Though publicists are certainly useful if you want to get an inside scoop on an industry based around who you know, there is no reason that you can’t build up your own relationship with the press by yourself. The key is to make things easy for the people you want to write about you and do a lot of the work yourself.
So, here are 5 things you can do right now.
Networking
If you want to make a splash in an industry, you really need to know as many people as possible. This is where networking comes in. Get yourself some cards and know what your mission statement is going to be that day. Set yourself some targets: how many people are you going to talk to? How many people are you going to give cards to? How many cards do you want to receive?
Use Social Media Like a Pro
Make sure that you follow lots of relevant people in your industry on social platforms like Twitter and post regularly. Actually, Twitter is great for this because it is just informal enough to make conversation feel more natural. When someone follows you back (especially an editor or journalist) make sure you send them a personal message introducing yourself and ask if they would like to hear about your work. This is the best way to get their attention and show that you have something interesting about you.
Make Yourself Newsworthy
If you don’t have anything to tell people then there is no way you are going to get any publicity. The first rule of publicity is that you need something to publicize! You don’t have to make things up or do things just because they will bring you publicity, instead you should think about what makes your brand so unique and then see where the stories come from naturally. For example, hiring a new team is a good story or releasing a summer collection is another one.
Write Your Own Press Releases
If you have some exciting news to share, write it into a press release and then send it to the most relevant editors in your industry’s media. Rather than share with just anyone, do some research to make sure that you are sending to the right person. The rule here is quality not quantity so you may need to write a couple of different versions of your PR to make it more likely that it will be used.
Always be Ready with a Portfolio
When an opportunity comes along, you don’t want to miss out because you weren’t ready. Having a portfolio that you keep up to date will make things a lot easier. Keep track of recent successes, new products or services, what makes your brand different and a few stories you can share. You should also have plenty of images you can share in case a publisher only wants unpublished pictures. With this in mind, update your photography regularly including headshots, product pictures and other relevant images.
