By Patricia Rogers | Posted Wednesday, July 14, 2021
IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY
Welcome back to Words with P.R.! This is such an interesting time in my life. Grateful to have this as an outlet.
This edition is inspired by tennis player Naomi Osaka’s choice to take a break from tennis to take care of her mental health. I think it is important to motivate my readers to opt to swim and not sink, but it is also important to emphasize that when feeling you are going to sink… it is okay to not be okay. It is okay to reach out for help.
Huge thanks to the support that the last edition has gotten, where I talk about my journey towards self-love, acceptance, and body image.
QUEEN P.R.’S PICKS
Birdiebee is a brand that I have supported for a couple of years now. And at first, it was just because it was WWE Hall of Famers Nikki and Brie Bella’s clothing line. But once I started to purchase clothing, I loved the fit, fabrics, and designs. The biggest thing for me, though, was how inclusive the pieces are for all body types. I shared my story about it in the 4th edition of Words with P.R., but it really is life-changing when you can feel confident in your own skin. So far I have purchased dresses, activewear, t-shirts, and sweaters. And I recommend it all. You can use code BBAMBASSADOR20 to save site-wide at this link.
I HAVE LEARNED THAT...
SHOUTOUT TO 400 YEARS OF INEQUALITY
I want to share immersive multimedia projects from the University of Orange educating the public on 400 Years of Inequality aka Juneteenth:
A Call Answered: Observing History -- Reclaiming the Future + People's Pathway to Equality
A Call Answered spotlights the change-inspiring work of 5 community-based 400 Years “observances”, events unearthing and acknowledging America’s timeline of inequality, and setting the stage for a new century of recovery.
Art Direction, Media & Digital Content: Gahlia Eden
Creative Producer, Media & Digital Content: Aubrey Murdock
Creative Direction, Marketing Strategy: Stephanie Leone
Editorial Direction, Marketing Strategy: Ricky Tucker
Creative Team: Timothy Nottage, Jacqueline Castaneda, Molly Kaufman, Robert Sember
People's Pathway to Equity provides multimedia activities and the key concepts most critical to understanding and dismantling the ecology of inequality in your community. Across four chapters, you’ll explore the many insights gathered by the 400 Years of Inequality coalition over five years of learning and organizing together, introducing you to people from a range of places who have boldly answered the call for equality, and helping you embark on your own pathway to equity.
Art Direction: Aubrey Murdock
Creative Producer: Timothy Nottage
Creative Team: Aditi Nair, Jacqueline Castaneda, Timothy Nottage
Media + Digital Content: Gahlia Eden
Editorial Direction: Ricky Tucker
Marketing Strategy: Stephanie Leone
I had the chance to talk to some of the amazing team involved in the creation of these amazing educational experiences:
"The website was inspired by the covid-19 shutdown... Aubrey Murdock, Head of School at University of Orange, which was one of the founding partner organizations of 400 Years introduced me to this work. I invited local photographers and videographers to join me in attending and documenting observances." — Gahlia Eden
"I’d want folks to walk away from A Call Answered... with an impressionistic view of the hard work, love, and thoughtful activism it takes to acknowledge everything we’ve been through in this country—and that’s just an acknowledgement. Then comes the hard work of rebuilding, recovering. Our coalition and these websites can be a template for how communities can honor their own historical context—and recovery collectively. The Peoples Pathway site in particular maps out the tools for them to get started." — Ricky Tucker
CHECK IT OUT HERE: 400YEARSOFINEQUALITY.ORG
SOCIAL MEDIA/MARKETING TIP
Consistency is key
When I wanted to start a podcast, I did as much research as I could about what makes these successful. Having the right equipment, topics, and the audience is important. But the number one note I saw everywhere was BE CONSISTENT. This is how you earn dedicated listeners/viewers. You have to be consistent on every aspect of your brand. This means your brand identity, release schedule, social media marketing, everything. Your fans will not even realize how much they are getting used to your content and will engage with it. Most successful podcasts and YouTube channels don’t have the best quality, but their success comes from being consistent.