Why And How To Get Featured In Property Publications With Blue Bricks Magazine Owner Sam Cooke

Can a magazine feature boost your HMO property business?

In this episode, I'm excited to be joined by Sam Cooke, the owner and editor of Blue Bricks Property Magazine. Sam will be sharing his valuable insights on the current trends in the property market, the benefits of being featured in magazines and publications, and how you can secure a spot in these media outlets.

If you’re looking to raise private finance, boost your opportunities, or connect with key people in the industry, this episode is a must-listen!

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Andy Graham: Hey, I'm Andy and you're listening to the HMO podcast. Over 10 years ago, I set myself the challenge of building my own property portfolio. And what began as a short term investment plan soon became a long term commitment to change the way young people live together. I've now built several successful businesses.

[00:00:20] Andy Graham: I've raised millions of pounds of investment and I've managed thousands of tenants. Join me and some very special guests to discover their tips, tricks, and hacks. The ups and the downs, the best practice and everything else you need to know, to start scale and systemise your very own HMO portfolio now.

[00:00:40] Andy Graham: In today's episode, I'm joined by Sam Cooke. Sam is of course, the owner and editor of Blue Bricks Property Magazine. And today, Sam is going to share his advice with us as to why getting featured in publications like Blue Bricks Property Magazine can be so valuable for our property business. And just as importantly, how we can actually get featured.

[00:01:00] Andy Graham: So if you potentially want to raise private finance, enhance your opportunities, find people to network with, today's episode is definitely one you don't want to miss. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy today's episode of the HMO podcast.

[00:01:16] Andy Graham: Hey guys, it's Andy here. We're going to be getting back to the podcast in just a moment, but before we do, I want to tell you very quickly about the HMO Roadmap. Now, if you're serious about replacing your income, or perhaps you've already got a HMO portfolio that you want to scale up, then the HMO Roadmap really is your one stop shop.

[00:01:33] Andy Graham: Inside the Roadmap, you'll find a full 60 lesson course delivered by me, teaching you how to find more deals, how to fund more deals and raise private finance, how to refurbish great properties, how to fill them with great tenants that stay for longer, and how to manage your properties and tenants for the future. We've also got guest workshops added every single month.

[00:01:50] Andy Graham: We've got new videos added every single week about all sorts of topics. We've got downloadable resources, cheat sheets and swipe files to help you. We've got case studies from guests and community members who are doing incredible projects that you can learn from. And we've also built an application just for you that allows you to appraise and evaluate your deals, stack them side by side and track the key metrics that are most important to you.

[00:02:13] Andy Graham: To find out more, head to thehmoroadmap.co.uk now. And come and join our incredible community of HMO property investors.

[00:02:27] Andy Graham: Hi Sam. Thank you for joining me on the podcast today.

[00:02:29] Sam Cooke: Thank you very much for having me. I've been really looking forward to this one

[00:02:32] Andy Graham: So founder of Blue Bricks, or at least owner of Blue Bricks, I should say, um, you're very big, so I'm well known in the property space, Sam. I think we are going to have an interesting conversation today about, um, Your adventure through property today and where it's all going.

[00:02:47] Andy Graham: And what would be great, I think from our point of view, and I'm sure our listeners would love to hear from you on is what the values of potentially getting featured in things like magazines, like Blue Bricks, podcasts, or the publications can do for property investors. I know firsthand, and I'm sure I can share some of my experiences today, but obviously you're at the other side of this and you know what it is that people who run magazines like Blue Bricks, obviously are looking for and investors and things like that, that you're showcasing. But before we get there, Sam, tell us just a little bit about yourself for anyone who perhaps hasn't heard about you or blue bricks, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you currently do in the property space.

[00:03:24] Sam Cooke: Yeah, absolutely. So my name is Sam Cooke. I'm the owner of Blue Bricks magazine. The reason I didn't found Blue Bricks is that I worked for the company before purchasing it in 2022. I think it was, which I made me the owner of the business. Um, so for the past two years, I've been running Blue Bricks Magazine, growing that business, launched the Blue Bricks Property Awards this year as well, which was a huge reward ceremony in Chester for 250 people.

[00:03:49] Sam Cooke: I know you were a finalist for that and if the commercial conversion deal as well. And then, yeah, that's me in a nutshell running multiple other events across the UK. Got quite the events that we're running. First one being Pigeons in Property, which is the 11th of October, which is clay pigeon shooting and property networking.

[00:04:05] Andy Graham: Which I'm going to.

[00:04:06] Sam Cooke: Yeah, you're going to. You're one of the main speakers there as well.

[00:04:09] Andy Graham: Well, I'll be no use at shooting, that's for sure. So hopefully I can bring some value on the stage. But yeah, I'll be useless with a gun.

[00:04:15] Sam Cooke: I'm from Bradford, buddy. I'm going to be hitting it hard.

[00:04:19] Andy Graham: And Sam, you're obviously running the magazine now.

[00:04:22] Sam Cooke: Yeah.

[00:04:22] Andy Graham: Do you invest in property yourself or is that an interest in yourself? Do you have a particular interest in property or actually is it more so in media publications and that sort of thing?

[00:04:32] Sam Cooke: Yes, it's a twofold question really. So number one, yes, I'm doing stuff in property at the moment. I'm looking for properties in the north.

[00:04:39] Sam Cooke: I've got a business partner that we can be working with our own. We've got our own money. We're going to be investing and looking at business and private finance that too. I've got quite a broad network of investors. So it's about time I put that to use. Uh, the reason that I've not done it sooner is Blue Bricks was a flip business, which meant when I bought it, it was unprofitable.

[00:04:56] Sam Cooke: So all my focus has been on fixing, saving and growing that. And I invest in other things too, which isn't public knowledge, which will be in the next couple of weeks. So I invest in businesses. I'm actually in the process of buying two businesses at the moment, which again, those are just sat with the solicitors and hopefully, fingers crossed this week, that will go through and then we can do a bit more about that.

[00:05:19] Andy Graham: Fantastic. So you really are an entrepreneur in the property space. Do you enjoy it, Sam? I mean, taking on a business that's not profitable, trying to turn it into a profitable business and everything that goes along with it. I've built a number of businesses. I've sold one of my businesses. I know how challenging it can be, but in a kind of strange and fairly sadistic way, I sort of enjoy it.

[00:05:38] Andy Graham: But do you enjoy that? Is it the pursuit and that challenge itself that you enjoy as much as potentially the rewards at the end of it?

[00:05:45] Sam Cooke: I think it depends on what week you ask me to be honest. But yeah, do I enjoy it? I do. I love it. I love creating, innovating, growing, doing things, bringing people together, like doing the Blue Bricks Awards and also meeting people like yourself.

[00:05:59] Sam Cooke: It really is good fun. Don't get me wrong. There's weeks and days where it's challenging and hard and difficult. And you think, why am I doing this? 25 days annual leave, finish it at five o'clock. Sounds nice, but I do love what I do. And I couldn't picture myself doing anything else.

[00:06:14] Andy Graham: Yeah. There's a huge sacrifice and compromise that you've got to make.  And it's really getting to know you over the last couple of years. It's been great to see you on that journey as well and, and see how committed you are. I mean, to organise the event that you did at the castle, you know, the big award ceremony, we do a little bit of eventing, not much, as you know, most of ours is in the online space, but I also know how much of a challenge and how risky it can be.

[00:06:38] Andy Graham: And I've got to take my hat off to you, Sam, because putting your money where your mouth is and committing your time, resources, your team, finances to that sort of thing says a huge amount of your character testament. And I was there and it's a great day. And obviously lots of people absolutely jam packed, but it's risky stuff.

[00:06:53] Andy Graham: And obviously you've got the sort of temperament that you need in business to be able to do this kind of thing. I mean, you're very much on the other side of this from an investor's point of view. I put my investor hats on now. You're very much on the other side of this. And I remember the first time I was ever featured in a magazine and it was such an exciting moment for me.

[00:07:10] Andy Graham: I think I've done a flip. Someone had picked it up. They asked if it could feature it in a magazine. And honestly, that is really where things did start to change for me. And today I'd like to maybe get into this question. It's the kind of the byproducts of the washout from that sort of an opportunity. Is it was for me and other people?

[00:07:29] Andy Graham: Has it just been fortunate or actually is there logic to it is actually getting featured? Is that something that can really enhance one's business and prospects? And I want to talk to you about this in detail today. Before we get there, though, you sit in this really incredible position with a lot of oversight on the market.

[00:07:45] Andy Graham: What a lot of people are doing in different spaces, different places across the country, different strategies. What are your general thoughts on what you're seeing at the minute in terms of the types of investments that are working, things that are not working, the general consensus from investors and landlords, and obviously we read the news, this exodus that from buy to let, but, but actually you deal with a lot of people who are actually involved and just interested to get your thoughts on what you're sort of seeing and feeling in the property market at the minute.

[00:08:12] Sam Cooke: Yeah, I think it's a really interesting time. There's been even more talk, and I know it's been talking for a while about this, but about surface accommodation and potentially there being an article for type piece of legislation that comes in. Um, that prohibits certain properties from being made into service accommodation units so that they're releasing a planning permission.

[00:08:34] Sam Cooke: I know certain councils, I think Blackpool Council have been doing this, where if you don't have the right planning, have actually requested that the property be turned back into a standard plot or residential property. So I think, I don't want to put people off service accommodation as a strategy, but I think, That we're going to see some interesting changes and announcements in the coming months in that sector.

[00:08:57] Sam Cooke: What I am seeing work quite well is HMOs. Particularly HMOs that range from professionals, more co living approaches, a bit like what Caroline Pattinson does, for example, and the guys at Beehive Living, the people that are creating these more kind of like communities inside their properties. I'm seeing that work really well from people and people making some kind of good money from that.

[00:09:19] Sam Cooke: I think one thing that is going to become very popular. Is going to be commercial conversions through the use classes. It seems that the government and the councils are really pushing people to be recycling existing properties. Rather than building from the ground up we've had BNG biodiversity net game come about this year, which has made it a little bit sticky for some new build developers.

[00:09:42] Sam Cooke: It's also meant that some sites aren't viable anymore. So I think we're also going to see a few new build developers moving to the commercial conversion space. So that's what I kind of think is going to start happening.

[00:09:52] Andy Graham: I agree, it’s an interesting time. We don't have a crystal ball. There are some changes afoot, some potentially good, some potentially bad.

[00:10:00] Andy Graham: We've also got the renter's rights bill, which is going to start washing its way through, which is definitely going to impact all of us who are renting properties. I'm sure like many things, there's ways to adapt, ways to actually get ahead of the curve. Talked about some of it on the show before, but interesting to hear you talk about these different strategies.

[00:10:17] Andy Graham: And obviously great to hear you talk so positively about HMOs on the HMO podcast. I love HMOs. Well, so do we. And a lot of our listeners, Sam, a lot of people I work with, especially those at the earliest stages of their property business, often stifled by the challenges, the difficulty getting into the market or scaling up.

[00:10:35] Andy Graham: Usually that big limitation is access to finance. Even when we can find the right deal or find a really good deal where we can potentially recycle lots of money out, we can create some really good numbers. It can be prohibitive if we don't have the funds and for some of us actually just finding those opportunities or getting access to enough of those opportunities.

[00:10:54] Andy Graham: These are all the sorts of challenges that a lot of people out there, a lot of our listeners are facing with. And like I said, very briefly, I remember getting featured in a magazine for the very first time, probably back in 2015, so nearly 10 years ago. And I think I'm quite an extreme example of. Taking the idea of building my network with the intention to enhance my opportunities, deals, cash and all that sort of stuff, obviously now podcasts and share all sorts of things on various different channels and platforms and publications and you run a magazine.

[00:11:29] Andy Graham: So let's talk about. What it is that you think can be so valuable for people and investors who potentially trying to achieve those sorts of things, what sort of benefits can they actually get from being featured in these sorts of publications? Then maybe we'll come back around and actually talk about how we can potentially get featured and get people to take interest.

[00:11:46] Andy Graham: But tell us first about what the opportunities can actually be from being featured in publications and so on.

[00:11:53] Sam Cooke: Yeah, so I'll talk about publications and actually broaden this out into podcasts, speaking at events, any, any kind of media, really, I think the main thing is positioning and trust. So let's say you're an investor who's got 100,000 to invest and.

[00:12:10] Sam Cooke: You've met Darren at the networking event, who's got a couple of posts on Facebook, is relatively active on Instagram, but you don't know him, he's not really got much background experience that you can see publicly. And then, you know, you've got someone like yourself who they meet, who's got their own podcast being on other people's podcasts that being featured in magazines, speaking at events that for us, that you can see that person, you can see that they're active.

[00:12:36] Sam Cooke: Clearly, if they're in a magazine, there's been vetted and they're active in the industry. It just gives that extra layer of kind of security to the investor to know that you are someone real incredible. And I think that's probably the biggest benefit that's perhaps overlooked

[00:12:52] Andy Graham: Do you think that as well as trust, it's things like, and I think you might have mentioned credibility and opportunities to also demonstrate values such as integrity?

[00:13:02] Andy Graham: Yes. Because I think that I've seen a number of people come into our industry that are a little bit like seagulls. They come in, flap around, make a lot of noise, squeal a lot, shit's everywhere. And then before you know it, they've left. And I think like being in this industry for quite a while, I can often see that you see people coming in making all this noise, all of a sudden they're like the hottest things in sliced bread, and then you don't hear anything.

[00:13:25] Andy Graham: And then there are people that have just been there like pieces of the furniture just Yeah. Names that you recognise and, and that you trust. And they haven't got a blemish on their, their professional record. They've demonstrated, obviously, their integrity and transparency. Do you think that those sorts of values are important? And does getting featured in publications enhance the ability to do that?

[00:13:47] Sam Cooke: Yeah, so as in enhance your ability to kind of

[00:13:51] Andy Graham: As opposed to demonstrate it?

[00:13:52] Sam Cooke: Yeah, to demonstrate. I think so. I think the problem that you've got with like social media is people have got an extremely short attention span. So unless you're gonna write an absolute novel on Facebook that no one's gonna read, it's quite hard to articulate who you are.

[00:14:09] Sam Cooke: So you might look at things like video. If you're one of these people that makes a lot of noise, one of the things they have in common is they're very good at creating short form content that's snappy. It's captivating if you can do that, that's helpful. But if you're not very technical, perhaps not.

[00:14:24] Sam Cooke: Whereas with magazines, you know, if you've got 1, 400 words, that's a really good place to showcase your personality, showcase your experience, showcase your values, really let people get to know you as a person. And I think there's something tangible about being in a physical magazine compared to such seeing a post on Facebook.

[00:14:43] Sam Cooke: Likewise, with, with podcasts. When I write posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, whatever, you know, I'm trying to get the point across normally. So sometimes I can't really get who I am across within doing that. Whereas with a podcast, you hear my voice, we're talking about stuff that I'm doing, talking about Blue Bricks, probably get a better feel of who I am. So I do think that these platforms are really good for giving investors or anyone just a kind of insight into who you are as a person.

[00:15:09] Andy Graham: I think something to add to that as well, and this is certainly something that we have experienced with the podcast, the podcast, believe it or not, is coming up for four years old in October, which is insane.

[00:15:18] Andy Graham: And actually what you get is an incredible set of data. And what you see with podcasts certainly is how loyal the listenership is. You could almost guess to tens or at least sort of the nearest hundred, how many listeners you'll have month on month, because you've got that much data because the audience comes back week in week out.

[00:15:38] Andy Graham: They're loyal. And they're invested in what there is to discover in every episode. And I would imagine that with the way that magazines and subscriptions work, that sort of readership is similarly loyal. Is that the case, Sam?

[00:15:51] Sam Cooke: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's so nice when the latest issue goes out that we're getting people tagging us in their stories and putting posts up and that kind of thing.

[00:16:00] Sam Cooke: And to the point, yeah, you're right. You can kind of guess who's doing that and who your avid fans are. So you do have some really powerful data and. We know who our readers are because we're doing surveys quite regularly and because we run these events We're actually shaking hands and meeting and having drinks with our readers, too. So we've got a good idea of our audience and I think that's powerful because when you post to Facebook You don't really know who's going to see it. Whereas with Blue Bricks, for example, we know exactly who's reading the magazine.

[00:16:28] Andy Graham: That was exactly my point, really. The readership and in our case, the listenership. Yeah. They're going out of their way. They're making a concerted effort to go and spend some time, invest some of their precious time to read and learn and discover.

[00:16:43] Andy Graham: And platforms like Instagram and Facebook and YouTube. It's very, very different. Like you said, the attention span is very short. We're often flicking on and off those sorts of things quickly between doing other things that are occupying us. YouTube is very different itself to podcasts. Um, the listenership is nowhere near as loyal, even platforms with tens of thousands of subscribers doesn't necessarily mean that those same people are coming back time after time.

[00:17:11] Andy Graham: and are potentially not quite as invested in what they will potentially pick up or learn in that video or resource or whatever it might be. Whereas when people are coming and going out of their way to subscribe to a magazine, sit down and read the magazine, that the intentions are often very very, very different, I think.

[00:17:29] Andy Graham: And, you know, I've been contacted a number of times when, after various magazine publications that I've done, that people have obviously read something, they found it interesting, it's resonated with them, and it's been really useful for that reason. So yeah, I think publications are very different type of, media outlet and platform and channel, but just have the scope for a very different type of opportunity that social media simply doesn't offer.

[00:17:52] Andy Graham: Actually, I've got a really good example for you. I won't share any names, but I know somebody who has a huge social media following, maybe across the platforms. It's well into seven figures. And actually it kind of happened by accident that they were sharing stuff as a lot of people, investors do, but it sort of blew up almost by accident.

[00:18:12] Andy Graham: It was picked up by something and then something else. And it just sort of blew up and they kind of have ridden that wave ever since. But I remember having a conversation with this person and he said, look, it's great. We've got this incredible following and it's given us certain opportunities, but actually it's really not helped us with our original objective, which was to go out and raise finance and find people to potentially joint venture with.

[00:18:34] Andy Graham: And it was because the audience that they curated was quite different to the audience that they needed to curate to potentially raise money from and do deals with. It was a much younger audience. And I think that there's something there as well. It's actually that avatar who's actually looking and reading.

[00:18:51] Andy Graham: The article in the magazine, much more likely to be somebody who has, I mean, they've almost self-selected them as being suitable for whatever it is that you're doing. Whereas again, platforms and channels like Instagram and Facebook, it's not the same. We all see stuff that we look at, but we don't necessarily resonate or we certainly wouldn't.

[00:19:10] Andy Graham: I share lots of stuff, but it's not because I'm not interested in it. It's because I'm sending it to people thinking, Oh my God, look at this. But do you agree, Sam? Like, I think there's a number of things there. And actually, even though you're potentially not reaching millions of people in the publication, that small number of people could be so much more valuable than those potential millions of people on social media, right?

[00:19:30] Sam Cooke: A hundred percent. I think another thing worth mentioning, and I know not all magazines follow this model, but the majority do, and definitely the ones in our sector. The readers of the magazine are paid. They're paying to subscribe to receive that magazine in the post. So you've got an audience that are quite literally bought in, which means that they are interested in property whereas

[00:19:48] Sam Cooke: On Instagram, I might follow a page like a fishing page because I find it therapeutic. Got no interest in going fishing. It's one of those, you might have people following you on Facebook because they're interested in what you do, but they're never really going to get involved. Whereas if they're reading the magazine, they are bought into the property industry.

[00:20:05] Sam Cooke: There was one guy who featured, and I'm going to try and remember the figure off the top of my head. I think it was before I had the magazine. Someone saw him in Blue Bricks, if I remember correctly. They were reading the magazine, they got in touch with him, and I think they ended up investing something like 425,000 pounds in him.

[00:20:20] Sam Cooke: Wow. Now. I'm not saying that every feature in Blue Bricks is going to get that, but it's just an example of how that process can work in real time.

[00:20:29] Andy Graham: Absolutely. So I think it's pretty clear, you and I are both in complete agreement that actually getting features and in publications can be a great opportunity to both raise money, expand your network, access other opportunities.

[00:20:43] Andy Graham: And even just, just finding cool people to sort of hang out next to and find inspiration and confidence and experience from. So I think all of that good stuff can absolutely come from magazines. And I do think for anyone who thinks that all of this stuff is just available freely on social media, and it's of the same caliber, it's just.

[00:21:01] Andy Graham: It's absolutely not. And I've, I've actually, despite how much I do on social media, I still remind people, like it's absolutely not. And I think you hit the nail on the head. When people are paying for a service, the value just tends to be that much higher. You're a publication, you've got to make a profit.

[00:21:18] Andy Graham: You have to invest. Keep your readers happy. So you actually, you do good covers, you feature good people, you do the background and the legwork, you display things in an interesting and informative and like interactive way. So very, very different prospect to social media. Yeah. Let's talk then about how to get featured.

[00:21:37] Andy Graham: You obviously, you're the editor, you know how to do this. What is it? Why do some people get featured and others don't? And is there a recipe or almost a guidebook that you've got that we could share with our listeners to help them maybe grab the attention of people like yourself, Sam, get featured in these publications?

[00:21:55] Sam Cooke: Okay. Yeah. So I'm going to speak generally here. This isn't my perspective cause I'll flip my perspective shortly. And this is a bit of filter swallowing. It's hard to say because it sounds awful. Cool. When you wrap your head around this, it comes easier. No one cares about your story. And everyone's got a story that they think is interesting because your story is interesting to you.

[00:22:14] Sam Cooke: And you know, it might be an interesting story. And the reason that I say that is so many people approach magazines and not just magazines, like podcast hosts and anyone that's got a platform with, this is me, this is my story. It's all about me, me, me. And that's the wrong way around to do it. The best way to get in a magazine on a podcast and to get on any kind of platform is to talk to the other person.

[00:22:38] Sam Cooke: About what you can do for them, how you can help their listeners or their readers or their viewers, because that's for me, as the editor for magazine, the people that pay me are my subscribers and advertisers. I want to please my readers. I want them to read the magazine and love the content and be actively engaged in that.

[00:22:55] Sam Cooke: So if you can approach me and tell me how me having you in the magazine is going to help my readers, I am very, very, very interested in having a conversation. If you can just approach and say. I think I've got an interesting story that I want to tell people. I'll probably hear you out because I'm me and I'm really interested in people. But most people go, I'm not interested, I'm busy. So I think the key is to always think in the other person's interest.

[00:23:20] Andy Graham: I'm nodding along because we get emails every single week. There's one in our entry at the minute. It's Monday morning as we record this. Someone with, you know, what they think is an interesting story and they've sent some pictures over of a project.

[00:23:32] Andy Graham: And actually the story's really not that unique in any way. And actually the project is certainly not unique in any way. And it's not to say that everything that we want to feature has to be incredibly unique, but it very much screams, I want to be on the show because it sort of benefit me and you're absolutely right.

[00:23:52] Andy Graham: And we're always looking for ways to, so for example, you're on the show today because it's great for us to be able to share these insider tips with our, our listenership, but also pretty sure that you're going to pick up a lot of, a lot of people who want to subscribe to the magazine and actually might be able to provide you some value and your readers value by.

[00:24:12] Andy Graham: Potentially being featured and so on and so forth. And actually you're going to do a masterclass going into a lot more detail about how to actually make sure you get notices and get featured. So I completely get it and I see it all the time. And actually a lot of our guests will know this, but I'm constantly stalking people across all sorts of channels and not just channels.

[00:24:32] Andy Graham: I got your magazine yesterday, Sam. Oh, good. opened it up and I'm looking through and I'm literally looking for people that we could potentially feature on our podcast. I'm looking for like those stories. I'm looking for people who've got something that is a good example of something. So even I am going through magazines because in a way that you've done a lot of hard work for me because I can get a bit of a head start on somebody's story.

[00:24:55] Andy Graham: I can maybe find a slightly different or alternative angle for a podcast than actually. There's really interesting scope there. So taking us back, then getting us to think differently about maybe how we approach the idea of this. It's not about our story. It's about actually what we can offer the readership, the magazine.

[00:25:12] Andy Graham: So, okay. Take us a step further than Sam. So let's say, let's say actually that's how we're now starting to think about and approach it. What do we do next?

[00:25:21] Sam Cooke: Okay. So what we do next is if you can try and find the editor with me, people know I'm the editor of Blue Bricks, I put myself out there a lot, it's quite easy with other magazines and publications might be a bit difficult, so if you go to LinkedIn, find the company, type in editor or owner, you'll find them there.

[00:25:38] Sam Cooke: Um, or sailing that, try and find someone in marketing or business development and send them a message. Send them an email. If it's on the website, a lot of them will have the details on that, by the way, on the website, or last resort, if you want, call them. And with me and Blue Bricks, we're always really approachable and always eager and keen to speak with people.

[00:25:59] Sam Cooke: And sometimes as well, it might be worth doing this. If you have a service, you want to publish our product, offer some money. Might be that the magazine doesn't take it because your story is interesting enough or valuable enough that they don't need paying. Um, but sometimes just that incentive of, because ultimately they are a business showing that you are willing to, to give and to receive makes the company more receptive.

[00:26:24] Andy Graham: Yeah, and what do you think about the idea? So when people approach us, one of the things that I'll often do is I will have a look at their stuff and I'll look to see whether they are active. What I like on the show is I like people who are active and I can see are likely to share their ideas. If we do an episode, they're likely to share it with their community and their network because obviously we then benefit from that as well.

[00:26:47] Andy Graham: So I'll often look for some activity. I'll follow people's posts and I'll go back and look at what they've done. I'll do a search in the community and I'll see whether they've been engaging. Are they a valuable member of the community? Have they been offering experience and helping other people? Is, can I see what they're about, or actually, is this just a, they've done one project, they just want to get featured and it's all about them.

[00:27:09] Andy Graham: Would you guys do sort of similar things? Are you looking for a little bit of meat on that bone?

[00:27:13] Sam Cooke: Yeah, we are. So I've got a week's, um, a market monogenosis. I really like people that help people or try to help other people. And if I see that someone's active for charities or trying to help others, then I'm like, I'm a proper sucker for that one.

[00:27:30] Sam Cooke: But that's just me. And in terms of active, it's a strange one, you know, so yes, active in some ways. In terms of social media, that can sometimes put me off because I found that sometimes people at the most active to the least, I'll give you a really good example. Not of someone that's not active. I don't want to get a name,

[00:27:50] Sam Cooke: get a name, drop, get the solicitors involved.

[00:27:51] Andy Graham: Sam dropping bombs on the show.

[00:27:54] Sam Cooke: Yeah, I'll flip it. I'll do it. There's a guy that's on the front cover in that issue, a guy called Tom Sumner. Now, Tom is such an interesting guy. He was on the Blue Bricks podcast the other week. In the army, in Iraq and Afghanistan, he then left the army, became the private security guard, and then saved that money to invest in property, and he's now doing it for high end properties in Blackpool.

[00:28:14] Sam Cooke: It's got one more cinema room inside it. Now, when I looked at Tom and Lightning, it's not pop culture presence, but then he actually invited me to the properties. He showed me around, told me his story. And he's an incredible guy.

[00:28:26] Andy Graham: By the way, sorry to interrupt, but I don't know whether you shared that on your stories or somewhere, but I saw whatever it was that you shared.

[00:28:34] Andy Graham: This hasn't been in the magazine yet. Or was this in the magazine? Is this in the magazine? I just, so you just shared a bit of your day with this individual and I looked at that and I was like, wow, that's amazing. So then I started to follow him.

[00:28:47] Sam Cooke: Yeah.

[00:28:47] Andy Graham: Unbelievable. Sorry to interrupt, but okay.

[00:28:50] Sam Cooke: Yeah. And he's a great guy.

[00:28:51] Sam Cooke: I mean, if you look at his projects. Some of the stuff to do with absolutely incredible. I think it's switch holiday apartments. If anyone wants to check them out on Instagram. Um, but that's just an example of someone who actually, when we looked online, couldn't see much, but then when we spoke to them was quite a lot there.

[00:29:06] Sam Cooke: So yeah, sometimes the active thing is a big thing, but I would say. If you're someone that's quiet on social media, don't let that put you off, providing you've got the credibility behind you that you can demonstrate saying it's true. That's the important part.

[00:29:20] Andy Graham: Yeah, I agree. Do you know that one of the things that is like a real ick for me is those people who are too noisy on social media and it comes over, it's coming over as a little bit disingenuine, a lot of talk, but you maybe can't see too much going on behind the scenes.

[00:29:36] Andy Graham: I'm big on gut feelings. I get it. I like that gut feeling of speaking to somebody for the first time. Do we click? Do I feel like this person's honest, genuine, transparent? Do I think that they would be a good ambassador for us and our brand? And I would never bring somebody on the show. And don't get me wrong.

[00:29:50] Andy Graham: I've, I've made one or two mistakes in the time where my gut has been wrong. But I like to know that actually they are a good fit for our brand. So people who are being in their own sort of vicinity, overly selly, overly pushy, maybe a little bit too sort of, uh, sometimes it can almost come across as bragging.

[00:30:08] Andy Graham: Um, I think there's a fine line of demonstrating your experience and project success, but also bragging. Now I'll often do a bit more due diligence also, and I feel a bit of a hypocrite when I say this, but there's a lot of people out there who jump from doing one or two projects straight into property education.

[00:30:25] Andy Graham: And that then becomes where a lot of the noise is about. And actually, as soon as I see that line being blurred, it is a bit of a putoff as well. And I have to think really carefully about whether that's kind of the right fit. Because it just, sometimes it's difficult and it's not black and white, but I like to feature property investors and understand where their focus is and things like that.

[00:30:46] Andy Graham: And actually not promote people to support a training course or something like that, unless we understand why we're doing it. And we might be perfectly fine to do that, but that needs to be an agenda we're fully aware of. So, yeah, just, just for me, I think it's difficult, isn't it? I like to find really genuine and really authentic people, Sam, and they don't have to have the most exclusive or unique anything.

[00:31:10] Andy Graham: There's got to be something interesting there. But I think for me, those values of like integrity, authenticity, transparency are really, really important. But it's interesting to hear you talk about that you look for similar things as well.

[00:31:22] Sam Cooke: Yeah, a hundred percent, because you can always work that with those people. And those are the people that are authentic and are trustworthy, that are like, we'll put them in a magazine, we'll also push the magazine and the fact that they've been in there in turn. So it's always better to work with those people.

[00:31:38] Andy Graham: Are you or anybody in your team, are you keeping an eye on other platforms or maybe things like podcasts, other publications, what's going on in social media?

[00:31:47] Andy Graham: Are you looking for people and approaching people about maybe getting featured if you see something you think looks interesting? Or are you quite literally waiting for people to contact you?

[00:31:58] Sam Cooke: It's a bit of both to be honest. So Tom, who we just spoke about, approached us. We have some people in there that approach us. Other people are just people kind of along the way. If we see someone on social media who's doing something interesting, um, then we might reach out and go, Hey, what's up? We're doing something interesting. Let's have a chat. So it's a bit of both. Some people email in, sometimes we approach people, other times it happens organically, but I just kind of bumping into people at events and building a relationship out from there.

[00:32:27] Andy Graham: Yeah, it's really interesting because I think a lot of people who were listening to today's episode probably thought that ending up in a publication or something like that really just happened because you shared pictures of something on social media.

[00:32:39] Andy Graham: Yeah, and actually you either got featured or you didn't. And actually what you're saying is quite different, taking a much more proactive approach, which makes perfect sense because that's often what you need to do in business. If you want to get the results, you've actually got to get up, kind of try and make it happen, but do it in the right way and make it a bit of a win win for everybody, which of course is where all of the best type of business deals are struck. And this is exactly what you're saying to us.

[00:33:01] Sam Cooke: Yeah, it's true. And when I do public speaking, it's something that I try and explain to people, so it's fine. Please email us if you have something you want to share, or if you think there's something you might be interested in, then email. I mean, at the end of the day, the worst thing we're going to say is it's not right for the magazine to self care behind us.

[00:33:17] Sam Cooke: And some of the really interesting features we've had, like Tom, are people that approach us, so by all means, email magazines, email people, passcodes, make sure you get in touch with them. Sometimes you will get scouted, but if you sit around waiting forever, There's going to be a lot of luck involved in that because I might not be your friend on Facebook.

[00:33:36] Andy Graham: Absolutely. Okay. So you've shared some really useful insights today and some good tips as to how to actually sort of think about getting featured. I suppose then sort of just to summarise this advice. This can be really great to expand your network, raise private finance, find more deals and opportunities.

[00:33:53] Andy Graham: And there's a number of ways to potentially get featured, but don't be afraid of going direct. Just think a bit more about what's in it for you. And look, what I would say is to anyone who is able to get featured. That one feature can lead to so many other things. Like I said, that could lead to me just happening to notice something in there and a podcaster like me, then saying, Oh, can we feature you on the show?

[00:34:15] Andy Graham: And can we do something? And honestly, I genuinely think that all of the stuff I do now really is the byproduct of what I did before that. And now we get approached quite a lot to do various things. But I think a lot of it comes from the time and the effort and the work and the commitment that I made to trying to do all of that stuff in the earlier stages when actually I wasn't particularly known and we didn't have a podcast and we didn't have a community of 10,000 people.

[00:34:42] Andy Graham: So it has been incredibly valuable for me. And honestly, I would account a lot of the opportunities that I've been really fortunate enough to access over the years. To a lot of the opportunities I had to feature in publications and, and actually get my name and, and story and brand out there. So from a personal position, I think there is so much value in any of our investors listening to the show today in going out of the way to make sure that they try and get something like this done for themselves because it can just, it can be an absolutely wonderful thing for one's business.

[00:35:16] Sam Cooke: I was gonna add one final thing as well, that it's just consistency. Um, like don't think you can go on one podcast and that's it, it'll be famous. I think it's about just being on the present, being consistent, trying to get kind of where you can and everywhere you can so that more and more people see you because different platforms have different follow ups too.

[00:35:35] Andy Graham: Absolutely. That is one of the hardest bits is being consistent. It's really easy to sort of muster a bit of energy for a couple of days or a week and get something together, but actually doing it consistently, that's when one opportunity turns into another, then you find another door opens and so on and so forth.

[00:35:50] Andy Graham: So a great bit of advice and actually that advice is not exclusive to getting featured in publications or on podcasts that is just something that we have to be doing in business if we want to succeed. I'm sure everything that you do at Blue Bricks, Sam, is exactly the same.

[00:36:05] Sam Cooke: Yeah, 100%.

[00:36:05] Andy Graham: It's been an absolute pleasure to have you on the show. It's been great to get a bit of an insider's approach to how our investors and listeners can get featured themselves. As I mentioned earlier, you are very kindly going to do a full masterclass on this and share your advice and experience in even more detail. So our listeners can keep an eye out inside the HMO roadmap coming soon.

[00:36:25] Andy Graham: Sam, Just remind us where for anyone listening today, who's thinking, you know, I think there's something that I could do with Sam. I think I've got something that would be great that they and their listeners would really benefit from how best to contact you.

[00:36:37] Sam Cooke: Okay. Yeah. Best way to contact me is email. So hi@bluebricksmagazine.com and email that email and myself and the team will pick it up. If you've got some inquiry that you want to feature in the magazine, get in touch with us now. Say that you've listened to this podcast, happy to have a conversation with anybody, don't let imposter syndrome get in the way. Secondly, uh, Instagram, Blue Bricks Magazine.

[00:36:59] Sam Cooke: Or for me, the place I'm probably most active personally is LinkedIn, which is just my name, Sam Cooke. There is a solo singer called Sam Cooke, I'm not a singer, you will be able to differentiate us both quite easily. And if you're interested in Blue Bricks, just go to bluebricksmagazine.com, we do a free monthly trial. So you can click join, won't cost you a penny, get a magazine posted to your door if you enjoy it, great guns, stay subscribed, if not we won't be offended but we will never speak to you ever again.

[00:37:26] Andy Graham: Absolute no brainer, can't say fairer than that. And pigeons and property, let's tell the guys about pigeons property because I don't often come out of my own little bubble and I am coming out for pigeons and property.

[00:37:37] Sam Cooke: I'm really glad you're speaking at that, thank you. Yeah, so Pigeons and Property, I'm really proud of the name, is a networking event where we're going to be doing laser clay pigeon shooting, and we're going to have some speakers. So we've got yourself Andy, who's talking about your experience in property and building a company that can sell.

[00:37:52] Sam Cooke: We've got Hayley Andrews from Property Elevator speaking, and we've got Nick Fort speaking as well. So three really experienced people looking and taking the stage. The point is your food's included, your drink's included, it is networking, but it's just going to be fun. By having an experience with people, laughing people, making memories of people, you just build that relationships.

[00:38:11] Sam Cooke: Then you do sat at a table with a pint going. So how many HMOs do you have? So it's going to be a really fun day. So bluebricksmagazine.com on the homepage, just pitching some property, we've got an early bird deal at the moment at 150. And that includes your food, drink, your lazy clays itself, all your speakers and everything.

[00:38:30] Andy Graham: And of course you get to hang out with me and Sam.

[00:38:31] Sam Cooke: Well, yeah, with you and Dewitch. Are you giving out autographs on the day?

[00:38:36] Andy Graham: I'll have a gun in my hand, so just be careful. Sam, thank you for joining me on the show today. It's been an absolute pleasure. I always love our catch ups. Wish you and Blue Bricks the best the best of luck into the future, but it's great to see what you've done with the magazine and how successful and how popular you and the magazine have become. And before we sign off, I think I just need to warn you, I think your inbox is going to be full by the time this episode is finished. It's so, um, no, honestly, really appreciate it. Thanks for everything you do and look forward to catching up with you soon.

[00:39:07] Sam Cooke: My pleasure. Thank you so much, Andy.

[00:39:15] Andy Graham: That's it for today's episode, guys. Thank you for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Sam and I. I'm sure you found some value in that. Look, it's pretty clear, isn't it? If you can get yourself featured in major publications like Blue Bricks, Property Magazine. You are going to significantly enhance your opportunities.

[00:39:31] Andy Graham: You're going to find it easier to raise private finance, meet investors, enhance your network and everything else that comes along with that stuff. Look, I'm so grateful that I did that. I found my way into magazines and publications when I was just getting started on the earliest stages of my business, because that turned into so many more opportunities.

[00:39:49] Andy Graham: I'm sure so many of you guys listening today were scribbling down Sam's contact details. His inbox is going to be in undated. I'm sure. Remember, if you want to level things up, head on over to thehmoroadmap.co.uk. That is where you will find in the near future, Sam's masterclass on all of this that we've been discussing today.

[00:40:06] Andy Graham: You'll find dozens of other masterclasses from architects, planning consultants, interior designers, and a whole lot more. You'll find my 60 lesson course on how to find, fund, refurbish, fill with great tenants, and then manage your HMO property business, you'll find the deal stacker, you'll find dozens and dozens of downloadable resources, including loan documents, rent to rent agreements, notice board templates, welcome packs, everything you could possibly need to start, scale and systemise your HMO property business is there and it's waiting for you.

[00:40:34] Andy Graham: It'll cost you less than the price of a cup of coffee every single day. So it's a complete no brainer when you think about how much you could save by just taking advantage of all the stuff that I've already done and paid for you. That's waiting for you to access instantly. And guys, if you have enjoyed today's episode, if you're a regular listener, so, or even if you've just discovered us, but haven't yet managed to leave a review of the show, please, please, please just take 30 seconds to leave a quick review.

[00:40:58] Andy Graham: You can do it on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify. And as I've said many times before, it helps more than you could possibly know. It helps me continue to be able to bring great guests like Sam onto the show. It helps continue to spread the message about all of the great stuff that our community members are doing and slowly, but surely we are changing the narrative around HMOs.

[00:41:16] Andy Graham: If you've got a second to do that, myself and my team would be so incredibly grateful. That's it guys. Thank you once again for tuning in. And don't forget that I'll be right back here in the very same place next week. So please join me then for another installment of the HMO podcast.