Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cwamne Howard. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cwamne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

When it comes to public relations, the biggest misconception is that we get media coverage by having connections. I would say any PR pro that actually does their job right gets their media placements by pitching new media targets. Sure we occasionally get it done with our contacts, but when you pitch a variety of beats there’s a slim chance that you’ll have contacts that fit your client often. Every journalist and reporter have a very specific niche area they cover. They will also not just cover anyone just because of a relationship. They have a responsibility to their readers and editors, they can’t just cover anything. Also, it is very important to not constantly be pitching your contacts stories they won’t like. That is how you end up in the spam folder. Unless you feel strongly that they would cover it, don’t pitch them.

Cwamne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a freelance PR specialist with a focus on media relations. My job is to help businesses and solopreneurs build brand awareness through media coverage (earned media), which is gained from PR campaigns. PR pros like myself are essentially the bridge between businesses and the media. I described that pretty simply, but the truth is that PR is very difficult. The reason is that earned media is organic as opposed to an ad.

I have been in space since 2019 and the way I ended up here was not exactly planned. In college I wanted to work with troubled youth. During and after college, I did so by volunteering for my local probation department’s youth accountability board. I went on to work in education and joined the AmeriCorps under Inland Empire United Way, as a program coordinator for an education program. At the same time I did some social media management and content writing for a nonprofit called Helping Hands Pantry. I planned on doing more community work, but I didn’t land such a role. I spent some time working as a freelance content and creative writer. I contributed to TC Social Club’s blog, I wrote short stories for the Texties App and scripts for YouTube channels. I was getting most of my work through Upwork and saw PR jobs. I thought it would be a good career field for me, as I did community outreach, social media management and writing. PR brings so many of my past experiences and skills into play, I feel it was fate.

As a PR specialist I have achieved a lot of success. I have landed my clients media placements with outlets such as: Forbes, Biz Journals, CBS New York, Newsbreak, Gear Junkie, ABC Denver, Business Insider, EuroNews, The Hustle, Inc., Ripley’s Believe It or Not and more. I have gotten these results by being a true PR pro. I don’t just write a press release and post it on the wires. I don’t mass pitch journalists and reporters. My approach to PR is very strategic, it’s built on: research, storytelling, media relations and brainstorming.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of my darkest career moments was when I worked for a PR agency. Almost everything I encountered there was something I needed to not do. They wanted me to answer interview questions for clients, they made me hound journalists and reporters, they would never push back on toxic clients and the expectations were just not realistic. I felt pressure to get a media hit for a client on a weekly basis, that doesn’t normally happen in PR. I had learn that the work I did there was amazing, especially considering we had very bad clients and very bad direction from the PR head. It was very important that I realized that being a PR professional with integrity is the way to go.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I was once assigned a client that received no media coverage in 6 months, their company was in the startup phase and they were problematic clients. I was tasked with turning that campaign around to save the account. Obviously it was very challenging. My initial idea really didn’t work. Instead of giving up, I decided to shift focus from the company and towards its knowledgeable CEO. I went the thought leadership route and that landed them on Inc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cwamnepr.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cwamne-howard-242787a5/
• Twitter: https://x.com/CwamPr