Personal Publicity Tips for Bloggers and Small Business Owners

Who’s ready for some personal PR tips and shameless self-promotion?? And I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about YOU.

As the owner of a Los Angeles PR firm for over a decade, I’m sharing nine personal pr tips that you can use to help get media for your personal brand that were discussed on my episode of The Influencer Podcast with Julie Solomon. Julie’s podcast was the very first podcast that I subscribed to, and it’s become my weekly routine to go for a walk while I listen. One of my clients put it to me perfectly recently, which is to say that the expert and influencer space has become so saturated that the way to stand out now is through traditional media. It all comes full circle!

If you work at all in the influencer space, have interest in brand promotion, public relations strategy, social media and/or digital marketing, you don’t want to miss this. Listen here.

And so you don’t have to take notes, below are all the best takeaways in one place

9 Free Ways to Promote Your Business Straight From the Mouth of a Los Angeles PR Firm Owner

YOUR PHOTOS HOLD THE KEY TO SUCCESS
No matter if you are a blogger or if you are growing a brand, before you pitch yourself to the media, you need to have great photos. I tried three times before I was successful in getting our dinner party press. Take a look at the first dinner party Ragan and I threw. Now, look at the dinner party that got us press on Style Me Pretty. Big difference.
LESS ABOUT YOU, MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN PROVIDE
Lifestyle sites are always looking for great content. It’s up to you to figure out how your brand can offer these sites something useful. A great example of this is the Farmers’ Market Mashup I hosted with my friend Ragan. While the press we got wasn’t as impressive as our dinner party in terms of promoting us, it still got us quality link backs to both of our blogs.
HELP A REPORTER OUT (HARO)
HARO is a service that provides reporters with sources based on what they are writing about and provides daily opportunities for you to secure your own media coverage. Sign up for HARO here.
IT’S ALWAYS WHO YOU KNOW
A huge part of being a publicist is cultivating relationships. I am able to get responses from editors and get answers from show bookers because I have worked with them for years. My clients that are able to get ahead as experts in their field largely rely on building relationships—not only with other experts in their same niche but also the editors who work for media outlets that cover their expertise. Ask all your friends who you think might know people to make introductions.
GET SAVVY ON TWITTER
Both Julie and I agreed that the most valuable connections we have made, we have done through Twitter. I personally think this is because it’s not as over-saturated as other social platforms, it’s easier to find relevant contacts through hashtags, and ultimately people aren’t as likely to be getting thousands of responses. If done right, this is a great way to make connections with editors, reporters, and writers in your sector.
MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE
Whether you are pitching yourself to the media, or cold reaching out to someone for a collaboration, come to the table with the idea completely hashed out and let them know how they benefit immediately. If you pitch yourself and say ‘I hope you will feature me’ or ‘I hope we can collaborate,’ that is way too vague. Be specific.
KNOW YOUR COMPETITION
Research writers and reporters who have written about people who are like you. It will give you a place to start when you reach out to media and you’ll already know that they are interested in your topic.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
It’s not enough to research one issue of a magazine or one article someone wrote. You will have way more success if you know ahead of time who is interested in brands or experts like you.
UTILIZE LINKEDIN
Because I own a PR firm, I subscribe to a very expensive media database. When I can’t find a certain contact on that database, I turn to Linkedin. Just always send a thoughtful note when requesting someone’s connection.