On this episode of On Cam ready how to secure earned media without even pitching. Plus, if you are going to pitch how you should go about it. Then you have to find that news gap and you have to move the story on and add value to the audience. And it again begins with researching the person you're pitching to and identifying their niche topics. And do their niche topics identify with your expert topics. And that's the topic for this episode of On Cam Ready.
I'm Jamie Maglietta. We try to focus every episode on helping you build your brand and your presence online so you can secure earned media. And today's guest is a pitch professional. Her name's Adele Hussein. She's a former management consultant and she's an entrepreneur. One of the businesses she launched actually was mentioned in the press in 14 publications in the first year alone. She was even mentioned in the Harvard Business Review, which she landed without even
pitching. You'll hear how in our chat her strategy is really at a foundation to her business pitch to press. Through this, Adele offers a media mastermind, which I'll actually be guest speaking at in full transparency. She's also out with a road map to help get your business featured in the media. It lays out 10 steps you can follow to earn your plug. And Speaking of plugs, there is a link to her PDF in the description. While you're down there, you
know what I say? Check out the other links because I also have APDF to help you create owned content, like a podcast to help you earn media. Have ideas for the show? e-mail me at Jamie at on camready.com.
Now let's turn to our conversation with Adele Hussein, owner of Pitch the Press. We've recorded this conversation in early October of 2023. Forgive me if you're watching on YouTube, because I did have a camera issue and I had to switch cameras halfway, and I just hope you'll forgive me for that. But that's what's fun about creating a video. Yes, we do have to think about all of the technology. All right, now let's get to it. I'm really glad you could be
here. And you know, you know, I gave a little intro about who you are, but why don't you tell the audience a little bit about what you do and your business? Thank you so much, Jamie, for inviting me to your fantastic podcast. I'm absolutely thrilled to be here today. I am tuning in here from London in the UK, so if you are a fan of British accents, you will have one going forward. So my name is Adele Hussein.
I am. People talk, talk with me as sort of master at helping you pitch to people that don't know you yet. So I am very good at helping small business owners pitch themselves to media professionals where they don't have an existing relationship. And you know you're this isn't where you started though you have a very unique background. So I think it's important to remind people a little bit about who you were before you started
your own business. You've had multiple streams of income essentially coming in over your lifetime from different types of businesses including fashion. And I just think, you know, for our audience that's potentially listening because they want to either be on TV or they're just trying to figure out ways to start showing up more on social
media. I think it's important to really explain your journey, so do you mind just giving us a little bit about your background as to what brought you to this business? Sure, sure. So my background was actually in quite dull from the very beginning. I was a management consultant. So if you've ever seen the movie Up in the Air with George Clooney. Where he travels as a corporate consultant and goes around
firing people. That was initially the department I was in. I worked for an American company called Accenture where we used to transform different departments in large companies, and yours truly was sent in with the Wheelie Suitcase identifying failing departments and how we
were going to change them. So I was actually the most hated person on the shop floor and I was typically as a sort of 24 year old bright young thing, I had to go up to very senior people and say tell me about your team, tell me how they're operating. And I had to build relationships very quickly in an environment where I wasn't trusted. And so I think my journey to building relationships, building
trust, getting visible. As a female, as a woman of color, actually started in those hostile environments and then scaled up. So yeah, really fascinating place of where I started. And the other thing is my my colleagues, I always talk about my male colleague. I had this colleague who looked a little bit like Ryan Gosling's younger brother and and he was very good at always getting promoted. To better projects.
And I realized if I didn't tell people what I was doing as a management consultant, then, you know, no one would ever hear the good work that I was doing. So there were a couple of things that came out of that corporate culture that I learned and I transitioned into being an entrepreneur that became very, very useful. So you know, but what the point is of going into your background is really to. Really explain how this expertise that you had really helps make you a powerful storyteller.
You're able to identify, you know, what really helps someone shine and also kind of see their weaknesses to help them Polish them up and perfect them so they attract. And I wanted to make sure that we brought that up, because even though you were the most hated person. Now you're one of the most liked because you know how to use the skills you've gained from that very previous experience to really help elevate people now. And I just find that really
remarkable. And many people don't, you know, they see someone and they think, oh, I just want to be like her. Well, guess what? It takes years and it takes time and it takes experiences. And those experiences are what make people, the experts that they have, become like Adele. So why don't you tell us a little bit more about what you've been up to? So you have a workshop you and I were talking about where people can come in and they learn how
to pitch. Or why don't you just tell us a little bit about that too, and then we'll get into some tips. For folks, yes, of course. So I now run a media mastermind teaching entrepreneurs how to pitch into the media. And the fastest way to get into the media it it it all starts with actually you building a relationship with a media professional. So it might be a journalist, it might be a TV producer, it might be a radio producer, because those people are always looking for stories.
And if you are an expert right now, an entrepreneur. And you want to get your business seen and heard. You need to be telling stories to those people. So what we do, my media mastermind, is I bring together the media professionals with the experts and we work out those stories. So the the easiest way, if you're an expert right now and you want to pitch your story to someone, you've got to first of all identify who it is that you want to pitch to. And start building trust in that
relationship. Trust is really key. Trust is key. In a few of the conversations we have had, experts come on and explain how to build relationships with the media. And I would just like you to start by maybe giving two or three ways, quick ways that you think someone could try and build that relationship without seeming like, you know they're harassing them or bothering
them. Yes, yes. So I love the fact that you've used that word, harassing and bothering, because that's what people will typically say. They will say I don't want to bother someone, right? I don't want to tell them my story and just be seen as
irritating. So one of the things that I did as a management consultant, one of my clients is Sky Sports News. And so when I was working at Sky Sports News, I had the privilege of being in the news planning meetings every Monday. And what I tell experts right now is that if you don't Share your story with a media professional, that media professional doesn't have enough story ideas to take into that news planning meeting to their
boss. So by denying your story to someone, you are actually preventing them in taking fresh ideas, their boss and then. As a management consultant, people like me came along and said how many media media articles did you write? You know their KPIs and sadly the people who didn't have enough stories would get fired. So you are keeping a media professional in your job, in their job. When you tell your story right, you are part of a media ecosystem.
It's really, really important because a lot of people, when they are pitching to the media, they always think about themselves first. They're leading with their ego and not with the story. But when you give your story and you Share your story, you're actually keeping someone else in their job. So that normally Jamie flips a script for my clients, Anyone I work with on thinking, why should I tell my story? You need to tell your story because you're keeping someone in their job.
So that's the first thing I do. That's the first tip to help you get over that mindset of, oh, I'm bothering someone, #2. The second most important thing you need to do as an expert is if you want to be in the media, you need to consume the media, right? So typically people come to me and say, oh, I'm AI run a business, I want to be informed and I say to them, OK, well, have you read Forbes? What was the last article that you read in Forbes or?
When was the last time you watched Good Morning America? You know, ATV show that you want to be on and I get this blank face. And what's obvious is people are not following, reading, watching the media. And if you're not doing that, how do you know where you want to be? So you have to consume the media in order to be in the media. That's the second thing I tell people to do. It's a very beautiful thing that everyone listening today can do is start a media ritual, right?
And tell my clients says go to a coffee shop, your favorite coffee shop every Saturday morning, buy newspapers, buy magazines or bookmark TV shows you want to be on. And actually make a 30 minute ritual with your favorite coffee or your favorite drink of your choice and actually watch the news readers. Read the Journalists column and I'm identify what they are talking about. And when you do that, you start training your brain to understand what stories are getting out in the media to
start that media ritual, right? And then #3, when you start reaching out to journalists or TV producers, you're far more targeted in your pitch because you actually know what they are talking about. Last week. Last month. Last quarter, you actually have a handle on what typically their stories are and you can then position yourself. Your pitch is far more personalized because you've given evidence that you know their work. Does that make sense, Jamie? Oh yeah. No, that's perfect.
I mean that's exactly the direction I would, I would advise people, I would also say, you know that you can't be pitching yourself to people that you don't. Connect with If you don't connect with their material, if you don't connect with their vibe and there's no reason to pitch them because they're not going to accept your pitch.
You know, if I if I'm working on a television show and yes, we are talking about your topic, like say you're an expert in say you're an expert doctor and it's COVID, right. But you're not one of the doctors that's faced with tons of COVID patients lining up out the door. I'm going to be like, well, how do you fit into what I'm covering? Because all I'm covering is the
lines out the door, right? So you have to really figure out, OK, maybe that's not the right show because I can't offer them the expertise that these other doctors can offer. So really identifying what value you can bring and if it's the value they want to potentially consume, and if it's not, finding out a way to address that gap.
By saying OK, I may not have lines of people out my door, however, I have this that I'm faced with and this is what I feel is going on and this is how I can add value to your audience. You're just trying to figure out that connection point so that you can be relatable or walking away because you know you're not. I would yeah I would. I think that's those are great tips. That's one I would definitely add to anyone who's interested in trying to pitch themselves to
the media. The other thing that I always try to tell people is when you are pitching to also try to think about what would the banner be, what would the headline of this article be. Because if I can't identify what that is then I'm maybe not the right person to be pitching because you need to know what that hook is because that's your sound bite. That's your. Your purpose. And if you don't know it, then that's also another reason to fine tune what you have right
before you're pitching yourself. Because as a journalist, if I don't see that in the pitch, I'm kind of thinking, well, do they even know what they would be on TV for? 100% a hundred. Percent, you know the story. On right. Move it forward. You have 100%. You have to find that news gap and you have to move the story on and add value to the audience. And it again begins with. Researching the person you're pitching to and identifying
their niche topics. And do their niche topics identify with your expert topics And as you said Jamie, if they don't, don't pitch them. And this is where I would say 95% of my you know, my clients at the very beginning their journey get this wrong, right? They just say I want to be involved. I was like OK, which section? Which journalist? What's in each topic and how you
adding value right now? Exactly how those are great takeaways from all the advice that she's just given and just realize, you know, everyone has to start somewhere. So it's it's OK to start off and not know where to go. But that's why you turn to experts and to a podcast and to reading, so that you can get a better sense of how to really put yourself out there and be on Cam ready for those moments.
Because if you're not. You're not going to be picked and then you will be passed over the next time. Yeah, you know. So when you are preparing your guests for maybe an appearance or an article, what are three things that maybe they constantly ask you that you feel like you have to repeat yourself to help them prepare? That's a great question. Quickly my clients before an interview. They they.
You know, at the very start of their journey they get a little bit nervous, right about doing an interview with the top journalist. And I always go back to flipping the script. You are in service to that journalist audience. You are very much needed as much as the journalist because often what happens if before people go into the interview. They feel that there's a power dynamic and they feel like, oh I I'm a bit nervous. I'm being interviewed by the media.
So remember you are the expert. You are there in that hot seat for a reason. Own own that moment and get confident about it. So realize that you know you're it's a level playing field. There's no no one else in a pedestal. You are there to help the journalist just as much as they are there to help you so. Get into that equal kind of mindset. The second thing I would say is in order to be a thought leader, you need to have thoughts, right?
And that sounds so simple, but what I typically find is that sometimes when I when I speak to people, they're not that opinionated, right? They they. And this is the danger for a lot of experts that you can tend to consume a lot of content. Especially in today's very busy social media era. But then you don't actually identify what your thoughts are, what your take is, what your opinion is, what your perspectives are.
This is so important because journalists, TV producers or media professionals, they want people with opinions. That is what is going to make the story. So if you don't have opinions on anything, it's going to be a really hard interview. You've got to identify your thoughts and opinions beforehand in order to have a strong interview. And it it sounds funny, but people end up not having opinions, not having a have a thought about something. They've not done the research.
They they don't understand the latest thinking in their industry, right? You know, I mean, I try to not have an opinion. I've always been a very. I guess as a journalist, I try to pull back and hear all the sides and then say, well, how's the best way to tell the story versus here's my opinion, Right. So I'm not someone who's like, oh, I want to be on TVI, don't I like to interview people like yourself to help others that want to be on TV. Right. So that's my opinion, right?
I don't really want to be on TV, but I think the value in that is always telling them to have an opinion because you really do need to kind of pick a side. You want. To be on TV, you need to have a a viewpoint that supports the value you can offer so that you're delivering a conversation on camera that is captivating, that that connects and resonates
with the audience. Because if you go on and you don't really have an opinion, then the wishy washiness is not going to buy you a call back, OK? Exactly. Exactly like. Let me give you a great example of this, Jamie. I've got one of my clients at the moment is a doctor.
And you know, a brilliant news topic right now is to talk about weight loss in the US You know, with obesity rates climbing, the sort of wonder drug Zenpic is proving very popular, but on social in the, you know, in the media. And So what we're finding with this particular kind is she's getting called upon for a lot of guest commenting. Because she has perspectives on Ozempic and they are interesting perspectives. It's not just take Ozempic, it helps you lose weight. It is.
Here are the three things your doctor isn't telling you that you need to know about Ozempic. Here are the seven things you need to understand if you were to take Ozempic, what the long term impacts are from a medical perspective on your muscles, on your body composition. And she gets very technical about it because she is an obesity focused, trained physician and she can talk about the subject endlessly.
So it's very important to as you, as we were discussing earlier, have a perspective and back it up with data and evidence. Right. Go back to research papers. Bring out quotes, like actual sort of data in your quotes. And this is where the preparation is so important because it means you have a stronger interview. When you know, as a doctor, you can say the data says this or the research says that. This is what we're seeing in our clinic and it just makes your
interviews, you know, stronger. So yeah, it's it's powerful stuff when you can do that. Yeah. And then you can potentially write a guest op-ed for a play for a paper or a website, because. They're going to say, oh wow, this person has a great opinion. I would love to bring them on as a guest contributor. And you know, to that point you could, you know, we talked about social. We're talking about having an opinion, talking about having stats.
There's a lot of elements there that could be used on social media, which could be a great way to help attract the media without pitching. So I didn't know if you had any thoughts on. Using social media as an expert and how people maybe can captivate or hook or finalize that booking by having a strong social media feed. Yes, So what I always say to all of my clients, Jamie, is to do
PR on your PR, right? And what that means is once you've been featured anywhere, whether it's TV, whether it's in a blog, whether it's in a prestigious publication, the work doesn't end at the point at which the interview ends. That's actually when the hard, the fun part happens, which is you need to promote any guesting opportunity straight away afterwards to then amplify the reach and attract more media
professionals into your world. Because once you've been featured somewhere, Jamie, as you know, you then draw the attention of other media professionals. Because here's a really important tip. If there's one thing people take away from this interview, I want them to take away this Journalists or media professionals read other people's work, right? They're actually quite lazy, right? They work so hard that they don't want to discover 100 new
experts every week. They want to find people who've already been featured because they've already got the credibility. They've already had their due diligence done. That happened to me. I was featured in the Harvard Business Review without pitching because I'd been featured in Cosmopolitan and Times and all sorts of places, and when they had such a strong digital footprint as an entrepreneur, that Harvard Business Review said, right, we don't even need to reach out to her for an
interview. We'll just feature the name of her company and her name in the article. And I Googled myself and found myself there and it was astonishing. But that that is because journalists, media professionals, read other people's work. So when you've been featured somewhere, put it on your social, put it on your e-mail list, you know, share it with other media professionals who are in the same industry and keep promoting it every kind of six months. You know, throwback to when I
was a guest commenter. You know, on this, you know, show money talks talking about the financial crisis and keep amplifying that because they will pick up on it and you can then leverage that feature for future opportunities. And then invitations replace pitching and you then have this beautiful snowball effect. So there's a few points that she brought up that I want to make sure we highlight.
You know one of the points on social utilizing it to showcase your work if you are, you know from a social media strategy standpoint if you're going to be posting an article. You want to be able to post that article on your feed, but in your story you kind of want to pull out some of your quotes.
You want to highlight those quotes in your story and elaborate on it. And one of the things that seems to work best is when you are in your stories, you kind of show your article, you then show the quote that you liked, and then maybe you pop on camera to talk a little bit more about it and you add some additional color. That's a great way to really maximize the initial post. And then to her point, reiterating it, bringing it back, your e-mail list is also
very important. Having been, say, featured in, we'll say, NBC or on the BBC, and you're utilizing, say, a video clip. You may want to play 30 seconds in that video, of that video clip in your story and on your feed and then push to the BBC so that you can show that you're working in a collaborative mindset, which then they like OK. And then you're also going to try and put that into your use that to lure people to your
e-mail list. So you would want to post this video saying your story or in your feed and then say, hey, check it out on the BBC or join my e-mail list so I can share more with you about what it was like to be a part of this interview or what it was like backstage. You know, give them an additional hook to kind of bring people in. That's going to help. Not only increase your numbers online, but also show the media that you are a collaborative partner and they do appreciate
that. Now what it says about when you're talking about the media being lazy, I am going to get a bit defensive because it's not so much laziness guys. It's more legitimacy. So when we see someone, you know when I I've been in the media for 20 plus years, when you see someone in an article. It legitimizes their value. It legitimizes their expertise. So that then helps you stand out. If you're a doctor, a lawyer, a real estate agent, and you're being quoted, you do get that.
I'm sorry, guys, but that is your legitimizer is being impressed. Yeah, And I don't know if you agree with that. IA 100% agree with that. Right, We should actually rephrase the word lazy to efficient, right? Yeah, media professionals are being efficient. You don't. Efficiency. It's efficiency. It is efficiency, right? You don't want you're working such intense hours in on The Newsroom. Mm hmm. It's one of the most hardest working professions I've ever come across and and been.
Bored. And therefore you don't have time to sort of take a bet on someone that's completely brand new to the media. And because it's your name as a media professional, mm hmm, Backing someone else. And so if you. Happened to pick an expert that actually turns out that they're not an expert. You know, this is where it gets really interesting.
If people have seen Reinventing Anna on on the TV show Reinventing Anna, the the journalist who was in that the story is that she had written about a teenager who wasn't really a financial expert and ended up her words, being banished to Scryberia for the rest of her writing career. Which was why this journalist allegedly was going after the Reinventing Anna story to kind of elevate her career and put it
back on the on the front foot. So it's it's absolutely key what you said, Jamie. It's about legitimizing, not. Not only not only legitimizing one thing that you know, being in the press, what we are completely. Interested in is also utilizing guests that are already in the media and providing them with more additional opportunities because then you're sitting there like, wow, this person was
in the New York Times article. So now that shows again that point that I'm making on collaboration. If I'm going to put an if, I'm going to put a journalist on who wrote this article in the New York Times, I'm now giving the New York Times a little play. You know, maybe the New York Times will give our show some play it. It is all like, you know, a world that the media kind of just lives in, right. It's about an ecosystem.
Ecosystem, to your point. So I really wanted to make sure that I gave you some time to kind of offer some additional tips that might help people, you know. With the takeaways that you can offer experts, so if you have any final tips that might help people perfect their professionalism so that they are more attractive to the media, I would appreciate that and I'm sure our viewers would too. So it's some good tips and actually follows on from our
original discussion just now. Jamie is around etiquette, right? So two things that typically experts will make a mistake in, but it's so important is please, please tag the journalist or the media professional and all the people who supported you in landing that media feature. Because often it's quite it can be, as you know maybe perhaps you've experienced Jamie. It can be quite a thankless,
tough profession. And if you don't get any gratitude for your work or any recognition, that can feel a little bit. So when people actually tag you in the work, you know, and say thank you to the BBC for featuring me, thank you to the specific journalist or TV producer or radio producer who actually interviewed me, the individuals even going so far. And this is where I I did it thanking the makeup staff and the hair stylist backstage. You really, really stand out in the top 1%.
I still have the photographers who photographed me in 2016 for a four page feature in Cosmopolitan magazine. They are still following my Instagram accounts, and they are the people who photograph people like sting or various presidents or prime ministers, right? And they're commenting on my stories. That enhances my network. So gratitude and thanking are two things that people don't do enough that would make you stand out. The third thing that you can do, I'll give you a bonus tip, is
actually send a gift if you can. If you can get hold of your dress, the office address for the person who supported you and interviewed you, wow, you will be in the top 0.01%. You know, thanking them and saying, you know, there's a, there's a few great websites, I really like Loop and tie where they send a little voucher, you know, virtually. So if you can't get hold of the address, you can actually just send a little voucher and they that person can pick a different
gift. You know, a gift that they like. That's great. It's really clever. And so you just expressed gratitude, you know? Thank you so much for interviewing me. I really loved our topic. I loved it when we spoke about XYZ. Here's a token of my appreciation. It just makes you stand out. It does and I think those are excellent tips. And you know the point that you made about how when you were in Cosmopolitan and they they still follow you on Instagram.
You know, it is a small world and I think a lot of people don't realize how small. You know, the media industry and even the entertainment industry is and it is important to build. Good relations wherever you go. Even the doorman like to say thank you. I think you're right to do that. And to have that gracious behavior and to be filled with
gratitude is always great. I would just like to add that you know, as much as you know, I said OK, if someone's on the New York Times, you're giving them a nod. It's not like they have to give each other nods. It's just it is more of like you're you are so connected.
And you do use each other in a sense, like sources for guests or sources for ideas, that it is very much a web, small web of media journalists and journalists in general that you do want to be respectful, right, of those efforts that get put in. And when someone finds a strong guest, I'm going to definitely highlight where they were heard. So again, if you are recognized in an article like Cosmopolitan, someone would probably have you on and say.
As mentioned in Cosmopolitan, you know it just helps you again to the legitimizers. So before I go, I do want to make sure that we weave back to the workshops that you have. So before, where can people find the information on your master class? Yes. So I have a media mastermind where I bring together amazing journalists and media professionals to my clients
every month. So we run a very comprehensive 12 month media mastermind because the challenge are often facing experts, Jamie, is that they want to pitch the media. They know where they want to be featured, but they often struggle in identifying those media professionals. And so I sort of help you activate those media relationships and we do it via creative brainstorming every month. So it's very, very powerful
stuff. So in order to find out more, just go to www.peach to press.com and you can also follow me on Instagram. My Instagram handle is Adela double under score, Hussein Hussain and yeah, feel free to reach out to me. I'm very active in my DMS and tell me what you learned from this interview. I'd love to hear from you. What are your What are your tips and takeaways that you're going to apply? Thanks so much for listening to this conversation.
If you want more information about Adele, be sure to check out the description I have links down below. I also have chapters if you want to hop around. There are so many episodes of On Cam Ready with great expertise and value to help you really shape your strategy, perfect your on camera skills and potentially earn media.
So check them out and be sure to subscribe to this channel and like this video If you're enjoying this on YouTube, and if you're listening to this on your podcasting platform of choice, leave us a review or e-mail me Jamie at on camready.com and let us know what you think or if you have guest ideas.
I'm all ears as I produce and host this in an attempt to really help people who I know really want to be on television or to. Get noticed by the press to help legitimize their brand or their value as an expert. And I want to make sure that I can share all my networks offerings as well as my own to help you really plan that out
and shape your strategy. Because I have over 20 years experience in TV news and now that I'm not producing TV news, I'm really enjoying tapping into this creative outlet. To help you, I'm also taking clients. So if you have any projects coming up and you're looking for a producer, I am a unscripted freelance producer, but I also work with clients on building their own own content, especially podcasts. I have a PDF that I've mentioned, but you know what? Check it out.
It's a great PDF to help you start brainstorming your podcast idea so you can create it into a show. I'm also offering fashion tips on what to wear on camera, so find me on Facebook. On Camera Ready You can also find me on Instagram and on Camera Ready and I'll see you guys online.