MY PHILOSOPHY
The right visibility changes everything.
I started this business because I kept meeting brilliant people who were getting terrible PR advice. They'd hire agencies, pay thousands a month, and have nothing to show for it. Or they'd try to do it themselves and get nowhere.
It was super frustrating to watch because I could tell these experts had so much to offer — but they just couldn’t break through and reach the right people.
I'd spent 15 years working inside America's top newsrooms and training working journalists. I knew what reporters actually respond to and how to build an engaged audience online. A professional speaker myself, I also knew what it takes to land a stage and get paid well for it.
In 2022, I launched my done-with-you program, Empowered PR. Today, it is the only program in the United States that empowers experts to gain attention across media, podcasts, social media, and stages without hiring a publicist or PR agency.
My clients include doctors, scientists, futurists, founders, inventors, executives, creatives, academics, authors, and more. It is an absolute privilege to work with and learn from every one of them.
MY CLIENTS HAVE LANDED COVERAGE IN
MY BIO
About Tracy Samantha Schmidt
I am a visibility and PR strategist to influential entrepreneurs, bestselling authors, speakers, artists, and all kinds of brands — helping them earn attention, build reputations, and get chosen faster.
I began my career as TIME Magazine's youngest reporter, covering the rise of social media and pioneering new ways to report the news. My master's thesis also ran in TIME and was covered by The Today Show, Oprah, MTV, and Vogue.
I later co-founded ChicagoNow.com, the Chicago Tribune’s groundbreaking influencer network, co-created a radio show on WGN, and served as a media executive at Crain Communications, where I led global social media strategy, unifying efforts across 18 newsrooms and training hundreds of journalists.
I have also been a frequent TV commentator on ABC, CBS, and FOX, spoken at dozens of conferences, and taught personal branding to thousands of professionals.
A passionate educator, I spent a decade teaching marketing at the University of Chicago and have also taught graduate-level journalism. Additionally, I designed and led social media training programs for TV newsrooms for the National Association of Broadcasters.
After advising more than 150 brands on marketing and communications, I developed Empowered PR to create an accessible alternative to expensive PR agencies.
A Chicago-area native, I live in the heart of Michigan's Upper Peninsula with my husband.
Select clients
Aether Biomedical • Advocate Healthcare • American Library Association • American Society of Anesthesiologists • Brightpoint • The Chicago Network • Crain Communications • Gundir • i.c.stars • Institute for Nonviolence Chicago • Keenan Reid Strategies • Kin + Carta • Kin Insurance • National Association of Broadcasters • National Association of Realtors • NORC • Oliva Capital • Origin Investments • Rotary International • The Joffrey Ballet • Unify America • University of Chicago • University of Illinois • YPO •
Since 2010, I have advised over 200 brands on their marketing and communications, including: