Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E69 An Interview with Rhiannon Franz and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E69 An Interview with Rhiannon Franz and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:17
Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building
0:20
Profitable Connections. I'm your host, Michael
0:23
Foreman, and today we're diving into the intersection
0:26
of personal branding, marketing, and authentic
0:30
connection. Our guest is a powerhouse who has
0:34
lived on both sides of the creative battlefield,
0:37
advertising and marketing. She knows what it
0:40
means to stand out in a saturated world. why
0:43
everyone today is a personal brand, whether they
0:46
realize it or not, and how to turn failure into
0:50
fuel. From learning to package your services
0:53
for success to helping others build visibility
0:56
without sacrificing authenticity, this conversation
1:00
is full of insight for anyone looking to elevate
1:04
their networking game and create more profitable.
1:08
purposeful connections. So grab a notebook. This
1:12
is one of those episodes you'll want to revisit.
1:14
So let's jump in. So I have Rhiannon France,
1:18
that is really the expert in both of those fields.
1:22
And I would like to introduce her to the podcast
1:25
and see what her background is. Rhiannon, how
1:28
are you? I'm good. Thank you for today. I'm excited
1:32
to talk with you and talk to your audience today.
1:35
Okay. I think there's a little bit about your
1:37
background. Yeah. So I have worked in corporate
1:41
America for 20 ish years. I work specifically
1:45
in the big advertising holding companies. So
1:49
if you might remember an old TV show called like
1:52
Donnie Deutsch, and there was an advertising
1:54
agency called Deutsch. I worked at that ad agency.
1:57
If you think of like the Mad Men era, I worked
2:00
in a specific department called paid media. So
2:03
I worked on strategy and how to find audiences
2:06
and where they're at, consumption, stuff like
2:09
that. But New York, LA, Detroit, I worked on
2:12
auto. I worked on entertainment. You name it
2:15
in the glamorous world of advertising and both
2:18
the positives and the negatives of that corporate
2:21
career. Okay, great. That's great. So it really
2:25
sounds like you have a lot of experience in the
2:28
advertising and marketing fields. So let's delve
2:31
right into the podcast. You come from both advertising
2:35
and marketing. How do those disciplines approach
2:39
networking differently and where do they intersect?
2:43
Yeah, it's an interesting question because I
2:45
find that a lot of people lump it all together.
2:48
There's even... branding, marketing, advertising,
2:51
what does that even all mean? And I find that
2:54
it's so interesting how nuanced it actually is,
2:58
but obviously they all work together. So a nice
3:01
sort of way to think about it is your brand is
3:03
what you look like, like your values or your
3:06
colors or a brand guide. And then it would be
3:09
like your mission, your values, what you stand
3:11
for. That's an important component of your business.
3:13
You want to always be true to those things that
3:16
are core to who you are. That would be like your
3:19
brand. And that is unique to every single person.
3:22
but that would be like your foundational thing
3:25
that you stand for then your marketing is how
3:28
you're getting the wheels turning of what is
3:32
your goals of your business and how do you get
3:34
that brand in front of people what does that
3:37
message look like and so I like to talk a lot
3:40
about packaging and positioning when I talk about
3:42
marketing so it's who you're talking to what
3:45
are you trying to sell them How are you selling
3:48
that? What is that message like? And a lot of
3:50
people get confused. I'm just going to talk about
3:52
me here. I just, I'm going to talk about me.
3:55
The difference is that's not what actually lands
3:57
for a buyer. A buyer is coming to you and they
4:01
want you to tell them how you're going to fix
4:03
their problem. So you're basically. you're basically
4:08
a problem solver exactly and so your positioning
4:12
and how you market yourself is totally different
4:16
than your brand your brand is me maybe you're
4:19
you're talking about yourself and it's all about
4:21
yourself a lot of people make this mistake they
4:24
build a website or they build their social media
4:27
talking about me the problem is that's not what
4:31
people are gonna buy from you yeah it should
4:34
all ladder back into who you are and they want
4:36
to resonate and work well with you but your marketing
4:39
should be speaking to your audience and how you're
4:41
going to solve their problem so that's marketing
4:44
and then advertising should be like after that
4:48
after you've figured out your branding you've
4:51
figured out how you're speaking to people then
4:53
you can advertise or maybe you want to do boost
4:58
a post on Instagram or you want to do an ad that's
5:02
advertising where you take money and you push
5:04
out your visibility and I find that a lot of
5:07
my clients have come to me for advertising because
5:10
that's obviously my background and what I know
5:12
and I'll go okay yeah let's talk about your advertising
5:16
how much are you boosting posts are you buying
5:18
Google AdWords are you doing these things and
5:20
leaking money when you haven't done these other
5:23
things first. And that's what's been able to
5:26
help clients navigate these fields because the
5:29
words all sound the same, but they're actually
5:32
different things and they need to be done actually
5:34
in steps. Wow, very good. I see the difference
5:38
now. Okay, so you believe everyone is a personal
5:43
brand. How does someone begin to define and position
5:47
their intentionality? Yes, I am 100 % of a component
5:52
believer that everyone is a personal brand and
5:55
more so now, 2025. The latest stat that I heard
6:00
said that about 23 to 24 % of current US jobs
6:05
have been replaced by ChatGPT. Okay, so nearly
6:10
24 % of US jobs have currently been replaced
6:14
by ChatGPT. That's a scary number, right? That's
6:18
especially for those of us that are business
6:21
owners. We are service providers. We're providing
6:25
services to people and these robots are taking
6:28
our jobs, right? This is an age old industrial
6:30
complex, like age old conversation, right? For
6:35
the modern day where we sit right now, this is
6:38
the opportunity. This is the time to switch and
6:41
turn yourself into thinking differently. Because
6:45
we have platforms, we have free channels to be
6:49
able to develop ourselves into a brand. So how
6:52
many people have a Facebook? How many people
6:55
have an Instagram? How many people have a LinkedIn?
6:58
That is your personal brand. And it's something
7:01
that you as a society probably have natively
7:04
been doing for years anyway. But we just think
7:08
of it as, oh, it's our friends and our family.
7:09
It's just these couple core people. But really,
7:12
if you want to think about how can I re -add
7:15
in? I don't know where to start. Start with your
7:18
social media. I love Mel Robbins. Anybody like
7:21
Mel Robbins fans, right? Love Mel Robbins. She
7:24
has been quoted as saying, your social media
7:26
is not for your friends and family. It's for
7:29
your business. So leveraging that platform to
7:33
be able to speak about the things that you do.
7:36
Again, not me. but how you help people and the
7:40
solving their pain points and so if you start
7:43
to switch yourself and switch your thinking just
7:46
a little tweak i'm not talking about like overhaul
7:49
everything and you have to hire me to do all
7:51
this for you which i would love but you can do
7:54
this yourself by thinking of yourself with a
7:57
little pivot so pivot yourself into thinking
8:00
i'm an expert in start talking about how and
8:07
I help people with so just those two little phrases
8:11
right there that gives you your LinkedIn headers
8:14
your Instagram headers that gives you the things
8:17
that you need to be talking about your cue cards
8:20
I'm an expert in and I help you with and those
8:24
two things right there will give you two little
8:26
pivots To start your social media, talking about
8:29
that stuff, just getting your voice out there,
8:32
talking to your clients about this stuff and
8:35
turning yourself into that expert that you are.
8:38
You differentiate with the different social media
8:42
platforms. Like when I do LinkedIn, that's basically
8:46
business. Facebook is more personal. Instagram
8:50
is more for my reels and things. So do you differentiate
8:54
between the different social medias or do you
8:58
put your faith behind one or two specifically?
9:03
And that is a very good question. And this is
9:05
always changing. So the relevant thing that I
9:08
could tell you right now, May 23rd, 2025, when
9:12
we're recording this. Mind you, could change
9:15
in a couple months. That being said, I think
9:18
the fundamental idea of yes, LinkedIn is business
9:22
is core to what it is and who the audience is.
9:25
Like me, I come from corporate. That's where
9:28
all my audience is. And I target my message to
9:31
people on LinkedIn. I am speaking to corporate
9:34
and ex -corporate experts who are trying to cash
9:37
in on their expertise. Right. So there I've just
9:40
explained what I do and I've explained how I
9:43
help them. And in a short phrase, so LinkedIn
9:47
is my primary target and that's, I create content
9:52
for LinkedIn. That being said, Instagram is now
9:56
become your resume. So people are going to check
9:59
your Instagram to be like, visually, is this
10:04
expert legit? Are they talking about solving
10:07
my problem? and give me examples right so instagram
10:11
is your new resume sounds backwards right whereas
10:15
linkedin is like your authority so that's where
10:18
you want to be leaning into this expertise that
10:20
you have speaking business speak but your instagram
10:24
is absolutely still a business platform and people
10:27
will still look at instagram as a place for a
10:32
double check or let me see what this person's
10:34
really about facebook i agree with you is primarily
10:38
friends and family. It's a bit of an older audience.
10:41
Those of us like me, I'm Gen X millennial, like
10:44
I'm a cusper. So I definitely was one of the
10:48
first people on Facebook. That being said, Facebook
10:51
is still there and very relevant for a lot of
10:54
my clients because they've been there a long
10:57
time. And that's where the people that they know
10:59
who might not hire them. but know someone who
11:03
wants to hire them. And that's that one piece
11:06
that we forget sometimes because we think, I
11:09
don't want to be salesy. I don't want to be like
11:11
just talking about my business all the time.
11:13
But it's not for those people. It's for the people
11:16
that they know. So when they... Yeah. No, whenever
11:21
I go across the country and I speak on stages
11:24
and I go into corporations, I talk about networking,
11:27
communication. I'm not talking to... just those
11:30
people, but I'm talking to their network of people.
11:34
So you always have to keep that in mind. But
11:37
in a noisy marketplace, how can professionals
11:40
stand out authentically without feeling like
11:44
they're selling themselves constantly? Yeah,
11:47
that is a hard one. And the first thing I would
11:51
say is taking a look at your goals. What is the
11:54
goal that you're trying to achieve? And if you
11:57
need to be on social media because you think
12:01
that will validate help validate your authority
12:04
in the space in what you do then spend your time
12:06
there however if you are a a local business a
12:12
lot of local businesses don't necessarily need
12:14
to spend so much time on instagram they don't
12:16
need to spend so much time on linkedin they need
12:20
to be spending their time like on next door and
12:23
yelp and google business is your google business
12:25
page optimized are you the first one on there
12:28
do you have reviews on there like google maps
12:30
right that's where people are searching for what's
12:34
near me what are the five star ratings so every
12:37
single kind of industry it's hard to answer that
12:39
question is where to like as a business think
12:43
about where your expertise is and what to lean
12:45
into it kind of goes back to your business goals
12:47
what are you trying to get foot in the door or
12:49
are you trying to get fit calls. So there's different
12:52
like levers you can pull on your marketing. But
12:55
I think fundamentally, if you just figure out
12:59
those statements, the like, I'm an expert in
13:01
and I help you with, and you start thinking in
13:05
that way of what kind of things you talk about,
13:07
whether that's a connection call, whether that's
13:10
on your social media, that will help filter.
13:13
And then exactly what we were just talking about,
13:16
your audience might not be the person you're
13:18
selling to. It's the people that they know. And
13:20
that takes the pressure off. That's just, okay,
13:23
now I can show up and I can say all these things
13:25
because it's a human nature thing. It'll start
13:28
to relieve some of that pressure. Okay, now in
13:31
the same vein, what mistakes do you see people
13:34
make when they're trying to market themselves
13:38
in a network setting? Oh, like a person to person?
13:43
or a person personal person you can do that yeah
13:47
i think it's the i help people with part okay
13:51
if anyone's ever been to like a bni meeting or
13:55
you've been at i mean for me i like to go to
13:57
my local chamber of commerce meetings i was a
14:00
little like not sure what my little intro statement
14:04
was like what is your one sentence that you just
14:09
You close this person because you're like, oh,
14:11
I know exactly what you do. And I know some people
14:14
that would fit that. Because I find that, especially
14:17
in local business, Chamber of Commerce, BNI,
14:20
things like that, they want to help you. People
14:23
want to help you with whatever it is. That's
14:26
why they're showing up to these events. People
14:28
are very open to that. Your whole idea with a
14:33
30 -second elevator speech or pitch that you
14:37
were saying. It's not to say the whole pitch.
14:40
It's just to get them enough to ask you a question.
14:44
Yes. Once they ask you a question, that opens
14:47
it up. Yes. That opens you up to everything.
14:49
And you can show your expertise, of course. Yeah.
14:52
So mine is, for example, I have learned over
14:54
time, this did not come easily for me, but is
14:58
I help ex -corporate executives build visible
15:01
personal brands to cash in on their expertise.
15:06
See? Okay. Perfect. That was a longer version,
15:10
but I could shorten it. I could tweak it depending
15:12
on who I'm talking to. But that was like the
15:14
long version of if somebody gives me an intro,
15:16
what do you do? And I help professionals network
15:21
and communicate more effectively and efficiently,
15:24
thus creating more profits. There you go. That's
15:28
the exact same thing. Okay. Now, let's get to
15:32
a little bit of the failing part of what you're
15:34
going through. Can you share a time you failed
15:37
at something, be it a pitch, a client, or a connection,
15:41
and what you learned that changed now, how you
15:45
now show up in business? This is a great question.
15:48
One of the acronyms I have been told, and I love
15:51
it, is failure is your first attempt in learning.
15:56
You fail. it's all a learning experience and
16:00
that for me was very hard to change that mindset
16:04
shift that it's this is the learning process
16:07
so one of the things that i did is i didn't know
16:11
what my niche was coming out of corporate so
16:14
coming out of corporate and deciding i'm going
16:15
to start my own personal branding i'm a branding
16:17
agency i'm going to do marketing i'm going to
16:19
do advertising like i thought oh i could do i
16:21
know i can do all of it But I didn't know what
16:24
I liked. I didn't know what kind of clients I
16:26
like to work with. I didn't know exactly how
16:30
to do it. So my advice I tell everyone, just
16:32
jump in, try it out. Introduce yourself to people.
16:35
I connected with people. I got intro to people.
16:38
I gave people packages at cost. So I wasn't like
16:42
I was making a lot up the gate, but like at cost,
16:45
I was able to produce for my clients what they
16:49
needed. That was gave me the ability to. fail
16:53
and learn because they knew this is my first
16:55
foray. I'm not making a profit at this. I'm giving
16:57
you to the set cost, but I learned a ton. And
17:01
I learned, for example, I don't work well with
17:04
local businesses. I love you. I love a local
17:07
business and I will support you, but I don't
17:11
work well with local businesses. It's a different.
17:15
For me, people who come from corporate, I come
17:17
from corporate. We speak a same language. I don't
17:20
know how to describe it. It just is. And so having
17:23
worked with people who came from corporate, it
17:25
just like things were rocking between us. We
17:28
vibed really well together. And it was only through
17:32
that process that I failed in that experience.
17:36
Now I still launched successful products for
17:39
my local business clients and I love them dearly.
17:45
That was an experience that I learned from. It
17:49
was my first attempt in learning. I failed. And
17:53
then I decided to shift and focus specifically
17:55
on people who have come from corporate, who just,
17:58
we vibe, we speak the same language. You don't
18:03
learn or succeed without failure. That's right.
18:07
Because if what you're doing and everything's
18:09
going along in there, you have yes men standing
18:11
around you. You don't learn anything. You just
18:14
keep on doing what you're doing. Whether it's
18:17
right or wrong, I don't know. But it's always
18:20
much better. Now, failure, I've failed. Listen,
18:23
I've been a business owner. I've worked corporate.
18:26
I've done it all. And I can tell you, we don't
18:28
have enough time to tell you about all my failures.
18:32
So I know that failure leads to success. That's
18:36
all. Okay, so. What strategies have you used
18:41
to package your services in a way that resonates
18:44
and sells, especially in today's fast -paced,
18:48
brand -driven world? I love this question because
18:51
this is what I help my clients do. I have learned
18:55
how to shift my mindset from trading hours for
18:58
dollars to packaging expert. And so from that,
19:04
it was a big mindset shift for me coming from
19:06
corporate where I thought I have to work for
19:09
this hourly rate. I have to be like a freelancer
19:11
or fractional. How many people have heard that
19:13
word fractional? That's the new buzzword right
19:15
now. Everybody wants to be a fractional. And
19:17
I'm like, you're literally trading hours for
19:19
dollars. You're not selling in a strategic package.
19:21
For me, learning how to package and price my
19:24
services is what does that intro offer? How am
19:28
I getting somebody to take a small bite? get
19:32
a big experience of understanding what I do,
19:35
and then upselling them on my three -tiered packages.
19:40
All of that is completely clear on my website,
19:43
revivemarketing .com, fully transparent of what
19:46
my pricing is. Now I can up my pricing, I can
19:49
change my pricing, this is my pricing as it is
19:51
right now, but it's visible. It shows people,
19:54
oh my gosh, this is the first step, and this
19:57
is the second step. It's very clear and it's
19:59
easy to buy. And that's what I try to tell people
20:02
all the time. Make it easy for people to buy
20:05
from you because they understand what they're
20:07
going to get and they understand how to buy from
20:10
you. So put your pricing on your website. I have
20:12
a lot of debate about that. I hear a lot of hemming
20:16
and hawing about it. But let me tell you, the
20:19
more clear you are about what it is that you're
20:21
selling and how it can be purchased will make
20:24
it easier for people to buy you. So that's my...
20:27
Biggest advice. Great answer. Great answer. Okay.
20:32
When you think about successful networking, what's
20:36
more important, visibility or value? And how
20:40
do you balance both? Ooh, that's a tough one.
20:46
I would go with value. Value is definitely going
20:50
to be the differentiator. It's like that. word
20:53
authenticity like just be your authentic self
20:56
remember that means it's different for everyone
20:58
but if you can show your value and you can show
21:02
what you can bring to people that's going to
21:05
break through that noise of visibility to be
21:07
like oh i see what the value is so again if you're
21:11
speaking to their pain point and you're offering
21:14
a solution with value that's gonna that's gonna
21:18
break through and connect faster i agree wholeheartedly
21:22
I absolutely agree. Value must come first. Your
21:26
visibility, that's your website, that's your
21:29
advertising, everything will come afterwards.
21:32
But you have to have to show value and you have
21:36
to be authentic when you're showing your value.
21:39
So all of that will come. And yes, I agree with
21:43
you 100%. How has your network influenced the
21:48
way you've grown and positioned your business
21:51
over time? I like this question. I have a communications
21:55
background. I got my master's degree in communication.
21:58
So I really love networks and the power of communication
22:03
and the theory of networks. So I have always
22:07
believed in making sure that I always connect
22:10
with people from the beginning. And so I have
22:14
built. for example, my LinkedIn connections over
22:16
the 20 years and have always been very authentic
22:21
and reconnecting. So making sure that my network
22:23
is, I don't know, maybe respected. Maybe they
22:27
feel like I'm genuine. and that those connections
22:31
to me are valuable to me so showing up to networking
22:34
events being a part of the ad clubs that i have
22:38
here in la being a part of a community of advertisers
22:42
in new york and la it's definitely been a component
22:45
of who i am and believing that at some point
22:50
if i need to pull a lever and ask a friend for
22:53
an intro to something like that is a genuine
22:58
relationship where i feel that of course they
23:02
would of course like if i ask for help then they're
23:06
like oh my god how can i help you the hard part
23:09
has been for me when somebody asks me how can
23:13
i help you i don't know how to answer that has
23:17
been a big challenge for me and a big shift in
23:19
my mindset going from corporate to being a business
23:22
owner because in corporate i knew the answer
23:24
i worked for 20 years i knew exactly where i
23:27
wanted to go how i want to get there I knew,
23:29
but over here and shifting to being a business
23:32
owner and the mindset shifts that I've had to
23:34
take, it has been challenging to figure out what
23:38
do I need help with? I don't know. And so that
23:42
I would say has been the hardest part of leveraging
23:46
this network because of not knowing what to ask
23:50
for, or even when asked for help, what do I even
23:53
need? So I can empathize with Those out there
23:58
that are going, I have this network. What do
23:59
I do? The answer that I have found. So just to
24:03
give an answer to that question as well is asking
24:08
who, who might, I might be able to help. And
24:12
so somebody asks you, how can I help you? Who
24:15
do you know that looks like this, that I can
24:18
help them? And that is at least been, I have
24:22
a sticky note, I have a post -it that I've put
24:25
on my computer. So when I have these connection
24:27
calls, I'm like, what is the question I'm supposed
24:29
to ask? And having that sticky note on my computer
24:32
helps me remind me, okay, I'm supposed to ask,
24:35
who do you know that looks like this that I could
24:38
help? I believe in that so much so that I make
24:44
it a point every week that I put two people together.
24:49
OK, I belong to the local chamber of commerce.
24:52
I belong to a few networking groups. And what
24:55
I do is, oh, this person needs a plumber, let's
24:58
say. OK, perfect. I know a plumber. I know a
25:01
great plumber. I'm going to introduce them like,
25:04
Joe, this is Jim. Jim, this is Joe. He's a great
25:07
businessman. This person needs help. Have at
25:11
it. OK, I let them go. But I make it a point
25:14
that I do at least two per week. Because I'm
25:19
known as a super connector. Yeah, you are. Okay.
25:22
But that's what I do because I feel because networking
25:26
as a whole, okay, you have to go into it with
25:29
what's called a servant's heart. Give. not receive.
25:33
So you once you give it Zig Ziglar, everybody,
25:37
you know, talks about this. And they if you give
25:40
enough, then we'll come back around to you and
25:42
you will receive afterwards. But if you go to
25:45
a networking event, or meet with somebody one
25:48
on one, what can you do for that person? How
25:51
can you make that person more successful? Yeah,
25:55
so That's the mindset that I go in with. Okay,
26:00
what's one piece of advice you'd give to somebody
26:03
who's starting to build a network with the goal
26:06
of turning it into a business opportunity? I
26:12
feel like you just answered that question. I
26:15
think I did. I think I did. But give me your
26:18
best shot. Yeah, I think, first of all, If I'm
26:24
thinking about building the way that I building
26:26
a network for marketing purposes, so for potential
26:29
future business is through giving away a freebie.
26:33
So on my website, I have a corporate cash out
26:37
blueprint and it's revived marketing backslash
26:40
cash out. I'm sure it'll be in the show notes
26:42
and it's come to my website. It's on the first
26:45
button on the website. It's a way to give people
26:48
something of value in return for their email.
26:51
right it's an value exchange that has built my
26:54
email list to then be able to continue giving
26:57
value about the things that i do so when i send
27:01
an email i always make sure there's some story
27:03
in it i make sure i really spend the time i come
27:06
up with a story some example some giving value
27:10
of something authentic and true to me and an
27:13
experience that i had i've how many times been
27:17
on So many email lists that are just a sales,
27:20
a sale, like five days of sale things that they're
27:22
trying to sell. Like I, that's not going to continue
27:25
to get your open rates and it's going to get
27:27
people to unsubscribe. So I send two emails a
27:30
week. One email is the, like a newer story, something
27:35
of interest. And then I probably have a call
27:37
to action. I have a live event coming up in June,
27:40
come join my workshop. And then, but it's not
27:42
hit you over the head, right? It has to have
27:44
value. because again, I'm building this network.
27:47
So I've given you something of value to get onto
27:49
my email list. You get something of value in
27:52
my stories. And then the second one is my Evergreen
27:55
content. You're in my wheelhouse. This is what's
27:57
going on. So that's like the bare minimum of
28:00
an email. Like again, there's a whole marketing
28:03
strategy for email. However, building your email
28:07
list, making it valuable to people. And feeling
28:11
connected to the network that you have through
28:14
your emails is going to be super important to
28:17
building whatever business. Let's say somebody
28:20
only has 500 people on their email list. What
28:25
email list would you suggest that they start
28:29
with to send an email out? Yeah, I only have
28:34
about 500 on my email list, 550, something like
28:36
that. A very specific niche of people and it's
28:38
growing. throwing but that's that's a good number
28:41
if you have 500 people and you need how many
28:44
clients do you need to get to don't be look if
28:47
you have 20 people on your email list i am all
28:50
about that just start talking about it in fact
28:54
20 people is less of a fear than 500 than a thousand
28:59
so 20 people feel oh nobody could open this email
29:03
and i'm fine i was joking the other day on a
29:06
call about how for me my blog was like oh i can
29:10
write whatever on my blog website because who's
29:12
gonna see that like i'm not pushing advertising
29:16
out to that like people really do have to come
29:19
to my website and read my blog so it gave me
29:21
this platform to just write and start telling
29:24
stories and doing stories and then i started
29:26
just taking those blogs and putting them in my
29:28
email because i'm writing these stories so why
29:31
not do that so i just would encourage people
29:34
just start writing just start sending emails
29:38
at the U .S. laws with all this stuff, canned
29:41
spam, people can unsubscribe. They don't want
29:43
to be on your email list. Let them unsubscribe.
29:45
I was a little hurt at the beginning of people
29:48
I would see unsubscribe. What format do you use?
29:53
What program do you use to send out those emails?
29:57
Oh, great question. So I use a product called
30:01
Flowdesk because it's pretty. And I thought that
30:04
it looked pretty. It wasn't really out of functionality.
30:07
I like something called Kit is very good for
30:10
if you're doing a lot of events and you have
30:13
a lot of things. There you go. See, if you have
30:16
a lot of events, you have things coming up. Kit
30:17
is very good because it's, you can do workflows
30:20
off of each of your events a lot easier than
30:23
Flowdesk. Flowdesk is working on it. Anyway,
30:25
MailChimp is free. right for up to i don't know
30:28
a lot of subscribers so mailchimp i think 500.
30:31
mailchimp is free up until 500. okay yeah so
30:35
start with free if that's where you're at don't
30:37
pay for stuff until you feel like okay now i'm
30:41
ready to up level or now i'm here there just
30:43
make it easy for yourself make it a low barrier
30:46
of entry and just get started perfect perfect
30:50
okay let's bring this podcast full circle okay
30:53
look looking ahead How do you see personal branding
30:57
and networking evolving in the next five years?
31:01
And how should people prepare for it? I love
31:04
that question. I believe that in -person networking,
31:08
personal branding is the future. We all went
31:12
through a pandemic and I call it the great reevaluation.
31:15
We all went through something. We all have a
31:17
pandemic story. Now we have come through that.
31:20
We are ready to be back in person. We are ready
31:23
to be back with people. We need that energy.
31:25
We're humans. We need that connectivity. We need
31:27
that networking. We need that energy. You want
31:30
to be able to walk into a room at a networking
31:32
event, knowing that when you hand a business
31:35
card to somebody, when they come to that website
31:38
or when they see you, that it all matches together.
31:42
I have an example of a friend of mine, Tricia.
31:45
She does personal branding also. rebel brand
31:49
you meet her she is just like her je ne sais
31:53
quoi of who she is out it matches for people
31:57
that want that creative brander like that works
32:02
well for her you go to her website you go to
32:04
her social media right it's all that brand and
32:07
people know when they see her and then when they
32:09
see her online they're like that tracks that's
32:12
the person that i want my stuff is another example
32:15
I work with a lot of ex -corporate people. You'll
32:17
probably see me more in a collar, maybe a bright
32:19
shirt, right? But a collar, you'll see me a little
32:21
bit more in a business type of attire because
32:24
I know that my audience is corporate or ex -corporate.
32:27
It just goes well with my brand. It goes well
32:29
with my audience. And when you, all of it starts
32:32
tying together it, that's where you're bringing
32:34
together again, the networking, you're seeing
32:36
me, you're seeing me in person, you're meeting
32:38
me. And when you see my personal brand online,
32:41
it's all coming together. That's beautiful. That's
32:45
beautiful. Rhiannon, this was such a great interview.
32:49
I loved listening to your answers. Listen, if
32:53
anybody wanted to get hold of you, either to
32:55
be coached, to buy some of your product or whatever,
32:59
what's the best way for them to get hold of you?
33:01
So my website is Revive Marketing. And this is
33:05
the tricky part. It's my name is R -H -I. So
33:08
it's Rhiannon with R -H -I. So it's a play on
33:10
my name. Rhiannon, Revive. So it's Revive, R
33:14
-H -I -V -I -V -E, marketing .com. Perfect. Rhiannon,
33:20
I cannot believe it, but it's over. And I thank
33:24
you so much for coming on my podcast. It was
33:26
a great conversation. Thank you. Well, hold on,
33:31
folks. Don't go anywhere. Let me just read a
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-U -P -K -I -D -S dot org. Well, that's a wrap,
34:49
folks. A huge thank you to our special guests
34:52
for sharing such incredible insights today. And
34:55
of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
34:59
listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
35:02
with us. Remember, networking isn't about being
35:06
perfect. It's about being present. So take what
35:09
you've learned today, get out there and make
35:12
some meaningful connections. If you enjoyed this
35:15
episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us
35:18
a review, and share it with someone who could
35:20
use a little networking inspiration. Let's keep
35:23
the conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
35:27
Spotify, YouTube, or my website, Michael. Remember,
35:32
until next time, keep practicing, keep connecting,
35:36
and keep building those relationships. This is
35:39
Michael signing off. Take care and happy networking.