019 How Kris Ward found her voice, scored 400+ podcast guest interviews, grew a podcast with 1000 5-star reviews, plus TikTok, YouTube & more!
Good day, and welcome back to become your own PR machine. My name is Trevor Young, aka the PR Warrior. And every now and then, I like to drop in a an interview that I've recorded previously for my other podcast, my professional personal branding, show Reputation Revolution. And I I wanna make sure I'm sort of kinda curating more recent episodes of that to put on this show because in this show, we go beyond personal branding and thought leadership, and we're talking about PR, content, and digital communications more broadly. But when I I come across and when I'm going through my Reputation Revolution podcasts, and I come up with one that really hits the mark and I think you guys would really enjoy listening to, then up it goes.
TREVOR YOUNG:In this episode, I wanna introduce you to Chris Ward. Now Chris is the author of the book, win the hour, win the day. She also has a podcast of the same name, but I'd originally interviewed her on the podcast around leveraging your time and resources while building your personal brand because that's the space in which she operates in. But her story was such a good one. I wanted to do a follow-up about her story specifically because she is on YouTube.
TREVOR YOUNG:She's on other people's podcasts. She's really kicking goals in terms of everything she does in PR content and digital communications. And I think when, you know, I can talk about this stuff, but I think that when we see it in action and there's someone talking enthusiastically about what it is they do and how they've done it and how they continue to do it, then it makes for fantastic listening, I think, if you're interested in this stuff because, basically, we're bringing it to life and and showing that I'm not making this stuff up, really, and that, you know, these these are the things that you have to do in order to really nail your PR content digital communications. So in this instance, I'm chatting to Chris about how she found her voice, how she has scored over 400 podcast guest interviews, how she grew her podcast, with over a 1,005 star reviews, plus we get into TikTok, YouTube, and more. So I hope you enjoy this chat I had with Chris Ward.
TREVOR YOUNG:Kris Ward, welcome back to the show. It's been so long.
KRIS WARD:I am thrilled to be here, and thank you for having me back.
TREVOR YOUNG:Kris, you're on the show not that long ago. I wanted to get you back on to talk further about your personal brand because you're doing heaps of great stuff. Now just to recap, people who maybe didn't, shock horror, didn't catch the the previous interview that I did with you. It was all around how to leverage your time and resources while building your personal brand was kind of the theme, and you took us through, you know, the need to have systems in place and to build out your team and manage your energy. So if you haven't heard that, I had to listen to that episode.
TREVOR YOUNG:Very well worth to do doing so, but I wanna focus this is gonna be the focus on you, your personal brand, because you're doing so many things, doing so many things well, and all the things that I will get you everywhere. All the things that I talk about here on the show, you're doing. So I wanna unpack that because it's great when I see that in action and how it shows that people can do it. Now granted, you you've got systems and processes in place to allow that, so there's a nice little segue. But at the end of the day is, I wanna, if if I may, unpack with you the types of personal branding and profile building activities that you do and how you make them all all work.
TREVOR YOUNG:So you up for that?
KRIS WARD:A 100%. You lead the way. I'm here. Have fun. Yeah.
TREVOR YOUNG:Alrighty. So at the end, you've you run your own business. Walk us through, just quickly the the, I guess, the business and, you know, what you're doing, and I guess you'd still call it a personal brand based business or albeit it's around, you know, the name of your book, Win the Hour, Win the Day, and that's the name of your podcast as well. Interestingly, what what do you think about that personal brand versus having a a brand name like that?
KRIS WARD:Well, I think it doesn't really matter in my mind because Win the Hour, Win the Day, you know, stem from the book, right, and and sort of my experience. So, you know and and now our podcast, Win the Hour in the Day, is not about, you know, systems and processes and team building and all the magical podcast could be anything from sales to LinkedIn, and that's just because, you know, we chose that for a couple of reasons. So you have to pick a brand, whatever it is. If you're you know, we chose that for a couple of reasons. So you have to pick a brand, whatever it is.
KRIS WARD:Now with my brand, win the hour, win the day, you know, it spun as we talked about in the previous show, and I I do think, Trevor, you gave a fantastic interview as a host. You asked very thoughtful questions, so, of course, I'd encourage people to go back and check it out. But this all spun from when I was pulled away from my business for about 2 years when my husband passed away. And so, you know, let's be honest. Take the emotion out of that story.
KRIS WARD:If I had returned to my business and it wasn't there, I was not in the headspace to start looking for jobs, try to write a resume, be charming in an interview, and learn a new job. That just doesn't happen when you lose, like, your buddy and your best friend. And so what I wanna say is, you know, I think win the hour when the day came from the book and then things spun off from there. Because previous to that, I was really in as a marketing strategist. But I think it really in my opinion, it doesn't really matter that it's win the hour, win the day versus Chris Ward.
KRIS WARD:I think those 2 are all over the place because it's my face representing it. Yeah. So I don't see them as 2 separate things Yep. Because I'm the one out there all the time with it.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yep. And you're you're inherently connected with it, and you're the ambassador and the cheerleader, and you're driving it.
KRIS WARD:Yeah.
TREVOR YOUNG:And I think it probably makes it a bit easier because you've written a book about it. So what came first in all of this? And and, you know, as you said, you've going from, you know, running a marketing and branding strategy agency and to to doing this, you know, pretty different type of business. But in terms of what came first, was it the book? Were you already on social media?
TREVOR YOUNG:I think you've already said that the podcast followed the book. How how did this lay out for you, and was was there a plan, or is it things roll out as we discover new tools and tactics and that sort of things?
KRIS WARD:Well, I think you might really find this conversation interesting because, first of all, here's the truth. When I came back to work after my husband passed away, I was off social media for, like, 2 years. I had nothing to say. I had I just had nothing to say. Like, what I'm Facebook, oh, look what I have here for breakfast.
KRIS WARD:My husband passed away. Like, I had I just did not have a lot of conversation in me. I mean, I'm a very positive person. I wasn't in a dark place. I find life very affirming, but I didn't have the bandwidth to be chit chatty on Facebook and engaging.
KRIS WARD:Right? And Facebook was still kind of, you know, the forefront at that point. So so I really kind of licked my wounds and worked on things and worked with my existing clients and got referrals and just kept a quiet life. And one thing led to another where I realized that the people I helped best were people that were in business quite some time, and they were still working insane hours for where they were in their journey. And so I realized that they because they look so good on paper, no one knew they were struggling.
KRIS WARD:They're not gonna put out in LinkedIn like, oh, yeah. I'm working 80 hours a week. I'm so glad you like this. So I realized that the book was an option to reach them more effectively. Now when you read that book, it's very positive.
KRIS WARD:It talks about how, you know, all these things that you can the big compliment I get is it's an easy read and there's tangible takeaways. I'm all about no fluff, big results. So you can read the book and start putting some immediate things in place. So that's great. Then when I have to now promote the book and go on podcast, this is where it gets really interesting for someone like you, Trevor, who's all into the brand, is I will tell you I had people come to me and did everything but to layer blue in the face.
KRIS WARD:And they say, Chris, you have to tell your story about what happened and why you wrote this book. I didn't wanna do that. I didn't want it to define him, and I certainly didn't want it to define me. And so what I what people are saying is, Chris, you'll just be this person who looks like you're organizing this activity person, and that gets annoying quick. You have to tell the story so people will remember it.
KRIS WARD:And I really struggled with that for a long time, and I didn't wanna do it. Also, because my husband and I were so positive about his story, we never used the word cancer ever, ever, ever, ever. We if we were forced, he would say he was die he's in chemo or he was diagnosed. We wouldn't go into the entrance of the cancer unit through those doors. We wanted nothing to do with it.
KRIS WARD:And so we did all these very subtle, but we felt powerful mindset things that kept us on a positive path. Right? So I didn't even have it in my bandwidth to say that word. The first couple of times I had said it would to me was like it was saying something very vulgar or, like, I just never said that out loud, and it just was really a horrible thing to be then be sharing with strangers. Right?
KRIS WARD:And I and I also struggle with oversharing where I see people and, you know, they're just telling their childhood traumas as part of their brand, and it's not a good fit for me because I'm a positive person. So I also had to learn how to navigate it when I did get into interview and somebody wanted to bestow a lot of sympathy on me and make it more tearjerky pause than less positive story. And so I would say, you know what? Everybody has something, and this is my something right now. So, like, I'm no different.
KRIS WARD:Everybody has something. So I also had to learn language around how to move people's energy so that it didn't become this this needy cry tear fest thing that I didn't want for me or his memory. So I really struggled with my brand in that capacity. But another thing that happened of this, which I think was very positive, is my husband was my biggest fan. He thought, god help me, he thought I could do anything, and sometimes that was very stressing.
KRIS WARD:I was like, oh, no. I better be able to do this because he thinks he thought anything I turned my hand to, I could do. Right? And he always felt that I held myself back. Like, I was very work focused, and it was more about relationships, and I was always, like, get stuff done.
KRIS WARD:You know, I was at re you know, I'm a recovering rushaholic. What happened when I work with clients, they would love working with me, and we'd have fun, and they liked my sense of humor, and they liked how direct I was, and we got stuff done. But when I went online for social media, I somehow then became a more veneer version of myself because I thought you're supposed to look professional and sound professional. Also, I really struggled with if you asked me to do a speaking gig, Trevor, you invited me there. But social media, you're just kinda strolling by, and I'm tugging at your sleeve.
KRIS WARD:So I then felt I should be least annoying on social media. Right? But after everything with my husband, you know, your life changes, and you just I just didn't have the extra energy to be dealing with these things. So I came out a more real version of myself than before on social media. I was more direct.
KRIS WARD:I was more funny. I was less less polished, less veneer, and that seemed to really make a difference. And I think you know, I hate when people say, you know, be authentic. Well, who would try to be inauthentic? And it wasn't that I wasn't being authentic.
KRIS WARD:It's that we all have different versions of ourselves. So who you are when you're visiting grandma is different than who you are when you're playing sports, is different than who you are at work. They're just similar versions, but they're slightly different. Yep. And so I had different versions and a different version for social media.
KRIS WARD:But when I kinda just didn't have the capacity to put on a face anymore, then things really changed for me. And and I'm just I didn't understand how much I was hiding behind the veil of professionalism.
TREVOR YOUNG:Well, there's a lot to unpack there. And so how long did that, I guess and I wouldn't say process, but how long did that take for you to, I guess, find your voice and be comfortable, which is really what our personal brand is is, you know, bringing our whole self to to to social, the same to podcasts, same to work, the whole thing. How how how long would that transition, I guess?
KRIS WARD:Well, I'll let you know when it's over, Trevor. So I think right now, I was meeting with my team, and I was struggling with my voice in blogs because in video, people are getting it, and I'm comfortable there. But in blogs, I hate generic nonsense blogs online, like how to lose weight. Well, set a goal and exercise more. Like, what the heck is that?
KRIS WARD:Right? So I was saying to my team, I wanted to sound like me, and I don't you get so caught up in writing, which is different than how you sound. Yep. So right now, I'm working through the layers of my blogs to be more more me on there. But I would I would think it really was quite a process and quite a evolution that had a lot of awakenings at least for a solid year where I had to learn to not I think your strength is also your weakness.
KRIS WARD:So my strength is getting stuff done and seeing the world in systems and being able to hire really effective people for my clients in the winner's circle, but that's a lot of stuff in your head. And so then I have the ability to assess situations and, you know, I'm I'm good at assessing things. I can listen to your podcast probably for a good 5 to 10 minutes and get a flavor of who you are and what type of guest would be a good fit just by how quickly you speak or the vibe or the words you use, but that's in my head. So then it's really a new discipline to drop the thinking and just be, which I'm ashamed to say. Like, they we we hear these phrases all the time, but somehow, they didn't resonate with me, or I think we don't understand the depth of what they mean.
KRIS WARD:But this whole idea of, you know, we're not here to blend in, and anyone that we admire or any celebrity or anyone that we think is doing a really effective job, it's because they're different, and they're speaking their truth, and they're refreshing. And yet we like that as consumers, but then you go out and you think, oh, I need to look like I'm a professional, and I have a big boy or girl company. And and so I was so surprised that, wow, in order for people to remember me, I can't be like everybody else. And so that sounds like it makes sense, but you you understand that to a deeper and deeper level every day, I think.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. It's a it's a journey, I think, most people let's call it finding your own voice or however we wanna, you know, bringing your whole self or the authenticity, that horrible word. But it's it it there's so much nuance to it.
TREVOR YOUNG:There's so much, you know, depth to it as you've just explained, and it's a never ending journey. I've always been a believer that, you know, when when you're putting you you find your voice often through through content and through talking and speaking and and doing those things, and you get better. I mean, if you I was speaking to one person who that that that in the early days of blogging, I've been blogging since 2,007. In the early days, there was a school of thought, and it's kind of still true today, but if you if you don't feel a bit queasy when by the time you hit publish, you haven't gone hard enough on the topic. And I don't think, you know, you want people feeling sick about publishing.
TREVOR YOUNG:You want them to enjoy the blogging experience, but there's a bit of truth in that that, you know, to push yourself to have that point of view and, you know, have an opinion and a perspective, because if you're gonna build a thought leader brand, you're gonna need that. And and that Yeah. That brings with it a whole lot of baggage net potentially. I, you know, I don't wanna, you know, be seen to be promoting myself. Oh, I don't wanna, you know, what about if people don't like me because of what I'm saying and all of that.
TREVOR YOUNG:And it's all it's all wrapped up into how we deliver ourselves and show up.
KRIS WARD:I agree so much. And the the other thing too I I'm still struggling with a little bit is I'm a very positive person, and, also, I'd like to I'm Canadian, so we're polite. The joke is if you step on our foot, we'll say sorry. Right? So polite.
KRIS WARD:And I'm I'm very positive. And and so then I also have to learn that you can be positive, but I have to say some controversial things in my videos or online, or I'm no different than anybody else. Right? So, you know, we talk now. We're coming out more about content about one of the people in my team were like, okay.
KRIS WARD:Here's a good header for video. Why outsourcing agencies are robbing you? Well, here's the thing. They charge the client $8, and then they pay the outsourcer 4, And then they have these long term contracts. Now in theory, that's not robbing you.
KRIS WARD:They have a business, and their profit's in the middle. But but the outsourcer is losing money, and the, you know, the client is paying more than they need to. And they're like, this would be a great title, Chris. And I'm like, okay. Because I don't wanna judge another company.
KRIS WARD:I'm not naming them. I'm just saying the outsourcing agencies that are popping up all over the place are very expensive, and they also don't set you up with systems and process. So you hire somebody, and it won't work out. And if you end the contract, that there's a whole bunch of problems with it. But for me to be bold faced and say, it's too many words for me just to explain what I said to you.
KRIS WARD:So here I am qualifying it, softening it, and explaining it, and nobody has 5 minutes for me to politely walk them down this path and explain it. So I have to say, hey. They're robbing you. Here's what the problem is. They do this, they do this, that.
KRIS WARD:And I really struggle with that still because I don't wanna be I wanna be positive. I don't wanna be harsh. But I people need the information concise and tight. Yeah. And I would say that too if I was speaking to you 1 on 1, but yet putting it in a blog, I'm like, oh, I wanna soften it and explain it.
KRIS WARD:So you're right. People need to hear what your thoughts are or you're no different than anybody else.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yeah. Yeah. And, it's an ongoing challenge. I think if anyone's kind of facing that when they sit down, put pen to paper or even, you know, writing a book or whatever it is. You know?
TREVOR YOUNG:And it's probably more about the words rather than when you you can get on a podcast and explain it, but, yeah, it's it's something that I think most people will struggle with at some point, but you've gotta work through it, and you work through it by doing and getting more confident and comfortable with your voice out there. No one ever no one ever started being just a a a gun thought leader from the get go. It just doesn't happen. So the people who have permission to lean into that over a period of time. So you wrote the so the book kinda came first.
TREVOR YOUNG:Is that what I'm hearing?
KRIS WARD:Mhmm. Yeah. The book, I I I wrote the book to reach more people because I just thought, oh my gosh. Your business should support your life instead of consuming it. And I was so thankful that I returned to a business that was intact.
KRIS WARD:And also during the journey, he didn't oh my gosh. He knew how hard I worked. If he had thought for a minute that you know, things are falling apart for me, that would have been one more burden for him to carry. And I'll be honest, when I talk about systems, when I came back to work, like, if you ever gone through immense grief, like, you could put your keys in the microwave. Like, your brain has just shut down.
KRIS WARD:And so I was following my own super toolkits as if it like, I was a brand new employee. Like, okay. Do this next. Do this. And at least it gave me I could be back in the office and give me something to do because I didn't have it was like I had acquired brain injury.
KRIS WARD:I just didn't have the bandwidth to remember things, not because it had been time, but because I was just numb from grief. Right? So that was helpful. And then I realized, oh my gosh. You know, everybody has a story.
KRIS WARD:Everybody has interruption. People parents get ill. You break an arm. There's all these things. And so I just thought, what a horrible situation if you went through something traumatic and then lost your business.
KRIS WARD:And so I just wanted to reach more people, and I just knew that they wouldn't have to own up and say I'm struggling. They could just read the book on their own. And so that's how that was my first big step towards helping.
TREVOR YOUNG:Right. So you had you're you're actually running the marketing agency business at that time when you wrote the book, and then the book has actually created the new business.
KRIS WARD:Yeah. Because my marketing clients asked me when they as you we talked about in the previous show, that they didn't know I was away. They had because we didn't tell them, and we were able to sustain the business without them knowing. So they said, hey. If you could do that, maybe you could help me get to my kids' soccer game.
KRIS WARD:So I started working with them under that capacity, and that kept growing, and the other part diminished.
TREVOR YOUNG:There you go. That's not just a pivot. That's a u-turn.
KRIS WARD:Yeah.
TREVOR YOUNG:Which is a great story in itself. You know? Like, you write the book, and you build a a new business off the back of a book. I love it. I mean, that is that is amazing.
TREVOR YOUNG:The so so the impetus of so the book was the number one thing to get you out there, and so that was the, I guess, the impetus to start getting back on social. And as you say, it took time for you for all of this to come about. Nothing's just instant. And so what came first after that? I mean, a book is, to me, the ultimate owned media property.
TREVOR YOUNG:You own it. You control it. You know, you control its distribution, what it looks like. So it's it's a big premium signature piece. So that's your massive flag in the ground, and, look, I always think it's a great place to start, but it's probably the hardest place to start.
TREVOR YOUNG:In terms of in terms of podcast, how long after you did the book did the podcast come up? Because you got quite a few episodes now.
KRIS WARD:Yeah. Well, thank you. It was oh my gosh. I don't know. Maybe a year.
KRIS WARD:So I did the book, and then the book is done. And then you think, I need to get on podcasts. So then I started a process of pitching people to be on the podcast, and I even bought a very expensive microphone first. And I remember saying to somebody in my team, oh, lord. I hope somebody helps lets me go on their show because I bought this microphone.
KRIS WARD:But I had to show up with you know, they always say, do you have a good microphone? So I was like, alright. I bought a microphone. I look like I'm a professional, but please let me on your show. So I started getting a system in play to pitch people, like, with a video.
KRIS WARD:My videos weren't as refined, but and probably too long, and I explained my story. But I started with a video, and right away, people liked that I took that effort to do the video. So I got that feedback. And, really, the exercise was I thought if I send out all my member pitching what I deemed to be read to Lead to Read is a very he's won a lot of awards, and I had listened to his podcast. And this was like, I you know, now we're talking 4 years ago, podcasts have taken quite a leap.
KRIS WARD:Like, I only knew of 2 or 3 podcasts at the time. I wasn't the podcast junkie that I am now. So I had pitched him, and I was like and he only has authors on the show. But, really, I was pitching him as exercise in pitching. My goal was if he opened the email and replied with a no, I thought I did a good job because I got him to see the pitch.
KRIS WARD:And then because he dealt with, like, New York Times best selling authors and stuff, but so so he was not like, this was not this was just to get him to open the email. But he said my pitch was so good. He said, what the heck? Let's do it. And I was like, oh my gosh.
KRIS WARD:What am I gonna do on this show? Because he had such big guests.
TREVOR YOUNG:So I
KRIS WARD:was like, oh, no. Right? So so then I started being on shows, and then people told me that I was a really good guest. And the first number of people, I heard it a lot, but I just thought, that's nice. They're being nice to me.
KRIS WARD:Right? And so then finally, somebody said people started saying, you should have your own show, and I thought I didn't even understand. So then someone explained to me, and I'm so naive. I thought, well, isn't there enough podcast? And this was, like, 3 years ago now.
KRIS WARD:Are we done with podcasts? Like, what's next? And they're like, no. It really gives you opportunity to meet people, and there's all the and it was, like, the best thing for my business even though I did not. My topic is very broad.
KRIS WARD:It could be anything business, sales, social media, LinkedIn, whatever. Because I didn't I didn't want it to be all about systems and processes because people who need it are not gonna listen to that kind of show. Right? So I just don't know if lot of time. No.
KRIS WARD:Like, people that are overweight do not listen to fitness shows. Right? Those are people who are fit. Right? So I made it generic, but but it so then they talked me into it, and I thought, oh, okay.
KRIS WARD:Let's try that. But it really has been a fantastic tool for networking, for leveraging relationships, you know, for another place to produce content, to repurpose content. But it just came then from me doing a lot of shows.
TREVOR YOUNG:Right.
KRIS WARD:It was not the original goal at all.
TREVOR YOUNG:And so so we've got the the the you've gone into the earned media. You've done a lot of things really quick like the often, it's, you know, get your show or build your owned media channels and work on social media and build that base, and then start with the earned media, which is, you know, being on other people's shows and other media outlets and interviews and stuff like that, and it's sort of this progression. And then the book, and you've written the book, then you've done the earned media, and then you've gone to the owned media and social media. I love it. It's it's it's tipped a lot of my thinking on its ear.
TREVOR YOUNG:So I I love the approach, but the the fact of the matter is that, you know, you've tackled some of the hardest things. So writing a book is hard, and getting on other people's shows, you know, it it it takes certain you've gotta get up and on it. Like, it's
KRIS WARD:You gotta do it. You gotta reach out.
TREVOR YOUNG:You gotta reach out. It's not the easiest thing. You can't hide. No. There's no hiding, and and I'll backtrack here for a bit.
TREVOR YOUNG:You you I get pitched a lot for this show, and and 99% of pictures fall they don't even they fall short. Let's just be nice about it, and they're left wanting. And, yours just your pitch is great, and you use video. You use a personalized video, and you explain things, and I felt an alignment immediately, so the fact that you did it with video is incredibly powerful because no one does it for starters. It's cut through, and it's personal.
TREVOR YOUNG:So I just wanted to put that in there for context, and that's clearly part of
KRIS WARD:the way I did it. Add to that. What I did also is I did my homework. So it wasn't that I said, hey. I started off saying I'm a podcast junkie.
KRIS WARD:I found your show. Here's what I liked about your show. Here's what I think you do well. And in listening to your show, I think you and I could have a meaty conversation, and here's why. So, you know, I had time with all the other things that are taken off my plates that I have creative freedom to say, yeah, this would be a good choice, and I wanna have a I started a conversation with you.
KRIS WARD:So at the end of the day, it is a pitch, but I think it really was starting a conversation where so many of us get these dry pitches. And it's just like, I love when somebody says, well, you know, I wrote 47 books and I'm amazing and I'm all these things and you showed me on your show. Okay. What about me? Like, you know, like, what are you gonna bring to this show, like, other than that you're amazing and I'm not.
KRIS WARD:Right? Yep. Yep. So I think there is that as well. It's just building your brand, and and then also you got to hear how I talk to you, and and then you get an alignment with my who I am as a person, which is back to your brand.
KRIS WARD:So it it really is the more conversations you can have with someone, the more it helps me navigate and figure out what is the best version of my brand, and then it spreads the brand juice to people like you.
TREVOR YOUNG:The the other part of it too is is doing it strategically, ongoing as part of an overall, you know, strategy, I guess. How many how many podcasts have you been on?
KRIS WARD:I don't know. You know what? I didn't count them as effectively as I should have in the beginning because I was just so surprised when people let me on their show that I was, like, oh my gosh. Look, another one. Right?
KRIS WARD:So I I didn't know. I would I would guess I'm just guessing. I would say maybe 400 shows.
TREVOR YOUNG:Wow. Wow. It's I know I know when I googled you and there are other Chris Ward's out there with a k, but you popped up a lot for being on other people's podcast. That's where you popped up. And YouTube videos and often, you know, a podcast is a YouTube video as well.
TREVOR YOUNG:So Yeah. I can attest to the fact that you're you're everywhere in a good way in a good way, and, it's I've had a previous guest on Oscar Trimboli who is, you know, a world leading, listening expert, and he has, for a number of years, made being on other people's podcast as a as a strategy, and, you know, he's got help he's got help doing it. He's got an agency that helps him on that side of things to save him time. But, you know, he says he's been incredibly effective. I think by memory, he does kind of 2 a 2 a month ongoing.
TREVOR YOUNG:It just keeps going, and it rolls and been very effective for his business, and, clearly, this has worked for your business. And it feeds back into your podcast as well, so, undoubtedly, being on other people's being exposed to other people's audiences is helping your podcast as well.
KRIS WARD:You know, I'm sure it does, but here's what I really think. This is where I think it really comes. First of all, I would say this is where I struggle with using my voice. I would say the last one of the last things I would ever give up is when I get pitched all the time from PR agencies, marketing agencies, and, again, they give me this whole thing that this guy is great and doesn't mean anything. Like, that's one of the last things I would give up.
KRIS WARD:You can have your team do other things, but, like, you heard my voice. You saw my face. I was speaking to you, and that was a change it's a game changer versus somebody that I hired to pitch you about me. Right? So so I think that really is it.
KRIS WARD:I don't buy into I I'm sure your audience is great. I I I was listening to your show, so I'm great. So they all must be great. Right? What I really think the leveraging comes in is twofold.
KRIS WARD:1, is now we've had, like it's almost like a 5th date. You know, if I when people reach out to you on LinkedIn and say, let's hop on and see if we can collaborate. I don't have time for that. What what do you wanna do? Right?
KRIS WARD:But now we've had a reason to have a conversation. I'm gonna stay in touch with you. I know who you are. We've joked. We've chatted.
KRIS WARD:There is something here. There is a we have a memory now. So to me, a, it's that relationship that if I maintain it, that's a big deal. Right? Then I also think then when you googled me and all these names came up, that's social proof.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yep.
KRIS WARD:So a potential client, you know, heard from somebody else and they Google my name, it's like all these things come up. They don't even listen to them. They don't care, but they say, ah, ah, she's you've been doing this. She I got some street cred. So whether I'm exposed to your audience and it grows my podcast and I would say too, my podcast, again, it's about maintaining relationships or having people come through that might be able to use my services that get to know me better because it's like a 5th date thing.
KRIS WARD:So I think it's fantastic that I have an audience, and I must have one because we've got over a 1000 5 star reviews, so we've got, you know, a a good base there. But I think even if nobody was listening, me connecting with you and having you in my network and getting social proof is enough reason for me to do podcasts.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yeah. No. I I don't disagree on that. And I think there's there's things that we you know, every how many times do we hear this? This has to lead to a, you know, commercial outcome, and it's just never been the case.
TREVOR YOUNG:It's the it's the sum of the parts. It's the the whole thing and Yeah. And and potentially one of the most powerful things about having a strong brand and having your content and and being and being on other people's podcast is is validation. It might be the kicker that gets people you know, maybe they've heard about you that way, but they'll go in deeper, and they'll do their research before even contacting you. And and it it really is, you know, you've got lots of cheerleaders out there, and I don't think we can ever have enough cheerleaders in this in this world.
TREVOR YOUNG:So that that's great, and I, you know, I knew you're active on podcasting, but that's that's an amazing journey there and and you're you're a 100% right. It's it's it's about networking. If you're running a podcast and you're connecting with others and getting them on the show, you're making some pretty impressive connections if you're getting the right people on the show, and and the people you're getting on the show are probably influences in some degree, nano influences, micro influences, macro influences, and it's all it's all just part of the, you know, being out there and active. It's it's being I've called it Yeah. I call it being an active participant in today's reputation economy.
TREVOR YOUNG:And, You
KRIS WARD:you're so right. And you you said it. Like, you looked me up, and all of a sudden, you're like, oh, she's on all these shows. Her face keeps coming up somewhere. So all of a sudden, that gives me a brand.
KRIS WARD:My face is everywhere. That's all a brand is, is reputation repetition. So you're right there. And then also, if you set yourself up like I have and I you know, I'll often send all of a sudden, I'll meet somebody. I'm like, hey.
KRIS WARD:I might send you Trevor, I met this person who I think would be a great guest for your show, and I connect you 2 people. And then people go, oh, Chris is so awesome. She introduced me to somebody else. Well, then I'm keeping top of mind because I'm I have the bandwidth and the time, the way my business is set up with my win team so that I can do these videos and network and maintain these relationships instead of rotating them.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yeah. Fantastic. I I love it. There's a lot of, it's the loop of something. I don't know what the loop is, but it's everything feeds into each other.
TREVOR YOUNG:So just conscious of time because we've, we've covered book, podcast, podcast guesting, podcast hosting, Social media, I guess, was has been dotted throughout that, but you're on all the channels. You're on TikTok, you know, which scares a lot of people. Walk us through that. I mean, what's your favorite, you know, what's your favorite social media channel? What do you think you you have an affinity with with which works for you?
TREVOR YOUNG:Is it is it your TikToks and your Instagrams and your short videos?
KRIS WARD:I would say so. I think that's a good point. I think you have to pick 1 or 2 and then repurpose the rest. So I think LinkedIn has got a lot of weight, so I definitely am active on LinkedIn. Yep.
KRIS WARD:So I would say my 2 primary ones are LinkedIn and TikTok. And then everything else that I do I think TikTok is a very true like, you you get it's not about followers and stuff. It's really about content consumption.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yes.
KRIS WARD:So I'm still working a lot on my videos on TikTok and and tightening my message, so we're we haven't mastered that by any means. But what would happen is I can see where I succeed or fail really quickly because it's the algorithm is completely different than the other platforms. Right. So what happens is then we take those videos and repurpose them on Instagram and Facebook and all that other stuff. So everything else is just repurposed versions of that, but the testing points are TikTok and LinkedIn.
KRIS WARD:And then it just again, you do your reps, and then you figure out what's resonating or what could I say better or I told this story too long or I have to use less words. It's just figuring it out.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yeah. I I actually love that. I mean, I'm a big believer in a 1, 2 punch minds, LinkedIn, and and Twitter, but I'm on the others just Yeah. Just Yeah. Well, I have to be just to experiment and test them out.
TREVOR YOUNG:But I think the fact is you've got, you know, one main main one, and and maybe TikTok's a bit of still feeling it out, experimenting, and as you say, it's a it's a discovery engine. It's it is less about the followers, and albeit you can still build a following on it. And and it's a great place to test, as you say. You test your material in in 60 seconds, 90 seconds, 7 seconds, I think, is a Yeah. Optimum.
TREVOR YOUNG:You know, like, it's good. Your moment you open your mouth, you've done up your 7 seconds. So it's it's, it's a challenging, but I think it's a good skill to do because short form video isn't going away, and and I think it's a really important platform to to experiment with, that's for sure, as it grows and changes and it's becoming, you know, a little bit more mainstream than than, you know, dancing videos for kids. And so you got the social media, so that's ongoing, that's active. You're actively creating content for that.
TREVOR YOUNG:You've got people, you know, helping you repurpose. You got the podcast that's just ticking along now, and you've got a, your blogging as well. Mhmm. And YouTube, I'm I'm interested in your I know a lot of your YouTubes are your the, you know, video interviews that you do. You've got your TikTok videos, I guess, and the ones that are on YouTube Shorts, which I think is a
KRIS WARD:Yeah.
TREVOR YOUNG:Is a very unutilized and a great opportunity, I think, for people, YouTube Shorts. So if you're gonna do TikTok, they do work on YouTube Shorts. Walk us through just the what are you thinking around YouTube?
KRIS WARD:I'm thinking that I shouldn't be producing long form content when I haven't nailed down my short form content. Right. So it's very easy to get seduced and say we're gonna do this next thing and throw your back into it. Mhmm. But it it you know, what you need to do is say, so by YouTube, we do repurpose the short form videos onto YouTube, which is funny.
KRIS WARD:I didn't know my team did that. And then one day, I was on YouTube looking, and there I went floating across the bottom in the shorts. And I was like, okay. So we're here now, are we? So when you have a great team, you just discover these things.
KRIS WARD:Right? But Mhmm. My TikTok videos are not where they need to be yet, And there's so many things that what I'm recently learning is we do all this stuff in the winner's circle, but we also work really closely with the VAs that we find for you and hire and onboard for you. We do a lot of leadership training so that they're just not task takers, that they really become the backbones to your business. And then suddenly, recently, we realized we're not talking about that enough.
KRIS WARD:That's kinda something 5th date material. Once you come in, we clean this up and do that up, and then people really love the work we do with your VAs. We sustain that relationship and do a lot of work. But suddenly, we start to realize by other things we're learning, by repeating our you know, doing our reps that I'm not talking about that enough. Right?
KRIS WARD:So what I figure out is I need to figure out, hey. How can I make some amazing videos that are short form? And when I really master that, then I can make longer YouTube videos? So anything you see right now on YouTube is just repurposed or chopped up or something. But why am I gonna spend 10 minutes teaching you how to do something on YouTube when I get can't get your full attention for 2 minutes on TikTok?
TREVOR YOUNG:Yep. That's that's a really good point, and and it's it's worth bringing up at this at this point that, you know, YouTube there's 2 parts to YouTube. You either become a YouTuber and you I I don't wanna say play the game, but there is a sort of a process of how to do things and and how to do videos and long form and, you know, there's a there's a bit of effort in doing a a 10 minute, 20 minute, hour long. I mean, who knows? I mean, if you're doing tutorials, you know, there's no time limit necessarily for for YouTube videos, but, of course, you've gotta keep things super, super, super short for TikTok.
TREVOR YOUNG:But, you know, you either use it and commit to it like that and do it once a week and put stuff up regularly, or you just use it as a repository for your videos, you know, the other things you've done or you've been somewhere, you've been on stage and you get that video or you've, you know, you've got you're doing interviews and and that it becomes a place there and then you can take them and embed them on your blog and all of that sort of stuff. But so I just wanna make the distinction between being on YouTube and being on YouTube. You know?
KRIS WARD:Yeah. And I'm all about YouTube. I love it. I just don't think I'm good enough for it yet. So that's my issue there.
KRIS WARD:So, yeah, is YouTube great? Sure. But I I believe in failing quickly and being effective. So we're trying to fail quickly as we can with short form short form videos and TikTok. And then I'd love to be on YouTube doing a longer format, but I have to find my solid footing in my brand and my voice before I expand.
TREVOR YOUNG:Of of course, being and and and treating it strategically and doing the best job on it to make it work for you. So Mhmm. Hard to do everything. And just finally, you know, you help people build teams and systems and manage their energy and their, you know, their time and be more effective and all of those things. And I urge people again to go back to our previous episode, just only a couple of episodes ago, where we went deep into the the productivity, let's say, side of things.
TREVOR YOUNG:But in terms of how do you do it? How do you get all this stuff done and run a business? So you're no different than a lot of people that I talk to, a lot of my clients, a lot of people who are probably listening to the show. They're running a business, but they're struggling with all the other things. What do you do?
TREVOR YOUNG:What does your team look like in turn from the personal branding side of things?
KRIS WARD:So my team I have a team of 3. 1, 2, 3. And so, really, it's just getting things off my plate. So taking any opportunity that I can to say, can somebody else do that? Even if I'm going to shoot a bunch of videos, can somebody else prep the videos and give me the list of the videos I need to do, and here's the link, and here's where we're gonna send it, whatever.
KRIS WARD:Right? So it's always shaving 10 minutes, 15 minutes off any hour to do that. So So in that case, like, in my case at this point now, on Mondays, I do video content. So I might do pitches. I do my TikTok videos.
KRIS WARD:I might update videos on my website if somebody says they need to be done, if I have to reach out to someone. Any videos that I have to do, I'll even people that reach out to me on LinkedIn and wanna connect, Once they connect, I send them a personal video in their message box. So Mondays are video content, and there's a lot of things there. Tuesdays, I deal with my clients in the Winners Circle, things like that. Wednesdays, I'm often one Wednesday a month.
KRIS WARD:I'm hosting my show. Another Wednesday, I try to stack as many guest appearances as I can. I've scheduled them far in advance. You know? And then Thursday, I've got some play with it.
KRIS WARD:There's some things that I bigger projects happen on Thursdays. And then Fridays, I do my written content. But I can do all that stuff and all those things, the written content that's about my brand, and the videos are about my brand. And I can do all those things because we have the super toolkits in play, because my team, we're constantly finding time and saying, okay. What's our next focus?
KRIS WARD:We're working on this right now. But with the super toolkits, my team can constantly take on more and more responsibility, And they'll look at my calendar and say, okay. If we're gonna be doing that, you know, they'll come like, let's say we're starting which very could happen very soon is they'll say, alright. Chris is gonna start her second book now. We need more time on the calendar.
KRIS WARD:And they will be the 1st to look at the calendar to say, okay. Let's look at the super toolkits. There's 10 steps to this. Maybe somebody else can do 4, and Chris only needs to do 5. So if, let's say, you have 15 minutes on every hour, now we've got 2 hours.
KRIS WARD:She can be writing on Monday. So it's really just knowing what your inventory is so you can adjust.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yep. And your super toolkits are part of your IP that you your your business is your your product is the winner's circle, and people in the winner's circle get, the super was it the super toolkits?
KRIS WARD:Super toolkits.
TREVOR YOUNG:Yeah. Excellent. So in in in in one way, it's I call it eating your own dog food. You're you're doing all the things you talk about, which is fantastic. And and so that that's great.
TREVOR YOUNG:Thanks for unpacking that because that's to show that, you know, you are focused on your time and you, you know, this is part of, you know because it's important to you, and I think when people say I haven't got time to, you know, do a video or whatever, it's not that you haven't got time. It's that it's not a, you know, it's not a priority for you. So, otherwise, you'll make the time Do you know, that's a whole new ballgame, which you help people do. But in terms of, you know, them trying to fit it into their week and how to do it. And and and just back up a little bit on that.
TREVOR YOUNG:Your team, are they all remote and full time, are they?
KRIS WARD:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All remote, all full time.
TREVOR YOUNG:Alright. Excellent. Well, there you go. Now I as I said, I we had an interview to delve into all the systems and that side of things a couple of episodes ago. The number just escapes me, and And but I'd urge people to listen to that one, and it's been great talking to you, Kris.
KRIS WARD:Well, thank you very much. And if you didn't get the other episode, which you should go back, but we I will extend that we have a little gift for you at Yep. Free gift, g I f t, from Chris, k r I s, dotcom. Free gift from Chris dot com. And we have some special things in there that will not last very long, like the free audio version of of my book.
KRIS WARD:Excellent. So you might wanna check that out. And, yeah, just reach out to me in the socials and tell me you're a fan of Trevor's show, and we'll become fast friends.
TREVOR YOUNG:Terrific. Thanks very much, Kris.
KRIS WARD:Thank you.
TREVOR YOUNG:I hope you enjoyed that chat with Chris Ward and that you got something out of it. Now just finishing off with a quick announcement. I've launched a new audio product. It's a private podcast. You can't get it.
TREVOR YOUNG:It's not freely available because it's, there's a cost attached to it, not a not a massive cost by any means, but there is a cost. It's called PocketPR Essentials. It's volume 1, and it's all about helping you unlock the potential of your business through the power of PR content and digital communications. It's my audio only micro coaching series for ambitious business owners and entrepreneurial professionals. So can think of it as training and inspiration in your pocket.
TREVOR YOUNG:You can listen on the go via your podcast app as you're doing right now, and it consists of bite sized tips, ideas, and insights on how to get focused and creative in your PR content and digital communications efforts. There are 36 micro episodes roughly between 5 and 8 minutes in length, and they're dropping they drop 3 times a week for 3 months, so episodes released every 2 to 3 days. So it is it's not a podcast per se, even though I might call it a private podcast, it is my audio only micro coaching series for ambitious business owners and entrepreneurial professionals. If you go to pocketpressentials.com to check it out, It's got a special launch pricing at the moment, but that will change in coming weeks. So if you want to get into that, check it out, see what you think, pocketpressentials.com.