#184: Hannah Bower on Why She Transitioned from Freelance PR Work to Content Marketing

Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast, helping you propel your writing business to a whole new level. And now, here's your host, Ed Gandia. Hey there. Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast. I am your host, Ed Gandia, and this is the podcast for business writers and copywriters who want to earn more and less time doing work they love for better clients. You can find detailed show notes for this episode@b2b launcher.com Episode 1, 184. Those notes include a summary of our discussion as well as any links to resources we mention. During the show, writers often ask me about PR or public relations and the work that's involved in that. What kind of clients, what kind of skills are necessary to do this? Sometimes our curiosity stems from, let's say, a client's request for this kind of work. Other times they just wonder if it's something that they should add to their suite of services. That's you. You're really going to enjoy today's episode because my guest has a unique perspective on the topic. Her name is Hannah Bauer, and she's a content marketing writer and strategist based in Atlanta, Georgia. Now, Hannah's background is in PR, and when she launched her freelance business in 2004, that's precisely the kind of work she did for clients. But as the world of PR started to change rapidly a few years ago, she began shifting to content marketing work to the point that content marketing is now her sole focus. In this conversation, you're going to hear about the world of pr, freelance PR work. You're going to get a better idea of what kind of work that entails, why it's changed over the past 15 or so years, why Hannah decided to get out of it, what she does today, and why she's become a very successful writer and strategist with a 100% referral business. I think you're really going to enjoy this conversation, get a lot out of it. So let's get to it. Enjoy. Hannah, welcome to the show. So good to have you here.

Thank you for having me.

I am thrilled that you're here. And we're going to be talking about some cool stuff that we really haven't addressed in this show before. Before we get to that, though, why don't you tell us a bit about your business today, what it is you do, what kind of clients you work with, and then maybe a little bit about what you used to do as well so people understand, get the context for our discussion.

Sure. So I am a freelance writer and content Marketer and I work primarily with companies in the B2B technology space. And I've been doing this or I've been out on my own doing some version of this for the last 15 years, which is crazy because it doesn't feel like it's been that long. But, you know, the business has definitely evolved along the way. You know, I used to only do public relations, so media and analyst relations and some writing was always built into that. But, you know, things kind of the course changed. I realized I liked one piece of the business more and kind of invested my efforts in that. But along the way, I think what I've learned, regardless of the service that I provide to my clients, is that I really like working with companies that solve complex problems and use technology to make that happen. A lot of companies struggle to articulate the problems that they solve and the value propositions that they provide to their clients. So I like getting in there and helping them crystallize those messages and share them through engaging content.

Very cool. So tell me about this shift and why you changed course. I mean, what was it? I mean, you mentioned the fact that you really started liking one part of the business more, but can you give us a little bit more detail about your decision?

Yeah. So this is. The answer is going to be a little bit long winded. So I guess I'm ready.

I got my coffee. I'm good.

Right. You're going to need it now. So I think, you know, a lot of it comes down to timing. And that timing for me starts with like when I entered the workforce. So I started my business, or I'm sorry, I entered the workforce in like 99, 2000 and I was working at a PR agency. Yeah. So a PR agency here in Atlanta. And working with technology companies exclusively. And you know, at that time, tech innovation, like was fundamentally changing how people communicated with one another, how they did business with one another. So if you think back, this is like the dot com boom. I mean like E commerce was like finally becoming like a real viable thing. Like wireless technology is. We know it today was finally coming about, period.

This is like Y2K was also happening. The money being poured into tech was crazy.

It was nuts. And so, yeah, this is like just before the bust. But, you know, I got a taste of just this really awesome time to be working in the technology industry. You know, it's really fun, it's exciting, high energy. Like, clients were like young and bold and they were breaking all the rules. And what I found to be one of the coolest things Is that, like, when it came to learning, the playing field was kind of level. So, like, journalists and analysts and consumers and marketing and communications professionals, we were all learning about the implications of these advancements at the same time. So there was this, like, tremendous appetite for information, which was a good thing because we were in the business of providing, you know, media and analysts with this information they would then share with the broader public. And, you know, that just made it fun. It was a remarkable time to be doing what we were doing with the clients that we were working with. So why did it shift? I think that. Or why did my interest shift? I think that also comes down to timing. So I started, I did PR, corporate agency, and on my own for about 10 years. And then there was a big shift in the media industry about the time that I started my business. The media industry was going through a pretty painful transition. So as content moved online, subscription revenues were plummeting, and the publishing industry, their business model just kind of broke apart mid flight, and there was a lot of collateral damage. So a lot of publications folded, and the ones that were left standing, they had huge cuts to their editorial staff. And we lost a lot of really good journalists, especially in the niche that I was working in, tech, B2B tech, for that matter, that really understood technology kind of where it had been, where it was going, trends and like, the implications it could have on industry. And those folks were replaced by, you know, greener, less experienced journalists and analysts who, you know, God bless them, they were under a tremendous amount of pressure to push out decent content. It's shorter form content, but, you know, faster news cycle, you know, something that they had to contend with. And, like, their metrics of success were also totally changing. So, you know, you were measured by clicks and shares now, and you were interacting on social media with readers and influencers kind of in real time. So the net impact of all of these changes was that it was now harder for clients to get quality coverage. And if you wanted coverage quality or not, you had to be plugged in, like 100% of the time. So meanwhile, I was just burning out. And, you know, frankly, so were a lot of my clients. And I say burning out, burning out on pr. So they were getting less return on their PR investment, not in terms of, like, the volume of coverage, but in how that coverage contributed to demand generation. Another thing that was happening simultaneously is that the Martech industry was maturing. So there were all these new tools and solutions out there that could help you reach your audience in new ways and more easily. Or with more precision. So content really started to take center stage, more so than it had in the past. So what I was seeing in my client engagements was that there was this kind of organic shift away from let's spend all of our budget getting media coverage to let's spend more of that budget creating content that we can share with qualified prospects and customers. And the writing opportunities just kind of naturally fell into place. I had been doing more and more writing for my clients by this point anyway. So I think, you know, as that shift happened, I realized that I was delivering way more value to my clients doing the thing I actually like doing versus doing the thing that I had grown tired of doing. And, I mean, you can probably empathize with this, but, you know, it's like that feeling that you get when you're providing real value to a client. That's really important to me. Like, I was happier writing, and I was happier because I was able to make a bigger impact or deliver a bigger impact for my clients.

Yeah. As opposed to being in this grind of trying to get them the results they wanted and just an increasingly challenging environment where even if you were able to get something, you knew in your heart it wasn't going to be great and it wasn't really going to move the needle. And that's got to wear on your soul.

Exactly. That was totally. You would work so hard to get, you know, that, you know, key interview with that, you know, that. That reporter you've been trying to, you know, get in touch with forever. And the output for reasons, you know, that have always been out of your control but are even more out of your control, given that articles were shorter and, you know, you had to have like this click baitness about everything. It just, you know, the return just wasn't worth it. You know, just you were never getting, or in my experience, I was never getting back what I was putting into it for myself or for my clients. And, you know, I frankly, I had, you know, clients who were like, you know what? I'm just, I'm not feeling the value of this right now. And it's not you. It's just I'm thinking we can drive revenue, which is their ultimate goal. Right. Drive revenue through content creation and content marketing. And it was, you know, so it wasn't one thing where I just was like, all right, I got to draw this line in the sand. I got to find new clients over this. I mean, it all just kind of happened organically, I think, because the sentiment was the same.

Well, you were paying attention and that which is a key part, sometimes you could be so deep in it that you get frustrated, but you're not really stepping back and analyzing what about this is frustrating? What is shifting? Why? How can I maybe pivot here to do more of what I love, continue to add great value and enjoy my work? And it sounds like you were paying a lot of attention to this. Can you identify when was the inflection point here for you? Roughly what year?

I would say maybe like seven years ago. So if my business has been around for 15, it really was about halfway through. Okay, so seven, eight years. Now. The actual transition itself, you know, wasn't. Didn't happen overnight. You know, I had to phase out PR services with certain clients, but I was very upfront, you know, and, you know, I did hit that point where I had to tell my existing clients, hey, I don't really enjoy doing this anymore. And let's figure out how I can continue working with you, and I can continue doing PR services for X amount of months and help you find someone else to do it. But let's also talk about what your content needs are, and if you had to pick and choose how, maybe this would be a better investment for your business. Most of my clients, as I've said, spoken to already, they were fine with that. There were a few that were not, and that was just having good clients that they were like, no, this is what we need. But what I also noticed is that the clients that I had to end up walking away from, they were also not fully aligned with the type of companies I wanted to work with anyway. I haven't really done, like, the postmortem on why that is, but it worked out, you know, it was time. It was time for me to move on anyway with those clients, regardless of this. So.

Yeah, so tell us a little bit about. I'd like to touch on a couple of areas. One is, based on your experience, what would it take for someone who's really interested in getting into PR as a solo professional, especially in the B2B, in the B2B area, what it would take to be successful today. So I'd like to hit on that. And then I'd like to then shift gears and talk about the work you do today. And specifically, I know you do some content marketing strategy work, correct?

Yes.

Yeah. So I'd love to hit on that a little bit as well. So. But. But let's talk about. I don't want to talk about. Okay, what was it like? Because you've kind of given us an Overview. But, but somebody who's interested today, and let's just say somebody who does pr, media relations, either as a kind of, as a freelancer and they do some of that, but they're looking to expand it, or they work in that capacity in the corporate world and are thinking about going solo. So what is the nature of the work? Which of course they would know. And then what do you feel it would take to be successful as a solo professional in that arena?

So, I mean, first and foremost, the opportunity there is tremendous. Right now it's hard to find a good, especially technology and Even more so B2B technology, PR professional, people that get it, that are out on their own and there are a ton of companies out there would prefer to work with independent contractors or freelancers on this, so.

Oh, interesting.

Anyone's listening and they're thinking about that, you know, they're thinking about doing. My advice is the opportunity is there and please connect with me because I have clients that often are looking for those resources. What would it take for them to be successful? Right now I'll speak to what I know, which is a little bit limited because when I left the industry, a lot has changed since then, but it takes being plugged in a lot all of the time.

When you say plugged in, what do you mean by that?

Plugged in? You need to be paying attention to what you're doing. Target media and analysts, what they're saying on social, what they're. You always had to be aware of the information that they were putting out there. So what they were writing about, what they were talking about, what they were interested in. But now a lot of the conversations that we used to have over phone and email are now having over social media and they're happening faster and industry influencers are connecting more easily. That being said, there's just, there's also a tremendous amount of noise. So knowing how to, you know, weed through that noise, you know, is certainly an art form. But at the end of the day, you know, you've got to be, you know, it's fast paced, it's a little bit chaotic, the world of pr, but in a beautiful way. I mean, you just have to have the energy and fortitude to do it again to stay plugged in. And I feel like I'm failing in answering this question.

Yeah, no, no, this is good. I think I've always had the impression that PR has always been kind of that way. But what I'm hearing from you is that it's even more so today because the speed is Just. It's kind of daunting, right? Just overwhelming speed of communication.

You're helping somebody tell a story to their audience, and you have to respond to their needs super quickly. And you have to. You know, it just requires. It's a pace of information sharing. Where that is today is not where that was 10 years ago.

Now, you said something that I thought was interesting, that there are so many clients who are willing and would love to work with a solo PR professional. I'm curious, why is that the case? Because some people might think or might be under the impression that this is a function that's typically. Companies typically want to give it to a firm or agency versus a soloist. What makes a solo so attractive to so many clients?

I think, you know, it definitely. First of all, it does depend on the clients, because there are certainly clients who, you know, want and should be paired with an agency, a larger agency. But not every company has the budget for a large agency. And they may not, you know, to do or leverage all of the services that a big agency offers. So maybe they just want to do, you know, some media relations campaign work, you know, focused on a certain new product that's coming out or new news that's coming out, or, you know, so they just want a smaller scope, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. So between scope and budget, I mean, those are two of the biggest reasons of why companies don't, you know, want to go work with an agency. Agencies charge more. They have higher overhead. And a lot of times you're not always working directly with the strategists. You're working with the people that are executing. And there's a separation sometimes, and communication on those two different pieces of the puzzle. I think a lot of times with an independent practitioner, what you get is both. Both in one person. You don't have a giant account team with a. And, you know, then like an account director and, you know, a senior account executive, you know, and the account executive.

You just have the one help you design the strategy. You're suddenly gone. It's like, absolutely, I'm dealing with their team. There's all this turnover in their team. I've seen that, too. And it's, you know, suddenly they get. They stick you with all these junior people. And that can be. That can be difficult. I mean, just the nature of the business.

Yeah. I think also, you know, it's. I feel like when it's one or two people doing the PR effort, or the writing effort for that matter, I mean, it's more easy to be embedded into your client's overall team, their marketing team or marketing and sales team. I never felt that ease when I was on the agency side because we were this bigger team. We were kind of this big, like external resource. So I felt like sometimes we were looked at as a vendor more than like, you know, a teammate. And I definitely prefer the latter.

Absolutely. And let's just face it, of course, so many clients know they want the agency, but we don't need, we would need what, four or five clients? You know, are there enough small to mid sized businesses that would love to have this kind of relationship and be, you know, have you deeply embedded in the organization like that? Absolutely. So in fact, that's, I think that's really the bulk of the market. It's not the bigger. Yeah, Fortune 500 companies, it's the small medium sized companies. So, yeah, this is great stuff. Let's talk, shift gears and talk a little bit about your work today. I know you do a lot of content writing, but you also do a lot of content marketing strategy. And this is something that keeps coming up in a lot of my coaching groups and there's a lot of questions about that. A lot of my listeners, a lot of my coaching clients, they focus on execution. Okay. So they do the writing. However, it's just a natural part of what they do. They do get involved in strategy. You seem to, and maybe I'm just guessing here, but you seem to have that as kind of its own offering where maybe either request this and insist on it or it's part of what you do. Can you describe a little bit about the strategy work that you do for clients and how does that fit into the array of services that you offer?

Yeah. So, you know, I don't know if I would say that it's kind of a separate offering because I feel like I deliver it at the same, like it's all part of the same scope for most of my clients. Yeah, it is. And frankly, I think it's become hard to think about content, especially in B2B. It's hard to think about content without thinking about how it's going to be promoted.

Absolutely.

And so, you know, what I do is every client engagement is different. So there are definitely outliers. But typically what I do is I sit down with a client and we take a look at their sales cycle. And I think that's really critical. I think to be a good business writer right now, you need to understand the sales cycle of your clients. Like that needs to be the thing.

You'Re very strategic in that way that you start like let's pull back and let's figure out big picture. How does this kind of all work? What's it like? What's the nature of it?

Exactly. So in the B2B tech space in particular, sales cycles can easily be six to 12 months. I mean, 18 months isn't uncommon, right? I mean, so you have to figure out how are you going to get keep prospects engaged over that long duration of time. And for me that means understanding what kind of content needs to be shared and when and in what way depending on where the prospect is in the sales cycle. So you know, for example, it's like, are they early on and they need to be educated about their problem? Well, there's a certain type of content that needs to be created for that. Or are they mid funnel and they're trying to understand alternative solutions to their problem? That's a different stage. And then also understanding, hey, what are the common sales objections that your sales team encounters and how can you neutralize those along the way? So that's kind of where I start with my clients. The writing part is the straightforward part, the figuring out, hey, at what time do we need this topic covered and in what format? Is it a blog post, is it a white paper, is it a new format that we brainstorm together and come up and it's something new and then in what way do we need to share that content? Is this going to be part of an email campaign, Be part of paid search or social? And a lot of times it's all of the above. Figuring out the configuration for all that is the strategy part that I really enjoy because you can come to me and say, hey, I need this research paper written, but I want to know why? When are we going to share this? Because there's so many nuances that can impact the effectiveness of a piece of content. Without that information, I just don't have the guidepost that I need to deliver what I think is the best content I can deliver for my clients.

So how often do you get contacted by a prospect with that what you just said, I need this white paper written versus hey, we have quite a few needs over the next six to 12 months. We'd like to talk to you about that.

I would say more than half of the time it is the latter. So I think people, if it's the CMO or the marketing executive in house, I think most people are thinking about content and content marketing part and parcel. They think about both things at the same time. So I Do have. More often than not, people are coming to me saying, hey, we need to do this one thing, but we also need, we need help in these other areas. And I need to come up with a campaign or a plan. What is your availability like? I'm definitely not getting as many requests for really well defined scope of work anymore. So it's. People kind of come to you with a problem and you've got to give them a solution and they're not sure what that solution looks like. So you have to educate them on what it looks like.

I love that. You know why? Because you're coming into it early enough in the process where you can get involved with strategy and you can help shape the direction of the engagement as opposed to coming in way later where they've already figured all that out and they just need, you know, this thing done and they already have it scoped out. It's like, okay, we need this and that's a really tough place to come in. You can make a living that way, of course, but let's face it, that's all been figured out. You have very little say. And from a fee standpoint, you're very limited because they're already kind of shopping it around, right?

Yeah, exactly. And I think also you have to ask yourself, is that the type of client I want to work with?

Yeah.

Somebody that's thinking about content piece by piece versus long term. What is our content marketing strategy? You know, what are we putting out there, you know, on a quarterly, six month annual basis? I think that's, to me, that's just a red flag that, like, you know, maybe these guys don't get the value I provide or they need to be educated on it, you know, and hopefully you can make that happen. But if they don't and they're just looking for one off projects here and there, you know, I don't know. There's a lot of companies that do get content marketing. I want to work with those.

Well, how do you, in terms of your positioning, how much do you feel the way you're positioning yourself impacts the kind of leads you are getting and referrals you're getting.

I got to think about this one for a second. So I think that people, I mean, I think that people understand there's a need for more thoughtful content strategy and execution and that, that I tend to lead with that. It opens like their eyes to like, oh, okay. It takes a load off of their shoulders. Like, you know, content fuels the marketing engine right now. Like, there's no. The need is Never going to be met. I mean, it's just this, you know, you're always going to need more of it. So being able to talk about content from that place then I think it opens people's at least the prospects and customers that I work with, it kind of opens their eyes. It's like they're not just going to meet this immediate need. I've got a resource here that's going to help me tackle this problem from here on out. And so that type of positioning, it's been effective and it attracts the type of companies that I like to work with, most importantly.

Yeah, yeah. And I get the sense that you're engaging with a higher level person in the organization as opposed to, let's say a marketing manager. Is that a correct assumption? You mentioned CMO VP level earlier. How often does that happen? Versus much lower.

So it is typically like I'm brought in by a cmo, you know, a VP of marketing and then I also work with their marketing team. So sometimes my, yeah, my day to day contact may not be that person. It may be a senior marketing manager or content manager to that point. What I'm finding though is there's a lot of companies out there that are hiring for content managers and their marketing team. So if that title or role is in place at a company, that's probably who I'll work with directly. I'm just now starting to see that on a regular basis. So. But I envision that, you know, as companies start addressing content in a more sophisticated and thoughtful way internally, then those will be the roles and titles that I'll be working with more.

But it sounds like you, at least early on, you're engaging with somebody higher in the organization, which is fantastic because if you're brought in or that's your initial discussions or at that level, you could have a very different conversation than you would have from somebody at the other side.

Absolutely. And I think I want and do really 100% of the time I am working with those higher level people and that's important because I want to know how invested they are in content. Do they from a high level, are they bought into the notion of content marketing? Because if they are, the sky's the limit. If they're not, then you can kind of already see your ceiling of value. And I don't like seeing my ceiling of value. That's not a good thing to look up at.

This stage. You've been at this for a long time. What would you say most of your prospects come from?

It is 100% referral based.

Wow, that's great.

Yeah, it is, and I'm grateful for that. I have a good network. I'm also, you know, I'm very targeted. B2B technology companies, you know, having a niche has been helpful in all aspects of my business, but one of the best has been the networking aspect. Because I think B2B technology companies know most of the time that they need a writer that gets what it's like to write for that audience or for that type of company. And so the pool is smaller from which to draw. So the referral process is just easier and it's more effective in my case.

Yeah, but the cool thing about what you're doing is, yeah, it's B2B tech, which is specific, but it's not ultra specific. A lot of people think they have to go so narrow in order to really pop and stand out. And you're a perfect example that you don't necessarily need to do that. Like just taking a stand here, driving that stake in the ground is enough. Right. To make a difference and to be remembered when people are thinking about resources to recommend. Would you say that are you actively cultivating referrals or are you at a point where they just kind of happen on their own?

I mean, I would never want to say I'm not actively cultivating referrals. Am I at, like my networking zenith right now? No, but I, you know, I'm, you know, the system, the referral network is giving back on its own. But, you know, I'm always looking for new opportunities, and I'm always looking, you know, to meet new and interesting people that understand what I do, that understand the value of what I do and may need those services. And so I'm certainly not ignoring it by any means, but the power of a good referral network, you just cannot underestimate it. But you said something, and I wanted to speak to it really quickly. Don't carve out a niche that's so small that you're inflexible. And I think that's really good advice because I think you shouldn't be held hostage to something that you specialize in. I have certainly worked with clients outside of even my niche, which isn't super specialized, but outside of that. And those have been good relationships and those have been good clients. But, you know, having that flexibility has been good for me at times. And I just, I think that's, that's good advice. It's spot on.

Yeah, yeah, you're in a perfect spot right now. I find that that Middle ground is really the sweet spot because you can, if you wanted to, if you started seeing some patterns, go a little bit narrower, but it's not so narrow that again, like you said, your hands are tied now and like, well, somebody passes you by because you just didn't. You didn't quite fit what they were looking for. You felt too specific. I love that you've developed the kind of business, Hannah, that, you know, you, you have a great reputation, you've cultivated a great. Developed a great network of people in the industry. It sounds like you nurture that network well and that's a great place to be because when you come referred, I'm not going to put a number to me, whether it's 50% the client, the prospect is 50% sold or 80% sold, doesn't really matter. The point is they're not at zero when you don't have to start from zero when they are already kind of have a certain percentage sold on working with you. Man, that's a great place to be, isn't it? You can have a better conversation.

Absolutely. It definitely is.

So this has been fantastic. I appreciate you coming on and just sharing your journey with us and how it shifted and it's just always so cool to kind of look back and see how things have developed and evolved organically. This is exciting and I want to congratulate you on your success because I know this hasn't been easy, easy. And you're like, man, in 15 years, you're like a. Like a serious veteran.

It's so weird that it just doesn't feel like that. You know, it's been fun, but, you know, that's. That's why we do what we do, right? I mean, that's why we take this path. So, yeah. Thank you.

Absolutely. So where can people learn more about your business? Where can I send them?

Yeah, but the website's a good place to start. So that's bower that dash is actually a hyphen in case of clarification. But yeah, so that's. Yeah, that's a good place. That'll connect you to every other place where there's information.

Awesome. Hannah, thank you again for coming on. Really enjoyed our conversation.

Thank you so much.

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