Episode Summary
Most founders who've tried PR will tell you the same thing: it was a waste of money and they never got in the media. But when Marie Dowling digs deeper, the real answer is usually that they weren't involved enough to make it work.
In this episode, Alan is joined by Marie Dowling, founder and CEO of Newsary, a hybrid AI and human PR platform built for startups and small businesses. Marie walks through how Newsary works, why PR is becoming the new SEO, and how she landed enterprise client Flixbus, generating over 300 pieces of Australian media coverage.
Alan challenges Marie to think beyond founder-led sales, pushing her to consider referral incentives, agency partnerships, and her LinkedIn audience as scalable distribution channels. If you're a founder who's written off PR, this episode might just change your mind.
Chapters:
02:13 – Meet Marie Dowling and her path from PR agency to founder
04:37 – Why bigger clients mean less interesting press releases
06:09 – What Newsary does and who it's for
07:02 – The pivot: from "how to write" to "what is a good story"
08:01 – Why PR is the new SEO
09:09 – How Newsary works: interview-style, not AI-generated
11:05 – Pricing: what Newsary costs vs. a traditional agency
12:32 – How Marie finds customers (and what they all say about PR)
13:39 – The real reason most PR fails: founder involvement
15:14 – Alan's challenge: scaling beyond founder-led sales
18:03 – The Flixbus campaign: 300+ pieces of coverage
19:14 – Who's behind Newsary: the team and advisors
20:16 – Co-hosting industry events: lessons learned
23:18 – Platform rebuild and January launch plans
25:10 – Marie's one ask of listeners
Resources
💸 Newsary: https://www.newsary.co/
🎙 Ask Alan a Question – https://speakpipe.com/pickmybrain
🎧 More from Alan Jones – https://www.startupfoundercoach.com
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