PR Mastermind
Have you always thought that PR should be left to the professionals?
Well, think again….
With no help and no training, I managed to get my first piece of media exposure as an expert guest for Talk Sport Radio!!
Amazing right?
I thought so!
Did I have some sort of superpower, or the ability to snake charm my way in or possibly an unfair advantage?
Honestly, the answer is yes!
What was the advantage?
Networking!
I happened to have met the producer of the show some weeks prior and when a spot came up that centred around my niche, guess who got the first call? Moi!
Why me?
Because I was super clear on who I am, what I do and what I can offer by the way of content.
Did the sales come flooding in as a result of my awesome interview? Hell no!!
In fact, all I heard was crickets.
Why?
Because I wasn’t PR ready!!!!!
What’s being PR ready I hear you say?
In my book, being PR ready means getting all your ducks in a row. It means having all your assets in order, your message is on point, you understand how to reach out to people, how to connect with people and ultimately leave an awesome impression.
Surely everyone gets how to do that?
Wrong!
Even I needed to refine my skills a bit and I continue to do so!
Whilst many think that PR means getting into the media, to me that’s the end result of actually being ready for media coverage, having all your assets in order and having your mindset in the right place for this too.
When I reached out to other media outlets after my exciting appearance, despite peacocking the fact that I had just been on Talk Sport, no one cared. My presence wasn’t on point and it wasn’t until I actually got everything on point, that things really started to happen for both me and my media journey.
But wait, I didn’t just magically know how this media shizzle comes together out of nowhere. I did actually and genuinely contemplate working with a PR agency in the first instance and for them to do all the heavy lifting and to exercise their PR prowess on my behalf.
It was only in summer 2015 that I even decided that I no longer wanted to be a well-kept secret. So I set about talking to various agencies, who then wanted to charge me somewhere between £2,000 – £6,000 a month for doing my press outreach. And the biggest kicker of all, was when they advised that it could take 3-6 months of investment to get any kind of decent coverage. That means to gamble a minimum of between £6,000 and £18,000 in the hope that their magic may work in my favour. To say that I baulked at the cost was an understatement.
I did the math and was like, there is no way that I can ever justify or recoup such an investment
I set about figuring this out for myself and by myself because ya know, how hard can this PR stuff be, right?
Wrong!
I made some boo, boos, but boy did I learn a thing or two as well as a trick or two along the way.
Once I had those lovely and oh no necessary little duckies in a row, my first telephone call landed me a headline piece in Female and it took all of 2 weeks to see the result of that breezy telephone call.
Did I have a script?
No!
Did I exercise the power of authentic relationship building coupled with an easy story proposition?
Yes!
3 -6 months these agencies said!
Yeah right stick that in ya pipe and go do you know what with it.
My taste for DIY PR was born and I have been learning how to generate media exposure in a quicker, smarter and smoother fashion ever since. I have also been learning how to capitalise on all my media opportunities too.
What’s that?
Well, my lovely, there really is no point putting yourself out there for the big wide world to see and then not capture leads, get enquires, make sales or generate more media interest now is there?
Oh, but how many PR people are marketing savvy and tell you about all that?
With my longstanding Social Media and Internet Marketing background, it was pretty easy to think of ways to captivate my audience’s attention once they found me.
In 2.5 years I went from a blip on the map, a total unknown, to being asked onto channel 5 news. Between those 2 points, I have had my own slot on the radio as a regular expert, have been called in as the expert to LBC radio, have been featured on international news outlets, been on top podcasts with little to no effort, been in the glossies and the nationals.
I have been in nearly every media outlet I could ever have hoped for and more and, I did it all by myself.
So, now it’s your turn to make the decision.
Would you:
- Like to pay someone else to do all the heavy lifting for you with your PR
- Like to get PR ready and get some PR understanding so that when you do come to work with a PR person you know how it works, what you’re doing and what to expect?
- Like to work with me so that I can hold your hand and show YOU how to do this and take charge of the visibility that you create for your business?
If you want to know what it’s like working with me, then click here to see what Mark had to say after just one session of working with me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
