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In this episode of the Social PR Secrets Podcast, host Lisa Buyer talks with Diane Forster, an Award-Winning Inventor, Best Selling Author, TEDx Speaker, TV Host, Podcaster, Intentional Living Expert, and Re-Invention Specialist. Diane is the Founder of I HAVE TODAY. She is the author of “I HAVE TODAY: Find Your Passion, Purpose, and Smile...Finally!” Her TV Show, along with her Podcast, “I HAVE TODAY with Diane Forster,” help people live enriched, empowered, inspiring lives through their transitions. From tips about reinventing yourself to how to build the right brand for you, listen to this episode to learn more from Diane.
As a highly successful advertising executive for 30+ years, Diane’s phase one career mostly took place in TV sales at ABC. There, she learned about client relations, messaging, marketing, branding, and everything in between. It was a great career for her until it wasn’t. At one point, it stopped being fulfilling. She wasn’t happy anymore, personally and professionally. That’s when she decided to follow her passion for cooking. She invented a kitchen gadget, which led to innovation success.
Diane’s “aha moment” was when she realized she must pay attention to the signs and focus on what she had today. She decided to take her personal journey of unhappiness and create a brand around ‘I HAVE TODAY’. To Diane, these three powerful words mean it all. They worked for her and are what she is trying to instill in the women she coaches.
Starting your own brand can be terrifying. The first thing Diane did was hire a coach. It boosted her confidence and gave her the necessary skills to believe in her project. Then, she wrote a book. According to her, books are glorified business cards. They open up many other doors and opportunities. Her focus was on getting the book done first. Not to make money but to have the credibility behind it. Next, she invested in herself. She knew no dollars spent would be wasted if they were used towards building her business. She got a coaching certification to accumulate knowledge and experience. She also invested in networking groups and communities because she knew she needed the connections.
Always, her focus was around I HAVE TODAY. This is simple branding, but it works. Immediately, audiences understand Diane Forster is about intentional living and living in the now. Diane says, “sometimes, the simplest branding is in front of you; don’t overcomplicate things.” She explains that her current branding is the third iteration of it. She emphasizes the importance of starting. “Version one is better than none.” She explains that starting has a lot to do with mindset and confidence. To her, you can’t worry about mistakes because everything is a lesson along the way.
According to Diane Forster, you don’t have to market to the masses. To her, you don’t need a million followers if you have a few hundreds of the right people. That itself could make you millions of dollars. Her strategy was to find a niche. That niche is women like herself. Women who are going through reinvention and need help personally and professionally. Women who have the skills they need but require help turning them into something tangible. Diane explains that as long as your marketing is true and authentic to you, you can’t go wrong.
In terms of PR, social media, and email marketing, Diane Forster says, “leverage, leverage, leverage.” She produces and records her own TV shows. She then uses that content to stream it on many different platforms, creates a podcast, turns it into blog posts included in her email newsletter, and incorporates it into multiple pieces of content on social media. There are no ad dollars spent, just the one hour it takes to record the show and her time and that of her employees. When it comes to building your email list, Diane says you need to create value for people. Offer them free classes, resources, webinars. Once you get their contact information, your email list will be your greatest asset.
Can PR be free? How can you reinvent yourself? How can you stop procrastinating? If this episode interests you, make sure to check out Diane’s upcoming 6-day challenge. Starting at the end of September, it will focus on mindset and manifestation. It will help you manifest the things you want faster, easier, and better. Diane concludes by saying, “We’re our biggest enemies because we don’t have the clarity, the focus, or direction.”
“Create that content once and leverage the heck out of it” - Diane Forster
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