ARE YOU READY TO GO ALL-IN? 

Although I'm a mermaid and love creativity, adventure, and freedom, I also love structure and accountability.

Every month, I pick a theme to stay focused and motivated in both my personal and professional life. My theme for this month is All-In April.

Although a lot of great things happened in the past three months (I got engaged 💍, and my business had its biggest financial quarter to date), it was also a stressful time that took its toll on me. 

I'm using April as a reset and an opportunity to focus on things that are good for me and will serve me well for the rest of this quarter, the year, and beyond. Here is what my All-In April includes:

• Getting more rest and better sleep

• Moving more (I finally found a workout studio I love and plan to take longer walks outside now that the weather is warming up.)

• Crossing things off my to-do list before adding anything else (Let's not talk about how long 'make a dentist appointment' has been on my list 😬)

• Trying new things in my business, including updating systems and processes and updating my website to include e-commerce capabilities 👀

• Getting crystal clear on my offerings

All-In April is about pursuing the things that are good for your health, relationships, business, joy, etc.

What are you going all-in on currently? 

3 Most Common Myths about Marketing and PR Debunked

Although I've been working in marketing and public relations for almost 20 years (where has the time gone??), I regularly encounter someone confused about the differences between marketing and PR. So, today I'm debunking the 3 Most Common Myths about Marketing and PR I've heard so far this year.

Myth: All marketing professionals are PR professionals

Truth: Marketing and PR are not the same 

PR focuses on creating and maintaining the positive reputation of a company, brand, or person, while marketing focuses on strategy and promotional ideas to sell products, services, or ideas. In short, PR makes you look good, and marketing makes your product look good enough to purchase.

Myth: My product is revolutionary! I don't need marketing and PR.

Truth: People won't buy even the best product if they've never heard about it.

We are a society of consumers. We consume information/news, experiences, products, goods, and services, which has only increased since COVID. To keep up and to ensure you're getting in front of your intended audience, it's critical to have a marketing strategy and a PR plan in place. The 'if you build it, they will come' mentality no longer exists.

Myth: PR, marketing, and advertising are the same thing.

Truth: PR, marketing, and advertising should work together.

PR and advertising are part of the marketing umbrella. Marketing creates a strategy to drive sales, and PR and advertising are ways to help reach those goals. If you want an effective PR campaign, you need an effective marketing and advertising strategy, and vice versa. Each is strong individually but so much more effective together. 

Scandoval: Why Media Training is Important

If you don't watch Vanderpump Rules or haven't been keeping up with the drama around the cleverly-named Scandoval, here's an in-depth breakdown.

If you don't want to go down the Bravo rabbit hole, the snapshot is that a star of the Bravo reality show cheated on his longtime girlfriend with one of her close friends. 

The cheater, Tom (his last name is Sandoval, hence Scandoval, clever), has had media misses with two public apologies (1 and 2) and a recent podcast interview with Howie Mandel. In addition to his misses since the scandal broke last month, his best friend, Tom (yes, another Tom) Schwartz, recently had a cringe-worthy interview (here's a clip) with Andy Cohen and got slammed. 

Scandoval went from a PageSix story to a rating juggernaut for Bravo and a hashtag with a devoted following. 

The Toms clearly tried to clear de-escalate the situation and speak their truth, but it backfired and only further fueled public fascination with the story. 

The Toms could have benefitted from media training and PR representation before their media tour about the situation.

Here are some media 101 training tips that could have benefitted the Toms: 

• Create a List of Talking Points. Know your message and what you want and don't want to discuss. Both Toms were guilty of saying too much.

• You don't have to answer every question. It's OK to say you don't know the answer to a question and change the topic.

• Don't be scared of silence. When there is a pause in a conversation, which is typical with media interviews, many people feel the need to keep talking. Silence can be an effective tool to get your point across. If you keep talking, you may say something you regret.

• Practice ahead of time. Practicing helps your pacing and delivery and builds up your confidence. In Tom Swartz's interview, he seemed flustered and nervous.

• Tell your story but don't tell EVERYTHING. In the interviews, the Toms divulged information about mental health disorders of others, information about egg freezing, etc. Stick to your story and avoid saying things about others.