I had so many people that were like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Could you just do it? And it took me a while to kind of come to terms with that. And I decided, OK, I am going to do this, but I'm going to do it my way.”
In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with Christina Lenkowski, founder of Publicity by Christina, to unpack how a single shift in strategy—podcast guesting—completely transformed her business. After more than a decade in traditional PR, Christina realized that being a guest on podcasts was driving more visibility, credibility, and revenue than any other tactic she’d tried. That insight led her to pivot her entire business model and build a thriving agency that has now secured over 1,000 top-rated podcast bookings for clients.
Christina shares her journey from freelancing in tourism PR to navigating the “course bubble,” and ultimately finding her lane by trusting her instincts and leaning into what actually worked. She opens up about the realities of entrepreneurship—experimenting, pivoting, setting boundaries, and learning to tune out the noise of outside opinions in favor of your own intuition.
What We Talked About:
Transforming Business Through Podcasting [3:00]
Setting Boundaries and Trusting Your Gut [9:08]
Building Relationships and Networking [15:02]
Evolving Offers and Client Needs [20:52]
Pitching Strategies and Best Practices [26:57]
Connect with Christina:
@publicityxchristina on Instagram
Christina Lenkowski on LinkedIn
Hey Bitch, Let’s Pitch
Take the podcast publicity quiz
Connect with Ingrid:
@itsingridsworld on Instagram
Ingrid Zapata-Read on Linkedin
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Guests
Christina Lenkowski
Hosts
Ingrid Zapata Read
Ingrid Zapata Read is a community strategist and founder of Grow With Community. She helps businesses get closer to the people they serve and build stronger, more intentional relationships around their mission.
After building a global community for moms of over 200,000 members, and through her experience in sales, startups, and customer experience, Ingrid brings a people-first perspective to growth across industries. She’s known for her thoughtful, practical approach and believes community building should be a part of every business strategy.
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