Meet Lila Baltman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lila Baltman.

Lila, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My career started in journalism as an arts & entertainment reporter at a weekly newspaper in Northern Virginia. It was in 1994 and I had recently graduated with a degree in Communication from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

I had a terrific time starting out as a newspaper reporter and I eventually worked my way up to being the editor of the arts & entertainment section. I loved the creative energy and camaraderie of working in a newsroom and collaborating with all the different writers, editors, photographers, and advertising sales reps. It was amazing to see the amount of hard work and teamwork that went into producing a large community newspaper each and every week.

It was also a thrill for me to know that thousands of people in my community were reading the many different news articles and calendar listings that I wrote for the arts & entertainment section each week. I not only wrote about local businesses, entertainers, restaurants, concerts, sporting events, and dozens of special events and community festivals, I also occasionally interviewed and wrote about big-name celebrities who passed through town, I remember interviewing singer Julio Iglesias over the phone and listening to his beautiful Spanish accent for 20 minutes. That was definitely a fun interview and writing assignment!

My time working as a newspaper reporter is what first introduced me to publicists and professionals who work in the public relations industry. I learned very quickly that the majority of stories that journalists write actually happen as a result of hard-working publicists who pitch different story ideas to the journalists.

Through the years, I discovered that I not only love to write newspaper and magazine articles myself, I also love to pitch clever story ideas to many different reporters, editors, and TV producers. I now have a great time collaborating with several members of the media and helping to get my clients featured regularly in print and on TV.

In 2009, I decided to launch my own PR firm, Lila Rose Baltman Public Relations, out of my Phoenix home office. Rose is my middle name and I liked the idea of using pretty roses for my business logo.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part, yes. Working as a publicist and starting my own PR firm has been a wonderfully smooth and rewarding road. I feel very fortunate that I’ve always been able to write and do my PR work out of my home office and was therefore able to be at home when my three children were little. One of the most difficult challenges for all parents is finding a healthy work/life balance and I’ve been able to successfully find a very nice work/life balance over the years. My children are now 20, 18, and 12.

I’ve also been very blessed to be married to my wonderful, techie husband who is a computer software engineer and so he has been my built-in “IT guy” for many years. Whenever I’ve needed my husband to fix any awful, frustrating computer problem for me or teach me anything technology-related, he has been my personal “Geek Squad” and I’ve loved that!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Lila Rose Baltman Public Relations story. Tell us more about the business.
Lila Rose Baltman Public Relations is owned and operated by me, Lila Baltman. I specialize in getting local print and TV media attention for large and small businesses all across the state of Arizona. I get my clients interviewed and featured regularly in dozens of Arizona newspapers, magazines, digital publications, and booked on many different local TV stations.

I’ve spent several years creating wonderful, professional relationships with many members of the Arizona media – print reporters, editors, and TV producers. Being a former newspaper reporter and magazine editor myself, I know what members of the media are looking for in a story and I know how to successfully pitch newsworthy story ideas to them.

I enjoy working with a wide range of businesses in the entertainment, retail, health and beauty, travel, restaurant, and health & fitness industries. However, my unique specialty as a PR pro is publicizing businesses that have been specifically designed for babies, children, and young families. When I learn about a great, new business in town, I can’t wait to alert the media and let thousands of other people across Arizona know about it too!

I’m also a very effective PR/Marketing Consultant and special event coordinator. I love to create and publicize special events and clever promotions for my clients. My roster of clients include: The Screamery ice cream parlors, Hubbard Family Swim Schools, Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics & Dance Centers, Nicole Anne Yoga, Friendly Pines Camp, The Eastcoaster Food Truck, DreamTeam Academy, Brunch Café, and more.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I do believe in luck and feel very lucky to have the strong, beautiful, brilliant, extremely funny, Bronx-born, Jewish mother that I have. Since we’re not able to choose our mothers, I definitely feel like I won the motherload of lotteries with mine!

My mother worked as a high school English teacher for 30 years and she’s always been a very talented writer herself. I’ve been enormously lucky to have inherited some of my mother’s writing talent and her love of the arts. I only wish I had inherited the same, elegant, gorgeous handwriting that she has!

I’ve also been very lucky in love. I feel so fortunate to have met my husband of now 23 years. We met when I was working as a weekend tour guide at a Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Northern Virginia the summer after I graduated from college. My husband was interested in becoming a member of the JCC and so my job was to give him a tour of the facility. It was during our first meeting on this tour when I told him about a singles event that was coming up called “Seinfeld Night.” This was when “Seinfeld” was enough of a hit TV show to host a Jewish singles event around. Two weeks after our meeting on the tour, Rick and I met again at Seinfeld Night and he eventually asked me for my phone number. We ended up having a great first date, got engaged 18 months later, married, moved to Phoenix in 1999, started our family, and yada yada…

Pricing:

• My PR rate is $150/hour and I’m able to work with many different budgets. Some business owners hire me for three months of work to do a big Grand Opening and “PR push” for them and other clients hire me for steady, monthly publicity and I keep them featured in the local, Arizona media all year long.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lilarosebaltmanpr.com
• Phone: 602-482-8262
• Email: lila.baltman@gmail.com

 

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