Influential Women Podcast releases PR strategy episode with Jenna Guarneri

By AI, Created 4:56 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – The Influential Women Podcast has released a new episode featuring publicist and author Jenna Guarneri on why founders need public relations from day one. The conversation focuses on how women entrepreneurs can build visibility, credibility, and growth without waiting for a bigger budget.

Why it matters: - The episode frames public relations as infrastructure for founders, not a finish-line expense. - The message is aimed at women entrepreneurs who delay visibility and lose time, income, and growth opportunities. - The conversation offers a practical entry point for early-stage founders with little or no PR budget.

What happened: - The Influential Women Podcast, hosted by Jodie O’Brien, announced a new episode titled “From Zero Budget to Viral: Why Every Founder Needs a PR Strategy.” - The episode features Jenna Guarneri, an award-winning publicist, #1 bestselling author of You Need PR, and founder and CEO of JMG Public Relations. - The episode is available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major podcast platforms.

The details: - Guarneri says many women founders treat visibility as something to earn later, rather than build early. - The episode focuses on why waiting to be noticed can slow down a business before it scales. - Guarneri says she built JMG Public Relations by doing PR for herself first. - Her background includes four features on Good Morning America, a podcast that reached 387,000 streams in its first year, and an expansion of that podcast to television on Roku. - Guarneri has been named to the Forbes Next 1000, serves on the Forbes Business Council, and recently joined the board of Blue Star Families. - Her book, You Need PR, is positioned as a guide for early-stage founders who cannot yet afford a full retainer. - She discusses starting with local and regional coverage, building credibility step by step, and telling a story instead of only describing a business. - Guarneri says founders should use trends authentically rather than chase every viral moment. - She says it took 11 years of consistency before her own work went viral. - She also emphasizes saying yes to unexpected opportunities and celebrating each milestone, from first local coverage to a 10-year mark.

Between the lines: - The episode reflects a broader shift toward treating earned media as an accessible growth tool, not a luxury reserved for established brands. - The focus on women founders points to a common barrier in entrepreneurship: reluctance to promote work before it feels fully polished or fully earned. - The interview also suggests that consistency, not one-time virality, is the core driver of long-term brand recognition.

What’s next: - The episode will continue circulating across podcast platforms as part of Influential Women’s broader media lineup. - Jodie O’Brien and the Influential Women brand are likely to keep centering founder stories tied to leadership, visibility, and career growth. - Guarneri’s PR advice positions early-stage founders to build awareness before they have the budget for a traditional agency relationship.

The bottom line: - The episode’s core message is simple: founders do not need to wait for permission or a big budget to start building visibility.