02 Oct 5 beliefs about PR that you need to ditch
I’ve noticed some misconceptions about PR in conversations with business owners who have shown an interest in my PR coaching services. The same fears/blocks come up time and time again, so I thought I’d tackle them head-on. They are:
- It’s not for me – many of the business owners I’ve spoken to appreciate the benefits of PR but think it is for others, those who are more special, important and gifted than them. That’s not true. You think they are elevated because they have media coverage and THAT is exactly why people employ PR professionals like me to publicise their business. They may not be the best at what they do, but when they’ve been PR’d, everybody thinks they are. PR is for everyone. The media reflects the world we live in (or at least it’s supposed to) and you are part of that. PR is for anyone brave enough to work out what their story/field of expertise is and start reaching out to the media. Journalists aren’t judging you – they only care about finding great stories.
- It’s expensive – true, PR can be expensive. You wouldn’t get much change out of £5,000 a month from a PR agency running a low-budget campaign. However, I started offering PR coaching because I met so many solopreneurs who wanted PR but couldn’t afford agency rates. My prices start at £39 for my Fame in 15 course which teaches you the fastest and easiest route to PR and it includes a free pitch edit for £150. The last person who bought my pitch edit ended up with a picture byline in Metro which is seen by 50 million people a month!
- You need contacts in the media – having contacts in the media helps but it’s not essential. Very often friends turn down stories about my clients. It doesn’t matter if they are friend or foe, all they care about is a good story. If it’s not right for their publication/programme, they’ll turn it down, even if they owe me several favours! I spend a lot of my time reaching out to journalists I don’t know and have to rely on presenting my story in an eye-catching, easy-to-understand and impactful way.
- It’s not worth the effort – people often ask me ‘But what do I get out of it?’ What you get is visibility. MailOnline has 350 million unique monthly visitors – that’s five times the entire population of the UK. How else will you get in front of that many pairs of eyes? It also inspires trust. Admit it, you always feel reassured when you visit someone’s website and read the ‘As seen in..’ section. BBC, The Guardian, Ideal Home… The backing of some of the UK’s biggest media outlets tells people that you are one of the best. Links on online sites also boost your domain authority – i.e. it makes it easier for people to find you when they use a search engine. In my experience, when business owners start appearing in the media as experts in their chosen field, it gives other journalists the green light to use them. That’s why you often see the same names and faces appearing across the media. Do you really want your competitors to get all the attention?
- It takes too much time – yes, PR is a long game, but I firmly believe you can get great media coverage by spending 15 minutes a day on your PR. That’s the method I teach in my Fame in 15 course. Consistency is key. Trust me, if you keep following my advice and reaching out to the media, you WILL get results…unless you are rude, use too much sales speak in your pitches, clog up a journalist’s inbox with your hi-res photos or refuse to boil your story down into a single sentence headline but we’ll save that for another blog shall we?
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