Kristin Marquet has been a publicist and business owner for more than 12 years. As the owner and creative director of Marquet Media, LLC, Kristin oversees the daily operations of the business while executing client campaigns. Throughout her career as a publicist, Kristin has developed partnerships with leading brands and entrepreneurs such as well-known divorce coach, Jen Lawrence; celebrity chef, Melissa Eboli; psychotherapist and entrepreneur, Angela Ficken; and many more.
She and her clients have been featured in Inc.com, Forbes.com, Fortune.com, Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur.com, and so many more. Kristin also serves as the editor-in-chief as the emerging media company, FemFounder.co. She is also the author of the two books: Squash the Competition and Dominate Your Marketplace: 55 Easy Tips to Generate Big Publicity for Your Startup or Small Business Today and Build Your Expertise: Simple Ways to Earn Big Media Coverage: The Beginner’s Guide to Getting Publicity.
With an academic background and advanced studies in data science and analytics, English, business, digital marketing, and public relations, Kristin has attended Boston University, New York University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kristin is also a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is Marquet.company and FemFounder.co all about?
I started my first business in 2009, which is a full-service PR and branding firm based in New York City. We help startups tell their brand narratives and scale to the point of profitability. I started my second business, FemFounder.co. This company is a bit different in that we publish content on how to help entrepreneurs secure media coverage for their businesses. We also have a course platform that teaches entrepreneurs the specifics of securing top-tier media coverage and how to leverage it to grow their brands.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
Sure, I had planned on applying to law school immediately after college, and I wanted to work for a law firm, so I had to develop relevant experience. However, I didn’t want to work as a paralegal or a legal secretary, so I searched for other positions, and saw an opening in the PR/communications department at a large law firm in New Jersey. I applied for the position, went on an interview, and was hired two days later. Then after working in the legal field for a little more than a year, I decided law wasn’t something I wanted to pursue, so I pivoted careers and started working in the consulting industry for a few years. Yet during the Financial Crisis, my entire office shut down and I had lost my job, so I decided to give entrepreneurship a shot and launched my first business. I haven’t looked back.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Every company has a different story so I don’t think companies can be in direct competition, but on a larger scale, we differentiate our PR and branding agency two ways: one is by the types of companies we work with; and two is by offering a proprietary framework that helps our clients reach their goals as quickly and efficiently as possible.
For FemFounder, we focus on differentiating ourselves by providing the most in-depth digital marketing and publicity tips for female entrepreneurs, while also highlighting the successes of other female entrepreneurs. We are more interested in collaborating, and not so much competing.
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
As the owner of both brands, I spend more 60 to 70 percent of the time marketing the brands through social media and publicity. After 12 years in business, I’ve learned this is how my time is best spent.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
There are a number of great books on entrepreneurship for beginners, but my top recommendations are She Means Business by Carrie Green, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and finally The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Each one of these books does an excellent job sharing what it takes to be successful in business.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
I wish I would have not tried to serve every industry in business when I first started as an entrepreneur. Focusing on one or two niches and building my expertise in those areas would have served me much better in the early days because I wouldn’t have spent so much time trying to learn the nuances of every industry that my company served. Serving all of these industries led to burnout.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
A combined effort of Pinterest and digital publicity have been the most effective ways to building our online brands, developing an engaged email list, and securing the right clients for our PR and branding agency.
Pinterest marketing: Here’s how it works: I write relevant blog posts with valuable content, create attractive pins with compelling headlines, and pin them to the relevant boards on my profile as well as larger group boards with tens of thousands of followers. It’s the most cost-effective way to reach mass audiences.
Not only is Pinterest the largest source of referral traffic to each website, but the platform has also helped me grow my email lists significantly. For example, on average, I generate between 500-1,000 new email subscribers each month for Femfounder from Pinterest alone.
Digital publicity has been just as instrumental to building our online footprint and thought leadership. Here’s how this works: I look to see where my story and thought leadership can fit into different publications. Find the right media contacts, draft a short yet relevant pitch, and then email it to the editor or journalist to see if there’s any interest. If I don’t hear back immediately, then I will send a follow-up email two days later.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
My best advice for any aspiring or new entrepreneur is to make sure there’s a market for your idea before you develop a prototype. Be smart, strategic, and scrappy with your time and resources to ensure you don’t overspend.
What is your favorite quote?
“Listen more than speak”
because you’ll find that people are willing to share more of their knowledge with you when you don’t seem like a know-it-all. When you speak too much, people get turned off, shut down, and simply won’t share their knowledge.
How can we get in touch with you?
Readers can reach me at FemFounder.co and Marquet Company and can connect with on social media at Instagram and Twitter
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