’re gonna start resenting your business. And it is only natural to look at the competition and to see what others do, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor on how you do your business.

You have to do your business in a way that feels so good to you. And it’s what I tell all my clients. Sure. Look at the competition. You know, there’s bound to be people who may be in your industry and you look up to them and you admire them, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor on how you do things.

Yeah. I love this idea of yeah. You do things on your terms, and it’s like that’s going to be a a great way to even give yourself permission to try things in a different way. We need to unlearn things, especially people that we have been working for others. And then now to move into being yourself, like, solopreneur or or business owner.

And it’s like, yeah. You need to unlearn things. You are the one making the decisions, and you could do things on your time. And I like the the idea of using stories as conversation starters. Yeah.

And I feel that that with public relations can be great because it’s like when you bring your stories there, it’s like help inviting people to start a conversation with you about those topics. Yeah. So I feel that that can can be a way to see at okay. Which stories can be a point of connection with people and make them interested to have a conversation. Yeah.

Yeah. So true. So oh, I wanted to ask you this. I was in a table discussion, last week, and the topic there was how, in general, there is this idea of, yeah, be your authentic self. But sometime that can be challenging challenging challenging, sorry, in the way that we are not just one identity.

And maybe when I I am with my family, I am some specific way, or if I am in a strategy session with a client that is another version. And all of them are through me, but they are different kind of version even if it’s like all of them are through me, but they are different. So I would love you to know your thoughts on that idea because I I for me, it was fascinating because it was a lot about we were talking about the being a multifaceted person and and how you can be through you, but different identities combined. So I would love to know your thoughts. I know this sounds really crazy because I know a lot of people struggle with it, but because I teach it, I live it.

So I am 100 me when you see me online. So if you see a video of me online or I’m writing content online and then you meet me in person or even if it’s just over video, I am exactly the same. And it’s so funny because when I get on calls with potential clients, they’ll always say, oh my goodness. Like, you’re you’re just like you are in your videos. And I’m like, yes.

Because I don’t it’s too time consuming. I don’t wanna be put in a box for, oh, now I’m speaking to a client, so I must put on this hat. Like, I don’t want to do that. I want to be me. I am very aware that we’re all unique.

We all have our different personalities, and the way I am with one client will be totally different with another client because of their different persona. But the way that I am is I have to be true to me. I don’t wanna be something else. I don’t want to be one minute I’m over here and I’m doing that, and then one day I’m over there and I’m doing that. I mean, look.

When you’re dealing with people in diff different industries, then you’re swapping different kinds of industries, and that’s only normal. But people are people. And so I like to to meet people where they’re at. You know? In fact, you’re making me think of this actually.

When I was working a job in London, I was a trading floor secretary at an investment bank working with investment bankers, And I was dealing with a lot of countries all over Europe. So I had the Spanish desk, Italians, German, French. And it was interesting because the way I was with the Germans was totally different with the Italians because the Italians you know, Italians are like ciao and just cheeky and having a laugh, and then the Germans were more serious. You know? And but you just you learn to adapt to people.

And so I sorry. When I sit down and I’m with a client, they’re getting the real me. They’re not getting this persona that I feel I should be to keep the client. That’s just gonna wear you out. Right?

Same with when I do my marketing, I’m just me. And I love to do things that are spontaneous because when I get this hit, I love to just act on it. Oh, I know you can’t always do it immediately, but I’ll make notes and stuff. And I like to speak from my heart. I like to just let it out.

And I’m not look. Look. I’m human. Of course, it’s not nice if someone leaves a nasty comment on your post and things like that. And I know a lot of the time, people don’t say things for fear of, but what will people think?

What will people say? What will people do? We live in a time of cancel culture. We live in a time where the world is so divided that people are so scared to have an opinion or to even speak out. And I am the opposite.

I want to talk about things that matter to me. And I’m not saying that everybody in the world has to agree with my train of thought. I’m not that stupid about it. But, you know, here’s something I wanna add to the mix. So I’ve had a few conversations with clients, and a lot of the time when they go through this journey of really opening up, and so now they’re getting more confident.

And nine times out of 10, we’ll have a conversation, and they’ll say things like, do you think I should mention x y zed? And I never answer that for them, and I’ll tell you why. I say to them, is what you’ve just told me the truth? And they will say, absolutely. It was my life.

I lived it. It’s a lived experience. So then what I will say to them is, I’m not gonna answer that. And when you get off the call, I want you to be on your own. I don’t want your partner, your family, friends, peers in your industry.

Like, I want you to sit down and think to yourself, if I divulge this online, do I have the emotional resilience to deal with whatever the outcome is gonna be? And the reason that I tell them to do that is I can’t answer it for them, and I don’t know how people will perceive what they say. No one knows until you hit publish. If they know in their heart that that’s too emotional for them, that if nasty comments were put there, it would make them feel horrible, and they wouldn’t be able to deal with that. It would really hurt.

Now is not the time. But what I always say is it’s not that you’re saying no forever, because as humans, we’re evolving and we’re growing all of the time. I know myself. I am a completely different person to what I was six months ago, but that’s entrepreneurship. You’re changing all of the time.

You’re growing and evolving. So what I say to them is, if you say no and you’re not going to divulge it, just know it’s a no for now, not a no permanently. Because six months later, a year later, you could be in a situation where you’re like, you know what? I I wanna talk about this now. And that is where people it it’s like the penny drops for them with marketing, because I’m always telling them, you’re in control.

We see so much negativity in the online space with trolling and people doing nasty things. And I understand why people do struggle to be themselves because they’re like, oh, but, you know, if I do that, what if this? And it’s all the what ifs. And I just say to them, there’s going to come a point where you’re just gonna have to grow some kahunis and do what you wanna do. Because what you’re eventually, what you’re gonna find is you’re gonna feel like you’re in a box and that you’re contained.

It’s a bit like when you work a corporate job. And if you work a corporate job that tells you to sit in that box and you’re not allowed to go left or right, you’re just only allowed to be this way. And so eventually what will happen with your business is you’ll actually start to resent it because you’ll be like, why am I not opening up about this? Why am I not talking about this topic? Because I know that people would gain benefit from it, and you’re going to actually hate yourself for not being true to what you wanna do.

Yeah. I feel that there there is a a moment of, if you are performing and not being true to yourself in the sense of also, like, you are behind yourself. And when I, these identities, I really understand that different identities sense, but it’s like all of them, you are behind them, and your true self is behind them. And I remember when I was, using dating apps, I was like, what you see is what you get in the sense it’s the same me. And I feel like with businesses, this important in a sense of we are touching having communication in different channels.

You want that the the connection in them and the feeling that the people get when they are in touch with you is consistent in a way that there is coherence. It’s like they get the same feeling. And I always use the sample of how maybe you on videos are a warming person and make them feel good, and they want to go and be near you. And then you have an onboarding emails that are super cold style, like corporate style. It’s like, okay.

This doesn’t sound, like, from the same person. So in the communication that you have, different channels, different ways, different formats, you want to be consistent in the way that you make them feel. Yeah. And that is connected to who you are because that’s, like, what is important, when when you have a conversation with someone, when you invite someone to your house, or when you are working with them. It’s like how you want them to feel around you.

Yeah. Right? Totally. So yes. So I we are going to start wrapping up because, yeah, we can keep talking about this for forever, but I just wanted to ask you.

For someone that is starting, they they haven’t done, PR yet, and they are curious about this. What can be the first next step that you will suggest for them? Right. Well, as we’ve discussed in this conversation, it’s about being true to you. When you are going to do PR, you’re going to be doing interviews, so similar to what we are doing now.

And people are going to ask you questions, and you’re going to start opening up more about you as the business owner. Because this is where business owners get lost a little bit because they feel like they must be talking about the business nonstop. And, yes, you have a business, and, yes, you have to sell your products and your services, but you also need to sell who you are as a person. Now what the best advice I can give you is, as I said, it’s only natural to look at the competition and see what they do. My advice would be sit down with a piece of paper and write down who you are as a person.

Many, many people will do similar things to you. So let’s just say you’re a health coach and you’re listening to this. There are many, many health coaches in the world, but what is it about you that you wanna start telling the world about? Now while I’m on this topic of health coaches, a prime example I can give you on that is you could have a health coach that is just helping women look, you know, lose weight, and so it’s aesthetically pleasing. So you might have a woman who is getting married and wants to rock out her wedding dress, or she wants to look bikini ready for the summer.

That is totally different to a health coach who’s going to help people who have got health problems. And if they don’t sort these health problems out, maybe they’re not gonna live as long as what they should live. You know? They’re both health coaches, but they’re coming at it from a different angle. That’s not to say that there there can’t be a crossover.

Of course, there can. But you need to think, who am I? What do I represent? What do I want to stand for? How do I want people to feel when they come across me online?

What’s that feeling? You know, there was a time in the good old days of Instagram, you could go on someone’s Instagram account, and we used to say that it was aesthetically pleasing, didn’t we? And there would be the perfect grid. I want you to think when I am showing up, whether I’m doing a written post or I’m doing video, what’s the feeling I want people to have when they come across this? This is so important.

And then say to yourself, how am I doing this? How much of my personality am I bringing to the table? Or am I stiff and wooden and being like a newsreader? Now I’m not knocking that because when you start going on video at the very beginning, you do feel stiff and wooden. So I’m not knocking that if that’s your situation right now.

But what I wanna say is when we start to be true to who we are, unapologetically unapologetically, you don’t have to prove who you are, you don’t have to jump through hoops to who you are, you actually attract clients easier because you’re not having to prove who you are. You’re not having to defend it. You’re not having to give an essay and a war and peace account on why they should hire you. You’re just showing up, being yourself. People are seeing this time after time after time, and they’re forming that connection.

So if you’ve never done PR before and you want to dabble in it, then I would suggest get very clear on what I’ve just said. Who am I? How do I wanna show up? How do I want people to feel when they come across me? Whether it’s looking at a website, looking at social media, reading an email, how do I want them to feel?

And then get yourself on a podcast. A podcast is really easy to do. If you don’t know how to get onto a podcast, put up a post on your Facebook account or on your LinkedIn and say, hey. I do x y zed. I would love to discuss this topic.

Who has a podcast that discusses that? I would love to be a guest. Right? And do a podcast. And, yes, you’ll be nervous on the first go that you do it.

But the more you do it, the more addictive they become because you’re talking about something that you feel really passionate about. But, obviously, with PR, there’s so much more to PR than just a podcast. You can go in magazines. And, funnily enough, I’m gonna spend the afternoon writing an article from an article that I’m writing for a magazine, which is it’s gonna get published next month. There’s so many ways of being seen in PR.

So podcasts, magazines, digital TV, newspapers, radio, TV, the list goes on. And so you need to think to yourself, start small. A podcast is really easy. If a podcast isn’t what you wanna go for, why not contact your local newspaper? Try and get in there.

See if they would have you be a guest writer and write an article. The tiny steps that you make will eventually lead to bigger things, but we have to make a start somewhere. Yeah. I feel like this storytelling and and being, like, position ourselves, this is a practice thing that is, like, you will evolve, but also you will get more comfortable. And if start as you said, like, small steps is like building up this compound effect that you feel, okay.

Yeah. I am ready for taking the next step. That’s Yeah. And sometimes it’s challenging and exciting and a bit scary, but you do it in a way and then it’s like, oh, actually, I did this. I feel proud of myself, and it’s like reinforcing you.

So take small step, and those are that are a bit challenging, but still is going to to help you to to move forward in the direction that you want to go. Right? Exactly. So to to finish this, I love you for asking, for to ask you, like, how would you summarize the connection between personal brand story and PR, like, in a couple of words? You’re representing yourself.

So it’s a representation. It’s also a journey because you’re taking people on a journey. So representation, journey, and authenticity. Yeah. Love that.

For me, I would say they are strategic positioning tools, and they can be so powerful for your business if you get to incorporate them into your, like, day to day, let’s say, business routines. And it’s something that, as you said, you will get better and you will practice and you it will feel more natural Yeah. For you and you will evolve and you will adjust your new stories, but that’s like a puzzle that you will grow and then it’s like having that mindset of, okay. Yeah. And using this as a tool.

Because I know that doing this will help my reputation and will help to get more people Yeah. That I want to help. And it’s, yeah, it’s about the business side, but it’s also about the impact, like people effect. So yeah. Okay.

This was super exciting. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. How can people can learn more about you, connect to you, learn more learn more about your work? So my website is youareyourmarketing.com.

So they can get more information there. I also have, a freebie that they can sign up for where I discuss the difference between marketing and public relations. They can find me on Facebook with the name Melanie Whittaker, and you can’t see it very well because I’ve got my hair up, but I’ve got pink hair. And you can see me on LinkedIn with the same graphic pink hair and, threads and Instagram, which is the same handle as my website, which is you are your marketing. So, yeah, you can find me on any of those platforms.

Awesome. So all the links are going to be also in the description so people can go and find them. For those queries to learn more about my way of approaching personal brand story and if they want to learn a bit more about, story collector framework. And I have some in my website, I have ideas on how they can think about their own stories and start exploring the those meaningful moments. They got I my link will be also in the description for them to find.

Yes. So thank you so much. Yes. Thank you. Next time.

Thank you for having me.