Happy Monday and welcome to this week's edition of Truth Be Told. This week, we're talking about generating leads.

 

You can generate leads from what feels like a million different methods – and everyone has an option about which is best. This is why our founder, Juliet, has been exploring what actually works for lead generation as the media landscape changes. What will get you connected to the right potential clients?

 

Our best experiment so far has been this newsletter, and today we want to let you know why.

 

When you create and send a newsletter, you have a direct connection to your potential customers. You also get access to an incredible amount of data related to who's interested in your products and offerings.

 

After we send out our soon-to-be-weekly issue of Truth Be Told, we deep dive into who engaged with the newsletter and how. Has Jake been opening and clicking links but hasn't booked a strategy session? We can see that Kelly is a new subscriber who is consistently checking out our coverage wins but hasn't connected with us just yet. 

 

 

Our next move is to either connect with these readers on LinkedIn or send them a personal email. Why does this work? Because we already know they're interested in our services. By directly reaching out, we can lay the groundwork for a long-term relationship. And each week, these people are reminded of our work again and again as we land in their inbox.

 

Part of our PR approach involves building your brand (which often includes newsletters!) and creating relationships with potential customers or funding sources. People want to see you and know you. And they need to trust your expertise before they spend their precious dollars. A newsletter is an incredible way to skip the noise of social media and ads, and connect directly with your audience.

 

Curious about how to set up this kind of lead generation in your own business? Book a brainstorm session with us. We'd love to strategize with you.

 

Have you ever applied for an award? Now's the time to get the recognition you deserve. Here are a few we have our eye on:

 

Digiday Awards: The Digiday Awards is the industry’s annual recognition of the companies, campaigns and creatives modernizing media and marketing. Over the years, these awards have honored industry-leading work from Edelman, VICE, HP and more. Price and deadline: Apply by 8/2 for $729.

 

Modern Retail Awards: The Modern Retail Awards recognize the companies and campaigns modernizing retail in the digital age. Over the years, these awards have honored industry-leading work from Casper, CVS Pharmacy, SoulCycle and more! Price and deadline: Apply by 9/6 for $599.

 

Ad Age 40 Under 40: The Ad Age 40 Under 40 list recognizes talented individuals who have been responsible for helping to advance a business or a brand at an advertiser, agency, media, tech or marketing company in a demonstrable way within the last 12 months. At a time littered with layoffs, budget cuts and an industry directive to “do more with less,” those proving marketing and advertising are business drivers are even more critical. Price and deadline: Apply by 8/2 for $375.

 

One of our CEOs just moved to New York City and wanted to set up a network. We know how to help with that!

 

Right after he moved, we connected him with a few journalists and suggested he meet with them in person. We went with a tried and true method: Just make the connection and don't ask for anything. Go to coffee and build a relationship! No sales needed.

 

Because of our network, he's set to meet with Tech Crunch and a number of VC's: two opportunities for huge future growth.