Episode #47: Represent a High-Profile Expert with Nicole Morano
“When you reached out and explained that Neal had mentioned me, I made sure to send him a thank you note. I made sure that he knew I really appreciated him thinking about me. We actually grabbed coffee– we’re both in NY. Those are the little things that go a long way.”
-Nicole Morano, on how she approaches relationship building
Remember our newsletter episode with Neal Freyman of Morning Brew? Well, we have the publicist he gives a shoutout to as our guest for today's episode! Not only does she represent Malcolm Gladwell, but she specializes as a publicist of authors, academics, and thought leaders with “big ideas” and thoughts to share with the world. Sometimes these clients are well-known. Sometimes they are not. How do her strategies and challenges differ depending on the level of “fame” of whom she is representing? Tune in to find out!
In this episode, you’ll learn…
What challenges arise from representing a high-profile expert
How podcast and book publicity works
Why success should be measured beyond earning placements
Our guest is:
Nicole Morano, Publicity Director at Pushkin Industries, the audio company co-founded by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg. She works closely with journalists and thought-leaders such as Michael Lewis, Jill Lepore, and Dr. Laurie Santos. Before her role at Pushkin, Morano worked for almost a decade as a publicist in the book publishing industry at Penguin Random House. She lives in Brooklyn where she tries valiantly to keep her house plants alive.
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Show Notes:
:00– Jackie introduces our guest.
1:55– Nicole talks about herself and the work that she does.
4:24– Britt asks Nicole how many clients she works with.
6:30– Britt asks Nicole what her PR colleague works on with her.
7:35– Jackie mentions she envies Nicole’s work.
9:48– Jackie asks Nicole if there are any misconceptions people have about the work that Nicole does with more high-profile clients. Nicole speaks about vetting opportunities.
15:10– Nicole talks about working with thought leaders more recognized by their work than by their name.
17:46– Jackie asks what her publicity goals are. Nicole talks about metrics.
22:30– Britt asks how Nicole prospects for podcasts to reach out to.
24:37– Jackie asks what the differences are between pitching lesser-known and better-known people.
29:35– Nicole talks about receiving pitches from other publicists.
33:45– Britt asks about the content of her podcast pitches.
37:26– Nicole talks about the importance of relationship building and why NYC is the best city to live in for it. :)
43:15– Britt shares how the podcast has empowered her to check in more with the folks she’s built relationships. Nicole follows up with the value of putting in that kind of work for potential long-term benefit.
47:00– Britt asks how book publicity works. Nicole talks about book tours and goals.
50:00– Britt asks how Nicole how she picked bookstores for book tours.
53:50– Jackie compares her and Britt’s industry to Nicole’s and draws parallels between them.
55:25– Jackie asks Nicole for her final thoughts.
57:31– Jackie asks Nicole to talk about media training as a final topic before the end of the episode.
Connect with Nicole Morano
Connect with Jackie & Britt
