We were lucky to catch up with Diane Foy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Diane, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I don’t think I found my purpose so much as eventually recognized it.
I’ve had a very multi-passionate career. I’ve been a photographer, makeup artist, journalist, artist manager, publicist and now a personal branding and visibility coach. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about purpose. I just knew I wanted to be part of the arts and entertainment world, so I kept finding different ways to be in it.
To other people, my career probably looked like I was constantly changing direction. But I always knew there was a thread connecting everything I did, even if I didn’t yet have the language for it. Whether I was taking someone’s photograph, doing their makeup, managing their career or getting them media attention, I was helping them shine.
It wasn’t until I became a coach and started doing the deeper personal branding work myself that I really understood the value of that thread and learned how to express it in a way other people could understand too.
That experience now shapes the work I do. I love helping creatives look at all the seemingly disconnected pieces of who they are, what they’ve done, what they care about and what they’re good at, and find the thread running through it all. From there, they can build a personal brand and pursue their purpose with strategies that actually fit who they are.
Sometimes your purpose isn’t something you need to go out and find. It’s something you can recognize by looking back at what has been there all along.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Today, I’m a personal branding and visibility coach for creatives and multi-passionates who don’t necessarily fit neatly into one box. I also continue to work as an entertainment publicist, drawing on more than 20 years of experience promoting artists, actors, musicians and other creative projects.
Over those years in PR, I realized that visibility alone isn’t enough. I could get someone publicity, teach them how to pitch themselves, create content or get in front of more people, but if they weren’t clear about who they were, what they stood for and what made them different, those opportunities could only take them so far.
That realization led me to create the Superfan Attraction™ Method, which follows a simple philosophy: Inner Work. Branding. Visibility. In That Order.
What excites me most about this work is helping people uncover what’s already there. We explore their stories, values, strengths, experiences and all the different parts of who they are, then connect those pieces into a personal brand that feels like them. From there, visibility becomes less about trying to get attention and more about giving the right people something meaningful to connect with.
I’m especially passionate about this for multi-passionate creatives because I know what it’s like to have people look at a varied career and wonder how any of it fits together. I don’t believe the answer is always to pick one thing and leave the rest behind. Often, the more interesting work is finding the thread that connects it all.
That’s also why I talk about attracting superfans. I’m not interested in helping people collect the most followers. A superfan might be a client, collaborator, journalist, industry supporter or someone who recommends you when you’re not in the room. They’re the people who understand and believe in what you do enough to champion it.
Publicity is still part of that work for me. When an artist or creative has a strong foundation and is ready for greater visibility, I love putting my publicist hat back on and helping them get their work and stories in front of the right media and audiences. To me, coaching and publicity aren’t separate worlds. They’re different parts of the same journey.
Right now, I’m continuing to develop the Superfan Attraction™ Academy and expanding the ways I help creatives do this work through coaching, publicity and accessible resources they can use on their own.
Ultimately, I want creatives to understand that they don’t have to become someone else to build a powerful personal brand or get noticed. The strongest foundation is already there. We just have to uncover it, understand it and learn how to communicate it.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I’d say resourcefulness, the ability to see connections, and resilience.
Resourcefulness has probably been one of my greatest strengths throughout my career. If I don’t know how to do something, my instinct is to research it, ask questions, experiment and figure it out. I’ve worked in industries that are constantly changing, and I’ve never believed that not knowing something today means I can’t learn it tomorrow.
I’m also very good at seeing connections between things that can initially seem unrelated. That applies to my own multi-passionate career, but it’s also a big part of how I work with other people. I listen closely. I can often see the connection between someone’s experiences, interests, strengths and stories before they can. What looks scattered on the surface often has a very clear thread underneath it.
And then there’s resilience. I’ve been knocked down more times than I would have liked, personally and professionally. Things haven’t always worked out the way I hoped, and I’ve had to reinvent myself more than once. But I keep going. I’m very clear about why I do what I do and the impact I want to have, so quitting has never really felt like an option.
That would probably be my biggest advice to someone early in their journey: spend time figuring out your purpose and, more importantly, your why. Not just what you want to accomplish, but why it matters enough to you to keep going when things get difficult.
That clarity drives so much else. It gives you a reason to be resourceful when you don’t know the answer, resilient when things don’t go as planned, and curious enough to keep looking for connections and possibilities you might otherwise miss.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
My ideal client is an artist, creative or multi-passionate person who has something meaningful they want to contribute, but may be struggling to bring all the pieces of who they are together in a way that makes sense to other people.
They’re often talented and experienced, with a lot of interests, ideas and things they could do. They don’t necessarily need another person telling them to pick one thing or squeeze themselves into a niche. They need clarity around the thread that connects everything and the confidence to own it.
I especially love working with people who are curious and open to doing the deeper work. They may come to me wanting more visibility, better messaging or publicity, but they’re willing to explore the stories, values, beliefs, strengths and motivations underneath all of that.
They also care about genuine connection. They’re not looking for tricks to get the most followers or attention as quickly as possible. They want the right people to understand their work, connect with it and ultimately champion it.
And whether I’m working with someone on their personal brand or representing them as a publicist, I love clients who are collaborative. I can bring strategy, perspective, experience and connections, but the magic happens when they’re willing to bring themselves fully into the process too.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Diane Foy
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
