Episode 188: How To Get Into Oprah's Favorite Things As A First Time Founder
In this episode of the Gloria Chou PR Podcast, I sit down with Marcia Hacker, founder of Sauipe Swim—a sustainable, size-inclusive swimwear brand featured in Oprah Daily (both print and online), BuzzFeed, and Brides.
After being burned by expensive PR retainers, Marcia took matters into her own hands. Using the PR Starter Pack, she landed major media features without a publicist, without sending samples, and without paid ads.
If you're a product-based founder looking for cost-free press, this episode is your roadmap.
How Sauipe Swim Got Into Oprah Daily Without a PR Agency
Marcia shares how she approached media differently—by building real relationships and using tools she already had, like LinkedIn and email. Her secret wasn’t insider connections. It was strategy, consistency, and clarity.
Why Serving Journalists (Not Selling) Is the Key to Free Press
Pitching isn’t about pushing your product. It’s about serving the journalist’s audience.
Marcia shifted from “here’s my product” to “here’s a story your readers will care about.” This change in approach made her stand out—and earned her coverage in top outlets like Oprah Daily and BuzzFeed.
Tools and Strategies Marcia Used to Land National Features
LinkedIn: to research journalists and editors covering gift guides
Email tracking: to know when her emails were opened
Gloria’s CPR Method: to craft clear, relevant pitches
Follow-up: to stay on journalists’ radar without being spammy
Avoid These Common PR Mistakes as a Product-Based Founder
Marcia didn’t send out free samples or huge product catalogs.
Instead, she avoided:
Overspending on samples before confirming interest
Writing vague, “spray-and-pray” pitches
Waiting for the “perfect” moment to start pitching
A Year-Round Gift Guide Pitching System That Works
Gift guides aren’t just for the holidays.
Marcia built a seasonal PR rhythm that included:
Valentine’s Day
Mother’s Day
Graduation
Back-to-School
Holiday gift guides
Women-owned, AAPI-owned, and Black-owned brand roundups
With a repeatable system, she keeps getting featured—year-round.
The CPR Method: A Simple Way to Land Press and Wholesale
Marcia used the CPR method to land not just press, but also new wholesale opportunities.
CPR =
C: Credibility (your story + why you’re legit)
P: Point of View (your unique angle)
R: Relevance (why now, why this outlet)
Want to dive deeper? Listen to the full CPR method episode here.
Final Takeaway
You don’t need to hire a PR agency or send 50 samples to get featured in national media.
What you need is:
✅ A clear message
✅ A human, relationship-first approach
✅ A repeatable system
If Marcia can land Oprah, so can you.
Resources Mentioned:
Join the PR Secrets Masterclass
Join the Small Biz PR Pros Facebook Group
DM the word “PITCH” to us on Instagram to get a pitching freebie https://www.instagram.com/gloriachoupr
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaychou
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/428633254951941
Connect with Marcia & Sauipe Swim
Website:https://www.sauipeswim.com
Instagram:@sauipeswim
Additional Resources:
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TRANsCRIPT
00:00:00 Gloria: Whoo. Do we have a good episode for you today? So we have one of our longtime PR starter pack members. She's a phenomenal woman, and, honestly, she will share all about her own PR journey of being very hesitant at first to join us. So I have the one and only Marcia Hacker here. She is a founder of Sauipe Swim, which is a gorgeous, gorgeous, eco-friendly, sustainable, and very flattering swimwear brand. We're gonna break it down for you on how a bootstrapping founder started her PR, kept it going, and now she's gone into so many places, including BuzzFeed, Brides, and Oprah Daily. I'm like, I can't even believe it that I'm saying that, Marcia.
00:00:36 Marcia: I know. Me too.
00:00:37 Gloria: It's crazy. So do you wanna take us back a little bit? Because I remember when we chatted in the DMs, you were very hesitant about not only joining my program, but PR in general. I mean, you founded this business in 2007. You said that you've done all the different PR things. Can you walk me back to, like, where you were with PR before you joined the program?
00:00:54 Marcia: Okay. I'm so excited to be here, but it's my first time on a podcast. I feel like that first email I sent out to me, I was like, oh my god. What do I do? Anyway, so thank you for having me here. So as you said, we started in 2007, and we went straight to a trade show for retailers. Back in Miami was the biggest show for swim at the time, and Sports Illustrated came by and picked up a bunch of suits. I had no idea what we were doing, literally.
00:01:25 Marcia: We left the show, and I told my sister, no. We are just gonna stop. Take a step back. Knowing nothing about the how to run the business properly here, let alone media. A couple of months later, Sports Illustrated called us and they were publishing a lot of suits. I was like, okay. Now we can't stop. We have to keep going. So that was my first experience with press. Soon after that, a couple more came and then I hired a PR firm.
00:01:50 Marcia: I don't need to tell you how much that cost me. It was – I mean, I went all in and I wanted to do the best. But the reality is back then, it wasn't like now where you can reach people. There was no social media and, like, I didn't even do LinkedIn. I don't even know if LinkedIn was a big thing back then. I let the agency do what they did, which was not great. And then I figured, okay. I can't keep paying this. It's like, it's ridiculous, and it's not bringing me the business I wanted. It got me some exposure, but the big one, I had done myself.
00:02:24 Marcia: But I figured, okay. I'm not doing this now. I'm going to focus on other things from the business that need more of my attention. And then I stopped reaching out to media completely for years, really, until last year. I don't even know how I came across the PR startup pack, but it was just probably the right timing. Right? And I had developed our e-com and our wholesale a little bit, then COVID came. It was a big mess that everybody went through.
00:02:51 Marcia: So in 2022, when I saw you and I figured, okay. I need to do something. And my initial goal was only for SEO. I know you've been talking a lot about SEO lately, so it's a great thing that you are saying that because that was my original goal. I said, I don't care about the press. I don't wanna talk to these people. I don't want anything to do about it. I just want the links back. Well, then I started taking your program, and it took me forever, really, to hit that first send button. And I kept you in my head. I was like, just press the send button. Just press the send button.
00:03:26 Marcia: Ultimately, now I love it. I really love interacting with these people. It's like, great. They are nice. They are just people like you say in your program. These are people on the other side of the send button. And I am starting to develop –
00:03:40 Gloria: Well, I'm gonna need you to say that louder. I'm gonna need you to say it again and say it into the mic.
00:03:45 Marcia: Okay. They are human beings just like you and me on the other side of the send button. And if you don't press the send button, they don't know about you. So I started writing to them following your program. Right? You have –
00:04:02 Gloria: Writing to journalists. Yeah.
00:04:03 Marcia: Correct. To the journalists. I started writing. It was like – it took me forever. I joined your program, I think, in June or July of last year, and I only started sending in September. I was, like, so afraid. I didn't know what to write, how to write, how much to write. But then I read every single chapter on your program and I said, okay, I have to do this. And I started sending and nothing. It was like crickets. But I saw they were opening the email at least. Right? As you said, also do the tracking and all that.
00:04:35 Marcia: And then one time, I think it was, like, towards the holidays in December, and I was always writing to them following the program. So I was writing for their audience. Like, I put myself in their shoes and I said, okay. The audience is buying a swimsuit. So what are they looking for? What are their pain points when buying a swimsuit? Anything from the style to the color.
00:04:57 Marcia: So I started sending emails, maybe it was, like, once every six weeks to the same few people. I had 60 people on my list that I picked. And then in December, you know, things were slow here, and I just went to LinkedIn because you talk so much about LinkedIn, and I wasn't there at all. I wasn't doing anything on LinkedIn. And I started inviting the people from your list, and, oh my god, I just hit them at the right time, I guess, because they started accepting my invitation, and that's it.
00:05:31 Marcia: So that little step, which was a big step for me because I'm not, like, a social person. That big step for me gave me enough confidence to start talking to them more. And then I continue with your message. It's like, okay. I need to come up with other things to talk about. If they are not replying to me, I'm going to keep going. I have a story to tell.
00:05:55 Marcia: I can talk about white swimsuits, black swimsuits, and how the top is our – you know, as human beings, we are not all the same size. We're not all the same shape. So that was my message, and eventually, they started talking back. So the first one actually that contacted me was Oprah. It was back in February of this year. And I know you didn't – I told you, I think, sometime around in March, but it wasn't published until now. So I didn't make it a win in the Facebook group, which is, like, super–
00:06:30 Gloria: But that is huge. I mean, that is Oprah print publication that is directly to your audience, and people are not looking at Oprah if they're not looking to buy. So that's directly to your audience. I think you might be one of the first people to have the Oprah print one. I mean, that's very highly coveted. And also, BuzzFeed, that is a high traffic website. That's, like, 40, 50, 60 million views. Tell me how they got on BuzzFeed.
00:06:49 Marcia: I didn't even know. Okay. So actually, Oprah, this week, the – a journalist told me that the – they also put it online. So we're also online. I know. So that's like, yay. That's a link to me. And I had no idea. So they first put it on print on April 24, and now it's online. And BuzzFeed, I had no idea. This was one of the people that I was contacting since September. And all of a sudden, she sends me an email. We just featured you on this. She – so they pulled an image from my website. They did the writing, and they put it in there.
00:07:27 Marcia: So that's another thing I learned. Even – she never replied to my emails, this lady from BuzzFeed. Never. All of a sudden it was boom. It was featured. So another thing, even if people are not responding to your emails, they are listening now. So they are aware of me. So eventually something does come up. And the same thing was with the Brides magazine. They never contacted me. One day, she said, we just – we just featured your swimsuit. Here is the link. I know. So I was like, okay. So –
00:08:07 Gloria: I love what you're saying because I think a lot of times we think very linear where it's like I send a pitch, I'm expecting to hear back like it's communication with your friend. But with the media, they have different editorial calendars. We don't know when they're gonna feature it. So you're just trusting in the universe. You're putting your name in the hat, and it gets tossed around. Maybe different people's name gets picked. But yours got picked every time without you even knowing because you said yes to the universe.
00:08:34 Gloria: It might take a week. It might take two months. To me, even if it takes six months to get on Oprah, I'm willing to do that because you spent $0 on this, by the way. This is not – this is completely unpaid. Right? So, before we got on to this call, you made me, like, tear up a little bit because you said knowing how to do PR – and by the way, you were hesitant to join my program. Right? You were very jaded, which I don't blame you because I think like – like, raise your hand if you're listening to this that you get these scammy messages like, oh, I can get you featured on this and that. Right?
00:09:03 Gloria: It just gives such a bad reputation for PR, so you've already been burned before. So I totally understand. That's not your fault. You're hesitant to join. You joined. And you said that your whole life changed. So can you tell me a little bit more about how joining this program and learning how to do PR changed other areas of your life?
00:09:19 Marcia: Right. Well, first of all, it gave me confidence as a human being and as a business owner. So the fact that I am able to send an email – funniest thing, one email that I sent to a big group, I had a typo on the subject line. It doesn't matter. I went – I got over that fear. And that embarrassing email, they still open. And I know also when they click because I use a tool that tracks the clicks as well. So, like, it doesn't matter. Yeah. I'm human. They are human. It's all forgiven and forgotten, and then I kept sending emails. So it's not a big deal.
00:09:57 Marcia: So it changed my life in that I don't expect myself to be perfect all the time. And you have a saying, I forgot how you say that. Perfect is not or something is better than perfect. Like, standing –
00:10:13 Gloria: Oh, done is better than perfect? Done is better than perfect.
00:10:14 Marcia: Exactly. Exactly. So I keep thinking that, you know, because we have to do something. We have to keep moving. It's an email. It's not like I'm putting something on paper and printing out to the world. It's just –
00:10:27 Gloria: And you get to learn this too.
00:10:28 Marcia: Absolutely.
00:10:29 Gloria: Whereas when you work with an agency, once it's done, it's done, but you're learning a skill for life. So let's pivot a little bit because you told me before this, that you were trying to get your product into wholesale. So how have you been able to use the PR program and the CPR pitching method for wholesale? It's incredible.
00:10:45 Marcia: Exactly the same. I have had contacts before from trade shows that I attended. We had showrooms before, but I never built – well, of course, with the retailers that purchased from us before, I ended up building the relationship. But reaching out to new people, I had no idea how to do it. I figured, okay, this method is working for this. Let me try now for wholesale. And I started that recently, and it's working. People are responding to my email. They are engaging with me. I'm opening a couple of new doors. I just started using your method for wholesale recently.
00:11:23 Gloria: Walk me through how you were doing wholesale and pitching before and how you think about it differently. Because for the people who are not in the PR program, right, what can they learn from you about things not to do that maybe you were doing, and now you're changing the way you're you're messaging to get that yes?
00:11:39 Marcia: I am actually following the same principle. It's about their customer. So with a journalist, it's about their audience. Right? And with the retailers, it's about their customer because the store owner wants to serve their customer. Of course, ultimately, everybody wants to sell and make money but her goal, opening the door day in and day out is to make her customer happy. The tones of my emails reaching out to the retailers has changed with the program.
00:12:11 Marcia: Whereas before, I used to talk about us and who we are and what we do and this and that. Now I talk about them. Now it's summer, so they're not buying now unless they're buying immediates, which is for now. But I talk about how this particular style serves that particular woman and the colors. And so it's what their concerns are as a retailer.
00:12:35 Gloria: Yeah. Can you give me an example?
00:12:36 Marcia: Okay. So for instance, one of the emails I reached out, I addressed the concern that the retailers have when adding a new brand. Especially nowadays. If, like, their customer doesn't know me yet, the retailer doesn't know how well it's gonna sell, how well it's gonna look on their rack. Right? So I do the same research I did for the journalist. I go online. I look at their store online. I do a Google search. So I – if they have a physical store, I look at the photos and I look at their social media.
00:13:13 Marcia: So I know how they are talking about to their customer, and I see if I fit in. If they don't carry swim, of course, I don't reach out. But if they do carry swim, I look at who they carry. How do I fit in? So I can find a niche. I have this type of swimsuit, so then I put a Canva presentation with the suits that I would recommend for them. It's just like talking to a journalist. You have to reach out to them with the serving purpose. Right?
00:13:43 Gloria: Yeah.
00:13:42 Marcia: It's not like I – here are my suits, buy it. No. Here are my suits, and this is how I think they would fit in your store because A, B, and C.
00:13:52 Gloria: I think you said something that so many founders struggle with, but once they overcome the struggle, just like you, infinite opportunities open. And that is this: You are never selling to the journalist. You are never selling to the wholesaler. If you wanna leverage someone's audience, the more you sell, like you're selling one to one to a customer, the more it's gonna be a no. But if you wanna ride on that wave of someone being able to spread your message to millions of people, you have to step back and away from the selling.
00:14:21 Gloria: And so that's really what we're teaching here in PR whereas the journalist is not stupid. They know that you're selling something. They know that you're in business, that you're a for profit entity. But if you treat them like a customer and you say, here's my brochure, here's an order form, here's a coupon code that's really turning them off. Right? Which is something that we know how to do so well as founders. So this is why we need to do the work of of just shifting our message a little bit so that it's talking about the insight, the solution, the season.
00:14:50 Gloria: Now you're in swimwear. So, obviously, right now, we're in resort season. We can even come up with a pitch about quick dry swimsuits and carry on approved and all of the ways that it can benefit the end user. So it's not about selling the benefits and features, but more about the relevancy for what consumers are wanting this season. And I love that you now have gained the skill that's gonna help you throughout the rest of your life.
00:15:12 Gloria: Is there anything else that you've noticed after joining the program and kind of learning how to shift your messaging that you wanna tell our audience so that they can also get on to places like BuzzFeed and Brides and Oprah?
00:15:22 Marcia: As a big topic, that is exactly what it is. It's changing my mindset from first of all, I went from trying to sell to both media and wholesale, to trying to provide something that they need. So that's a simple thing put it here, but it's a process. So I didn't get there overnight. I was in your program, and then it took me three to four months to even think that I had something to share, a service to provide. Right?
00:15:54 Marcia: And then I think, it was something in one of your meetings with the group that I thought, oh, I can actually provide a service. I don't need to dump everything into one email. This month, I can talk about this. Then I'm gonna save some of my juice for another email. Because if they did not respond to this one, maybe next time they see that I know what I'm talking about.
00:16:20 Marcia: So slow it was really slow in the beginning. The building confidence is not just about me pressing the button. It's about figuring out that I have something to say, and everybody's does. Like you said, everybody has something to talk about. It doesn't matter what the product is. And I used to think I have nothing to say. And then I I go to the supermarket and I see all these brands of water, and I think water? It's like the simplest thing in the world. And, like, they each have a story. They each have something to talk about. So if they have all something to talk about, I can find something from within my experience and my brand that I can share.
00:17:09 Gloria: Oh, mic drop moment. I literally wanna message my team on Slack and say, we need to put this as a Carousel post because what you just said is so incredible. There's so many brands of water. There's so many brands of water and people still innovating water. You're so right. So next time people think you don't have anything to say, just remember, the fact that people are making millions of dollars doing, like, different water just shows that there's always a unique angle for something. Right?
00:17:35 Gloria: You're not reinventing the wheel. Water is not new. Nothing that exists in the anatomy of the world is a new compound. All the atoms are there. It's just a matter of reconfiguring it and repackaging it. And I love what you said too because you started PR a little bit later. Like, you're obviously an introvert. I remember, like, a lot of the calls that we would have, you would have your camera off. You're not, like, a natural stage person, right, like you said.
00:17:56 Marcia: I'm not.
00:17:58 Gloria: But you've been able to, like, use this for so many things and make an impact, and I'm just so proud of the journey that you've been on.
00:18:03 Marcia: Oh, thank you.
00:18:04 Gloria: Now let's talk about oh, I'm so – I'm, like, getting a little emotional thinking about it. I'm so happy that you joined our program. But let's break it down for the people who are listening. Right? So, obviously, don't sell to the journalist. Use social media. Put your name in the hat. You never know when your pitch is gonna be selected. Freshen up the angles. Don't write everything in one pitch, like break it up. So maybe it's one pitch about swimsuits for people who just had a baby versus people who are having different – so, like, not for everybody. Right? Make it specific.
00:18:31 Gloria: And you know because you're in my PR program. I always talk about specificity. Peel away the layer of an onion to reveal the juicy core. Who is it for? If your pitch is something that works for every industry, every season, every beat, it's not specific enough. Go back and sharpen that knife again. Right?
00:18:49 Marcia: Correct. Correct. So now I've been within the program for what? Almost a year. Right? So I came up with this interpretation of the program. So I have emails stacked up, the topics for a whole year because I'm watching this journalist. I go online. I see their articles. And I know if they write about swimsuit in February, they were researching back in December because they don't write overnight either. Right?
00:19:16 Marcia: And a lot of them wrote in February, and I missed that boat. But I'll join that boat for next year because now I know, like, okay. So I was talking about Mother's Day back in March. I was already talking about brides in June season in April. So you learn over time, and I also learned to not give up. If I miss the boat for this year, then I need to look at it as building a relationship with them so that next year, they will come in. And I know they will because it's like it’s like a… it's a snowball effect. Right?
00:19:59 Marcia: And that's another thing, my goal in joining this program is because I wanted to have the contacts and the relationships. This is like an asset for me now. If I join a PR agency and then I don't work with them anymore, I was left with nothing. And now I have the contacts and I have the relationship and they know about me even though they may not have written yet this year. It's a growing experience.
00:20:27 Gloria: I love how you're saying all the things back to me that I used to say to you. That's incredible.
00:20:32 Marcia: See, I miss–
00:20:34 Gloria: Snow snowball effect. I love how when you shift your perspective, everything changes. Like Brene Brown says, if you look at ways how it's not gonna work, how you don't belong, you're only gonna find doors that are closed.
00:20:44 Marcia: Absolutely.
00:20:44 Gloria: But if you turn everything into an opportunity, you start to realize that there's always an ocean of opportunity. So it's all about how you shift your perspective. So I love what you said about, okay, maybe I missed the boat on Mother's Day, but guess what? There's spring summer resort season. And there's White Lotus. Maybe it's something around your best swimsuit for your White Lotus Italian vacation. Like, there's so many different angles that are happening all the time.
00:21:06 Marcia: Let me write that down. Because I didn't do that one.
00:21:09 Gloria: That's the one – yeah. That's the one I wrote for another founder in our PR starter pack. Think about how you can tie it to, like, a pop cultural thing. Right? So there's always something. Just because you missed one opportunity doesn't mean the next one is not around the corner, but it takes you putting on that lens of opportunity and abundance. And that's what you've been able to do, because now you're like, I'm gonna pitch for wholesale, and I'm gonna do this. There's no limit to what you're gonna accomplish, and I'm just so proud of you. So –
00:21:33 Gloria: But one thing I have to say is a lot of people still don't do this because they think, oh, it's so hard. It's gonna take so much time. And, yes, everything takes time. Right? It takes time to do an Instagram reel, and it takes time to write a customer service email. It's just a matter of how you're prioritizing your time. Are you doing things that are gonna give you a high ROI, like building an asset, or are you doing busy work? So how can you help people break down your system?
00:21:59 Gloria: Because what I love is you created a system with tools and tracking and follow-up. Can you just break it down for me exactly, like, how you time manage your PR activities with all the different things you're doing in your life?
00:22:11 Marcia: Okay. So before I do that, I want to add a comment about the social media. And I know that a lot of things work differently for different businesses. What I learned for my business is that I don't want to depend on a social media platform because those are businesses on their own merit. So if they change the algorithm, what's gonna happen to me? If they go off for a day, like, they, Facebook and all of those went down –
00:22:29 Marcia: I'll never forget. It was, like, October of 2021. Remember? They all went down for a day. I was like, everybody was going nuts. I sent an email because I have an email list. So that's an asset. It's something I have. The same with the journalists, the contacts and relationships are built and well, wholesalers, the retailers, the relationship I build.
00:23:01 Marcia: I tried everything related to social. I really gave it a good shot in ads and whatnot. And then I figured, no. That's not working because those things are like they're short lived. And I'm not good in reels. I'm not gonna make reels. I don't have the resources, the people to do it. So I'm not gonna do that. But I am good at organizing my time and my tasks, so I figured I want to build relationship with journalists.
00:23:30 Marcia: At first, that was my goal, to build an asset, and that's the relationship and the links back. I wanted that, for sure, for SEO purposes. And for those listening, if you haven't heard about the SEO, listen to Gloria's other episodes because she talks a lot about it.
00:23:46 Marcia: Anyway, first of all, I was sending the emails using my Apple Mail on my computer, keeping tab on a spreadsheet. And then I figured, okay. This is getting way out of hand, and I need more discipline. So I started using – I hope I'm answering your question. I got a little sidetracked here. So I found a tool. It's called Pipedrive, and I love it.
00:24:10 Marcia: It's like a platform where I put all my contacts, and I have one pipe, they call it a pipe, for journalists, for my media contacts, and another one for my retailers. So let's focus on the media because that's the topic here. So I added their contacts, and I am able to see their emails, the emails I sent to them and their replies, and I create activities.
00:24:40 Marcia: So let's say I send an email about black swimsuits for everybody. Last week, I did. Whoever opened or clicked, I see the tracking in the tool. I create an activity for me to follow-up with them next week. So it's easy. It's really manageable, and I don't lose track of it. I was really getting lost with a spreadsheet because there was no reminder for me. I would have to go through every single email and see did they click, did they not click? Whereas using this tool, it's right on my face. It's super fast because I don't have to look for anything. It's right there.
00:25:18 Marcia: That's been very, very helpful to find. We must have some method of tracking. Now I decided to go for the tool because it's just for me, my discipline, I prefer that way. If not, anybody can do on the spreadsheet is okay. Especially in the beginning when I had 60 people on my PR list, I was okay. Now I have about 250. A spreadsheet is too overwhelming for me. It makes me nervous. So that's why I use the tool. But the spreadsheet works.. Whoever –
00:25:56 Gloria: Yeah. I love that.
00:25:57 Marcia: Whoever one wants to start, just start. Even if you have just one journalist, just send an email and build their confidence, then you add another one tomorrow and another one so on and so forth.
00:26:10 Gloria: Yeah. I love what you said that a goal cannot be achieved unless it's tracked and measured.
00:26:14 Marcia: Correct.
00:26:15 Gloria: So I love that you have a way to track and measure it. And, obviously, most people start off with the spreadsheet. I have that in the PR starter pack. But as you get more and more, you're totally welcome to use any software. I'm glad you found one that worked. I also wanna alert anyone who's listening to make sure that you have some sort of email tracking software. I say this on every monthly call with our members. You can just Google – mail tracking software, whether it's for Chrome or Outlook.
00:26:36 Gloria: Pick one that works for you. They range from free to $50 a year. And it's simple because what we don't wanna do is start sending emails and not having any data or system to track if they're being opened. And a lot of times, it's not that the pitch is wrong or bad. It's just they're not being opened. And so if you see that they're not being opened, it's gonna give you the confidence to follow-up again and again and again.
00:26:56 Gloria: And as Marcia knows, it's all about the follow-up. So that leads me to my next question is tell me about the follow-up because we know that that's what it takes to actually get featured is sometimes the follow-up. So how are you able to follow-up? What was like, the cadence that you followed up on email, on DMs? Like, how did you do it?
00:27:14 Marcia: In the beginning – not in the beginning. When I first add somebody to the list, I send the email about a topic. Right? So as I told you, I have different topics already lined up for the year because it's a cyclical thing. So let's say I'm talking about Mother's Day. So I send that email about Mother's Day and a week from then, I send a follow-up saying, hey. I don't know if you had a chance to look at it, blah blah blah. And then it's super short. So if on the original Mother's Day email, I talk a little more. I explain how it would be good for their audience. Then on the follow-up, I go very short.
00:28:00 Marcia: And then I see if they clicked and they open. And then I also go to their LinkedIn. Of course, with 250 people, it's not like I'm gonna be able to do that with everybody. So I have my priorities, right, the people, like a b c. And then I go to their LinkedIn, and I send a little message, you know, just like you said, doing quick message saying, I don't know if you had a chance to look at it. I know your inbox is super full. Here is the email, and I just put the subject line that I use. Oftentimes, they do reply right there and then.
00:28:36 Marcia: So you have to create your own method that fits your lifestyle, meaning your time. Right? Because I don't do this every day. But I got very organized by using the tool and following the PR method and just following up. So then I send an email. A week from then, I send a follow-up very shortly. If nothing happens, I send the next topic email a month from now or, like, whatever. And then a week from then, I send another follow-up. I get into the cycle, and I know that they will see, and now they know about me. So that's how I implemented your method into my schedule.
00:29:15 Gloria: I love that so much. Every month refresh your angles. Every week follow-up. It just becomes habit. When you can make a system out of anything, you take the emotion and drama out of it. Right? You just kind of do it. So I love how you did that. Another question I get asked a lot is, well, do I have to send, like, all these samples? Did you send a ton of samples again on Oprah, BuzzFeed and Brides?
00:29:31 Marcia: No. No. Not at all. Not at all.
00:29:34 Gloria: Amazing.
00:29:34 Marcia: So Oprah, they asked for samples. So I did send a box and, you know, she said she'll send them back. They're super professional. And she did send everything back, and she picked one to feature, but she sent everything back. And a couple of people, they asked for samples, and I sent – really a couple, like, two or three, and nothing happened yet. But that's okay because I learned that I don't wanna be sending samples because my samples are expensive. Right? I don't wanna be sending them out.
00:30:09 Marcia: And if I was able to get into Oprah and BuzzFeed and Brides magazine without giving away samples, that's the path I wanna pursue. Right? I don't wanna be sending samples, like, right and left. You don't have to. Because –
00:30:26 Gloria: You don't have to.
00:30:26 Marcia: No. They want to write. They have an audience to serve. They want to write about you, whatever you're selling. Right? So if you provide a service and a good message on your pitch, then you don't need to give the product.
00:30:42 Gloria: Yeah. Exactly. I love it. That's what separates legitimate editorial journalism from a lot of these wannabe influencers slash journalists that really just want free products. So I always teach in my PR program, you don't have to give anything for free in order to – like, you got on Oprah without giving it away. That's absolutely incredible. Okay. So we talked about systems. We talked about samples. We talked about follow-up.
00:31:03 Gloria: What about timing? So, obviously, like, for print, it's a longer lead time. But let's say you wanna do something for the gift guides, right, for, like, Q4, the biggest shopping season of the year. When are you thinking of starting to pitch for the holidays?
00:31:18 Marcia: All the time. Anytime. Let's say you sell makeup. They may not be writing about that specific type of product now, but you need to start creating the relationship now or any time of the year so that when they have that opportunity, they will write about you. In the beginning, I used to think why are they going to listen to me? Why are they gonna write about me?
00:31:44 Marcia: And then I figured, yeah, that's true. Why are they going to write about me on the very first email I sent? They know nothing about me. There are, like, hundreds of other swim brands out there. So I need to take the time and be consistent in introducing myself and the brand. And then when they have the opportunity, they will know about me. So anytime. Don't wait until November or October or even September. Start now.
00:32:15 Marcia: And don't even focus on the gift guide. Focus on providing a service for their audience and be consistent and send the emails and follow-up. So when that gift guide comes, let's say September, October, that's when I'm gonna do it. So come September, I'm gonna follow this. Send an email to the same people when my focus is gonna be gift guide. But by then, they already heard about me, so I'm not, like, new on the block.
00:32:47 Gloria: No. You aren't, baby. I'm so empowered by listening to you. I see the transformation. I'm so grateful for you for trusting in this process even though you were skeptical. How can people find you? I mean, obviously, now you're online because you've been on BuzzFeed and Brides, and you have so many more irons in the oven. But how can people find you and get to learn a little bit more about your journey?
00:33:07 Marcia: Okay. So we are on sauipeswim.com, S-A-U-I-P-E swim.com. Our Instagram is sauipeswimwear.com. As I said, I'm on LinkedIn. You can find all those links from our website. I'll be happy to share any info or any experience with your listeners or with anybody in the program because it works.
00:33:31 Gloria: Thank you.
00:33:33 Marcia: It does work.
00:33:34 Gloria: It works because you are working it.
00:33:36 Marcia: Yeah. But, I could have – how would I know what to start, where to start? It's, like, so complicated. I used to think I have nothing to say.
00:33:45 Gloria: That's what the industry wants you to think, and that's why we exist is to make you feel like you do have so many things to say. I'm so glad that we're on this journey together. I'm so grateful for you. Keep going. Keep shining your light. Keep inspiring us all.
00:34:00 Gloria: Hey, small business hero. Did you know that you can get featured for free on outlets like Forbes, The New York Times, Marie Claire, PopSugar, and so many more even if you are not yet launched or if you don't have any connection? That's right. That's why I 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.
00:34:28 Gloria: Now if you wanna land your first press feature, get on a podcast, secure a VIP speaking gig, or just reach out to that very intimidating editor, this class will show you exactly how to do it. Register now at gloriachoupr.com/masterclass. That's Gloria Chou, C-H-O-U pr.com/masterclass so you can get featured in thirty days without spending a penny on ads or agencies. Best of all, this is completely free, so get in there and let's get you featured.