Maria Eilersen is the founder of Be Conscious PR, a public relations consultancy serving impact-driven entrepreneurs and small businesses. Eilersen is also a part-time yoga teacher and operates a 1:1 PR coaching program that teaches business owners to handle their own media relations. Her clients have landed coverage in the New York Times, Forbes, and CNBC International.
The Interview
Q: Tell us about Be Conscious PR. What made you decide to go out on your own?
A: After returning from a career break solo traveling around Central America and training as a yoga teacher, I started freelancing as a PR consultant. One of my first clients was an incredible team of women hiring me to promote the launch of their intersectional feminist travel publication, Unearth Women. I felt connected to their mission, and as a result, I landed some of the highest-profile coverage in my career, including features in the New York Times and Forbes. That's when I realized I could stay in PR without sacrificing my yogic values by working with startups and entrepreneurs who want to make a positive impact — which planted the seed that eventually became Be Conscious PR.
Q: How are you different from other agencies?
A: In addition to working with impact-driven business owners, what sets my agency apart is I also teach them how to do their own PR. I offer a done-for-you option for brands that want to outsource media relations, plus a 1:1 PR coaching program empowering entrepreneurs to be their own publicists. PR is the most cost-effective way to grow your business and make an impact. Business owners can leverage the media on their own until they've scaled to a place where they can hire an agency.
Q: What does it mean to be conscious in PR?
A: PR without integrity is ineffective. Yet PR gets a bad rap, often seen as the profession that puts a positive spin on bad news or helps companies make empty promises. A conscious approach to PR means being aware, awake, and intentional. It asks brands to be mindful of the impact their products or services have on the world, to reflect that in their communications, and to demonstrate their values through action. To be conscious, you need to be mission-driven, sense-check your content, be authentic, check your bias, and be transparent.
Q: How did you find your first clients?
A: I leaned into my network, approached the small businesses I thought could use my services, and made sure everyone in my community knew what I was doing. Personal recommendations go a long way, especially when you're first starting out, and I still get clients through word of mouth. I also prioritized media outreach on behalf of Be Conscious PR to build my credibility as a founder, PR coach, and agency owner.
Q: How has the pandemic impacted the way you run your agency?
A: In a lot of ways, the pandemic showcased the power of PR. When Covid first hit, marketing campaigns were scrapped because promoting products without acknowledging the new normal would've appeared tone deaf. In PR, our job is always to position stories to be newsworthy and relevant to the media cycle. A client was featured in CNBC International sharing how they moved their business model online. The pandemic also normalized remote working, which was how I had always envisioned running my agency.
Q: How does teaching PR to entrepreneurs impact agency retention?
A: It's unsustainable for an entrepreneur to do their own PR long-term, but it's a way for them to get a taste of what's possible and scale to a place where they can afford to outsource. Plus, having more business owners understand how PR works will make for far better agency clients.
Maria Eilersen is the founder of Be Conscious PR , a public relations consultancy serving impact-driven entrepreneurs and small businesses. Eilersen is also a part-time yoga teacher and operates a 1:1 PR coaching program that teaches business owners to handle their own media relations. Her clients have landed coverage in the New York Times, Forbes, and CNBC International. The Interview Q: Tell us about Be Conscious PR. What made you decide to go out on your own?
A: After returning from a career break solo traveling around Central America and training as a yoga teacher, I started freelancing as a PR consultant. One of my first clients was an incredible team of women hiring me to promote the launch of their intersectional feminist travel publication, Unearth Women. I felt connected to their mission, and as a result, I landed some of the highest-profile coverage in my career, including features in the New York Times and Forbes. That's when I realized I could stay in PR without sacrificing my yogic values by working with startups and entrepreneurs who want to make a positive impact — which planted the seed that eventually became Be Conscious PR.
Q: How are you different from other agencies?
A: In addition to working with impact-driven business owners, what sets my agency apart is I also teach them how to do their own PR. I offer a done-for-you option for brands that want to outsource media relations, plus a 1:1 PR coaching program empowering entrepreneurs to be their own publicists. PR is the most cost-effective way to grow your business and make an impact. Business owners can leverage the media on their own until they've scaled to a place where they can hire an agency.
Q: What does it mean to be conscious in PR?
A: PR without integrity is ineffective. Yet PR gets a bad rap, often seen as the profession that puts a positive spin on bad news or helps companies make empty promises. A conscious approach to PR means being aware, awake, and intentional. It asks brands to be mindful of the impact their products or services have on the world, to reflect that in their communications, and to demonstrate their values through action. To be conscious, you need to be mission-driven, sense-check your content, be authentic, check your bias, and be transparent.
Q: How did you find your first clients?
A: I leaned into my network, approached the small businesses I thought could use my services, and made sure everyone in my community knew what I was doing. Personal recommendations go a long way, especially when you're first starting out, and I still get clients through word of mouth. I also prioritized media outreach on behalf of Be Conscious PR to build my credibility as a founder, PR coach, and agency owner.
Q: How has the pandemic impacted the way you run your agency?
A: In a lot of ways, the pandemic showcased the power of PR. When Covid first hit, marketing campaigns were scrapped because promoting products without acknowledging the new normal would've appeared tone deaf. In PR, our job is always to position stories to be newsworthy and relevant to the media cycle. A client was featured in CNBC International sharing how they moved their business model online. The pandemic also normalized remote working, which was how I had always envisioned running my agency.
Q: How does teaching PR to entrepreneurs impact agency retention?
A: It's unsustainable for an entrepreneur to do their own PR long-term, but it's a way for them to get a taste of what's possible and scale to a place where they can afford to outsource. Plus, having more business owners understand how PR works will make for far better agency clients. Learn more about Maria Eilersen and Be Conscious PR at beconsciouspr.com or Instagram @beconsciouspr.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
