Episode 54: How Service-based Businesses Can Land 20+ Free Media Features with Dr. Noor Ali
Your service-based business is only as good as your PR efforts!
But why is that so?
Look—you may have been certified as the 'most skilled service provider' in your industry, but if most people don't see it that way, will they even come to you?
Most importantly, if you can't position yourself in the market as the go-to person or just being available for people's needs, you might not be in this business in the long run.
For most small service-based businesses, it is understandable that these PR ideas may not initially cross your mind. That's because, as a business founder, you are most likely wearing so many hats all at once.
But again, if you're committed to the long-term growth of your business, you have to take advantage of the benefits of landing a media feature.
It's no longer enough that your business would rely on traditional marketing and PR strategies to showcase your services. That's because people don't want to be sold to!
What people need to see is if your services can be valuable to them.
Believe me—there's no better way to give value to your market than to land yourself a media feature, whether as the industry expert or an insight contributor.
In the grander scheme of things, that one contribution you made could drive all the attention you need.
And you need not worry about painting the whole picture. All you have to focus on is reaching out to the right journalists and publishers and ensuring that your insights will help the journalists' readers.
That is exactly what our podcast guest, Dr. Noora Ali, will highlight in this episode to help you find inspiration on how your service-based business can land that free media feature.
"Just getting that first few yeses or maybes or even a sliver of interest can make all the difference in your confidence and say, 'Okay, I can do this. I can do more.' So, it's just really just taking that leap of faith and just doing it. Just send out that email. That's really going to just keep the train moving, keep it rolling."
-Dr. Noor A. Ali
Noor A. Ali Noor MD, MPH, CPH is a Bangladeshi-American medical doctor from NYC determined to bridge the gap between patients and health insurance services through education, information, and empowerment. She currently runs her own health insurance consulting practice out of Tampa, Florida, serving growth phase entrepreneurs all over the nation.
If you're ready to be featured as the industry expert and the go-to service provider, tune in to this inspiring episode that will surely help grow your service-based business while giving value to the world. It's your time to land the free media features you deserve.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
PR Insights from a service-based entrepreneur
Finding inspirations and ideas for PR pitches
Why your 'expert opinions' matter more than ever
The main reason why you should not sell before journalists
How to go from cold outreach into inbound leads
Reaping all the ROI you deserve because of your PR efforts
If you want to land your first feature for free without any connections, I want to invite you to watch my PR Secrets Masterclass where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought-after industry expert. Register now at www.gloriachou.com/masterclass.
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Dr. Noor Ali on LinkedIn: Noor Ali
Follow Dr. Noor Ali on Instagram: Dr.NoorHealth
Visit Dr.Noor Ali's website: https://drnoorhealth.com
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn: Gloria Chou
Small Business PR Podcast- Episode #32: How to Cold Pitch
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Here’s a glance at this episode…
[05:47] If I can't send a direct email, can I connect with them via Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, wherever they like to hang out? And I do these hits all at once. So, they know that, 'Hey, this person is really trying to contact me. Let me just check her out. Let me see what she's about.'
[07:11] My first pitch wasn't brilliant. It wasn't perfect. It was imperfect. But you send it out anyway and then you improve it as you go.
[10:13] It's your opinion that matters, whether it's good or bad. If it's controversial, that's what matters. It's just an opinion. So when reporters reach out to me for, a quote, or request, they just want to hear my opinion.
[11:26] Lead with the solution and how you're different, and I don't want to put all force on that about how you're different because you don't necessarily have to be different.
[15:43] At one point, I just had to tell myself and realize, 'No, you're not selling anything. You're just trying to give value and information. So, I would re-read my emails and see like, does this pitch sure give value? Or does it have any type of selfish motive behind it?
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Dr. Noor Ali 00:00
So being patient and being really serious, conscious, intentional about it, I have no doubt that you're going to see results if you just stick to it and just do it.
Gloria Chou 00:09
Hey friends, I'm Gloria Chou, small business PR expert, award-winning pitch writer and your unofficial hype woman. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people get the recognition they deserve. And that starts with feeling more confident to go bigger with your message. So on this podcast, I will share with you the untraditional, yet proven strategies for PR marketing and creating more opportunity in your business. If you are ready to take control of your narrative and be your most unapologetic and confident self, you're in the right place. This is the Small Business PR podcast.
Gloria Chou 00:12
All right everyone, if you are a consultant or a service- based business and you want to land media without knowing how to start, this episode is for you. Today, I have the one and only Dr. Nora. She came into our world over two years ago at the height of the pandemic. She will share with you about how she was able to land 20 plus pieces of organic organic media, including a recent interview on CNBC. She is a mom and entrepreneur, a health care insurance advisor, and a Bangladeshi-American medical doctor. She currently runs her own health insurance consulting practice, serving female-owned businesses all over the nation. So, welcome to the show!
Dr. Noor Ali 01:19
Thank you! Thank you so much, Gloria! What an honor! I'm so excited to be here and share with the audience everything that I've come to learn about PR things to you.
Gloria Chou 01:28
You know, when you emailed me recently, it's been over two years, since you joined the PR Starter Pack and you are starting to do PR. My jaw dropped when you told me that you had 20 pieces. I had to read it over and over again. I was like does she mean two? So can you just before we get into how you've pitched and how you can help others by sharing your experience, can you just list out some of your media wins?
Dr. Noor Ali 01:53
Yeah, totally. The most recent one, more recently, and the one I'm really proud of is a feature by CNBC. I was interviewed by CNBC, and I'm going to go up on my website real quick because it's such a long list. I gotta remember. We've got Denver News, Channel Nine, BenefitsPRO, Affordable Health Insurance.com, Human Resource Executive, AM Best TV, THRIVE Global, Business.com, MASSAGE magazine. What else do we have here? GOBankingRates.
Gloria Chou 02:27
Wow, that's amazing! So how has PR benefited you more than just kind of like eyeballs on your business?
Dr. Noor Ali 02:33
Yeah, it's definitely given me so much more confidence. I feel so much more credible. I feel like a legitimate authority, not because I say I am where I think I am. It's because the press and media acknowledge me for that. So, it's given me a huge boost in confidence, for sure.
Gloria Chou 02:49
Yeah. Now, I know you're a medical doctor, And PR and media are not something that I really associate with the training that you've had. So I will point where you're like, I'm going to do this. And I'm going to put myself out there. I know you're a busy mom as well. So how did you have the time to finally decide that I'm going to do it?
Dr. Noor Ali 03:05
Yeah, thank you so much. It's definitely not something that I knew anything about. I want to say like, before we met or before I entered this world, I just thought PR was like for celebrities. It's like, who's going to the local Starbucks? And that's PR. But definitely understanding it more, learning about it more also gave me the confidence to say 'No, I can do this and I can figure this out on my own. Really the jumpstarter, the difference, the differentiator was the five- day challenge that I did with you. And that's what really just was like the, the step-by-step walking through and saying, 'Okay, no. Not only can I do this, here I am doing it.' That was kind of like the kickstart, the jumpstart that I needed to get into this world really, just dive in.
Gloria Chou 03:47
Yeah, that's amazing. I can see from the way that you speak, and even your website, not only just the logos, but you're so more, so much more confident about telling your story because let's be honest, you're here to be a part of the solution. I think for a lot of people, when you lean into that, then it kind of helps you get rid of the the nervousness about pitching. How have you been able to get over the mindset, limiting beliefs, whether it's time, you know, a lot of people think that it takes too much time or that you need to delegate this to someone outside? What have you learned about PR now that you've kind of done it on your own?
Dr. Noor Ali 04:23
Yeah, I want to say my background in sales. Now, it did help a lot too. Because when you're pitching, it's just an email, right, Gloria? And that's something that I'm used to doing in my role is that outreach, that cold outreach, that cold call or that cold email. It's just a piece of communication that you send out in the hopes that you're going to get a piece of communication back. It's really nothing more than that. So just being unafraid to do that makes all the difference, because initially, when you're doing cold, it's a numbers game. You have to reach enough journalists and enough publications for them to get an interest in you and respond back. Just getting that first few yeses or maybes or even a sliver of interest can make all the difference in your confidence and say, 'Okay, I can do this. I can do more.' So it's just really just taking that leap of faith and just doing it, just send out that email. And that's really going to just keep the train moving, keep it rolling.
Gloria Chou 05:20
Right, because I mean, you know, I think the advertising and PR industry for decades have set us up to make it seem like they're the only ones that have access to the media, but you don't really know these journalists. So it wasn't like you need it to be in a special cool kids club to be featured. Is that right?
Dr. Noor Ali 05:37
So you actually increase your touch points, and you put them close together, because so many founders are so worried about following up too quickly. But you're saying that it actually works when you do email than DM, than commenting on their LinkedIn post.
Dr. Noor Ali 05:37
Yeah, not at all. And once I got into this world a little bit more, I would seek out publications or writers or journalists that I wanted to work with, that I wanted them to write with me. sometimes they're really hard to reach there. They make themselves very unreachable, and that's cool, too. I try to find other avenues like social media. If I can't send a direct email, can I connect with them via Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, wherever they like to hang out? And I do these hits all at once. So they know that, 'Hey, this person is really trying to contact me. Let me just check her out. Let me see what she's about.' So I would always enhance my communications with with these other methods at the same time.
Dr. Noor Ali 05:55
That's right. So as soon as I send an email, I will connect with them on a social media avenue, and I'll just say, 'Hey, this is Noor, just want to connect. I recently wrote to you about XYZ. I would love to connect on this platform.
Gloria Chou 06:40
Wow. That's amazing. So I'm so glad that worked for you because I know that's something we also talked about in our PR Starter Pack. So I'm so glad you're taking it to heart. Do you have any other? Let's rewind a little bit. Let's talk about how you first started, for people who are not in the Starter Pack, who don't really know about PR? What is the first step like? Do you just find your angle? Do you tie it to relevant healthcare policy? Do you use data points? How do you start to brainstorm that pitch?
Dr. Noor Ali 07:04
I would say yeah, just starting that pitch is step one. I use the CPR method, like you showed us. To be honest, my first pitch wasn't brilliant. It was kind of sucky. It wasn't perfect. It was imperfect. But you send it out anyway and then you improve it as you go. And time relevance has a lot to do with it. At each month, I would re-evaluate and say, 'How can I change this? When we first started together, it was just at the height of the pandemic or pre-pandemic, but of course so much have changed as the year went on. So I would make sure to adjust my pitch and weave in my industry, like health insurance, tie it to the timeliness of the pandemic. So really just starting with something, sending it out and modifying it as I went along definitely worked for me.
Gloria Chou 07:46
Yeah. Can you give an example? I mean, I have a lot of examples in the Starter Pack. But is it kind of like, Did you list you know, like, three ways to interpret this healthcare law? Or like, what was the subject that you used?
Dr. Noor Ali 07:56
Sure. So my subject, I'll use something like, early to mid- pandemic was how I'm in the health insurance field. I do health insurance for entrepreneurs. So how health insurance has been everything during the Great resignation. So many people are either losing their coverage or benefits or considering entrepreneurship and doing their own thing, pivoting industries, and health insurance seems to be the biggest kind of key factor to make this career decision. So that was the angle I used during the pandemic and seeing how I solved that problem for them.
Gloria Chou 08:26
Oh, that's incredible. And honestly, this is an angle that's covered over and over and over again. So you just busted another objection, which is, if this is covered, is there room for me to still pitch it?
Dr. Noor Ali 08:38
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, like I said, You got to evaluate and kind of change and update that angle. And now that we've kind of phased out from the pandemic, I'm now doing a more lifestyle angle and talking about how we can use health insurance to do employee retention, how this can be a factor for bigger companies and CEOs, more kind of as a lifestyle thing how to increase retention, employer status, employee satisfaction, increased happiness in the workforce, increased productivity.
Gloria Chou 09:09
That's amazing! So when you follow the CPR method, obviously, we put the relevance first, right? So for example, for you it was healthcare is determining factor. And then do you make three bullets of like, insights or tips, or do you cite data from a third party?
Dr. Noor Ali 09:24
Yeah, I'm trying to recall Gloria because I feel like I did the CPR method long ago. And now I get such inbound requests. Like I don't even like remember anymore. But yeah, it was I believe it was like three points for why this is timely, or why this is relevant, and what my solution is.
Gloria Chou 09:40
Yeah. So another another point that I think a lot of founders get stuck on is, I don't have original data, or I don't have a big enough sample size. Or maybe I don't have a lot of letters or degrees after my name. So what would you say to someone like that who think that they're not the biggest expert in this field?
Dr. Noor Ali 09:57
Yes, that's such a fantastic question. Because when I talk to someone about the impact of PR and how important it is, that's the first thing that they say back to me, Well, we're not a doctor like you. We don't have a million letters after our name. And I'm like, it's not about that you have an opinion, right? It's your opinion that matters whether it's good or bad. If it's controversial, that's what matters. It's just an opinion. So when reporters reach out to me for, a quote, or request, they just want to hear my opinion. And me being a medical doctor, having these credentials just makes me an appropriate candidate, and relevant for that, piece of news or something. But that's what I have to say to them is, if you have an opinion, they want to hear it.
Gloria Chou 10:36
Yeah, I think, again, the word expert gets thrown around. And maybe I shouldn't use the the word expert when I teach. But what I'm trying to really get at, which I think you do so well is, there's really no legal definition of what is like the threshold of when you become an expert. An expert is just someone with a point of view, which is a part of the CPR method, and so you really hit the nail on the head, when you're saying, I might not be the person making the policy, or I might not be in Congress, but I've seen how consumers are misreading this data or getting tripped up. And so I can be a part of the solution. So do you think like thinking about how someone can be a part of the solution is a great way to brainstorm the first pitch?
Dr. Noor Ali 11:19
Yes, definitely. I think in entrepreneurship, that kind of comes naturally where you're in the field to solve a problem. So lead with that. Lead with the solution and how you're different and I don't want to put all force on that about how you're different because you don't necessarily have to be different. I know that's another objection like, well, I don't know how I'm different. Maybe I'm not different. And that's okay, too. But just having a strong opinion to be standing, by your opinion, and being vocal about your opinion. I think that's all it really takes.
Gloria Chou 11:48
Yeah, I think the whole essence of pitching is taking off your marketing and salesperson hat and being a conduit of of information. I think that's what you do so well. Even though you have such an experience in sales, you're able to take off the hat and not sell your business and your programs, which obviously you are a for profit business, we know that you want to get featured to help your business, but you're not leading with that. You're leading with an angle or an insight or a discussion point. So I love what you said about that. Can you talk to me a little bit more about the nitty gritty about pitching and when is the best time to pitch, maybe best practices about subject lines that you've learned?
Dr. Noor Ali 12:28
Yeah, thank you. It's hard to say like this has worked or that hasn't worked. Because in the beginning, when you're just starting out, when you're cold pitching, you really just have to, it's a volume and numbers game. You really have to send out a lot to get some some bites back. The platforms that I used were HARO. And later on, I use Qwoted as well, but really just being intentional and not just like ignoring the HARO emails, but really being active and trying and pitching and pitching really does help. I use the Ctrl F feature a lot in the HARO emails, because I know they can get really heavy and inundated. So I have my keywords that I search for, which is health insurance for me. So I think that's a tip that could help others as well, when you're feeling a little overwhelmed in the beginning phases with the with that level of volume. Headline wise, I do a lot of A/B testing, I send out half pitches with one subject line and half with the other. I tried to make it catchy punchy. Time is one of your tips that you use. So I definitely put time, timeliness, and real time relevance in the subject line. And those things have helped.
Gloria Chou 13:30
Right. So things like the healthcare changes coming your way in 2022 versus just without it, without a timeliness on it.
Dr. Noor Ali 13:38
I'll give you an example, Gloria for one of the pieces of press that I received was a 2022 Forecast: Seven Predictions for What Lies Ahead for Health Equity. So me, having a health, a public health background is actually more than half of my press is not about health insurance. It's actually about public health, which is interesting to me. But that was an example of how having for this was anything Q4 of 2021. So that timeliness helped me get me featured for this piece in Fierce Healthcare.
Gloria Chou 14:11
I love that you just took all the stuff in the PR Starter Pack and ran with it. HARO was really great. But obviously I don't know if you know this, but in the Starter Pack now we've upgraded to a searchable, tech-enabled media database. So you can actually do custom filters, which was not something we had when you joined. So now it's so much easier from a UX point of view. So in terms of the actual body of the email, obviously follow the CPR method. If you don't know what that is go to gloria choupr.com/masterclass to learn. How do you close the email? I think a lot of people feel awkward to ask to be featured. So what's the best and easy way to just sign off on the email but give them a little nudge to be like, 'Hey, I'm interested interview me.'
Dr. Noor Ali 14:49
Yeah, I actually leave it as if like they assume that they're interested to talk to me to learn more. So I believe I make it really easy to be contacted. So I said if you'd like to talk about this more or if you want me to elaborate on my opinions, if I can give you more information, please reach out to me at this. So if they're interested and they want to talk to me more about it and hear more about what I have to say, this is how I can be reached.
Gloria Chou 15:13
So good. And it's not about giving them your entire business slide deck of 25 years of experience. It's just giving them three points or four points if they're interested. Did you find that shorter emails worked better than really long ones?
Dr. Noor Ali 15:28
Yes, for sure. And I do want to say Gloria that it's really, really hard, like in the beginning was really hard for me to isolate that business case and value proposition from just sharing my opinion on the matter. And that took practice and skill to get better at. At one point, I just had to tell myself and realize, 'No, you're not selling anything. You're just trying to give value and information. So I would re-read my emails and see like, does this pitch sure give value? Or does it have any type of selfish motive behind it? And I had to, that was the filter and the comb through that I would do before hitting send is, is this a pure value email?
Gloria Chou 16:07
Yeah. And you're allowed to talk about your business, right? But it's not just like, here's why my business rocks, but like, here's a problem. And we also solve this in my practice. Would that be a nice way to kind of weave that in there?
Dr. Noor Ali 16:21
The way I weave it in is in the introduction, when I introduce myself. That's kind of like when I do like, 'Hey, this is what I do and this is the problem that I solve. And here's my opinion on the matter.
Gloria Chou 16:30
Do you actually do that in the beginning of the email or not in the closing?
Dr. Noor Ali 16:33
Just kind of when I do my introduction, I tie that into 'this is who I am, and this is what I do.' And then the three points of the pitch.
Gloria Chou 16:41
Nice. Vincent Phamvan, who also successfully built a business and sold his business during the pandemic, and having successfully had an exit. He actually says that, it's really great to end your emails with, here's how I can be reached for a quick response. And then you put in your cell phone number, and then you put in parentheses call or text, because a lot of journalists actually just want a quick response. Maybe they don't want to call. So the fact that you're saying that you're open to calling or texting is really good, right? You want to make it easier for them. What about, like attachments? I think a lot of people want to do the old school way of sending like a one pager or whatever. Do you do that? Or you don't really do that?
Dr. Noor Ali 17:21
No, not at all. No attachments. Also, because it probably gets blocked, and they won't see it anyway. And because it's, I think you had mentioned this so many times, Gloria, their inboxes are inundated. They're looking at my email at maybe a glance. So if that glance isn't compelling enough, I've lost the chance the opportunity already. So yeah, no attachments,
Gloria Chou 17:44
I love how you took everything and you just gobble it up, and you're like, let's do this. So let's talk about the actual. Now that you talked to us about the pitch, the subject line. Put a date in there. Make it relevant. Don't make it too long. Have the energy that you have something of value to share and not come from a place of begging. That's always good. I really believe in the law of energy. Now, let's say you sent the email. Obviously, you know to install an email tracking device. What do you do when someone's been opening your email many times? Or maybe the journalist says, I'm interested, and then you send them more information, and they completely ghost you? How do you keep that alive?
Dr. Noor Ali 18:21
So I use the social media route at that point, because I mean, they've gotten the email. They've seen the email. It's either not compelling enough or not compelling enough right now for them to take action. Because I'm very active on social media, and I can showcase more of myself, my personality, my social life, something that might compel them, that's a little bit more than an email. That's where I do my follow up. It's through social media.
Gloria Chou 18:44
And when do you do the follow-up? And what do you put in the follow-up?
Dr. Noor Ali 18:46
It really just depends. Sometimes I'm just engaging with their social media in the hopes that they noticed me. I don't do my follow-ups as directly, like, 'Hey, following-up on that specific email on that specific day because they already know that or they, if they cared about it, they would have responded. So there's much gentler, it's very softer. It's more subtle. Mainly, it's just engaging with their content and hoping that I get noticed, and they connect the content that I'm putting out on social media with my email pitch.
Gloria Chou 19:18
Yeah, I mean, it makes sense because you're nurturing a almost like a lead. So you want to nurture that and have as many touch points as possible. So in terms of follow-up, would you follow-up, let's say, every week every 10 days? And I've heard stories of people following-up for six months, but before they get featured. So what is kind of the shortest amount of time turnaround time and what is like the one that took the longest time?
Dr. Noor Ali 19:43
This is hard to answer, Gloria because I didn't go this route, like this traditional email follow-up route really. I feel like more of my press successes came from once I was kind of established as the authority, and I'll share a story about where it went and happened. It was all inbound. So I quickly stopped. Like, I used the PR Starter Pack to get going. And once I was there, it was all inbound, which was really cool. So I don't really have like a solid strategy for follow-up to share with you. But I can share with you an incident that kind of was my climax in this game, which was, do you remember in 2020, when Delta, the airline company, mandated vaccines for employees? That was like a hot trending topic. So I managed to get kind of in that heat, that media heat as both a public health expert so of course, in the vaccine world, it's a huge public health issue globally. And also, as a health insurance expert, what does it mean when your employees you don't offer insurance for their employees? Is that legal? Is that okay? So once I kind of got one press in that trending time. I had about like 20 media requests all at once because I became the public health expert and the health insurance expert to address that. The tip that I can share when something like that happens is be on top of it. I did not wait even minutes to respond to those requests. Journalists are just waiting for the source because they have to get their story on the news outlet or thing by that evening. So who is going to be that expert that responds immediately and is available for that interview? And I had back to back to back to back to back interviews during that time.
Gloria Chou 21:21
Wow! I mean, that's amazing! A couple of things you said that really resonated is you picked up on a trending news story. And you're not a vaccine expert. You're not an airline's expert, but yet you're able to use your general healthcare insurance expertise to tie it to something more specific. So, that's really going back to show us how everything's really interconnected. So just because you think that you're not specifically in that field doesn't mean that you can't be adjacent to that field and give advice. So your expertise is not like I said, vaccines or airlines or even employee benefits, but you're able to take the knowledge that you know, because you do have customers who maybe are in that industry, and then kind of be a conduit and be a bridge.
Dr. Noor Ali 22:05
Yeah, and what I learned during that time was they really just want an opinion. They want someone who's an expert in that field to share this opinion. And then you want someone else to give an opposing opinion to give a complete story to give it a neutral storyline. So when I learned that, I was like, 'Well, it doesn't really matter what I think.' It's, 'do I think something well?' What is that something and let's share it with the world?
Gloria Chou 22:27
And so much of it is mindset. Because you can keep editing and polishing and refining your opinion for 50 years and still not put it out there. Or you can have an opinion that's maybe not as specific or fully formed, but you have the confidence to step forward and say, 'Here's my opinion,' and you give the press something to latch on to.
Dr. Noor Ali 22:45
Yeah, yep, definitely. And I remember totally overthinking it, because I feel like email pitching and print media is very different from TV and radio and that and I was very, very scared and nervous when that opportunity came. And I recognize it. Well, this is huge to be on the news, talking about this huge trending topic. I was so nervous, so scared overthinking it, but I just dived in when I got the request. I was like, Yes, I'm interested. Yes, I'm ready. And I was just like shaking like, how do I even prepare for this? And it turned out after I gave my opinion, my opinion, or my quote was just a blip in the entire scheme of things. So, , just to put it in perspective that, at that moment, I thought it was everything. But when it was post-production when it was, posted online, or on TV, it was just like a passing one line opinion in the grand scheme of things.
Gloria Chou 23:36
Yeah. But that one, on my opinion, was able to generate so much SEO and credibility, of course. Yeah, that's amazing. So I know, you touched on earlier about sharing a story about, beginning to end of kind of pitching and kind of what that resulted in. So can you walk us through that journey?
Dr. Noor Ali 23:52
Yeah. So that my two year press journey really started with your website. Someone just directed me to your website as 'Hey, this is a resource for PR.' And at that time, I knew nothing about PR, and I watched your masterclass. And it gave me a little bit of curiosity and interest in 'Okay, maybe this is something that I can do myself.' Around that time you had that Facebook group where you are hosting a five-day challenge. I figured that maybe this can help me at least, if not anything, what my expectation was at least I'll have my pitch down at the end of the challenge. I'll have my pitch ready that I can maybe do something with. And a friend of mine, and we started it together because I wanted an accountability buddy. At the time, I was a year and a half, two years into my business, and she was just starting her entrepreneurial journey. So we both did it together. By the end of the five days, I had my pitch ready and I felt it was complete. I actually did all the steps of the challenge and her not so much. At the end of the five-day challenge, I purchased a PR Starter Pack. Well, I have this pitch. Well, what am I going to do with it now? I gotta send it to people, and I don't really have people readily available. I don't know anyone in the media. So I purchased the PR Starter Pack. I just sent it to everyone. And at that time, we didn't have those searchable tools or the things you have now. So it was a lot of work of for just emailing to anyone that I thought was relevant from the PR Starter Pack. My accountability buddy, since she didn't have the pitch completed by the end of the challenge, she didn't really send out pitches at all. So I send out pitches, I did HARO, and I did it all. Nothing was happening for a while I want to say for about two months. Nothing really happened. And then I had a breakthrough at HARO. And I had about six all at once. So it was like nothing, nothing, nothing, and then six all at once. When that happened, I got such a confidence boost, like holy shit, this really works. And then I started being a little bit more active, being a little bit more creative, doing these different things like reaching out to journalists in different ways, seeking out publications where I want to be featured and pitching them myself. And now I was so bold that I could do that. I'm like, Well, this is no big deal. I just find a name and an email and I just send them an email. Sure, I could do that. And then it just got better and better. Of course that press begets press. So once I started getting more visibility in the press and gaining more confidence, and after that whole Delta vaccine media fire being so highlighted and celebrated during that time, it shifted from more of that cold outbound high volume outreach to kind of sitting back and waiting to be contacted by journalists, because now I'm the expert in medical debt, medical inflation, health insurance. And over time, I see myself changing. My expertise has changed in the media. I went from being a COVID vaccine, health insurance expert to medic preventing medical inflation, with using health insurance expert. So I'm still the same person. But basically adapting to the trending times in the media and riding that wave at the time is what the journey has been like.
Gloria Chou 26:55
I mean, I love it. So I mean, again, what you said is, you're adapting your expertise. So at any point, anyone can be an expert. You just have to have the confidence and know how and and the resources to keep pitching. How are you able to systematize? I mean, now you really have a system now I'm sure right, and you don't even pitch as much anymore because you get the inbound. But what kind of time scheduling or things did you do to be able to streamline this process of sending out those emails and connecting with people?
Dr. Noor Ali 27:24
Sure. So once in the beginning, when I had that framework, when I had my pitch ready, I would ask my assistant to help kind of send out emails. And then I changed from me getting HARO emails to them coming to her inbox so she can keep an eye out for relevant HARO queries. Now I have actually hired a consultant who works part time to help me gain visibility and watch out for opportunities for me, and just see different angles for doing it. So now instead of being hardcore insurance and finance industry, I'm looking more in the entrepreneurial and lifestyle stages and how I can pitch myself that way. So using different creative angles, I do have someone who's helping me with that full time.
Gloria Chou 28:03
Wow, the world is your oyster! It seems there's no shortage of opportunities for you, and there's no table you will not sit out. So I love that. So now you see this as an as an oyster. A lot of people might say, Well, I see that it's fine and great to get more media, but how does that actually translate to ROI for yourself?
Dr. Noor Ali 28:22
That's a really good question. And I think it's really hard to answer as you know because it's hard to track.I saw you in the news snd that's why now I acquired this client, because I was seen in the news. So it's really, really hard to answer that. But I mean, overall, when someone googles my name being shown up in the first page of Google, being in the news, being able to reference a piece of press when someone has a question, and I can respond with 'Oh, well, I was interviewed by this person or check out this press where I was I answered the same question.' Being able to respond in that way, I mean, it's tremendous credibility.
Gloria Chou 28:58
Yeah, that's amazing. And also sharpening your message because that's all it is. It's messaging, right?
Dr. Noor Ali 29:03
Yes, yes. Yes. So I think I mentioned earlier like in the beginning, it kind of sucks is you don't know what you're doing. And it's hard to separate value from a business proposition in a pitch to media. But as you do it, you just get better and better with time.
Gloria Chou 29:18
What do you have to say, you've given us so many gems and I'm just astounded by your journey. I can tell you're so confident. You've set your leadership. You're just stepping into this space that you created for yourself. So it's incredible to watch for those people who are still listening and still not really sure if they can even write a pitch let alone land one piece of media. What is something that you want to tell them about getting started when they have so many objections about time and all the things that they have on their plate? Because let's be honest, the audience here, my audience, they're busy moms and people like you wearing all the hats.
Dr. Noor Ali 29:55
Yeah, no, I can empathize. The first thing I want to say is I get it. I was there. I'm a mom. I have a two and a half year- old son, I'm running a full time business. I'm a wife, I'm a daughter, I get it. I would say if this is something that you want to do take it seriously, give yourself a quarter to really put your intention into it, and test it out. I think purchasing the PR Starter Pack alone is not as effective as ifdoing a challenge with it. So by the end of the challenge, you have something tangible. You have your pitch ready. Now you just need to send out some emails, like really that's it? Yeah, that's it! So if you need, I don't think, you know, just having this or this alone is enough. Everything in conjunction really does help. So having an accountability buddy, working with you to get a pitch done, having the PR Starter Pack and then just sending and being intentional and understanding that it might be months. Like me, it took me two months to get my first feature, but then when I did, I got six at once. So being patient and being really serious, conscious, intentional about it, I have no doubt that you're going to see results if you just stick to it and just do it.
Gloria Chou 31:04
Oh, I love it! Thank you so much! So what are you doing now? I mean, you have so many inbound inquiries. You're at a position where you're even sifting through if this is something you want to do. What do you want to? What is the next step for you in terms of PR? What are your goals?
Dr. Noor Ali 31:19
My goals now is just to be more intentional with my PR. I think in the beginning, I would take anything and everything and it was super duper exciting. And that's awesome. But now I'm really reaching for that, that reach publication or that higher quality or the very intentional publication that's going to reach my target audience that I have a clear conception of. So just really refining and getting more clarity on who I want to be seen as and where
Gloria Chou 31:46
That's amazing. So how can people find you? Thank you so much for being here. And I know, there's so much that I would still love to ask you. I could talk to you for days, honestly. But if people have any questions about PR, what it's like to run a business, wearing all the hats or maybe even about your practice, healthcare, how can they connect with you?
Dr. Noor Ali 32:04
Yeah, so you can find me on my website at drnoor health.com. I'm also very active on social media. So please reach out to me on LinkedIn or Instagram. You can see my life and stories all the time and catch glimpses of my little one running around. And I just love to kind of facilitate conversation. So make it really, really easy to get in touch with me work with me. So reach out to me on social media, start a conversation with me. I would love to get to know you.
Gloria Chou 32:32
That's awesome. Well, thank you so much for being such a valued member of our community. You're gonna have to post in the Facebook group all the gems that you dropped, because I don't think people want to wait until this episode airs. I mean, there's so much value that you share. So thank you so much for being here. For anyone that's listening, remember, it just takes that one yes and then the dominoes will fall. I promise you.
Gloria Chou 32:53
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