I love quotes....so much so that I have a whole notes section dedicated to them, which I update every time I come across a new one that inspires me. Although the most recent update was "Boundaries are not about saying no to other people. Boundaries are about saying yes to yourself" (Rachel Rodgers), some of my favourites are about success e.g.:
"Success is when preparation meets opportunity"
"Success leaves clues"
One that was recently dropped into my spirit is: "success requires systems" and when I shared it via social media this week, I added in the caption "PR is no different". So, with that in mind, I wanted to share 4 reasons why that's true by discussing mistakes that people make when getting started with PR and what systems you can put in place to avoid them. For example:
#1 Having no end game
A common mistake that people make when it comes to PR is attempting to increase visibility for visibility’s sake. Yes, increased visibility (and therefore exposure to your ideal clients) is “where the money resides” but making it profitable takes planning. Specifically, it takes starting with the end goal in mind (i.e. selling your products or services) and working backwards so that the natural progression for anybody who follows your content is to buy. This is known as a funnel. As such, it’s important to be clear about what your end game is with PR before you begin so that you know what you are aiming for in terms of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
#2 Trying to DIY and hack systems for success
Many female entrepreneurs have a vision of the media outlets that they'd like to be featured in but no idea how to even begin to make that vision a reality. The result? Wasting their most precious commodity- their time- trying to DIY and hack a PR system that hasn't been tried and tested with a proven rate of success. We've already talked about the importance of systems in terms of the backend of PR (funnels) but it's also important to send pitches with the exact language and structure that will set you up for success with editors rather than an influx of ghosting and rejection. That's why I created The Perfect Pitch Packet- the word for word, proven time saving template system that will give you PR success without the risk of trial and error, overwhelm, expense or rejection. Click here to get it now.
#3 Not having a routine
Another common PR mistake is underestimating how much of it’s success relies on establishing a routine, leading to either ad hoc content creation (and therefore pitching) or panic-driven; last minute content creation and pitching. You can avoid this by committing to a schedule of work in terms of how often you will pitch your content (whether it be weekly, biweekly or monthly) and when you will create the content to pitch (whether it be every morning or on a particular day every week).
Other best practices include batching content, which is the process of reserving a particular date/time each week to:
Create multiple pieces of content at once (e.g. 4 articles/pitches which will be pitched every week in a particular month)
Write, send and follow-up on multiple pitches a week (e.g. to podcasts, radio hosts or writing platforms that don't require a full article up-front when being pitched)
This helps to take the pressure off of the PR process so that it’s more organised and less stressful.
#4 Not delegating
Perhaps you are PR-trained but you have no time to implement it? The mistake that most women in this situation make is completely abandoning and neglecting PR altogether (because by the time they finish creating programmes, offers, launching and trying to sell them- there is no time or energy for anything else in their life and business). Trust me, I get it but not prioritising PR is costing you. It's stopping you from:
Making the amount of money that will allow you to have the kind of lifestyle and freedom that you want.
Living out your purpose and feeling fulfilled in life.
But- more than that- it's robbing the people that you are called to serve of achieving the breakthrough that only you are uniquely designed to give them.
You can overcome this by delegating because, as this video from Columbia Business school says, it helps you to "keep workloads under control and to ensure that commitments are achieved efficiently and effectively". Ready to see these benefits in your life and business too? Click here for a full list of PR tasks that you can delegate to me and get off your plate today!