How Stephanie used PR to launch her consulting career and become well known in her industry and (and how you can too)

If you are an entrepreneur, small business owner or consultant, chances are that you have seen one of your competitors get published in the media. Have you ever wondered, how did they do that? How did they get that?

There was likely a PR professional behind-the-scenes making that happen. But how exactly do outsiders tap into PR? Well, as you will read below, it’s not so elusive for professionals out there who are experts in their industry desiring more recognition and credibility.

Think you don’t have the time to even consider PR an option for taking your expertise or business to the next level?

Meet Stephanie. She thought the same thing…

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“I need to build credibility in my space so media outlets are calling me - I am the expert, but nobody knows who I am!”

Does this sound like you? 

PR can be difficult and intimidating to navigate if you’ve never been published before, but it’s one of the most effective ways to build credibility and authority, and position yourself as an expert in your industry. 

Now, what if you could give yourself a head start on how to use PR to impact your bottom line, getting you leads? Sales? Customers? Brand awareness? Credibility? 

What if you knew how to talk to reporters, and were able to give them what they wanted, without them having to ask? 

Imagine already learning the hard lessons because you had the help of a professional that has either made mistakes, or learned from colleagues during their years of getting their clients wins in the press?

Better yet - what if you could get the hand-holding of two PR experts with a combined 15 years of experience, without paying an arm and a leg for a PR firm, which is usually 5- figures per month?

Trying to figure out just this, was one of our clients, Stephanie. Stephanie was trying to figure out how to make it into influential publications and gain recognition for her pro skills. Stephanie had been working in the wine industry for 10 years. When it came to the industry, she knew what she was talking about. She knew a great deal about the space, but couldn’t figure out how to share her knowledge with the world, and felt confined working for somebody else. 

Stephanie also had dreams. The kind that included entrepreneurship and personal freedom.

Years down the road, she couldn’t see herself beholden to anybody else’s schedule but her own. A future where she went out on her own. She loved the idea, craved the end result, but had no idea where to begin. How would she get clients? How would people know she was a trustworthy and credible source?

Like most budding entrepreneurs, she desired ownership over all the great things she planned to do. She wanted recognition for it. She knew she needed to establish herself in the wine industry space in her own right.

But, she didn’t. She didn’t budge. For a long-time she kept this desire in the back of her mind. She would say to herself “I’m not ready …yet,” or “Later. Now just isn’t the time.” 

One day, while talking to an old friend, Stephanie went on and on about her dreams and in the same sentence, dismissed them because the timing wasn’t right. 

Her friend asked: “But Stephanie, when will you be ready?” 

The question hit home. She had no reasonable answer. Actually, there wasn’t an answer at all. She asked herself, “What’s going to make me ready? Nothing. Won’t this become a daily long term commitment no matter when I start? In this case, isn’t starting sooner, better?”

At best, the timeline she’d been holding onto was an arbitrary timeline. At worst, it was holding her back from fulfilling her goals to establish her own professional independence. 

That was her wake up call. Stephanie decided to take action and use a tried and true process that would help her gain credibility and authority. She chose a process that would teach her how to write eye-catching content, the art of talking to (and pitching) reporters and help put her name [and company] get in the lights.

In that moment, Stephanie went from “someday” to “today,” and gave herself permission to start. This was an enormous roadblock, which is often the hardest milestone to overcome for aspiring writers and entrepreneurs.

We’ve broken down this roadblock and a couple others that Stephanie had to first overcome in order to change her mindset and move forward with her entrepreneurial goals:

Challenge 1: “It’s just not the right time.” 

HABIT: Stephanie spent a lot of time thinking about going out on her own, starting her own business and setting it all up. However, entrepreneurship requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work, day in and day out. Stephanie kept waiting for a break. Meanwhile, the break wasn’t coming. 

OUTCOME: Stephanie started a proven process to kick start writing her own guest posts for publications. The revelation was that starting now, even it if was at her own pace with a full-time job, was bound to serve her goals of being her own boss.

Challenge 2: “I’ve never been a guest writer anywhere. I’m not sure if I’m a good writer. It’s going to suck if I try. Why bother?”

HABIT: Stephanie is forgetting that she is already an expert in her field. With guidance from her coaches, Stephanie practiced drafting summaries for writing topics. She then shared it with colleagues for critiques and made changes before sending it to the press.

OUTCOME: Stephanie now knows what it takes to write a winning abstract that is pitch- and press-worthy. The most thrilling part though is that she has the confidence to apply her knowledge of the wine world and point out she has something helpful to share. 

Challenge 3: “I have no clue how to talk to or pitch reporters, what if I say the wrong thing?” 

HABIT: This is a valid concern. Pitching editors for the first time is a scary thing to do. And, all reporters don’t follow the same universal guidelines. Stephanie learned though that the way to pitching a reporter was accessible by and through key learnings she was able to efficiently use her research time to read on what would best serve her success with editors. 

OUTCOME: Stephanie reached out to an editor at her top target publication and and got her first win! Why? She did her homework. Because of her research, Stephanie was aware this particular publication carried clout and influence within her industry. Just as important, the people subscribing to this publication were the exact people Stephanie wanted to educate and help. Based off this first email, Stephanie started a conversation with the editor, who said they would welcome a guest post from her.

In just one month, Stephanie went from a wine-business aficionado feeling adrift with her career goals to someone building credibility and influence by accessing hundreds and thousands of people at a time through publications’ audiences.

She saw where she wanted to go and started giving herself permission to make it happen by: 

1. Getting started. Because making a decision to move forward is 100 percent better than marking your days with indecision. 
2. Seeking the help of people who knew more than her about pitching. Sure there was a skill set Stephanie needed, by asking the right people she was well on her way to learning how to write guest commentary. 

Researching the publications that served her target audiences.

If you’re not getting what you want out of your current career path, then start something else on your own time. Keep your full-time job and start your PR-machine on the side.

This is your chance. Start before you think are ready to bulldoze a new path:

• Tell strangers to pay attention to you, even though it is scary
• Write to editors, even if you’re not sure how, you can learn.
• Make time even if you’re busy and have full time job.

You can learn how to get known for what you are good at and build upon that credibility to help your business succeed. 

Now we want to hear from you. What is holding you back from starting to put the tiny pieces of your big dream together?

Give yourself permission.

Pick a time that works with your schedule and we’ll speak for 30 minutes (for free) about how PR can help you grow your leads and sales and give you that credibility you’re looking for.

www.prtraction.com/apply