You've heard of Millennials being labeled as "self-absorbed" "entitled" or even "lazy". The stereotype is all too real and the majority of the older folks believe it.
But every now and then you'll hear a story that says otherwise. This is one of the stories. Ulyses Osuna - a 19-year-old from Grandview Washington has devoted every second of his life to mastering his craft.
From winning national website design competitions to building a YouTube page up to 80k subscribers in 1 month, Ulyses knows how to dive deep into his work.
But what really caught my attention is his new venture. He started a business called Influencer Press where he gets influencers with thousands and even millions of followers on major publications like Forbes, Inc, Entrepreneur Mag etc.
But it's not the influencers he works with that makes him dominate the space. It's the speed and quality of work of how fast he gets it done.
His case studies show that he gets his clients press within days. One example is Ryan Stewman, who he was able to help get an account at Forbes in just 48 hours.
Another example is when Ulyses helped Farokh Sarmad get a Forbes feature within the week.
He's competing against big name brands and agencies that take weeks to accomplish the same results.
He's even teamed up with one of the best in the industry; Richard Lorenzen, who manages PR for Grant Cardone, Timothy Sykes and a lot of other influencers.
So I sat down with him to pick his brain. These are his tips for doing any type of PR.
Get good at storytelling
Storytelling is the greatest asset you will have when pitching to contributors. The better you can tell your story - the higher the possibility of contributors wanting to share your story. Because here's the thing.
Press releases are long gone.
We've gotten to the point where content is king. That means that you can't half ass your pitch. You can't half ass PR. You need to go all in. Be vulnerable. Tell your story. Some people might not care - but that doesn't matter. The people that do care will tell your story far better than anyone that was forced to do it.
Pitch To The Right Person
Many people think PR is numbers game...it's not. It's about targeting the right person for your pitch. If I pitch to a writer who writes about tech and I send them a story about an entrepreneur making millions off of farming...it wouldn't work.
It might be a little too extreme but Ulyses says he stalks the person he's going to pitch too. He figures out what they don't have and how he can give it to them. By providing value first - the other person almost feels obligated to help out in return.
Conversion rates are usually a lot higher when you build that rapport. And that's what matters. Conversions. You can target 100 people but if only 10 of those respond - that's horrible. It's much better to get 3/10 because you don't risk losing the relationship of the other 90 people.
Pitch The Right Person
There's a reason why the business is called Influencer Press. They're a lot easier to pitch. Trying to pitch about someone local is a lot harder than trying to pitch someone who is already well known and established.
If contributors know you are rolling with Power Players, they are much more likely to join in because they get a chance to speak to the power player. That in itself is providing massive value. Your connection now becomes a connection to the contributor.
You can let them know that during a call or their interview they can always ask the influencer about potential partnerships or help if they really need it. Try to position yourself in a way where you can't lose. Preparation leads to more conversions. Don't be sloppy and miss a lot of steps. The goal isn't to get done quick. It's a long term game and you need to provide value on both ends of the spectrum so you can win.
Pitch on the right outlet
When you are pitching - make sure you pitch on the platform that their audience isn't on. For example, Twitter is a place where tons of journalists are at. If a journalist has thousands of followers on Twitter, it's probably best to ignore that channel. Now if you search for that same person on Facebook, it can be a lot easier to connect that way. Most people tend to forget that influencers or people in general have multiple social networks.
Your local doctor might even have a Facebook account. Try to find the platform that isn't being spammed all day long.
One for sure way to do outreach is through email. Keep your emails short and sweet and packed with tons of value. I recommend tracking your emails with Hubspot Sales or any tracking software so you know if an editor opened up your emails or not. This will allow you to better test your future pitches.
Send Out a Feeler.
The worst mistake you can do when pitching is pitching. No one likes to be pitched too or be sent a template. They're human. You wouldn't like it if you were receiving pitches all the time. So don't pitch right off the bat. It's all about conversions. Ask them if they'd like to hear what you have to say before you just send it.
That way the editor still has power and control to say yes or no. If you don't give them that choice and you slam your pitch all over their face - they're more likely to hate you for life.
Send out a feeler. Ask them for permission if you can send them more information. This will increase your conversions since you're respecting their privacy.
Conclusion
If you learn anything from this post, there's a couple of things I really want you to take with you. It's not a numbers game. It's about making sure you do it right the first time. Be human when you pitch, people don't like being sold too and don't ever use templates. Tailoring your content always increases your chances of winning. Last but not least - prepare and position yourself correctly beforehand. Positioning can either make or break your pitch.