We recently connected with Cristina Palombo and Stephanie Blake and have shared our conversation below.
Cristina and Stephanie, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Publiassist is entirely driven by our purpose. As communication professionals we believe in the power of words and storytelling and the value of sharing ideas to strengthen community.
After decades of working with nonprofits, small businesses, creatives and entrepreneurs, we noticed the need for an affordable means of gaining the strong communications skills necessary for business success.
Publiassist was born out of the desire to increase accessibility to obtaining communications and public relations skills. We believe everyone should have access to the knowledge and tools to effectively communicate. Success shouldn’t be limited to only those who have substantial communications and marketing budgets.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Publiassist is an online space offering courses, support and community for those seeking the knowledge, skills and tools for ongoing PR strategy and execution. Publiassist empowers businesses to amplify their stories by decoding the communications process. It makes PR accessible, straightforward and affordable, leading to increased business success.
We do this through courses and easy-to-use worksheets, templates and checklists. We walk businesses through building communications strategies and public relations practices – at their pace – that increase awareness and promote growth.
Over the next year, we’ll be rolling out core and special topics courses. Core courses offer concepts, learnings and deliverables that are fundamental to practicing strategic and consistent PR. These courses are intensive and a longer format than special topics courses. We recommend taking them in a specific order and returning to them as needed over time. The special topics courses are shorter-form courses addressing a specific area of PR: a specialty, a tool or a trend.
The special topics course, “Public Relations and AI: An Introduction to Using ChatGPT” is now available. The course explores using the Generative AI tool, ChatGPT to write a news release, generate story ideas and write a pitch email. It addresses best practices for writing prompts, along with the benefits and challenges of using an AI tool like ChatGPT for PR. This beginner course is for anyone who has been intimidated to try out ChatGPT for PR efforts, or is concerned about the challenges it might present.
This summer, we’ll launch “Communications Starter Kit: Crafting a Strategic Communications Plan.” As the first of our core courses, it kicks off the PR journey. This is the place to start for anyone launching a business or needing a clear strategy for a communications refresh.
Visit publiassist.com/specialcourses to learn more about Publiassist courses and to register.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back on our journey, three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge stand out as particularly impactful:
Going back to the basics: Over decades of practicing communications, despite many exciting changes, the foundational building blocks of strong communication remain the same. When coming up with an idea or struggling with an issue, the ability to go back to the basics will always drive impactful and successful results.
Developing strong writing skills: While the tools for delivering messages continue to change, it remains essential to know how to communicate effectively through writing. Strong writing skills include assessing context, writing for your audience, understanding use of tone and determining how to say more with less.
Thinking critically and acting kindly: It’s more essential than ever to think critically. As we move toward a world that is increasingly digitized and relies on tools like AI, fact-checking and proposing challenging questions is paramount. This critical thinking is best approached through a lens of kindness and empathy, always addressing challenges with a human approach.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
We designed Publiassist with a few groups in mind: small businesses, nonprofits, creatives, personal brands and entrepreneurs.
Ultimately, Publiassist is for anyone and everyone motivated to acquire the knowledge, skills and tools to strategically and thoughtfully amplify their own story.
Whether you’re in the early stages of building your business or you’ve been in business for several years, our core courses and special topics courses meet you where you are in your PR journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: publiassist.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/publiassist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/publiassist
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82509736/admin/feed/posts/
Image Credits
Photo Credit: Adam Larkey
