This week I had the pleasure and privilege of attending the premiere of Lola Atkin's film, "Purple Beatz". One of my favourite lines from the movie was "You don't have to be great to start but starting will lead to greatness".
I loved it so much because it put me in mind of the conversation that I had with Lola and her co-host, Nughe, when I on their podcast a while back. In it I shared
If you've been rocking with me for a while then you'll know that one of my favourite books is "We Should All Be Millionaires" by Rachel Rodgers, as detailed in these Authority Magazine and Black Ballad articles. One of my (many) favourite quotes from Rodgers is:
"If you don't know exactly what you want or are having trouble getting clear on the details, follow your jealousy. The word jealousy derives from the Latin word zealous, which means "full of zeal". In many old languages, the root word for jealousy had a positive connotation and referred to emulation, devotion, or watchfulness. I, too, believe jealousy is a positive thing; it can be a signal of what we want for ourselves".
That's why when the hosts of Let's Pause Podcast asked me how people can decide what platforms are the best ones to pitch to I said:
What’s your favourite movie? If you’re anything like me, you know it like the back of your hand and can literally recite the words to it. Perhaps your favourite movie is even so universally loved that it’s considered a ‘cult classic,’ deriving from its loyal following? As in the film industry, the underlying concept of any devoted following is simply that it’s fans have a shared value system, vision and mission. They then ultimately come together to explore and express those areas of familiarity.
The reality of this in business is that every successful business has one. That customer loyalty and, dare I say, obsession with a brand is what helps to sustain and continue to (organically) grow a business. Apple, Starbucks and Tesla are just a few examples of this because they are major brands that people love and almost seem unable to live without. Developing a following like this needs to be a top priority strategy for every business, in order to be acknowledged and have supporters who will market on your behalf – whether that be by word of mouth, social media or indeed PR. That’s why I’m super excited to share my client Marlyne Pierce’s most recent article, where she gives you the exact steps that need to be taken to create a strong culture for your business.
A huge part of PR success is being visible or showing up for others.
It's pouring out your gifts, talents, wisdom, experience, strategy and energy in order to build good will with your ideal clients and ultimately get them to buy.
The issue with this is that you're a limited resource, sis.
This means that it's also important to make sure that as you're showing up for others, you're also showing up for yourself so that you remain replenished.
Not sure how?
If you've been rocking with me for a while then you'll know that helping women to go from stumped to savvy about how to get PR for their businesses is kind of my jam!
This wasn't the case in the beginning of my journey, though. Although I always knew that I had a call on my life to lead etc, I ran away from being visible for a VERY long time (years!)
I didn't want to come out of hiding.
I preferred to shrink rather than draw attention to myself.
I was afraid to be judged and criticised for sharing my story and my truth.
I didn't feel worthy
And the list goes on...
Yet recently that's exactly what I did on my episode of Let's Pause Podcast. Here's how you can speak up, step out and shine even if you're scared too, sis:
When I first started my blog, I wasn't confident in my writing skills; so I would write my blog posts, record myself reading them and then send them to my friends Isata and Daryl every...single...week. And every single week, they would listen, give me feedback and affirm both me and my talent until I finally got to the point where I was so confident in my abilities that I didn't need to send the voice notes anymore. Now things have come full circle and I get the chance to serve my clients with the very copywriting skills that they helped to nurture via done-for-you PR services and The Perfect Pitch Packet. Through this journey, I have learned the importance of the following for building the confidence needed for PR success:
Have you seen Oprah + Viola: A special Event on Netflix, sis?
If not, it's basically a really great interview between Oprah Winfrey and Viola Davis based on Viola's new autobiography (Finding Me)
There were so many nuggets shared between the 2 ladies throughout but my favourite lines really came from the quotes that they shared about courage
Such as "Courage is the most important of the virtues because without it, you cannot practice anything." (Maya Angelou) and "All courage is, is fear said with prayers." (Anne Lamott)
I loved these lines because they perfectly covey what it takes to gain confidence for PR success…
I recently had an article commissioned by Black Ballad, the UK's leading digital lifestyle subscription for Black women. I wanted to interview Trina Nicole (Body Confidence Advocate, dancer and founder of The Curve Catwalk), among other experts, to get her perspective. However, I was nervous about reaching out to Trina because we'd never interacted with each other prior to this. To help me overcome my anxiety, I journaled using The 5 Whys Technique, starting off by simply acknowledging my feelings- "I'm nervous about approaching Trina Nicole". I then asked myself "why?" and journaled that response: "I'm afraid that she will say 'no,' or worse, ignore me". I then repeated the process of asking myself "why?" 4 more times until I arrived at the root of my fear: "Rejection from her would feel personal; like I'm not good enough or worthy enough to collaborate with".
My ability to get to the root of my fears then allowed me to confront them and think more rational thoughts such as:
Pitch rejections do not define me
My article will be a success with or without her input
If she does say "no" or ignore the email it will most likely not be personal to me but because she's busy or has other life/business priorities
This not only calmed me down, it gave me the confidence needed to approach her. The best part?
