How do I go about hiring the right public relations person or firm?

Hello, my first question to you would be - why podcasts? Did you get on that because they were the easier to get started with or did you have a strategic reason for focusing on podcasts firsts?

With that said, your product is not a straight forward promotional material - meaning you can't just take nice photographs of it and give it a catchy phrase and expect it to catch enough interest to get buyers from a magazine print. Podcasts do allow you enough time to talk about your book(s) or expertise but depending on the podcasts promotional outreach and your own for each time you show up in one - there might not be enough traction there.

My name is Humberto, I'm a competitive strategist and have been helping entrepreneurs and business owners for the past 10 years or so, while in most recent years we've added not just consultation but the execution of marketing campaigns for www.Unthink.me. My suggestion would be sharing your expertise through your website, having a blog where you share mockup case studies, chapter sections, build it with good SEO, creating videos, etc. that you control and can share on social media. Inbound and Growth Hack Marketing (which is what you need) is a combination some authors have used to get attention to their content and get people to buy. The idea is simple enough but the execution is key.

My first question is why hire a public relations person/firm?

Promote yourself.

Talk at Meetups + CoWork Spaces + Conferences. Where ever real humans show up in the flesh.

Depending on the content of your podcast, you might look into Alex Carrol's Radio Publicity course. Alex is the only guy I know who does Radio Publicity like I do. Well, Alex is the only guy who's ever shared the secrets in print. Most people successful at PR, especially Radio are rich from doing it + would never sell their services, as they'd lose money selling services.

So... the best PR people... well... you'll never hear about, because they'll never say what they're doing.

Other considerations for you to research.

Traffic Oxygen

Author Platform Rocket

I have owned my PR agency for 15+ years, have also been an individual consultant and strategist and helped other small businesses and startups select the right PR firm for them. This can be tricky. Finding the right publicist or PR firm is about fit and also chemistry. A successful PR will feel like an integral part of your team and will bolster all of the activities you do.
Ensure you look for someone who understands your business and your unique value proposition. It's also helpful if they know your area of expertise well. For instance if you're a speaker and wellness coach and they have never publicized anyone in this field it might be tricky for them to land top tier placement for you as they need established media relationships in your industry/area. Whatever you do ensure you interview a few agencies or individuals before going forward. Start by asking trusted friends and colleagues for referrals. Once you've selected your top three choices set up calls or meetings with them to learn more about their style and their specialty. Here are some questions to ask: 1. How many clients are you currently servicing?
2. Who are they?
3. How many years have you been in business?
4. Can you pitch me my brand/product/personality as if I was a journalist?
5. What would your approach be to getting the word out about our story/brand?
6. What tools do you use to get your job done?
7. How do you define success?

We have created a free ebook about this very topic. Feel free to download it here: https://clutchpr.com/free-ebooks/

Happy to help answer any questions you might need. Good luck with it.

A great PR pro is not someone that exists with ordinary skills, they have some qualities that a usual PR never has. Good qualities in a person that make them great and set aside from the usual PR which acclaim to be great, but they are far from greatness. The qualities of great PR pro are. Creativity is one of the best qualities of a person that each PR expert expected to prevail in this aggressive world where PR pro does everything conceivable to carry out the occupation. Public relations officer must have the capacity to carry out more than finding the fascinating story and let them know well, they must have the ability to offer the story. Convincing abilities are always one of the best qualities of a great PR pro. A great PR pro is always aware of the changes and the demands of the market. PR pro always stays updated with the latest trend, market analysis, and the demand-supply chain so that they can deliver the most effective results to their clients.
Public relation careers are a growing industry and every year many fresh graduates choose this field as a career path. Celebrities, politicians, sportsperson, companies and other famous people and organizations are hiring PR agencies and people to manage their PR because, in the world of globalization, public image matters the most. The common and successful public relations PR pros that make them succeed and help in achieving positive results of their hard work are. Communication skills are one of the most important characteristics of successful PR pro because communication is one of the greatest PR tools.
Great communication and public relations skills are always needed in PR to use in a different situation. Media relations friendly is another characteristic of successful PR pro because in the world of internet and social media PR pros cannot afford to ignore the media. A Public relations person must have a high tolerance ability because of the work and the pressure. A PR person is the first who takes all the impact of the good decision and bad decision and do the damage control when it is necessary.
You can read more here: https://content.wisestep.com/hire-right-pr-public-relations-person/
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath