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October 13, 2020

The Heart-Centred Entrepreneur’s Guide To Growing Your Business With PR

As a small business owner, right now with everything that’s happening in the world, promoting your business can feel kind of awkward. 

Even without a pandemic or a recession going on, for a lot of business owners the idea of publicising yourself and your work can feel uncomfortable.

Personally, being more on the introverted side, I’ve never been a naturally ‘salesy’ person. Throw in the fact that I’m British, and the thought of blowing my own trumpet used to make me cringe.

But as a former journalist who now works as a PR strategist, I’ve seen first hand just how incredibly powerful being featured in the press can be for a business owner. 

Because as entrepreneurs we need others to know about us. And as someone who offers a solution to others’ issues, be that through coaching, consulting, or providing a service, it’s our duty to speak up so that we can reach the people who can truly benefit from working with us.

Getting featured in the press enables you to get in front of those people. And it does so much for your business:

  • Raises your profile⠀
  • Allows you to become more visible⠀
  • Powerfully positions you as an expert
  • Strengthens your credibility⠀
  • Builds your list⠀
  • Grows your following⠀
  • Builds your authority
  • Leads to more opportunities
  • Attracts more clients
  • Leads to more sales

But I get that it can feel scary or overwhelming.

Fortunately, I’ve learnt that you can publicise your business in a way that feels totally aligned, without the need for any kind of ‘bro marketing’ tactics. In fact you can do it in a way that actually feels good.

  1. Lead with service 

When it comes to pitching journalists and editors, you’ll find that you have way more success if you come at it from a place of service. Before even getting in touch with the press, it’s helpful to get clear on exactly why it is you want publicity for your business. Of course, you want to publicise your business so that you can make more sales and increase your income. But think about the product or service that you sell as well. It’s most likely something can help people, make their lives easier, or bring them joy in some way. Getting featured in the press means you can help way more people, make their lives easier and bring them more joy. So there’s no need to feel uncomfortable about promoting your business. You’re doing amazing things in the world and using the powerful tool that PR is to reach more people, enables you to do even more good.

  1. Focus on how you can help

Instead of focussing on what the journalist can do for you, get clear on how you can help the journalist or editor – I promise this will lead to way more success when it comes to pitching the press. Endear yourself to a journalist by making their life easier: help them out with an expert comment for an article they’re working on, provide them with some useful information for a feature, put a helpful article together sharing your tips and advice, or share a super inspiring story that will resonate with their readers. 

  1. Shift your mindset

If you’re still feeling uncomfortable with the idea of putting yourself out there, shift your mindset around it.

  • Write a list of your achievements and things you’re proud of. As well as making you feel more confident, it’s a great way to get some helpful pointers that you can share with a journalist to showcase your expert credentials
  • Re-read client testimonials – again, this should help you to feel more confident in your abilities but should also give you an idea of stories or case studies that you can potentially share with a journalist
  • Remind yourself what makes you an expert – if you feel unsure about pitching yourself to the press as an expert, make a list of all the things that make you an authority in your field
  • Take action. Sometimes you just need to do the damn thing. Commit to taking action on one thing this week that will get you out there and make you more visible. Write that press release, submit that guest article, apply for that podcast, just do it.

 

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Dina Behrman  |  Contribution: 245