Episode 181

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Published on:

7th Oct 2017

How To Master PR with Janet Murray

Welcome to episode 181, this weeks episode is focussed on an interview with Janet Murray from Soulful PR. I appeared on her podcast recently and since then she has been achieving great things with LinkedIn so I thought you would all like to hear from her.

But first…


Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week


Bumblebizz is now live! LinkedIn to launch Talent Insights in 2018


Janet Murray spent 17 years as a freelance journalist before setting up her Soulful PR business. She now focusses on helping people to ‘pitch’ into the media to get better exposure for their business.


Key things I took from this episode;


  • Traditional PR is not enough anymore

  • Four areas of PR you should be paying attention to on a regular basis;
  • Publishing content on your website

  • Email marketing / newsletter

  • Social media posting and activity

  • Press coverage (show the results on your website)
  • To build relationship with journalists you have to read the papers, show patience and work at getting to know them.

  • Be aware of what is going on and when a story breaks that is relevant to your specialism, contact relevant journalists via Twitter or call them. They are always looking for stories so you are potentially being really helpful.

  • Make a list of relevant journalists on Twitter and LinkedIn (mainly Twitter) - find them via a Google search/alerts.

  • #journorequest on Twitter can be helpful

  • Media enquiry services such as Response source, help a reporter out and source bottle

  • Journalists like to call (for speed) so put your telephone number in your profile (summary not headline) and Twitter bio

  • Make sure you have relatively recent Articles and videos in your profile so that a journalist or producer can see that you can write and appear comfortable in front of a camera.

  • Clarity in your headline is key….journalists needs to see quickly exactly what your niche is (arguably this is true for everyone, not just journalists)

  • Journalists always ask “Why do people need to hear this now?”

  • ‘Everything is potentially content’ If others care about it then it will probably fly on LinkedIn.

  • People are more interested in ‘how’ you work than what you do but PR about the ‘how’ allows you to talk about the ‘what’

Win a free 60 minute PR strategy session with Janet (worth £300+vat). You can read more about these sessions here


You can enter this free prize draw by entering your details below


Links to other things mentioned in this interview;


Cara Mackay’s LinkedIn profile Book - Your Press release Is Breaking My Heart Media diary Soulful PR Studio The Soulful PR Podcast


If you have any questions that you want me to ask Janet, I will be happy to do so if you drop me a voicemail (link on the right edge of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinfomed.com

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

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About the Podcast

Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users
A podcast for anyone interested in LinkedIn® best practice
"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform.

It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.

But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.

The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.

John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)

This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
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John Espirian

Relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn® nerd, trainer and consultant who specialises in LinkedIn best practice for individuals, small businesses and corporates. I wrote the personal branding handbook Content DNA, I founded the Espresso+ online community for small business owners and I'm the creator of the UK's original independent conference on LinkedIn best practice, UpLift Live.