Who’s up for some personal PR tips and a little shameless self-promotion? And I’m not talking about myself here. I’m talking about YOU.
As the owner of a PR agency in Los Angeles for over a decade, I’m sharing nine personal PR tips to help you gain media exposure for your personal brand—these were discussed in my episode of “The Influencer Podcast” with Julie Solomon. Julie’s podcast was the very first one I subscribed to, and it’s become part of my weekly routine to go for a walk while listening to it. One of my clients recently summed it up perfectly: The expert and influencer space is now so oversaturated that the only way to stand out from the crowd today is through traditional media. It all comes full circle!
If you work in the influencer space or are interested in brand promotion, PR strategies, social media, and/or digital marketing, you won’t want to miss this. Listen here.
And so you don’t have to take notes, I’ve summarized the key takeaways in one place below
9 Free Ways to Promote Your Business Straight From the Mouth of a Los Angeles PR Firm Owner
1.YOUR PHOTOS ARE THE KEY TO SUCCESS
Whether you’re a blogger or building a brand: Before you pitch to the media, you need great photos. I tried three times before I managed to get press coverage for our dinner party. Take a look at the first dinner party Ragan and I hosted. And now take a look at the dinner party that landed us an article on Style Me Pretty. A huge difference.
2. LESS ABOUT YOU, MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN OFFER
Lifestyle websites are always on the lookout for great content. It’s up to you to figure out how your brand can offer something valuable to these websites. A great example of this is the “Farmers’ Market Mashup” that I hosted together with my friend Ragan. Even though the coverage we received wasn’t as impressive in terms of advertising as our dinner party, it still earned us high-quality backlinks to both of our blogs.
3.HELP A REPORTER OUT (HARO)
HARO is a service that connects reporters with sources for their stories and gives you a daily opportunity to secure your own media presence. Sign up for HARO here.
4.IT ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO WHO YOU KNOW
A key part of the job as a PR manager is building and maintaining relationships. I get feedback from editors and responses from show bookers because I’ve been working with them for years. My clients who are able to establish themselves as experts in their field focus above all on building relationships—not only with other experts in the same niche, but also with the editors who work for media outlets that cover their field. Ask all your friends who you think might know people who could introduce you.
5.BECOME A TWITTER PRO
Both Julie and I agreed that we’ve made our most valuable connections through Twitter. Personally, I believe this is because it’s not as crowded as other social platforms, it’s easier to find relevant contacts through hashtags, and ultimately, people don’t get thousands of replies as easily. If you do it right, this is a great way to connect with editors, reporters, and writers in your industry.
6.MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE
Whether you’re introducing yourself to the media or reaching out to someone out of the blue about a collaboration: present a fully developed idea and make it immediately clear how the other party stands to benefit. If you introduce yourself and say, “I hope you’ll cover me” or “I hope we can work together,” that’s far too vague. Be specific.
7.KNOW YOUR COMPETITION
Research writers and reporters who have already written about people similar to you. This gives you a starting point when approaching the media, and you already know they’re interested in your topic.
8.RESEARCH THOROUGHLY
It’s not enough to just look through a single issue of a magazine or a single article. You’ll be much more successful if you know in advance who is interested in brands or experts like you.
9.USE LINKEDIN
Since I own a PR agency, I subscribe to a very expensive media database. If I can’t find a specific contact in that database, I turn to LinkedIn. Just make sure to always send a thoughtful message when you ask someone to connect.
