Are you Ready for PR? In Order to see Success, This is what you REALLY need.
The question I hear most often from entrepreneurs and founders… finally answered.
I often am asked by entrepreneurs and business owners, “How do I know if I’m ready for PR?” I understand the hesitation. Public relations has long seemed like a special service reserved for big brands with deep pockets, or celebrities who need to “control their image.” But you don’t need to be or have any of these things to start public relations work and be successful at it.
Whether you plan on implementing PR strategies yourself or working with an agency to get the job done, here are the things you really need to be successful in public relations:
A great mindset & determination - Going into your PR work having a positive mindset, an openness to what is to come and the strength to keep going are top priority. Starting public relations because you are desperate, with skepticism or with a grudge is not going to to help you get the incredible attention your brand deserves. Do some research on what PR entails, learn more about the processes, and get comfortable starting something new. NOTE - being nervous around starting PR is TOTALLY okay. It is a public marketing tactic after all, meaning if you haven’t been out in front of people before you may feel a little woozy at the prospect. Take it one step at a time, and embrace the nervousness as excitement.
Be present in the process - I can’t tell you how many times in my 15 year career I’ve had clients sign on for PR services and then practically GHOST, letting us do the work with little to no participation. While you can certainly still see some results this way, it’s nothing compared to those clients who are totally in on the work, standing with us side by side as we create new media pitches, interview with editors, come up with creative angles and work on brand storytelling. Being present and available in your public relations work will lead to not only more results, but stronger media placements that let your brand story sing. If you’re DIY’ing your PR, this could look like not simply copy & pasting a pitch from a PR guru you found or the email that you’ve used 15 times already. Make it unique to you, ground into what your values are, and share it with the world.
Have a brand story you love, or one you are willing to work on - Public relations work does involve a lot of storytelling. This is to help invite your audience in and to start feeling emotions and connection with the brand. Simply stating facts about what your product or service does unfortunately does not work for PR in 2023. People want to have a relationship with their brands these days - they want to be able to recommend them to friends, rely on brands with confidence, and bring them in on their daily lives. To start that incredible bond, you need a brand story you believe and can shout from the rooftops. If you’re not sure you have one, look to a PR leader to help you.
Be in it for the journey - Public Relations is a long game, as many of the good things in life are 🙂. You will send pitches that go unanswered, invites that are denied, dream placements that seem out of reach. But you build your awareness over time, and with each pitch you send, you are becoming more relevant to the media and to their audience. Be open to learning each day, and changing your strategy when need be. I’ve seen INCREDIBLE things happen for my clients and students when they committed to the journey of PR, including landing TODAY show segments, Food & Wine shoutouts, and partnerships with top companies.
Honestly, this is all you need to start PR - notice I don’t say ANYTHING about a particular budget, client demographic, or current audience size. This is because I’ve seen success from such a variety of businesses, from one-woman start-ups to household names - they all can be featured in the same magazine, website or TV show.
The easiest way to get started is just DOING the thing. My PR course Vision to Voice gives you all you need to DIY your PR strategy in a unique way to YOU and your brand, using proven tactics that come from years in agency life. You can sign up for that waitlist here.
And if you think you want a little more hands-on experience, send us an email at team@megandrosigliopr.com to talk about our VIP day and Luxe Account Management offering. We’re currently taking on new clients!
