My Secret To Finding More Clients/Prospects (Spoiler: You Can Use It For Your Business, Too!)

Plus: Assignments galore ... I need a ton of experts!

Happy Monday morning!

Over the past few months, I’ve received emails (and AMA questions) from many of you asking if I have any ideas on how you can find new PR clients — several agencies have even offered me a referral fee if I know of any brands that need representation. Plus, some of my writer friends/subscribers have also asked if I have any leads for them, in terms of content clients or outlets looking for new voices.

I hate when I have nothing useful to offer up, especially considering that times are tough right now … and I truly want to help you all.

So I’m thrilled to report that I’ve finally found a way to help you all grow your businesses in 2024 … and it’s specific to publicists, writers and other marketing communications professionals.

I had to test it out myself first to make sure it was the real deal (sorry for gatekeeping, but personally vetting this was important to me!). And now, I’m 100% confident in sharing it:

If you’re looking for a better and more systematic way to find and land quality clients this year, I recommend checking out this upcoming prospecting workshop.

My colleague Ed Gandia (who also happens to be my business coach and one of the savviest communications professionals I know!) will be helping a group of freelance publicists, writers and other self-employed marketing professionals implement effective prospecting techniques, systems, and habits that actually stick.

You’ll get to roll up your sleeves and actually create your prospecting plan and assets together using email and LinkedIn. And you’ll come away with everything in place, all ready to go.

I personally went through Ed’s workshop last fall and I was impressed with how streamlined and effective his process is. His process involves using both email and LinkedIn. Using Ed’s teachings, I onboarded a couple of new content marketing clients toward the end of 2023 that now make up 25% of my monthly earnings!!

Here are all the details. (Make sure to check out the participant testimonials on that page, too.)

I know you’ll find his course invaluable toward meeting your 2024 income goals — we all deserve a full roster of awesome clients who can benefit from our services!

Have a great week … and scroll down for my open editorial opps,

Jill

---

***Recently Published Pieces***
(Thank you for your help!

• Taste of Home: How to Make Amish Chicken and Noodles

• Reader’s Digest: 9 Best Culinary Cruises for the Most Delicious Trip You’ll Ever Take

• Reader’s Digest: The Surprising Reason You Shouldn’t Bring Camouflage Clothing on a Cruise

• EatingWell (my debut article!): A Longevity Expert Swears by Eating Minestrone Soup Every Day — Here’s Why

• Southern Living: How to Close a Wine Bottle Without a Cork

• Southern Living: Yes, You Can Freeze Spaghetti Squash; Here’s How

• Taste of Home: Le Creuset Everyday Pan Review: It’s Literally the Only Pan You Need

• Southern Living: The Best Types of Sweet Potatoes for Eery Favorite Southern Dish

• Yoga Journal: 21 Unexpected, Meaningful, Stress-Reducing, Must-Have Yoga Gifts for Your Loved Ones

— older, but in case you missed them —

• Fodor’s: I Was Quarantined on a Cruise Ship, Here’s What it Was Like

• Southern Living: Why It’s So Important to Brown Your Meat Before Cooking

• U.S. News & World Report: 9 Bucket-List Cruises for Seniors and Retirees

• Taste of Home: I Went to the Le Creuset Factory to Table Sale and Now I’m an Avid Collector — Here’s Why

• ELLE Decor: This Stylish Home Gym Delivers The Full-Body Workout of Your Trainer’s Dreams

• Veranda: Consider These Sustainable Alternatives to Marble

• Good Housekeeping: 8 Travel Essentials for a Fall Weekend Getaway

• Taste of Home: Can You Eat the Green Stuff in Lobster?

• Taste of Home: How to Store Ginger the Right Way

• Taste of Home: How to Make a Pear Tart Tatin

• Taste of Home: The Dangerous Reason You Shouldn’t Eat from a Dented Can

• The Guardian: A Different Kind of Pothead: the Le Creuset Cookware Supercollectors (my first for this outlet!)

• AARP: The Ultimate Guide to Alaska Cruising (my first travel article for AARP!)

• Taste of Home: How to Make White Rice Taste Better, According to Chefs

• Insider: I went on my first solo cruise. Here are 6 things you should know if you’re planning to try it.

• Southern Living: The Biggest Cruise Ship in the World is Coming to Florida

• Reader’s Digest: Away vs. Beis: Which Luggage Brand is Better? (PS: I’m taking my Away bag to Europe in case you were wondering)

• Reader’s Digest: Beis Carry-On Review

• Reader’s Digest: I Never Travel Without The Away Bigger Carry-On Suitcase—Here’s Why

• Reader’s Digest: 12 Best Caribbean Islands (you can read about my trip to Bonaire here!)

• Reader’s Digest: 16 Unexpected Things I Never Board a Cruise Ship Without (I got SO many of you in here!)

Now, it's time to get the word out! When you and your clients share your coverage on social media, please be sure to tag my accounts: Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn (and please connect with me yourselves!).

---

Please Share this Newsletter With Your Colleagues

If you find this newsletter valuable, please click the share button below and send it to your colleagues … the more, the merrier!

---

Got Affiliate Marketing Questions for 2024?

Yes, most publications require affiliate marketing for inclusion these days. Publicist Sarah Karger created a course called Ultimate Masterclass and Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Publicists and it’ll answer ALL of your back-end questions!

---

—— Current Editorial Needs ——

 1. Sleep.com: Unaffiliated medical experts to discuss why sleeping naked is good for your health

• Open to gynecologists, GPs, dermatologists, anyone who can speak to the various health benefits of sleeping in the nude

• Please only send credentials, not commentary … I have specific questions my chosen sources will need to answer.

• Not mentioning brands or products.

• Subject line: Naked Sleeping Expert + Their Name

• Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com

• Pitch by: Wednesday, January 10

 2. Southern Living: Rice expert in a Southern U.S. State

• This article focuses on whether or not you need to rinse rice before you use it

• Please only send credentials (detailing your client’s expertise in rice particularly), not commentary … I have very specific questions

• Must be based in a southern U.S. State

• Subject line: Rice Expert + Their Name

• Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com

• Pitch by: Wednesday, Jan 10

3. My Peak Challenge: Behavioral expert on building habits

• This is for My Peak Challenge (yes, the hottie from Outlander!):

  https://www.mypeakchallenge.com/

• This article is a guide to starting something new. Learning something new (whether it’s training for a 5k or learning to crochet) seems scary, but you just have to start. Looking for an expert to share a handful of tips along the lines of Avoid Setting Overly Ambitious Goals, Embrace Failure, Take a Class, etc.

• Subject line: Habit Building Expert + Their Name

• Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com

• Pitch by: EOD Wednesday

 4. AARP: Need Cleaning Experts (notable TikTok/IG creators welcome!)

• I’m updating my spring cleaning guide and need 10-15 more tips

• Send credentials, not commentary — I will share a PDF of the current article so the chosen sources can see where the holes are, which will help guide their input

• Subject line: Cleaning Expert + Their Name

• Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com

• Pitch by: EOD Thursday

5. Franklin Prosperity Report: Airbnb Scams

• Have you been scammed by AirBnb? Our readers can learn from your experience, do tell!

• Do you rep someone who’s an expert in AirBnb scams? I need their input.

• Subject line: Airbnb Scams

• Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com

• Pitch by: EOD Wednesday

---

More Useful Info

• Agency-wide Substack subscriptions available: Want your entire agency to read my paywalled insights? Awesome! Just shoot me an email with how many publicists will need access to my paid newsletter and I’ll send you a custom quote (which includes a massive group discount, of course!).

• Sponsorship opps: Do you have a course/book/conference/tool/service that you’d like to promote to the 5,600+ publicists and writers who subscribe to my newsletter? Contact me today to discuss sponsorship opportunities!

• Other journalist newsletters definitely worth subscribing to: Be sure to follow my trusted colleagues so you can stay up-to-date on their pitching needs: Alice Dubin, Bryce Gruber, Aly Walansky, and Nicole Pajer.