What 10,000 Interviews Teach About Authority

Jerome Knyszewski: [00:00:00] if you get a third party to talk about you- George Wright III: Mm ... Jerome Knyszewski: and say the same thing, but a [00:00:05] third party talk about you, then it changes the perception. So I can [00:00:10] say I'm the best looking bald guy with a salt and [00:00:15] pepper beard on the planet. George Wright III: About yourself. Jerome Knyszewski: About myself. George Wright III: Right. Jerome Knyszewski: Which I may believe it [00:00:20] now, if suddenly on GQ see my mug on there [00:00:25] suddenly people will start believing it, ​ George Wright III: [00:00:30] [00:00:35] [00:00:40] [00:00:45] He's the founder and CEO of Authority Magazines.[00:00:50] Jerome, we-- 10,000 interviews, that is a big deal. 10,000 founders and CEOs that [00:00:55] you've had come through the interviews in the magazine. Jerome Knyszewski: Yeah. Did not see that coming. I think it was in [00:01:00] four years total, so that's quite a bit. George Wright III: Yeah. I mean, people would see that and think, man the amount of [00:01:05] knowledge that you've been exposed to. But before we get into that, let's back up. Tell us the story of how this [00:01:10] even came about, because you were not looking to start a magazine. Jerome Knyszewski: No. Absolutely not. [00:01:15] But it became a point of interest and actually it started in France. There's a TV [00:01:20] show called "Les Racines et les Ailes," The Roots and the Wings, and [00:01:25] this show is fascinating. They just follow some guy, some gal, that has some sort [00:01:30] of passion, whatever that may be. Can be making forks, can be collecting stamps, can [00:01:35] be milking goats. I mean, literally. A little bit of everything. Remodeling, restoration of [00:01:40] castles, whatever that may be. Really? And they just follow these people, and they just let them do their thing, [00:01:45] and the people will talk with fire, with zeal, with enthusiasm [00:01:50] about, like, how to make a bucket, like, literally, legit. And I would sit there as a kid, and I [00:01:55] was fascinating about how much passion there is in the weirdest things. So [00:02:00] that always been in me, and I always started conversations to know why somebody does what they're [00:02:05] doing, which is super strange to me. And at some point in my business journey [00:02:10] I serviced a lot of entrepreneurs with online [00:02:15] marketing, with online reputation and other stuff. And a lot of them needed to have their story [00:02:20] told. And it was very difficult to get them featured in big publications, [00:02:25] those legacy media, so Forbes, USA Today and whatnot, because they're [00:02:30] little folk. Yeah. They like didn't have much PR to themselves. Their story may be not super [00:02:35] exciting to a big publication. George Wright III: Or people are getting the wrong story told, right? Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: Exactly. And on [00:02:40] top of it to get in oftentimes you had to pay a lot of money to get in. And [00:02:45] so it was like, you know, a hurdle for somebody who had a cool story that [00:02:50] deserved to be told, and they didn't have a place to express it. So they would put it on their own website. [00:02:55] Sometimes they would blog about it or whatnot, but in reality, it, it didn't bring any [00:03:00] credibility, any authority, anything. So I said, you know... I went to entrepreneur.com. I [00:03:05] look, this is a WordPress site. I went to another, you know, authority [00:03:10] website, and also was a WordPress site. I'm like, "WordPress is WordPress. Let's [00:03:15] WordPress something up." And we designed Valiant CEO with that [00:03:20] in mind. Let's make it look as good as the other guys, or at least in the [00:03:25] same range, and let's people get published. Tell me your story. George Wright III: [00:03:30] Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: And we never charge anybody to be published on our... That's why we got 10,000 [00:03:35] is it's open door. Come tell us your story. George Wright III: Well, and I love to... I really wanna [00:03:40] highlight what's different about Valiant CEO, but I wanted to kind of back up to one thing I've heard you say a lot. [00:03:45] 'Cause you say tell your story, but you, you like to say control the narrative though. So when you tell a [00:03:50] story, because the way you tell the story, you felt that it needed to be done the right [00:03:55] way, and maybe this is what makes Valiant CEO different as well. So talk a little bit about that. Jerome Knyszewski: When you [00:04:00] publish in a, a publication, they have very strict [00:04:05] guidelines. So the only guidelines we have on our publication, there's no cussing. [00:04:10] I mean, that kind of makes sense. I don't cuss. I don't wanna read cussing. There's no [00:04:15] politics There's no religion, there's no lewd content, there's [00:04:20] no promotion of any porn star or any OnlyFan or any of that stuff, none [00:04:25] of it. We don't have any big pharma items, none of it. [00:04:30] We don't have any casino and stuff like that. We just don't. Sometimes it may fall through the [00:04:35] cracks, but usually we, we take care of it. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: We don't wanna have any of that stuff 'Cause in [00:04:40] SEO, search engine optimization, you know, certain topics can turn the website [00:04:45] into bad neighborhood. Yeah. And then when you link back to your own website, it may be detrimental, [00:04:50] which we don't want to cause any detriment. George Wright III: Yeah. But I also noticed with over 100,000 online [00:04:55] readers you're not running ads, which was kinda interesting. Why is that an actual [00:05:00] policy that you have for the most part? I think you're not, you know littering the pages with advertisements that are [00:05:05] distracting people. Jerome Knyszewski: So we have maybe a couple sponsors that sit there all year [00:05:10] long, but we don't have any flashing, any pop-ups, any anything that distract the [00:05:15] reader from reader the, reading the content. Because if you think about it, you go on any of [00:05:20] these big websites, they are designed to distract the reader George Wright III: For [00:05:25] sure Jerome Knyszewski: They are designed, because they make money with the advertisement, so the advertisers need to have their [00:05:30] ROI, so they need to disrupt the user experience of the reader- George Wright III: Yeah Jerome Knyszewski: that's the [00:05:35] whole thing. Yeah. So- George Wright III: And you have to satisfy those advertisers. So in a way you're trying to put [00:05:40] articles out, but you're trying to satisfy your advertisers by distracting people from reading the articles you're putting out. [00:05:45] Jerome Knyszewski: And I find that, first, distasteful- Yeah ... two, disrespectful. [00:05:50] Disrespectful to the reader who's trying to go through the article and they literally need to jump over the [00:05:55] obstacles of the pop-up. They had to close something. They gotta wait for something- Yeah ... to quit [00:06:00] splashing. They gotta click a yes. They gotta click a no. It's like a nightmare. You don't even know what you are reading. I'm [00:06:05] very ADD and very dyslexic. Like by the time the first pop-up shows up, I can't remember what I read- [00:06:10] Yeah ... the paragraph above. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: So- George Wright III: Well, but besides the distraction, I think it's really important and interesting to [00:06:15] note that you built this magazine around the idea that the number one goal was to get the [00:06:20] story of the founder, entrepreneur, CEO out, not create a [00:06:25] business that makes revenue that has to cater to advertisers. So knowing that story is the number one [00:06:30] goal that's very unique in the industry, especially in magazines and Authority, right? Jerome Knyszewski: That is the [00:06:35] number one focus. I wanna make sure that whoever publishes an article, [00:06:40] publishes their interview, publishes their story, when [00:06:45] somebody lands on that page, they can go through it and actually read it without being [00:06:50] distracted by anything that is designed to disrupt the [00:06:55] experience. That's why we don't have advertisers that- George Wright III: Yeah ... Jerome Knyszewski: that really disrupt anything. George Wright III: I'm curious because before we get [00:07:00] into sort of the growth and the stuff that's happened with Valiant CEO, including 10,000 interviews, [00:07:05] what else makes it unique? I feel like when you work with individuals to get their story [00:07:10] told, over time you've really developed the best way of telling that story, [00:07:15] and that's been super important to you, which is why I bring that up. And I think it's another reason why you've [00:07:20] attracted other opportunities and covers and things like that. So what else do you feel [00:07:25] really the way you tell the story is unique for individuals when they tell it? What's important for [00:07:30] them? Because I do think a lot of people just think they can go out and get PR and press and get out there, [00:07:35] and you're crafting a story for people. Jerome Knyszewski: We try to encourage [00:07:40] whoever publishes an article, we give them like a how-to- George Wright III: Mm ... Jerome Knyszewski: sort of [00:07:45] formula, and we guide them with question and answers that support their story [00:07:50] so that they help them to pick a be- 'cause most of them are not represented by publicists, [00:07:55] so they are novice, you know, they don't know exactly- They don't know what George Wright III: to say. Jerome Knyszewski: Right. George Wright III: Yeah ... yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: So we help them to kinda [00:08:00] how to craft that narrative so that it benefits them without sounding pompous or arrogant [00:08:05] or- Yeah ... I'm the best in the world, and so on and so forth. So we try to help them to kinda wade through it. [00:08:10] George Wright III: Let me ask you this, because you've said this to me before. What's the difference between getting [00:08:15] featured versus just going out and doing, telling your story yourself, and being out there and [00:08:20] telling your story versus a place that's featuring you, third party like Valiant CEO Magazine? [00:08:25] Jerome Knyszewski: If you go on your own website and [00:08:30] you make a claim, whatever that may be, well, that's good. That's... But [00:08:35] right away it actually raises a suspicion. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: Like, people don't believe [00:08:40] what you say yourself. George Wright III: About yourself. Jerome Knyszewski: Yeah. No, they just don't. However, if you get a third party to talk [00:08:45] about you- George Wright III: Mm ... Jerome Knyszewski: and say the same thing, but a third party talk about you, then [00:08:50] it changes the perception. So I can say I'm the best [00:08:55] looking bald guy with a salt and pepper beard on the planet. George Wright III: About yourself. Jerome Knyszewski: [00:09:00] About myself. George Wright III: Right. Jerome Knyszewski: Which I may believe it, you know, people may laugh. Yeah. Now, [00:09:05] if suddenly, you know, on, uh, GQ see my mug on [00:09:10] there and say, "I am the..." whatever I just said, suddenly people will start [00:09:15] believing it, which is super weird. George Wright III: Isn't that weird? Jerome Knyszewski: It's super weird. Yeah. So that's kinda the [00:09:20] power of third-party validation. George Wright III: The reason I bring that up and the reason I think that's so [00:09:25] important is everybody hears right now you need to create content, put it on your social [00:09:30] media, and get out there talking about your story, but there's a huge power in having someone else talk [00:09:35] about your story. 'Cause everyone starts with, "I'm gonna do a bunch of social media, talk about myself, who I [00:09:40] am, what I do, and how I do it." But you've seen it. I've seen it. When someone else is saying [00:09:45] that same exact thing about you, there is a pretty big power. So over time it's grown, and [00:09:50] what took... What do you think was the pivot, pivotal moment for Valiant CEO where it r- [00:09:55] really started to make it grow? Was it credibility of like when Grant Card- Cardone came [00:10:00] along or...? Jerome Knyszewski: So let's zoom back, 'cause you just said something that is interesting. [00:10:05] When you said when somebody talks about you it has some power. [00:10:10] And one thing that I find it fascinating, talking about fascinating things, [00:10:15] when you write a book People fight [00:10:20] to get an endorsement or preface or some sort of review [00:10:25] by some celebrity or authority, and they put that on the back of the [00:10:30] book. Yeah. They put it on the front of the book. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: They put that everywhere, endorsed by or comment by whatever, [00:10:35] and that is what increases dramatically the sales of the book. George Wright III: Right. Jerome Knyszewski: Not the content- George Wright III: [00:10:40] Right ... Jerome Knyszewski: of the book itself. The content is good. But if you remove all that [00:10:45] endorsement and you just have the content, it often falls flat like a pancake. George Wright III: [00:10:50] Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: But as soon as you put those, those recommendations and the preface written by [00:10:55] whoever and all that, suddenly it packages the item in a way [00:11:00] that it becomes a must-have. George Wright III: That is a very fascinating thing because is it because it [00:11:05] legitimizes it? Is it because other people like to see other credible people saying it's [00:11:10] good? I mean, all of the above, right? Jerome Knyszewski: Because we're social animals. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: We need social proof. George Wright III: [00:11:15] Hmm. Jerome Knyszewski: We need to have somebody that knows something about something, that says [00:11:20] something about that something, so that that something makes us believe that something is worth something. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: That's [00:11:25] a lot of George Wright III: something. I guess you did it in a way with Valiant CEO because you were highlighting all of these individuals, [00:11:30] but all of a sudden, third-party credibility, celebrities' names and stuff started coming, [00:11:35] right? Jerome Knyszewski: So we were an online publication, and we were growing pretty fast, [00:11:40] looking really good and being very cautious on the details so that it looks really good.[00:11:45] And one day we had a submission. Actually, we had a few [00:11:50] submissions that were interesting, that got me like, "Huh that's kind of cool." So we [00:11:55] had the CEO of one of the big branches of home [00:12:00] services of Berkshire Hathaway that just- George Wright III: Hmm ... Jerome Knyszewski: showed up. I'm like, "CEO [00:12:05] of Berkshire Hathaway." Pretty cool. "That's not nothing. That's kind of cool." Then we had another [00:12:10] one that was the founder of Xbox that popped up [00:12:15] also. I'm like, "That's cool, too." And one day, one of my team members says, "Hey, [00:12:20] we have a submission for an interview by Grant Cardone." I'm [00:12:25] like, "Well..." George Wright III: You're like, "What?" Jerome Knyszewski: Well, it's not just what. Is that real? I George Wright III: mean- Jerome Knyszewski: Yeah, that's the thing. Is that [00:12:30] real? Because Grant is a very strong personality who doesn't have just [00:12:35] friends. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: So I did not want to publish something without making sure this is really [00:12:40] Grant's answers, voice, and we can credit that. [00:12:45] So I contacted whoever submitted that, which is his PR agent, [00:12:50] and indeed, that was really Grant, really his questions, [00:12:55] really his answers, and really, you know, his thing. So actually, that cover shows [00:13:00] up there. So I told the team, "Let's make a cover. Let's just make a cover. Let's start making a [00:13:05] real legit magazine." Like, people look at us- ' George Wright III: Cause it was online to this point ... it was online only And then you're like, "I'm gonna do a [00:13:10] digital real magazine with a cover." Jerome Knyszewski: Print. Wow. The idea was print. I [00:13:15] wanna have the thing in my hand. So literally, uh, I just like [00:13:20] George Wright III: right away- This is interesting 'cause I wanna make, I wanna make a note of this. The magazine started as an [00:13:25] online reputation SEO optimized focused solution for people to [00:13:30] tell their story first. Then it became recognition, credibility, [00:13:35] cover. I think a lot of magazines kinda the opposite. Like, I don't think... Because as you said, a lot of magazines you get [00:13:40] into, none of that online value really even exists. So, so keep going [00:13:45] 'cause Grant Cardone, you decide to make a cover. Jerome Knyszewski: Decided to make a cover, make a whole magazine. So we [00:13:50] went back into the previous interviews we did, and I told my team, "Sift through it and [00:13:55] find cool stuff." George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: And they did. And as we were going through it, we [00:14:00] found some really, really cool people with really cool stories, and that totally lit up [00:14:05] my zeal to just let's do it every single month. We have to do this. So we did the [00:14:10] first one with Grant, turned that into, uh, a PDF, the PDF into a printable item. [00:14:15] We printed the thing. We sent it to Grant. We did what we gotta do, and we just, we had that thing. And now we said, "Let's do it [00:14:20] again." So we went through, you know, the, the, the, all the [00:14:25] interviews we've done, and we start seeing very interesting people, and we start, like, scheduling next cover, [00:14:30] next- Yeah ... next cover. And as we start doing that, more and more start showing up. George Wright III: And- [00:14:35] The credibility- Yeah ... started to snowball, right? Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: Yes. Because- ' George Wright III: Cause you've had a lot of co- [00:14:40] What are some covers that have showed up? Oh, we have, like- Kevin Harrington ... Jerome Knyszewski: quite several [00:14:45] billionaires Which is kinda cool ... which is kinda cool. Yeah. Yeah. And individuals They went through incredible trials to get where they are. [00:14:50] And that's why the title of the magazine, "Valiant CEO Matters," is so dear to [00:14:55] me, is because to be an entrepreneur... I'm just looking at the, on the scroll member there- Yeah. Yeah ... I see all the [00:15:00] other faces we have. Because being an entrepreneur, being a CEO in this [00:15:05] day and age, I think, I don't think it was ever easy, but it is really complicated. It is. It [00:15:10] requires a great deal of courage. And even though I like the word courage- George Wright III: [00:15:15] Yeah ... Jerome Knyszewski: I love valiant. Oh, George Wright III: I didn't know that. So that's how the name came about, is you really believe- Jerome Knyszewski: [00:15:20] Valiant. I love that word ... courageous CEOs. The valiant men of David- Mm ... that would go out there and slay the enemies. [00:15:25] And I just love that thing. I just like the sound of valiant. George Wright III: Yeah. It's interesting though because I have [00:15:30] heard, we've talked about this, these covers you have like Grant Cardone, Kathy Ireland. I've heard [00:15:35] comments from many of these people that say, "This is..." I, I've been-- Because they've been in a lot of [00:15:40] magazines. They've been on a lot of covers. Kathy Ireland was on a lot of covers and she, she said your magazine was just [00:15:45] so different and so unique. Tell m- tell me about that. Why, why do they, even the people that [00:15:50] have PR and credibility, is it just because of the way you portray them and you, you [00:15:55] really take a lot of detail and time into how you position them? It's not just a picture on the cover to try to [00:16:00] get attention, right? Jerome Knyszewski: I'm looking at the, the covers and that's a good question. And I think what [00:16:05] really impressed upon them, impressed them, so I impressed [00:16:10] upon them and it impressed them that I want to make them look good I [00:16:15] want the experience to be good, and I want them to express what they want. I did [00:16:20] not want to impose- George Wright III: Mm ... Jerome Knyszewski: my narrative on them, my questions on [00:16:25] them, my stuff on them. I wanted them to have the freedom [00:16:30] to express whatever they want to talk about. And usually, the [00:16:35] publications, you know, when you're featured in a publication- Yeah ... they tend to send a journalist [00:16:40] contributor that kinda, like, tries to get stuff out of them. George Wright III: Yes. Jerome Knyszewski: Which there's a place for that, and I [00:16:45] think it's great. Yeah. But i- for me, no. I say, like, "I wanna know. Tell me. Like, tell [00:16:50] me." So now if you sound like an idiot, I'm not talking about the big names we have- Yeah. Yeah ... but [00:16:55] anybody that shows up on a, on a publication, if you sound like an idiot, you sound like an idiot on your own.[00:17:00] You earned that. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: I like... I want you to be able to tell us, [00:17:05] to tell me, what matters to you, where you're going. You know your audience, what do [00:17:10] they care about, and so on and so forth. And all of them went through this [00:17:15] little exercise that I call the perfect interview. They come up with their own questions, [00:17:20] they come up with their own answers, obviously, and then we just review and then steer a little bit [00:17:25] or dig a little deeper or kinda, like, ask additional questions to kinda, like, get the gist out of it or- Yeah [00:17:30] a little bit more substance out of it sometimes, or a little contrarian, a little thinking, 'cause I love [00:17:35] that. But, you know, for the most part, they provide their own stuff, and I think that's why they [00:17:40] love it. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: But also I think that's why people that read the publication are surprised [00:17:45] by the content because it's quite different. We're not trying to stir- Yes ... controversy. We're not trying any of that [00:17:50] stuff. Yeah. I'm not interested in the clickbait stuff. I'm not interested in any of that, you know, like- [00:17:55] You know- ... the, the normal stuff that those publications do. George Wright III: Yeah. With that said, though, 'cause we've had this [00:18:00] conversation before, something that might be really helpful for our listeners is I've heard you talk... 'cause you're very strategic [00:18:05] in why you do things. You've talked about, like, three types of questions you will ask people. [00:18:10] Um, you know, you talk about questions, and may- maybe you can remi- refresh my memory, but questions that they wanna [00:18:15] talk about, questions that, you know, the customer should ask, or [00:18:20] questions that, you know, you're excited about. Like, what... There, there's different reasons that you [00:18:25] do certain questions. Um, tell me about that. Jerome Knyszewski: So [00:18:30] oftentimes I'm encouraging, uh, individuals when they start [00:18:35] their, their narrative to start with FAQs because they're [00:18:40] talking to their audience. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: I mean, it's good to talk to people that don't know you so that they get to know you, [00:18:45] so that, so that, so that. It's very nice, very good. Mm-hmm. However, as soon as they get [00:18:50] into, you know, the conversation with you- They have the same [00:18:55] questions. That's why they're called frequently asked questions. Yeah, George Wright III: yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: So address those questions instead of [00:19:00] having like some page, obscure page lost on your website that people gotta [00:19:05] click through to figure out stuff, you know, besides, you know, what's your login. But people have real questions. [00:19:10] Yeah. A- and a- answer those questions in your article and then [00:19:15] add another layer with the should ask questions. So people ask me a lot about this, [00:19:20] but they should be asking about that because this is what actually makes a difference. And [00:19:25] these are the things I encourage anybody, I mean, not just on my [00:19:30] publications- Sure but anywhere to kind of work w- and be familiar with your FAQs of your audience and what [00:19:35] matching SAQs, should ask question, you can plug into it- George Wright III: Yes ... Jerome Knyszewski: because it engages, [00:19:40] because people say, "That's exactly what I had in mind. That's exactly what I was worried about." Yeah. "That's exactly [00:19:45] what I was wondering about. Tell me more." And they keep on reading. George Wright III: I want to ask you about the [00:19:50] fact that you said speak to your audience, but there's specific audiences you should speak to. [00:19:55] But I like what you said because I think a lot of times if you really understand your audience, there are questions they don't think [00:20:00] to ask, but you're helping them to ask them so that then like you said, they're like, "Oh [00:20:05] my gosh, yes I should have asked that question." That was a should ask question. "Okay, I understand. Okay, cool. Cool." Jerome Knyszewski: The FAQ is the one that come to [00:20:10] mind right away. You know they have-- I mean, sometimes any entrepreneur relates to that. [00:20:15] Yeah. You feel like you're Woody- George Wright III: Yeah ... Jerome Knyszewski: and you have a string, you know, on your back and you [00:20:20] pull it. You say the same thing. "I got a snake in my boot. I got a snake in my boot." You know, "Howdy partner," or whatever it is. Yeah. And you [00:20:25] repeat the same thing over and over and over. So use that concern [00:20:30] and elaborate on it because they will ask you- George Wright III: Yeah ... Jerome Knyszewski: when they talk to you one-on-one, when [00:20:35] they talk to your sales rep, when they go on your website. So answer that into an article where you [00:20:40] address that point and then steer them towards the question they should be asking 'cause [00:20:45] oftentimes the professional knows more- Yeah ... than obviously the person that they serve. [00:20:50] And steer them into the what they should be worried about. That way that question, [00:20:55] the should question, might be something to ask your competition and let's see [00:21:00] how the competition answers that. George Wright III: I can see why when you say now control the narrative, [00:21:05] it's very specific, perfect interview strategic [00:21:10] conversations. And I think it is important to have these individuals that when they are being featured [00:21:15] have it be consistent. And I think you're right, a lot of founders and CEOs, they [00:21:20] don't have their message really crafted, so they're randomly talking about all kinds of things and so when they're [00:21:25] found online, it's random conversation. So how many of these interviews that you've been working with, how many of these [00:21:30] business owners and CEOs really have a strategic conversation that they h- or a [00:21:35] voice, right? A voice or a brand. Have they- Jerome Knyszewski: Well, it's hard to give numbers, but we can go [00:21:40] into minority and majority. The majority don't. So obviously all those that we have on [00:21:45] the cover that just keep on s- on scrolling over there\ all of them have that dialed in [00:21:50] You know, Grant Cardone, I mean, he's dialed in. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: I mean, dialed [00:21:55] in. George Wright III: Yeah. He's been doing it a while- Oh, yeah ... and he's a sales Jerome Knyszewski: guy, so he knows his script. And he's, he is good. George Wright III: Yeah. Yeah. A- Jerome Knyszewski: and, and that's why [00:22:00] I'm, I love to have him featured, 'cause I think we had it, like, on three or four of our publications, [00:22:05] because he's a great example as to how to do [00:22:10] that. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: You know? And- George Wright III: Several of them are. Kevin Harrington- Jerome Knyszewski: Yes. Yeah ... has George Wright III: his- Jerome Knyszewski: Absolutely ... message George Wright III: [00:22:15] dialed Jerome Knyszewski: in. Super dialed in. Yeah. And that's why it's good to have the big [00:22:20] covers, the big names 'cause yeah, it attracts attention gives credibility and all this, but also it's a great [00:22:25] example. That's something that, you know, so there's benefit for me and my publication to have those guys- Yeah ... up there [00:22:30] because it draws the eye However the folks that just go [00:22:35] on these websites should read how they answer the questions, what question they chose to [00:22:40] address, and how they do it. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: And then I would even take that, put it into Chat GPT or [00:22:45] whatnot, and kinda modify those questions so that it suits my business and my work [00:22:50] so that you can craft better answers and better questions, because some of them up there that I've [00:22:55] seen scroll are just masters of that communication. Yeah. George Wright III: I wanna ask you one more question [00:23:00] because I know we're gonna be coming back with some other episodes on the lessons learned from Valiant [00:23:05] CEO as well as some of the other myths in the industry. But [00:23:10] Valiant CEO, I just wanna end with this last question, has really grown into authority magazines, [00:23:15] and now there's a dozen publications that you have created. Why did you [00:23:20] decide to create other magazines in other niches outside of Valiant CEO [00:23:25] rather than just expanding the Valiant CEO by itself? What was the purpose for that? Jerome Knyszewski: More of the same. [00:23:30] Give more opportunity, more platform. So Grant, great example. Grant [00:23:35] was twice, I think, on Valiant CEO. His wife, [00:23:40] Elena, was on Valiant CEO. And then Grant was involved in the wellness [00:23:45] space, so we got him on Wellness Voice. So, and, and, and [00:23:50] same with Kathy Ireland. She has so many ventures and so many things going on [00:23:55] that, you know, it's, it was fitting to create another publication because [00:24:00] they need more of the same. But that's all the-- Like, if you get featured- Yeah one time somewhere- [00:24:05] George Wright III: Yeah ... Jerome Knyszewski: that's great, but you kinda get lucky. George Wright III: Yeah. Jerome Knyszewski: This is like the 15 seconds of fame. Just about [00:24:10] today with social media, anybody can do it. But if you publish regularly with [00:24:15] consistency, and on top of it you control the narrative, and on top of it you know that the team [00:24:20] behind the publication will make you look good, will make you look great, will make you look the best- George Wright III: Yeah[00:24:25] Jerome Knyszewski: why won't you do it, more of it? Yeah. So we just kept on doing more of it because, we have [00:24:30] individuals that are let's say Feldman right there. George Wright III: Yeah, Jerome Knyszewski: Jay George Wright III: Feldman. Jerome Knyszewski: Yep. So, yeah, Jay. [00:24:35] So he is a doctor, legit doctor So he, he has his [00:24:40] place in Wellness Voice 'cause he has a lot to say about it. But he's also an incredible marketer and [00:24:45] CEO, so he has his place on that other publication. George Wright III: Ah, I see. Jerome Knyszewski: So- George Wright III: It's interesting because you made a comment, and I [00:24:50] think this is a really good strategy and tactic for people to understand. The way you've explained it [00:24:55] before is being featured, as we talked about, is very important. Being featured [00:25:00] frequently takes it to another level. But when you're featured frequently and predictably to where [00:25:05] you can also make it strategic, and we're gonna have to have another episode on that because I know you're very strategic [00:25:10] with people that have come into the ecosystem of Authority Magazines. But just to really [00:25:15] finalize this thought you had is, so more magazines, more niches, more dialed [00:25:20] in industries gives more opportunities for founders to tell their story. [00:25:25] Jerome Knyszewski: So it was a request It literally was a request. Wow. We got them once. They [00:25:30] loved it. It ranks, it looks good. It's not distracting with ads, and they can say [00:25:35] whatever they want to say and stick to the narrative. We have strong guardrails- Yeah ... so there's [00:25:40] no bad stuff that shows up. There's nothing that is bad neighborhood type of deal. Yeah. So they say [00:25:45] like, "Do you have another publication?" I say, "No, I don't." They say, "Oh, I wish you did, 'cause now I [00:25:50] gotta hunt for another publication again." Right. Right. I'm like, "Hold that thought." Hold my beer, and I [00:25:55] got my team say, "Let's whip out another one." And I just purchased- Out of George Wright III: necessity. Jerome Knyszewski: Yeah. George Wright III: Wow. Jerome Knyszewski: Out of, yeah, [00:26:00] necessity and out of request, 'cause this is something that people request. So then we just offer [00:26:05] another one and another one, and eventually turn out to be authority magazines because now [00:26:10] we have George Wright III: a Jerome Knyszewski: dozen- A whole network. Yeah. A, a dozen- So " George Wright III: Wellness Voice," "Invest Courier," [00:26:15] "Founders Magazine," um, m- "CEO Monthly," uh, on and on, right? Yeah. All [00:26:20] of these different niches. I really love that, and I tell you what, we're, in our next episode when we come back, [00:26:25] I wanna talk to individuals about how not just this has bec- we've now got the back- the [00:26:30] backdrop, the backstory, but how it's become a real engine for building [00:26:35] authority for clients as well as just helping people to be more strategic with their [00:26:40] messaging. Because I do think a lot of people just get out there and they do branding, they hope it works. They do press, they hope it [00:26:45] works, and I like how it's built from a foundation of strategy. So I really like that. Jerome Knyszewski: So I wanna [00:26:50] clarify also something because then it can be murky real quick. So every article we have [00:26:55] on our website is 100% free. There's no pay-per-play. George Wright III: Good point. [00:27:00] Jerome Knyszewski: No pay-per-play. There's no client relationship. People just post their stories, post their stuff. [00:27:05] There's no charge whatsoever. The only time there's a upgrade, I [00:27:10] would say, is when we need to accelerate because there's a need. Yes. 'Cause when we have [00:27:15] 10,000 publ- 10,000 interviews in four years, you do the math. That's a lot. And we don't [00:27:20] have the manpower to, you know, whip out the thing, [00:27:25] edit, proofread, do this the composition and all this, and have this out, you know, in 48 hours. [00:27:30] It takes four to six weeks, you know, to, from the moment you submit to the time it's actually [00:27:35] live. George Wright III: Right. Jerome Knyszewski: Sometimes people need it now They have an event coming up, they have something [00:27:40] cooking, whatever that may be, they need it now. So now we allocate more priority to it, and there's a fee [00:27:45] for it, which is George Wright III: r- But you make a really good point. That also came out of necessity. In other words, [00:27:50] you built such a network of featuring at a pure purpose mission-based, [00:27:55] you know, uh, reason these founders and CEOs, but out of necessity, they're [00:28:00] coming to you now and saying, "Hey, I really like how you did that. I need it sooner. I would like to go here. I would [00:28:05] like to go there." Uh, the... A lot of these individuals hit you up even just for, uh, [00:28:10] help in branding and things like this, which has kind of evolved into other things outside of the [00:28:15] magazine network. But that's a good point and a good distinction because, um, there are [00:28:20] thousands and thousands and thousands of articles being done, uh, which makes it a powerful network for [00:28:25] getting your voice out. But also you do it in a way that helps them to get it out the right way, so I really appreciate [00:28:30] that. We're gonna come back and talk a little bit more about that, and we're also gonna be-- If you're listening to this, make sure to check [00:28:35] out these episodes 'cause we're gonna be talking about the mistakes people are making when they're out trying to get their [00:28:40] voice out. We're gonna be talking about the myths that people believe when they're trying to do branding, and we're [00:28:45] even gonna talk about the lessons that you've learned as, as you've done these, because you can imagine with [00:28:50] t- 10,000, half of that, a 10th of that, the amount of strategies [00:28:55] and tactics and knowledge that you've received from these individuals is Jerome Knyszewski: unbelievable. And the common mistakes [00:29:00] that just, like, keep on repeating themselves. There's some patterns that like- Do you see George Wright III: the patterns? Jerome Knyszewski: Oh, yeah. Yeah. There's the [00:29:05] clear patterns of things that, you know, I wish people knew. Don't do that. Wow. Or do that more or whatever. George Wright III: Yeah. [00:29:10] Jerome Knyszewski: Yeah. So there definitely, there's definitely a lot of lessons in it. George Wright III: Yeah. I wanna encourage everybody to go check out [00:29:15] authoritymagazines.com as well, and we'll put some links in the show notes because there's a lot of cool stuff [00:29:20] coming out. You've got some free guides. You've got ways to position yourself. You really tru- truly try to [00:29:25] guide people in crafting their message, so a lot of great stuff to check out, ​[00:29:30] [00:29:35]