Ditch the Chase — Be the Media Boss! With Jamie Maglietta

Episode Summary

Jamie Maglietta Podcast Interview

[00:00:00] Kris Ward: Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Win The Hour, Win The Day, and I am your host, Kris Ward. And today in the house we’ve got Jamie Maglietta, and she is a media strategist and a visibility consultant. Welcome to the show, Jamie. 

[00:00:13] Jamie Maglietta: Hey, everybody. Thanks for having me, Kris. 

[00:00:16] Kris Ward: Jamie, oh my gosh. The little bit of time that I have gotten to know you, I j- have been painfully reminded that you don’t know what you don’t know, because boy, have you given me a fresh perspective on really what we should be taking a look at our own inventory or where the media reach should begin and end.

So let’s start there. Where… ‘Cause you’re just a whole pile of brilliance. Where do you wanna start with the conversation when it comes to the magic of what you do? 

[00:00:44] Jamie Maglietta: I am, as you said, I’m a visibility coach. I’ve worked in television for over 20 years. I started at MSNBC out of college, Fox News Channel, CNN, went over to BET.

And at BET, I had this opportunity where I produced [00:01:00] Kamala, Vice President Kamala Harris, and I worked with the White House. And during that time, we were in a position to make sure that she was on-camera ready. To be on-camera ready, we had to do everything from figure out the best lights for her, and the right seats and chairs.

And I really wanna make sure that you are listening to this and thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of detail.” Yeah, it’s the detail you need to apply to your own office and to your own self. If you are someone who wants to become more than and become known, in this new age, showing up is where you need to be, and actually on camera.

As I mentioned, in a conversation with Kris, we were talking about this, how YouTube is the most watched streaming platform. YouTube Before they only gave the mic to people who were hired to have a mic. Now you can have the mic and you can show up on TV in someone’s home, because [00:02:00] that’s how so- most, a lot of people are watching television.

Why not program content that they’re gonna wanna turn on? Does that mean you need to have a well-lit office? Yeah, you should. You should. I challenge you. Because if you’re coming into people’s homes, you wanna think like that. I’ve been doing critiques of YouTube podcasts and breaking it down for experts on my YouTube channel, and Kris, what I found was, lighting is one of those elements that you can easily master and add a emotional connection to your audience with lights.

Like right now, for example, I’m using, I use LED flat lights- Yeah … on both sides of my face to make sure that my face is not grainy. Yeah. But then I have counter lights behind me, right? 

[00:02:45] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:02:45] Jamie Maglietta: I have a chair and a desk that move up and down. Yeah. And as people are starting to think about their space, they need to think about what we did for Vice President Kamala Harris, what we did in TV for every news anchor and reporter is making sure they have [00:03:00] everything they need to be camera ready, and that includes making sure they have the right equipment 

[00:03:08] Kris Ward: It’s really interesting.

I have… I remember watching a documentary on, I think it was Clinton, and I’m not a, big into polit- politics, and I’m in Canada- … so I’m not f- you know- Yeah … we’re not doing- No, I get it … American politics and all that stuff. But- … I was watching a sh- a documentary where they’re even just getting ready for- a campaign, and you’re right, they were going back and forth. Was it Cl- I don’t know if it was Clinton or Obama, I’m not sure. And it was just even getting the stool down pat so that when during the debates they’re not reaching for a stool that is unfamiliar to them, that they’re comfortable in front of camera- Yes so that they’re like, “Oh yeah, this is the exact stool we’ll be using,” not “Oh, it’s a little bit thicker or I tripped on my foot,” or whatever like that. So I think that making it natural, it’s, sometimes it can sound like a lot of work, but all you’re doing is making sure you’re not fussing with things so that you can be the best version of yourself is the message I’m getting.

[00:03:57] Jamie Maglietta: And a lot of people think, “Oh, I [00:04:00] need to be, full makeup, and I don’t wear makeup, and I have to be dressed up, and my hair has to be good.” It doesn’t. It doesn’t. Yeah. If you’re doing everyday content, you don’t necessarily need to be putting all the bells and whistles on every time you’re on camera.

But you want to have some of that in your feed- Yeah … or on your YouTube channel so that people know what they can expect if they’re a television producer looking for a guest and they come across your page.

So you want to think about that. And having the right lights also puts you in a position for if you get that call and they’re like, “Hey, can you join us in the morning?”

“Sure.” Yeah. “I’m ready. I’m camera ready.” Yeah. 

[00:04:36] Kris Ward: Yeah. Honestly, okay. With the media being the way it is right now, I remember, it feels like the 1800s, but there was back in the day where I used to do local media, ’cause you had local TV shows and- Yeah … all this other stuff. But now, except for my grandparents, most of us don’t even have TV.

It’s all streaming stuff or Netflix or Prime or whatever. So where does that look like? I guess we’d call the new media. W- [00:05:00] where does that begin and end? 

[00:05:02] Jamie Maglietta: As much as we’ve seen about, I think it’s 266,000 jobs cut in media since 2005- 

[00:05:12] Kris Ward: Ooh, okay … 

[00:05:13] Jamie Maglietta: those jobs, those people with that expertise are still out there.

As people are producing their brands, I always recommend connect with producers, connect with people in this industry, get their consult on what you’re doing, and have that advice before you start so you, A, know what your brand messaging is and how you’re gonna convey that to your audience, but also potentially to the media.

A lot of people, even in your area, that might have been a former journalist can be a really good sounding board on your ideas for your shows, your podcasts, you’re open to your podcast, social media. And that’s what I do with my clients. I hear their story, I look at their uniqueness, and I figure out, how can we make you stand out?

What can we [00:06:00] do to have, to signal to the media, to signal to your audience that you’re ready for more? And I will say, as new media changes, and you mentioned the local markets, local still is a great way to promote your brand. A lot of people think, oh who’s sh- who’s watching? Local is now on in some, I’m not sure about in Canada, but at least here, it will show up on the Alexa.

Okay. You can say, “Show me local news.” Okay. And a lot of times, at a certain point in the day, all that local news that they show you are feature segments. Are positive news. So you have an opportunity to potentially show up on, on TV in your local market. I say take it. Plus, I’ve actually had clients who have shown up on local markets and have received more instant social media followers than any national hit.

And if you have someone on national news, and on my podcast we’ve talked about this, I had a legal commentator come on, [00:07:00] and he was saying how even though he’s been on CNN, Fox, and all these networks, it doesn’t translate to clients. The appearances don’t necessarily translate to money.

Yeah. And a lot of people see, “Oh, I want media, I wanna build my brand, I wanna…” Yeah, it’s building your legitimizers, which then signal to your audience that, yes, I have been featured on these networks, therefore I’m someone you could trust. So media will always have a value add for any brand. Good social proof.

It’s social proof. Yeah. It’s also a way to become known inside someone else’s network. 

[00:07:37] Kris Ward: Yeah, that makes sense, ’cause I can also see if I was seeing a lawyer on CNN, you think, first thing I’d think is I can’t reach them or I can’t afford them, but I need a lawyer like them locally.” And I’ve seen that back in the day where the TV did have a stronger presence, and people have said we, they got on this show,” but they didn’t have the back end to support, the j- the conversion of the attention that they got.

So that’s the whole thing I think. And that’s how [00:08:00] I looked at it when I was doing local TV is I was looking at it as s- … getting better at using, learning how to talk in sound bites or how to be more effective so that w- when bigger opportunities came, I had been trained. 

[00:08:10] Jamie Maglietta: Yes. 

[00:08:11] Kris Ward: Yeah. Okay. So with…

S- And also to your point, I think what you were talking about, it really just sounds like instead of being worried about, “Okay, am I going out and am I pitching the media? Am I doing this and doing that?” Is to your point, it sounds hey, do this well, and you your beacon of light that you shine gets brighter and brighter, and you will be seen by the media.

I, I, I’m not saying that we’re being passive about it, but it’s almost like I think the other way sometimes we get the cart ahead of the horse by thinking, “I’ll do all these pitches and what’s happening?” 

[00:08:40] Jamie Maglietta: You don’t wanna chase media, you wanna produce it 

[00:08:42] Kris Ward: Okay. Okay. 

[00:08:43] Jamie Maglietta: So the goal is everyone has an opportunity right now to produce their own media.

Okay. You don’t need, a publicist in all cases. Publicists are great in helping you expand your brand and help you gain legitimizers, if you’re the right [00:09:00] voice for that publicist. You have to always… It’s like a matchmaking. But you right now are in a position to show- to make your own connections.

Network with the media. Network with your friends who may know the media, and put yourself out there. But when the media comes and looks, you wanna make sure that what they’re looking at is gonna potentially get them to say yes. And a lot of people say I don’t have the support to post a lot on social media.

I don’t know how I can possibly also have a podcast and a YouTube channel.” And Kris, what do you say to them? Because I think that stops a lot of people from showing up. 

[00:09:40] Kris Ward: Yeah. So there’s always ways around that. Mostly what I would say to people is, your setup is just having you trapped in whatever you’re working on at the time, right?

So that’s where your virtual assistant comes in. And what I would say to that, too, just so we’re in alignment of that, is I would say there’s always things that you’re doing, there’s pre and post to everything you do that y- doesn’t need to [00:10:00] be on your plate so that you can spend more time in more purposeful things that would get your media attention.

Because why I want to say that is when I see people get a VA who sends out all these pitches about, we get them all day long to be on my show, and they’re a VA with a template telling me why this person should be on the show I don’t know anything about them. And you may be smart, but you may not be interesting.

You being the expert at what you are, when we connected on LinkedIn it was like your feed was dynamic and you were interesting, we were going back and forth in the comments. And yes, there’s a lot of other people out there that do what you do but I resonated with how you did it and your personality, and you were on somebody else’s podcast and you were interesting to listen to.

You can be smart and really boring. So you can’t just hand that off to a VA and say, “Okay, go get me on…” And I see that all the time, “Go get me on some shows.” 

[00:10:47] Jamie Maglietta: Yeah. And I will say this, I imagine there are people who do what I do, but I haven’t found any yet. 

[00:10:52] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:10:53] Jamie Maglietta: And that’s how you have to position yourself.

Like Kris, I don’t know, I have not met anyone who does what you do. 

[00:10:59] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:10:59] Jamie Maglietta: And [00:11:00] if you can find your uniqueness and position yourself in a way where anyone who comes across your feed is thinking I learned something,” or, “Wow- 

[00:11:09] Kris Ward: Yeah … 

[00:11:09] Jamie Maglietta: huh, that’s different. I haven’t seen that before.” That’s what you want, especially if you’re not, a Harvard grad who worked for President Clinton and you’re a political, strategist.

Yeah. To get media is hard, or you’re not the former CEO of, you know- Yeah … a big, huge company, right? You need to position yourself. And if you’re pitching the press, the one thing… And I’m interested to see what you think too on this, Kris, is pitches should not be AI. 

[00:11:36] Kris Ward: No. 

[00:11:36] Jamie Maglietta: And you really want to make sure that your subject line is the headline.

What is the hook that I would put on screen if I were a TV producer? What is the headline that I would potentially market this as if it were a digital article? And then you wanna support that. Data rules. Producers, journalists, we want data. [00:12:00] We wanna know what’s the statistical support that really helps lift up and h- help you hold your point of view, your POV.

And then we wanna always see links to interviews like this, links to live conversations. If you don’t have those live conversations, it really makes it a hard sell for- … me as a podcaster and me as a television producer. 

[00:12:23] Kris Ward: My gosh. Okay, what are some other things you feel like we’re just constantly missing the boat on when it comes to- this topic? 

[00:12:30] Jamie Maglietta: I think, a lot of individuals they aren’t- They don’t know the approach that they- Yeah … need to take. It, at one point I was producing author segments, and I would receive tons of books. I had so many books, I took a picture recently of half of the books in my room- Yeah … in, on my floors.

I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is thousands of books.” I’ll say hundreds. Let’s say hundreds. [00:13:00] And all these books would come in, Kris, and only 2% maybe made air. And I say that because either they or their PR firm or whomever was packaging what they’re offering didn’t know what my audience needed, didn’t know how to relate to what I am interested in, and that really hurt them.

But those that made it were usually the ones who had already started to build the relationship and provide value before they sought opportunity. And I always tell professionals, you shouldn’t be pitching yourself without building a relationship. One of the tactics I always encourage people to do is if you are s- if you see an article and there’s an expert in that article and you’re like, “Wow, I’m like that person.

They have very similar background,” I disagree with their take. Disagree with that publicly. Oh, yeah. Take that [00:14:00] article, take that quote on LinkedIn. Let’s just focus there ’cause that’s where we met. 

[00:14:04] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:14:05] Jamie Maglietta: Highlight it. Say, “This CEO at this company had this to say, and I actually disagree, and here’s why.”

That alone might earn you media. Because what… And I would also say tag the reporter, tag the person who did it, tag the media outlet. Build that conversation that really helps you stand out as a new, fresh voice.

I know people who have done that on LinkedIn and have landed on CNN. So you really need to think about your uniqueness and how it plays into what everyone’s talking about.

[00:14:42] Kris Ward: I love that. That to me is a value bomb, because I’ve had other people- … talk about PR in different angles, not to, not… You’re right, y- you do it in a uniquely refreshing way. And the things that we’d heard in the past is, okay, you know what? Build relationships with the writers, the producers, whatever. And [00:15:00] really, all you could do is say, “Okay, I read your article,” and then send them a DM or message of, “I really liked it,” and it just- No, that’s boring

it, it just seemed so- It seemed boring and insincere- … and like almost like you’re counting, “Okay, if I said three nice things, ’cause the fourth time I’m gonna ask you for something,” right? So it just seemed like tick tick, boom, right? But if you say, “No I disagree with this,” and tag the writer and tag the person you’re talking about and do it in, in a kind and professional way, that’s a conversation that you’re right, then you…

That back to your original point of don’t chase the media, p- produce it. Produce it. That is a whole different thing, and it also makes you feel much more empowered and control and grown up instead of trying to g- like in high school, get somebody, you’re in grade 9 and they’re in grade 12 and try to get them to notice you.

[00:15:44] Jamie Maglietta: Yes, and you need to control the conversation- … in an interview. You need to control the conversation online. If you’re the one controlling it, you’re producing it. And, you know- Wow … to the point that we just made about the clarity and [00:16:00] relevancy and not chasing the press, it starts to make you s- appear as a desirable.

[00:16:08] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:16:08] Jamie Maglietta: So if you aren’t pushing yourself out there, you’re not like, “Hey I’m really good. I wanna be picked.” Yeah. “Pick me,” like- 

[00:16:15] Kris Ward: Yeah … 

[00:16:15] Jamie Maglietta: in gym class. 

[00:16:16] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:16:17] Jamie Maglietta: If you’re not doing that, but you’re positioning yourself- 

[00:16:20] Kris Ward: Yeah … 

[00:16:21] Jamie Maglietta: you start to become known- Yeah … within your niche, because you’re creating engagement, you’re creating a conversation.

You’re starting to get followers, and the media’s “Wait a second, maybe I should be following her. She’s got- Yeah … something going on.” 

[00:16:34] Kris Ward: Yeah. That is… Oh my gosh, let’s drop the mic. Okay. We have a couple minutes left. W- what do you just wanna make sure when people walk away, that if they just lear- know one thing from you, that they know this?

[00:16:47] Jamie Maglietta: Visibility takes more than you think. It is not about showing up every day on social media. Okay. It isn’t. And if you haven’t started to assess your personal [00:17:00] branding, your messaging, I challenge you to do so after this. I also want you to start taking an accounting of what, where you show up online. So I have this free visibility bundle.

I’ll give it to you, Kris. Okay. It is a downloadable. It has my on-camera ready checklist, all the things you want to make sure you look and sound as on-camera ready as possible. And then it also has an online audit. It is a checklist of everything that I would look for when I was seeking out fresh voices so that you know where you hit and how.

And then I also have a QR code to my Amazon storefront because I have the influencer program, and I actually list out all the equipment I highly recommend. 

[00:17:44] Kris Ward: Okay. 

[00:17:44] Jamie Maglietta: That’s a great value add that people can get, and I would h- I would hope that they’re also gonna find me on YouTube, because there I give new media training.

[00:17:53] Kris Ward: We are, we… I think y- your seat will not be cold before we’ll be signing up for that, let me tell you. And I [00:18:00] think it really is something that you are coming at with a different perspective, a fresh perspective, and I know we keep talking about AI, but it’s not even about in this day and age of where the I think the platforms can get really saturated, ’cause I really think it’s…

This is the first time in a long time where every few years there’s a new platform, but we haven’t had any in a while, right? So Linked- we’re all on LinkedIn and that’s great, but for a while it was all like, “Oh, this is a new thing. Oh, everyone rush over here, rush over there,” and whatever. So it’s like these are the major players, and I think our vision was limited about- getting the attention on those platforms, and I really just love the high level intricacy, and I don’t know, the command of it. I really, produce not chase i- is a really fresh perspective, and I just think it gives you so much more control over your business, your potential, all that other stuff. And I, and you’re right, I don’t hear other people talking about it the way you do. 

[00:18:55] Jamie Maglietta: Let me add, because you mentioned AI, and thank you. AI right now is [00:19:00] evaluating all you have online. So- Instagram shows up in Google searches, right? Substack, newsletters, and we didn’t… we mentioned that there’s all these other platforms.

There’s other ones called Inspo. That’s a thought leadership platform that’s up and coming. There’s other places that you can start showing up and make a name for yourself early on. Substack is a bit hard right now, but everything you craft and put together online will start to define how AI sees you.

So when someone says, “Hey, what- who’s Kris Ward?” AI mode comes together and says, “Bum bum. This is Kris.” 

[00:19:40] Kris Ward: Yeah. 

[00:19:40] Jamie Maglietta: Is it Kris? Is AI gonna see who Kris Ward actually is? And you have to start figuring out, how do I feed AI to see exactly who I want and exactly who my ideal client is? Because if AI doesn’t Soon, when someone searches you- Yeah

that’s all they’re gonna see. [00:20:00] Watch. Yeah. And so you wanna get ahead of it, and one of the things that I truly believe is media. Legitimate media is weighed heavily in the algorithm. If you look at all the tabs- … there’s the news tab. You wanna show up there. Yeah. You want to have that authority, because then when AI mode starts figuring out who Kris Ward is or who Jamie Maglietta is, they’re like Jamie was quoted in this article.”

Yeah. That quote may appear in your AI mode. Yeah. So you really wanna start curating, and if you’re not already, that’s where you want to be focusing. Some people, I have even said, I do not and I have never, ever thought I would, but I did say this on Karen’s podcast where we had connected after- Yeah

was if you are getting those ads of a few hundred bucks you can be featured in this media, this article, you’ll be in the top 10. Do one. Don’t do more than one, but do one, [00:21:00] and I really think it’s a good idea right now. It may not be in a year from now, but right now it’s not a bad idea if you don’t have much press, you have no press, or there’s really not a defining story about you.

Yeah. Because if you do that you’re essentially giving them, “Here’s everything I want the algorithm and the AI to see me as.” And that can help define you within that AI mode. So it is worth it if you’re getting those ads and it’s just do one. One 

[00:21:29] Kris Ward: hit. Just try one. 

[00:21:30] Jamie Maglietta: Don’t spend a lot of money.

[00:21:33] Kris Ward: There you go. Oh my gosh. Okay, Jamie Maglietta, where can we get more of your excellence? ‘Cause boy, oh boy, we could… I could have you here… You could be a Netflix six-part series as far as I’m concerned. 

[00:21:43] Jamie Maglietta: Aw, that’s very sweet. Yeah, no, just find me on LinkedIn, Jamie Maglietta. Find me on YouTube, OnCamReady.

[00:21:50] Kris Ward: We will be doing that for sure. We’ll put all your fabulous resources in the show notes. Please make sure to share this with a business friend, because there is a ton of value here. It’s refreshing, it’s [00:22:00] doable. This is a game changer, so make sure you share that. And again, thank you so much, Jamie. 

[00:22:04] Jamie Maglietta: No problem.