That Solo Life: The Solo PR Pro Podcast

That Solo Life: Co-hosted by Karen Swim, APR, founder of Words for Hire, LLC and owner of Solo PR Pro and Michelle Kane, founder of VoiceMatters, LLC, we keep it real and talk about the topics that affect solo business owners.

That Solo Life: The Solo PR Pro Podcast is a business podcast hosted by thatsololife, with 350 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

thatsololife hosts That Solo Life: The Solo PR Pro Podcast, a business show with 350 episodes published.

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  Episode #352

  The Hairball that Gave Us Hope

  Aug 17, 202624 min

  Episode Summary In this episode of That Solo Life, Karen and Michelle discuss five headlines from newsletters, online news, and blog posts that caught their attention recently. From the hotly debated AI content watermarking to how negative SEO is being used as a competitive weapon to the giant hairball that rolled through the streets of New York City, they provide their point of view and offer actionable takeaways for Solo PR Pros. Episode Highlights [00:53] Topic 1: AI Content Watermarking — Transparency Without Context: Karen kicks off with the AI content watermarking debate — Anthropic and others beginning to watermark AI-generated content. Karen's take: she's not against transparency, but a watermark with no context misses the point. Using AI as an editing layer — the way she uses Grammarly or Claude to catch blind spots and pressure-test a draft — does not mean she didn't write the piece. The judgment, the voice, and the revision are still hers. The problem with a blanket token is that it can't distinguish between a thoughtful human-led workflow with an AI assist and a prompt-dump. AI slop isn't a new problem, bad writing predates computers by centuries. The real protection against it is not reading it, not publishing it, and not sharing it. Karen's practical point for the profession: even practitioners who believe they don't use AI almost certainly are as t's embedded in media databases, press release distribution tools, social platforms, and smartphones. The more productive stance is engaging with the question of how to use it responsibly. [09:05] Topic 1 Continued: AI Deception Is the Real Problem: Karen sharpens the point: what actually bothers her isn't AI-assisted writing, it's deceptive use, particularly AI-generated photos used to represent products or experiences. Restaurant menus with AI food photography. Shoe listings where the product looks nothing like what arrives. That's not a writing quality issue. That's a consumer trust issue. And it's where the conversation about AI authenticity needs to focus. [11:51] Topic 2: Negative SEO as Competitive Weaponry: Karen flags a story that surprised her: litigation underway around US businesses deliberately using toxic backlinks to damage competitors' online visibility. SEO sabotage as a competitive tactic. Karen's immediate reaction: she's dealt with malware attacks that required a full site cleanse and Google resubmission, but she'd never thought of backlinks being weaponized intentionally. The takeaway for solo practitioners: check your own backlinks. Your clients with in-house SEO teams may already be doing this, but smaller clients probably aren't. And your own name and brand reputation can be attached to toxic links you're not aware of. [14:28] Topic 3: The K-18 Hairball — Experiential Marketing Having Its Moment: Michelle brings the story of hair care brand K-18 rolling a giant hairball — called The Tumble Hair — through the streets of New York City to launch their Future IQ hair longevity serum. The stunt stopped New Yorkers. New Yorkers. Karen's read: in an era where AI generates infinite digital content, real physical experiences create the kind of surprise and shareability that no algorithm can manufacture. The hairball was genuinely alarming to look at, and it worked — lots of social media, lots of engagement, lots of earned coverage. The bigger signal: people are still craving real things, even if the real thing is a giant rolling hairball. [17:48] Topic 4: Summer Reading Recommendations: Karen and Michelle swap what they've been reading. Michelle is midway through We Solve Murders by Richard Osman and praises the tight chapters, quick pace, and social media influencer murders as the entry point for a bigger caper involving a private security firm. Karen finished Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time by Angela Brown, a novel that deals with mortality and the dreams people shelve, in a way that's more funny and page-turning than heavy, and that left her with a genuine nudge to dust off things she'd pushed aside. Both recommend reading outside of business books to sharpen writing and restore creativity. They challenge listeners to get through a book or two before summer ends. [22:16] Topic 5: The Library Card Is a Surprisingly Useful Business Tool: Michelle, who serves on a public library board, makes the case: a library card gives you access to global publications through services like PressReader, which means major newspapers and trade outlets without individual subscription costs. For solo practitioners trimming budgets without wanting to lose access to media that matters, this is a real option. Libraries also now offer tools, appliances, and in some cases co-working space. Michelle and Karen both note that modern libraries are significantly more useful than their reputation suggests — and that getting a card is a genuinely practical move for anyone in the information business. Resources Mentioned PR News: PR Roundup: Claude’s Watermark Debate, the Say-Do Gap Is Killing Culture, and a Giant Hairball Rolls Through NYC Search Engine Land: Judge lets SEO sabotage lawsuit over toxic backlinks move forward Richard Osman: We Solve Murders Angela Brown: Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time , Author Website Additional Resources for Solo PR Pros PressReader: Global newspaper and magazine access (often available through your library card): pressreader.com National Library Card Sign-Up Month (September): ala.org Solo PR Pro: soloprpro.com That Solo Life podcast website: thatsololife.com Host & Show Info That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent and small practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, President of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and practical advice for solo PR pros navigating today's dynamic professional landscape. Listen to all episodes and catch up on previous conversations at thatsololife.com. Did this episode inspire you? If you found value in this conversation, please take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us reach more solo pros just like you! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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  Episode #351

  The Client Problem Solo PR Pros Are Perfectly Positioned to Solve

  Aug 10, 202622 min

  Episode Summary Quiet cracking, distinct from quiet quitting, describes employees who are still showing up, still performing, sometimes performing really well, but are internally under pressure, uncertain about their job security, or unclear on what's expected of them. They're not checked out. They're just cracking quietly while holding it together on the surface. In this episode, co-hosts Karen Swim, APR, and Michelle Kane address this trend and how it impacts Solo PR Pros. The Talent Trends 2026 report found 54% of respondents have experienced some level of quiet cracking, with one in five saying they experience it frequently or constantly. Gallup's 2025 engagement data shows only 31% of US employees were actively engaged at work. Karen and Michelle make the case that this is not an HR headline — it's a communications problem that solo PR pros are already standing in the middle of, and one they're uniquely positioned to surface and address. They walk through what quiet cracking looks like in client organizations, the say-do gap it creates between internal reality and external messaging, four objections practitioners will raise (with honest answers to each), a three-question filter for identifying quiet cracking clients, a live scenario drill on handling a client who just went through quiet layoffs, and what to do when the same isolation and uncertainty you help clients name applies to your own practice. Episode Highlights [01:22] Quiet Cracking vs. Quiet Quitting: Why the Distinction Matters: Karen draws the line clearly. Quiet quitting was behavioral — people doing the bare minimum on purpose. Quiet cracking is about people who are still showing up and often performing well, but are internally under pressure, uncertain about job security, or unclear about expectations. They're not checked out. They're holding it together while cracking on the inside. The distinction matters because quiet cracking is harder to see, harder to name, and — for PR practitioners — far more consequential to the external messaging they're being paid to manage. [02:43] The Data: 54% Have Experienced It, Only 31% Are Actively Engaged: The Talent Trends 2026 report found 54% of respondents had experienced some level of quiet cracking, with one in five reporting it frequently or constantly. Separately, Gallup's 2025 data shows only 31% of US employees were actively engaged at work. Michelle notes the real number is probably higher — people were likely reluctant to admit it. Karen and Michelle flag upfront that some regional figures they found alongside these reports are still working through their verification process and will be linked in the show notes as confirmed. [04:07] Why This Is a Communications Problem, Not an HR Problem: Karen's framing lands clearly: when a workforce is quietly cracking, the people experiencing it are also the people who talk — to friends, to Glassdoor, to LinkedIn, to reporters who cover their industry. Meanwhile, the company's external messaging is often saying the exact opposite of what's happening inside. In the past, a scandal or mass layoff was needed to make that gap visible externally. Now it leaks constantly in small ways, because everyone has a publishing platform in their pocket. The say-do gap between internal reality and external narrative is squarely a communications problem. [06:03] Why Solo PR Pros Are Already Standing in This Spot: The most common objection Karen anticipates: 'I'm an external comms person, this is an HR or culture consultant's job.' Her response: if you already do executive communications, thought leadership, or employer brand messaging, you're already standing at the exact intersection where internal reality and external narrative either line up, or they don't. The question to start asking: is what you're telling the outside world about this company's culture and people something that would hold up if anyone looked inside right now? That's a comms function, not an HR function. [09:01] Four Objections — With Honest, Bounded Answers: Karen and Michelle work through four objections the Solo PR Pro community will raise. One: I'll get pulled into HR issues I'm not equipped to fix. Answer: you're doing a narrative alignment check, not a culture overhaul Two: this feels like scope creep. Answer: keep the initial offer narrow and bounded, a message and narrative audit, maybe a leadership communications coaching session, scoped clearly upfront. Three: is quiet cracking just another buzzword? Answer: the underlying data isn't new, Gallup has been tracking disengagement for years, and it keeps getting worse; the label may fade but the problem won't. Four (the quiet one): will raising this insult the client and jeopardize the relationship? Answer: frame it as market context, not a diagnosis — here's a trend I'm seeing across industries; I wanted to flag it and ask a couple of questions. [13:05] How to Raise It Without Blowing Up the Relationship: Karen's approach: never lead with it and never frame it as an accusation. Bring it as market context — a trend showing up across industries that you wanted to flag and ask a couple of questions about. That framing lands completely differently than suggesting the client's organization is falling apart. Karen also names these as her favorite kind of client engagement: rich, layered, strategy-heavy work that uses PR skills in ways that don't always get deployed in day-to-day media relations. [14:33] The Three-Question Filter for Identifying Quiet Cracking Clients: Karen's three questions to run on any current or prospective client. One: is there a visible gap between the external messaging and what you would actually find if you talked to employees? That's the say-do gap check. Two: is leadership communicating clearly right now about anything that will create uncertainty — restructuring, return to office, layoffs, a merger, a rocky quarter? If not, that silence is the opening. Three: would a light-touch audit — not a full culture overhaul, just a message and narrative review — surface something useful? If all three are yes, you have a real offer to bring. [16:53] The Live Drill: A B2B Tech Client with Quiet Layoffs: Michelle runs a scenario: a long-retained B2B tech client just went through quiet layoffs — no public announcement, people disappearing from company Slack — while the careers page still says 'we invest in our people.' Karen runs it through all three questions: the say-do gap is glaring, leadership communication was absent, which created an uncertainty vacuum for remaining employees, and a light-touch audit of the careers page messaging is a completely natural scope conversation. The entry point: 'I noticed the careers page messaging hasn't been updated since before the reorganization. Do you want me to take a look at whether it still reflects where you are?' Not scary. Not confrontational. Exactly in scope. [20:54] Why This Connects Back to Why Solos Went Solo: Karen closes on the thread beneath the whole episode: a lot of solo practitioners went independent partly because they didn't want to be inside a workplace that was quietly cracking. Now they're watching that same dynamic play out for the clients they serve. The isolation and uncertainty they help clients name in their organizations is worth naming for themselves too — and it's a good reminder that none of them should be figuring out how to spot or address this stuff completely alone. Resources & Additional Information Talent Trends 2026 Report — Quiet cracking research Gallup — State of the Global Workplace 2025 That Solo Life, Episode 349: The 4 Structural Fixes That Protect Solo PR Pros from Burnout Solo PR Pro membership community: soloprpro.com That Solo Life podcast website: thatsololife.com Host & Show Info That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent and small practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, President of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and practical advice for solo PR pros navigating today's dynamic professional landscape. Listen to all episodes and catch up on previous conversations at thatsololife.com. Did this episode inspire you? If you found value in this conversation, please take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us reach more solo pros just like you! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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  Episode #350

  The 4 Structural Fixes That Protect Solo PR Pros from Burnout

  Aug 3, 202630 min

  Episode Summary If you've read one burnout wellness listicle, you've read them all — sleep more, take a walk, set boundaries, breathe. Karen and Michelle aren't repeating any of that, because you already know it. Instead, Episode 350 treats burnout as a business risk: something that shows up on your profit and loss statement before it shows up in a therapist's notes. Industry surveys show 91% of PR professionals reported poor mental health in the past year, 54% of solo founders reported burnout, and burnout is now cited as the single biggest predictor of solo business failure, ahead of bad strategy. In the episode, the hosts discuss four fixes, none of them spa days: an absence clause in your standard client agreement, a named backup partner you have already introduced to key clients, a deliberate client mix redesign to reduce decision fatigue, and a financial runway fund treated exactly like a quarterly tax line item. They close on the business case for community — not as a soft add-on, but as the operational fix that addresses isolation at 7.6 out of 10 and gives you back the reality-check system that disappears when you work alone. This is a milestone 350th episode that sounds less like an anniversary, and more like a conversation your business has needed for a while. Episode Highlights [00:38] Burnout as a Business Risk, Not a Wellness Topic: Karen reframes the episode before the intro ends: this is not a wellness listicle. Burnout shows up on your P&L before it shows up in a therapist's notes. The solo-specific dimension, as Michelle names it, is structural — you are the entire org chart, and there is no one to hand anything to. That changes both the causes and the fixes. [01:51] The Industry Data: What the Numbers Actually Show: Karen walks through PR-specific research: half of PR professionals surveyed had seriously considered leaving in the past year because of burnout, 44% had actually left a previous job for the same reason, 96% report trouble switching off after work, and 88% say work interrupted their vacation at least once — with almost half of those reporting more than three interruptions per year. A separate survey from the PR and Communications Association and the Chartered Institute of PR found 91% of PR professionals reported poor mental health in the past year. Karen and Michelle flag that some of this data is a couple of years old but note nothing about how the industry operates suggests it has improved. [04:47] The Solo-Specific Layer: Burnout as the Top Business Failure Predictor: Founder research places burnout among solo founders at around 54%, with three in four reporting anxiety episodes. The finding that stops Karen mid-sentence: burnout is now cited as the single biggest predictor of solo business failure — ahead of bad strategy, wrong niche, or incorrect pricing. Solo founders self-report loneliness at 7.6 out of 10 on average. Karen's framing: isolation is not just an emotional problem; it is an operational problem with a measurable business cost. [07:29] Why Standard Burnout Advice Doesn't Apply to Solos: The wellness industry's standard prescription assumes a team, a manager, HR, and PTO policies. Solos have none of those. Michelle's point lands clearly: you can't delegate to reduce your load, you can't call in sick without a client impact, and you can't take a vacation without first solving the 'who covers this' problem from scratch. The fixes that work for employed practitioners are structurally inapplicable. You need fixes that match the actual org chart — which is you. [08:43] Fix 1: The Absence Clause in Your Standard Client Agreement: Karen's first structural fix: add a clause to your standard client contract that spells out what happens when you are unavailable, planned or unplanned. What is the notification window, what is the contingency, and who is the named backup? Michelle flags that this is not a sign of weakness but a business continuity feature. Any smart client would want to see it from a vendor they're paying. Karen: tell clients about that arrangement before an emergency forces the conversation, and frame it as exactly what it is. [12:25] Fix 2: A Named Backup Partner You Have Already Introduced: The second fix goes further than just having a backup plan. You need a specific named person your clients already know exists. Not a theoretical arrangement you'd scramble to activate in a crisis, but a relationship you've built in advance with someone whose work you trust and who understands your clients well enough to step in without a cold start. Karen and Michelle both note this is one of the highest-value things the Solo PR Pro community provides: a vetted pool of peers you can actually trust with a client when you need to step back. [16:52] Fix 3: Redesign Your Client Mix to Reduce Decision Fatigue: The Muck Rack data Karen cites shows 45% of PR pros juggling seven or more projects or accounts at once, with workload named as the single biggest stressor in the survey. Michelle makes the decision-fatigue case: ten small project clients each with their own cadence, tools, and personal definition of urgent will burn you out faster than three deeper retainer relationships, even if the revenue is identical because you're spending more of yourself per dollar earned. Fewer relationships, fewer daily judgment calls, less strain on your brain. Karen connects this directly to the specialization economy episode: specializing isn't just a pricing play, it's a nervous system play. [22:59] Fix 4: A Financial Runway Earmarked for Stepping Back: The fourth fix is specific: treat two to four weeks of 'totally unreachable' as a budget line item you're actually saving toward, in the same lane as quarterly taxes. Karen calls it burnout insurance. The logic: if the money already exists for the pause, you are far more likely to take it before you are forced into it by illness or collapse. This doesn't mean saving a large sum immediately; it means building the habit and giving the fund a name, which makes it real rather than just a thought you swat away before the next task. [25:20] Community as an Operational Fix, Not a Soft Add-On: Karen and Michelle close on the business case for community framed explicitly as an operational fix in the same category as a contract clause or a financial buffer. Karen's framing: when you're the only person in the room, you lose the ability to tell the difference between 'this is genuinely urgent' and 'I've been alone with this problem too long and it started to feel enormous.' A peer network gives you that reality-check system back. Michelle: for a solo, community may be the single highest-leverage structural fix on the entire list. [28:10] The One Takeaway Karen Wants You to Leave With: Karen's closing ask: don't let the takeaway be 'try to relax more.' Instead, audit your business the way you would audit a client's crisis plan. Where is your single point of failure? What actually happens if you're offline, unplanned, for 48 hours? If you don't have an answer, that's your project for this month. Not a retreat. Not a spa day. A contract clause, a named backup partner, an honest client mix review, and a runway line item. Resources & Additional Information PRCA / CIPR: CIPR/PRCA 2023/2024 Mental Wellbeing Audit announcement Communicate Magazine: 91% PR professionals suffer poor mental health All Things IC coverage Muck Rack: State of Work Life Balance in PR PR and Communications Association / Chartered Institute of PR: Mental Wellbeing Audit Foundra: Burnout Is the Top Reason Solo Founders Quit in 2026 Boss Coach: 2026 State of Founder Wellness for Small Business Life Hack Method: Entrepreneur Mental Health and Burnout Statistics Hatch Tribe: Before Burnout Becomes a Problem Solopreneur Global: Overcome Burnout Running a One-Person Business Pari-Cherry: Decision Fatigue: Why Business Owners Struggle Psalmlog: Solopreneur Guide to Decision Fatigue Related Episodes and Community Resources: Episode 349, What Solo PR Pros Need to Know Now About the Specialization Economy Solo PR: Blog, Resources, Join Community That Solo Life: Catch up on all episodes Host & Show Info That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent and small practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, President of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and practical advice for solo PR pros navigating today's dynamic professional landscape. Listen to all episodes and catch up on previous conversations at thatsololife.com.

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  Episode #349

  What Solo PR Pros Need to Know Now About the Specialization Economy

  Jul 27, 202625 min

  Episode Summary Michelle opens with the question a lot of solo PR pros have been quietly asking themselves: if I call myself a communications generalist on my website right now, am I costing myself money? Karen's answer is immediate — not 'am I?' but 'you already are.' What follows is a data-driven, practically grounded conversation about the specialization economy: the growing body of research across the freelance and independent consulting world in 2026 that shows generalists getting squeezed and specialists pulling away. Karen and Michelle aren't just reporting a trend — they're translating it specifically for PR and communications practitioners who've never had anyone apply this research to their work. The episode covers the bimodal income distribution hiding inside freelance averages, the vertical-horizontal framework for finding your niche, four common objections to specializing (with honest answers to each), a three-question filter for identifying your niche, and the metric-capturing habit that makes specialization pay off over time. This is a conversation for the solo practitioner who has 'I do everything' on their website tonight — and might be ready to change it. Episode Highlights [00:03] The Opening Question That Frames Everything: Michelle opens before the intro music with a direct question to Karen: if she calls herself a communications generalist on her website right now, is she costing herself money? Karen's answer: not 'am I?' but 'you already are.' The episode's premise is immediate and personal — and Karen and Michelle make clear they're talking to themselves too. [01:05] The Specialization Economy: What the Data Shows: Freelance and independent consulting data in 2026 is pointing in the same direction across multiple sources: generalists are getting squeezed and specialists are pulling away. The average US freelancer earning rate hides what Karen calls 'a canyon' — generalist content and writing on the low end, specialists in high-demand niches billing well over $100 an hour on the high end. Almost nobody is actually earning the average. The floor is dropping for generalized skills; the ceiling is rising for specialized ones. Karen's framing: the middle — 'I'm pretty good at a lot of things' — is where people get stuck. Note: some figures referenced in this episode are still working through the show's verification process; sourcing details will be linked in the resources section as they are confirmed. [04:13] Why Specialization Wins: The Practical Case, Not the Philosophical One: The argument for specializing isn't philosophical — it's structural. A generalist PR consultant competes with an enormous pool of other generalist PR consultants. Someone who specifically handles crisis communications for mid-size healthcare systems competes with a much smaller, more identifiable group. Smaller pool, higher rates, and — critically — the client doesn't have to explain their industry from scratch. That last point is underrated: starting a client engagement already fluent in their world, their vocabulary, and their stakeholders is worth real money. Karen also flags a related shift: companies are increasingly requiring proof of impact before hiring specialists, not just portfolios. That proof is much easier to produce when you've done the same kind of work for the same kind of client repeatedly. [06:40] The Vertical-Horizontal Framework: What Niching Actually Means in Practice: Karen and Michelle push back on the idea that niching just means picking an industry. The framework showing up across freelance research: pick a vertical (the industry — healthcare, legal, fintech, sustainability, professional services) and a horizontal (the service — media relations, crisis management, thought leadership, internal comms, funding round communications). Your niche is the intersection. Examples drawn from recent guests: Sharon Toerek does IP and marketing law for independent agencies. Kara Ryan came up through healthcare communications and built an advisor-led, AI-powered practice on top of that. Both dialed in the vertical and the horizontal. The practical test: once you say your niche out loud, it should stop sounding like a limitation and start sounding like a positioning statement. [09:06] The Filtering Benefit Nobody Talks About Enough: When you're specific, the wrong-fit inquiries mostly stop coming in. You stop getting the 'can you also just quickly help with our internal newsletter' request from an industry you don't want to be in. Positioning does some of your qualifying for you before the discovery call even happens. Karen and Michelle note this is deeply connected to scope creep — a topic worth its own episode. [10:02] Specialization Is an Income Stability Conversation, Not Just a Rate Conversation: Once you're known for a specific thing, you stop pitching one-off projects and start getting asked to stay. Broader freelance data shows a large majority of hiring managers plan to lean more on freelance and fractional talent for ongoing work — and that shift toward retainers happens specifically because specialists make ongoing relationships easy to justify. Nobody keeps a generalist on retainer. The FinTech thought leadership expert stays. The practical consequence: niching is often what makes the retainer conversation possible in the first place, and retainers solve the feast-or-famine cycle that most solo practitioners experience. [12:41] Four Objections — With Honest Answers: Karen and Michelle work through the four most common pushbacks they hear in the Solo PR Pro community. One: I'll turn away good work and go broke. Honest answer — there is a real ramp-up period of roughly six to twelve months; don't torch your existing client base overnight, shift new business conversations while honoring existing relationships. Two: my market is too small. Counter with math — a few hundred mid-sized healthcare systems in the country, you only need a handful of retained clients for a full solo practice; smaller pool of competitors is not the same as a smaller pool of clients. Three: I'll get bored. Flips the other way — as a generalist, every new client is a cold start; as a specialist, the energy goes into strategy instead of orientation. Four (the quiet one): what if I pick the wrong niche? [16:16] The Three-Question Filter (Plus an Unofficial Fourth): A practical framework for identifying your niche. Question 1: Where do you already have an unfair advantage? Past industry experience, a network, credentials, lived experience — something that means you start ahead of a stranger walking in cold. Question 2: Where's the budget? You can be brilliant in a niche that simply doesn't spend on PR. Healthcare, legal, financial services, B2B tech consistently show up as categories with real comms budgets. Question 3: Can you say it in one sentence — and does that sentence make a stranger say 'I know exactly who needs you'? If it requires three qualifying clauses, it's not sharp enough yet. The unofficial fourth: are you willing to hold the line publicly? Your website, your LinkedIn, your pitch all need to stay consistent or the positioning won't do its work. [18:11] Running the Filter Live: The In-House Bank Example: Karen and Michelle run a hypothetical listener through the filter: six years in-house at a regional bank, now doing a bit of everything for small business clients. Unfair advantage: already fluent in financial services vocabulary, compliance, and regulatory relationships — most PR consultants would need a year to learn that. Budget: financial services and fintech are consistently well-funded for communications. One sentence: 'I help community banks and credit unions navigate media and regulatory communications.' Karen: say that at a conference and watch how fast someone says 'I know someone who needs that.' [20:28] How to Prove It's Working: The Metric-Capturing Habit: For every engagement going forward in your niche, capture one number — one sentence, one metric, one outcome. Not a dramatic case study, just: 'Positioned the founder as a category expert; three inbound press inquiries within a month of the first byline running.' Build a running document, whether in Notion, a notes app, or wherever your system lives. Michelle: build it into your closeout process for every wrapped engagement, and into every campaign, not just every full client relationship. Karen: future you will be very grateful. Related Episodes That Solo Life, Episode 343: Sharon Toerek on Legal Protection, IP, and Building a Specialized Practice That Solo Life, Episode 341: Kara Ryan on Going Solo After 20 Years in Healthcare Comms Resources & Additional Information Doers Circle: The Future of Freelancing in 2026: 8 Trends Solopreneurs Can't Ignore Venture Lab: 10 Freelancing Trends in 2026 (Rates, Niches, and Client Expectations) Solo PR Pro membership community: soloprpro.com That Solo Life podcast website: thatsololife.com Host & Show Info That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent and small practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, President of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and practical advice for solo PR pros navigating today's dynamic professional landscape. Listen to all episodes and catch up on previous conversations at thatsololife.com. Did this episode inspire you? If you found value in this conversation, please take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us reach more solo pros just like you! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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  Episode #348

  The Hidden Messages for Solo PR Pros in the Muck Rack State of PR Report

  Jul 20, 202618 min

  Episode Summary Muck Rack's State of PR 2026 report surveyed 971 PR professionals. Only 18% were solos. The rest were mostly from agencies and in-house teams — which means that when the report says 66% of PR pros rate their stress above five out of ten, or that 55% worked more than 40 hours last week, those numbers were never really measuring a department of one. Karen and Michelle decided to build the solo column themselves. This episode takes three of the report's most significant findings and translates them through the solo lens: first, why the stress and workload data almost certainly understates what solos are experiencing; second, why the industry's move toward volume pitching at the exact moment journalists are demanding relevance is actually good news for solo practitioners who were never going to out-blast a team of account coordinators; and third, why the GEO ownership vacuum — 29% of organizations say no one owns it — is one of the clearest competitive opportunities solos have right now. Karen and Michelle also draw on Muck Rack's companion State of Journalism 2026 report throughout, giving the journalist perspective that makes the pitching data land harder. This is a data-driven, translation episode built for the practitioner the industry keeps forgetting to count. Episode Highlights [00:03] The Opening Question That Frames Everything: Karen opens without a greeting: 'Quick question before we even say hello. Did you read Muck Rack's new State of PR report and feel like it was describing someone else's job?' Michelle's answer: she pored through it, noticed only 18% of respondents were solos, and across every chart — stress, hours, pitching, GEO — there was no solo column. The episode's mission: build that column themselves. [02:17] The Report Was Not Built for You — and the Data Understates Your Load: Karen walks through the report's sample: 971 usable responses, 56% agencies, 18% solo. When the report says 66% rate their stress above five out of ten, or that 77% worked after hours at least once last week — those numbers come largely from people with a team absorbing some of the load: an account coordinator to pick up an email thread, an intern to build the coverage report, a colleague to cover a sick day. There is no chart in this report for running all of those roles simultaneously. [03:43] What Freelance and Creative Industry Research Fills In: Because Muck Rack didn't ask solos specifically, Karen and Michelle pull parallel research from broader freelance and creative industry studies. The finding: the majority of freelancers report burnout symptoms, and a notable share describe energy depletion even when logging fewer hours than a traditional employee. The theory is that when you're responsible for delivery, sales, admin, and income security simultaneously, the load doesn't show up as more hours — it shows up as more weight per hour. Michelle: 'Boy, isn't that the truth.' [05:53] Segment 2: Precision Over Volume — Why Solos Are Already Winning the Pitch Game: 49% of PR pros say they pitch more than 20 journalists per campaign. 24% pitch more than 50. Meanwhile, personalization is moving in the wrong direction: only 66% say they always or usually personalize pitches, down from 70% last year, and 73% of those who do personalize are only changing a few sentences. The trend line: pitch more people, customize less per person. And then the number that should stop everyone doing this cold. [06:56] 88% of Journalists Immediately Delete Irrelevant Pitches: Karen and Michelle pulled Muck Rack's companion State of Journalism 2026 report directly. 88% of journalists say they immediately delete a pitch that is irrelevant to their coverage — the single biggest reason pitches get trashed, ahead of being overly promotional at 71% and looking like a mass email at 50%. And 70% say the number one thing a pitch should demonstrate is clear relevance to their beat — ahead of interview access, data, and everything else. 43% say relevant pitches are seldom or never what they actually receive. A journalist quoted in the open-ended responses: 'Don't pitch widely, pitch selectively and then widen as needed.' [09:42] The Solo Reframe: Your Constraint Is Actually Your Strategy: Karen's line: you were never going to out-blast a team with a subscription database and three account coordinators. You cannot pitch 50 people with real personalization by yourself. But the data shows that is exactly the wrong strategy anyway. The industry is trading relevance for reach at the moment journalists are punishing that trade. What solos assumed was a disadvantage turns out to be pointing them at the right approach by default. It's not that you need a bigger list — you need a sharper one. 15 real relationships outperform 50 cold contacts. [11:53] The GEO Ownership Vacuum Is a Solo Opportunity: 73% of PR pros say GEO is at least somewhat important to their strategy. But 29% — the single largest group — say no one owns it at their organization. Another 13% are not sure who does. PR and comms claim it only 24% of the time. SEO or content teams claim it 15% of the time. The rest is scattered across marketing leadership and dedicated AI teams. For solos: there is no committee, no turf war, no meeting to schedule to decide whose job it is. That decision was already made. [16:34] The GEO Tactics Already in Reach: The tactics the report lists for building AI visibility are all single-person tasks: 55% are securing coverage in high-authority publications, half are creating authoritative or data-driven content, half are optimizing for search, and 44% are structuring content with clear answers and FAQ formats so AI tools can extract it easily. None of these require cross-functional sign-off. Michelle's observation: if you start now informally, you may not be behind at all — you may be ahead of larger organizations still arguing about who owns this. [18:33] Three Takeaways for Solo Practitioners: First: trust your own stress and workload data more than what this report says — it was never measuring a department of one. Second: shrink your pitch list and go deeper, letting this data give you permission to stop trying to out-volume agencies with ten times your headcount. Third: claim GEO now, informally, before anyone tells you it's yours to claim — pick one tactic and start. Resources & Additional Information Muck Rack — State of PR 2026 Report: muckrack.com/state-of-pr Muck Rack — State of Journalism 2026 Report: muckrack.com/state-of-journalism Solo PR Pro membership community: soloprpro.com That Solo Life podcast website: thatsololife.com Note on sourcing: all statistics referenced in this episode are drawn from Muck Rack's State of PR 2026 and State of Journalism 2026 reports. Links to both reports are above. Freelance burnout data is from broader creative industry research cited in the episode — verify against primary sources before external publication. Host & Show Info That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent or small-agency practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, President of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and practical advice for solo PR pros navigating today's dynamic professional landscape. Listen to all episodes and catch up on previous conversations at thatsololife.com. Did this episode inspire you? If you found value in this conversation, please take a moment to leave us a review . Your feedback helps us reach more solo pros just like you! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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