Last month I was invited to speak to a roomful of independent public relations pros at the Independent Public Relations Alliance of PRSA’s January luncheon.  The title of the event was “Indie Brand Check” and the premise of my talk was that as public relations professionals we are so focused on our clients that we fail to spend adequate time on our own marketing.

Yes we do great work, but failing to ramp up our own company’s marketing and PR could result in missed new opportunities.

So as you’re creating marketing, communications and promotional plans for your clients this year, put aside a little time to work on your own marketing and PR. When you get a new client inquiry from your shiny new web site, or at a speaking engagement, you’ll be glad you did.

Here are a few tips I shared.

The Spotlight is Your Friend. Make yourself client #1

We work in the background. We are expert deflectors-staying out of the pictures, staying out of the headlines, staying in essence, out of the way.  And we do it because it’s our job to make others shine. Continue Reading

Since it’s National Small Business Week, I thought I’d post about a successful small business owner and share some of her tips about how to grow your business.

Amanda Steinberg is the founder of Daily Worth-a free daily email with financial tips for women. Amanda built Daily Worth on the Daily Candy model and is intimately familiar with the venture capital funding process and how to raise capital for a growing a business.

She was recently interviewed at a conference in New York City about how to raise funding, how to make your business model attractive to investors, and how to think of an exit strategy. I’m inspired by Amanda, and thought you would be, too. Check her out!

Yesterday, #SoloPR founder Kellye Crane launched an incredible new resource for PR people, and frankly any solo business owner who trades brain power for dollar bills. If you’re a consultant, a publicist, you need to download this.

From Kellye:

Legal contracts are often one of the most intimidating aspects of running a communications business, and perhaps the most important. What does all this legalese mean? Where do you even begin?

I’m happy to announce that Solo PR Pro’s first-ever ebook is now available for download: Get It In Writing! The Communications Consultant’s Guide to Contracts. Co-authored by me (Kellye Crane) and Jenny Schmitt of Cloudspark, this 30-page free ebook includes plain-language explanations of the critical elements of a legal agreement, as well as seven full contract examples for easy reference.

Get it now! Let me know how you like it and what you found most useful by shooting me a message on Twitter. Or holler at your girl on Facebook.

If you haven’t gotten to the point where you need PR contracts (because you don’t have any PR clients) no worries. Take a gander at my “Discover and Win” digital workbook. After putting this method into practice, you’ll not only have new clients, but new clients that you love. Download the workbook now.

Today I sat in on a pretty amazing session at the PRSA International Conference which started today in Washington. Heathere-Evans Keenan, Founder and CEO of the Arlington, Virginia-based Keenan PR talked about how she’s used the virtual model to grow her PR firm. By virtual model, Keenan means she’s used senior talent across the country to go after large contracts and compete with larger firms.

“I’m amazed at how apologetic most small firms are,” Keenan said. “When going into meetings small firms or solo practitioners might sheepishly say, ‘I’m kind of a virtual firm.’ or “It’s just me and a few colleagues…’ But there’s no way that people will feel confident about you if you don’t believe in yourself first.”

It’s not news to me that smaller firms are apologetic. They don’t have the large overhead that the bigger boys do, but they also don’t often have the budgets that the big shots have to invest in software, training, conferences, etc. Most if not all PR service companies target their products (pricewise) to the larger agencies and not solo practitioners, so it’s easy to feel overlooked. But I digress.

Keenan offered five steps to growing your solo PR business:

1. Identify your services range. You may be a generalist but you may be a specialist. In any event, know what you are. Identify exactly what services you are going to offer your clients. Around the 3-4 year mark, Keenan says her business was growing and clients began wanting more services. She started out offering general media and investor relations but eventually had to grow her service offerings which meant bringing on strategic partners who could fill in where she was lacking. Instead of hiring employees directly, she employed the virtual model-finding strong practitioners who could could offer a diverse range of services.

2. Cultivate preferred partners and subcontractors. If you’re looking to expand your business in a specific market, industry or city you have to develop strong partnerships with other pros who can do the things you can’t or can do them when and where you can not. It’s always good to have great subcontractors that you have working relationships with-people you really like, whose work you can count and whose business ethics you can trust. Whether or not that means partnering directly or subcontracting, you need to develop alliances and when you can spread your network across the country or even the globe, your business opportunities will only multiply.

3. Market and Position Your Business. You have to figure out how to market your business. This means figuring out exactly what you do, who you do it for, your unique value proposition. You must package your services and what you charge.

4. Expand into Another Industry. Keenan started out in tech and telecom and moved into healthcare, financial services and associations. This has only meant growth growth and more growth for her firm.

5. Find ways to productize what you already do. Are you a writer? Host a writing workshop. Expert media trainer? Host media trainings. Keenan hosts trainings and fetches $4500/day.

“Small firms are winning viable business,” Keenan says. “Against the Ketchums, and against the Edelmans.”

So chew on that.

Want more valuable tips like these? Order your copy of the Mopwater Manual.

Are you passionate about your PR projects? The more passion we have for the subject of our client work, the more engaged we will be in the work, the more excited we will be to do the work, and the more energy and time we’ll put into it. And when I’m passionate about my clients and projects, often I find that I’m able to be much more creative.

But something I’ve heard people struggle with is how to systematically go after clients that match our passions so that we always have work that we love. Here is my system for doing just that.

First identify your passions. Leave the PR out of the equation and figure out what you are passionate about in life. I happen to be quite passionate about coffee, Romare Bearden, John Coltrane and women’s empowerment among other things.

Identify Your Specialty Skills If you’re starting out in PR it will be easier to get clients if you can tell them exactly what you offer. When thinking of your specialty skills should ask yourself if you love event planning, crisis communications, speechwriting, helping organizations develop their social media, etc.

Identify a couple of industries you want to mine for your clients. You may find that you love to plan events for restaurants and hotels, so your industry might be hospitality and tourism. Love writing speeches for politicians? Politics and government may be your focus.

Put it all together. Make a statement that begins with “I am…” For example: I am a political speechwriter for politicians that focus on education reform. Or: I am an event planner for boutique restaurants attached to hotels in the New York City Area.

Need more help figuring out your specialty? I created a 56-page workbook to help you. Discover and Win helps you put it all together in a chart form. It’ll help you define 1.) who and where your clients are 2.) what your specific skills are 3.) what you are most passionate about and 4.) how to find clients that match your skills and passions.

Remember: Define. Refine. Position.
Read about Discover and Win
Download Discover and Win

Sometimes when launching a consultancy you’re forced to adopt the strategy of “taking what you can get” in order to make ends meet. Whether you love the project or client, you learn to love it whether you’re passionate about the topic or not. But after a few years of consulting one must ask themselves a critical question:

Does the Work I’m Doing Reflect My  Brand?

I personally asked myself this question, and my own answers required some changes be made. So I recently made the decision to retire a longtime client because the bulk of the work I am paid to do for this client doesn’t match what I want to be known in the industry for. I’d been with this client for over two years and the scope of my services had evolved over that time but due to the nature of the organization, we weren’t able to always tweak the contract to reflect how my suite of services had changed.

As other clients came on board and I launched the Twitch! series, and began doing more speaking engagements, social media trainings, etc. through Mopwater, I began to realize how much of a time drain this client was becoming on my business and creative energy. What if I could focus those hours each month on developing my social media trainings, or planning for events in other cities, or finding other clients who need and want what I offer?

I bounced the idea around to a number of people. Some said don’t throw away a guaranteed retainer that doesn’t require a ton of mental energy or work for the unknown. Others said simply “go for it”.

Free from the obligation of this great relationship that was amazingly nurturing and wonderful, but ultimately inconsistent with my brand, I have been able to focus on what I want the rest of this year to look like for me in terms of my business and clients. I already knew that I would be focusing on expanding my event series, making more time for speaking and writing opportunities and doing social media trainings. However I discovered that I want to spend more time pubbing what I love, so I’ve decided  to focus more on the systematic pursuit of clients in the arts and cultural sectors as well as creative women business owners. This strategy has already yielded two new projects that are absolutely in line with my brand. I am more focused, and excited than ever before.

From What I Can Get to What I Want. Here are the steps:

DEFINE YOUR BRAND. Decide what you want to be known for. Fashion PR, Beauty PR, Small Education, Non-Profit, Business Marketing, etc.

Conduct a BRAND ALIGNMENT AUDIT. What services are you currently offering and to what organizations? Are you doing what you want to be known for or not? How can you get closer to doing more of what you love?

CREATE A TIMELINE to phase out the projects that aren’t in line with your brand and bring on projects that are. This may take one month, three months, six months or even a year.

IMPLEMENT. Just do it.

At the end of the day, in life and in business, there is a finite amount of time. Do you really want to spend your day working on projects that you don’t particularly love? If you are a public relations professional it may be time to make the transition from projects you can get, to projects you want. You totally deserve to love what you do.

For more public relations career advice, order your copy of the Mopwater Manual. And to figure out your PR specialty so you can get more clients, download the digital Discover and Win workbook-it’s packed with worksheets and exercises to help you get your ideal clients.

Do you dream of combining your passions for travel, languages, culture and public relations? Like me, you may be interested in public relations work for embassies.

But how do you make it happen?

Of course it’s best to have some connection to the country you are approaching if you want them to take you seriously. I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to be a native or have family ties, but if you  have visited or lived in the country, can speak and write the language and are enamored with the art, cuisine, etc. you are in a much better position to sell yourself and skills.

Matt Francis is Government Relations Manger for Tourism Australia, and he served as the Counsellor of Public Diplomacy for the Australian Embassy in Washington, DC from 2002-2006. He offered these tips for approaching embassies to carry out public relations work.

Be Flexible There may well be project-based opportunities rather than ongoing consultancy arrangements for public relations practitioners. Many embassies in Washington are small in terms of staff resources, and not all have a designated public affairs or communications staff. So they may require public relations services on an ad hoc basis for particular publications or campaigns. Their needs will differ from country to country so it’s probably worth being flexible in your approach and expectations, and tailoring what you have to offer for each different country.

Pitch the Ambassador’s Number Two. When approaching embassies, try pitching to the Deputy Chief of Mission or most senior official after the Ambassador.  Some may have designated press or information counselors. A good guide to consult is the Official Diplomatic Directory, which includes listings and contact information for all diplomatic missions in the United States. Also, look out for the Washington Diplomat newspaper which covers the diplomatic community in Washington. It’s a good way to keep up to date with the names and movements of key embassy personnel.

Stay Way Ahead of the News Curve in Both Countries. One thing I tried to do when I was working at the Embassy of Australia was to keep ahead of the news curve in terms of placing media about Australia.  Try and get a sense of the issues these countries are dealing with in Washington and ways in which you could perhaps offer your expertise to help them meet their objectives whether it’s through the publication of printed materials, newsletters, media releases etc. My experience has been that a lot of embassies are not very well plugged in to the communications and public affairs business in this town, so if you take a proactive approach you may well get results. Visits by government leaders, major international meetings and other events may provide a good platform to pitch a proposal (ie. country x’s national day / anniversary of relations with the US / major political, economic developments in that country etc.)

Research the Country’s Key Issues. It’s crucially important to do you research before approaching the embassy – show that you know something and understand their issues or circumstances. I was always amazed at the number of pitches I received from people who should have know better but failed to do their basic research on an issue involving Australia before they came to us and tried to persuade us to spend money with them.

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. It’s not just the high drama of the fiery foliage, leaves crunching underfoot, the wind whistling through the trees, acorns thumping down on the pavement below (while I do love all of this). It’s also a time of great reflection and preparation for the coming winter months. Like any other mammal, I’m readying for the cold season–fretting here and there getting my cave ready for  a sort of professional hibernation.

When it comes to business, this certainly means generating leads to last me through the colder months.  I do some of my best prospecting in the fall. Because the season is ripe for events of all kinds, I find myself on the circuit more than normal, so it’s a great time to network. This greater movement coupled with the  biological need to prepare for a physical and seasonal slow-down, I’m motivated to get out there and get some business to last me at least until the next thaw.

This September, after a busy summer of working with one of my main clients on our big annual project, I got to work reaching out to prospects who I thought might be a good fit for my services and followed up on a number of leads. I received an overwhelming number of positive responses. One response that stood out to me most was from a national cultural organization that I was *dying* to work with. The contact told me that my timing was “excellent” because the organization is gearing up for it’s ten year anniversary next fall. So they will definitely start the process of working with a public relations consultancy much like mine very very soon.

I think fall is a busy time for most of us because of the back to school season, gala season, etc. And the holiday season is busy in its own way. But the very end of the year and the very beginning of the new year can be rough for some PR pros, especially independents, who are between contracts. My advice? Look forward, towards “the thaw”.

Think Spring. For your existing clients, already start thinking and talking about great campaigns for spring. Especially if your contract is up at the end of the calendar year, let your current clients know that you see yourself on their team past the winter months.  Don’t give away all of your great spring ideas, of course, but let them know that you enjoy working with them and look forward to continuing the relationship and are hoping to renew a contract at the beginning of the year.

Prospect 2-3 Years Out. To do this, you can study calendars and conference schedules. If you’re looking to build a relationship with a new, dream client, keep your eyes peeled for large conferences that may be coming to your city. You may be able to help an organization facilitate a nice  reception for local leaders on the ground. Large conferences are generally booked 1-2 years in advance, sometimes more, so you have time to develop your pitch. If a large event isn’t coming to your city for a year or even two, you have time to get your ideas together, research the proper contacts and even do some targeted in-person networking before you pull the trigger. Obviously, if you want to land a good client for next year, you need to have started yesterday. But there is still time. There are a lot of great conferences happening towards the end of the year. Find out when and where they are and whether or not you can help out on them.

Keep an Ear to the Business Ground. An organization’s launch, anniversary, etc. is obviously a great opportunity to introduce yourself to a public relations prospect; many times the organization or business that’s having the anniversary isn’t in planning mode, so it’s up to the enterprising  to capitalize on insider knowledge. So keep your ear to the business streets by knowing what business projects are in the pipeline of your industry. I read the Washington Business Journal’s business leads section for general ideas about what’s going on behind the storefronts-who’s applying for business licenses and liquor licenses, who just registered a business, etc. As long as it’s not another PR firm, there’s a chance they could need PR, right? So just ask yourself the questions that pertain to the kind of PR that you do. What restaurants will be opening in a few months? What art galleries will be hosting the work of a prominent artist in the spring? What organization will be releasing an important study and will need help putting together a press conference? Now is the time to begin the big PR push.

Stay Way Ahead of the Prospect. Whatever your field of interest, always be a few months ahead of the potential client so that you can approach them before they even realize that they need you. When they do realize they need you, they may value you even more for your timing and instincts.

Eleventh Hour Requests: Turn it down or turn it around?

Ah the constant considerations and mental multi-tasking that make up the ever-evolving job description of the public relations professional. We’re the unofficial keeper of the company brand. The assessor of image and public sentiment. But we also keep up with the daily duties that must be made systematic; the tasks that without our thinking must become second nature, commonplace, routine.

Long-range and short range pitching and planning.  Searching for angles, securing opportunities for spokespersons, leveraging excitement around campaigns/seasons/holidays. The list goes on. Yet all of these tasks fit neatly into a package that clients and the public will eventually see as a finished, polished product.

But how do we get there? And how do we handle those eleventh hour requests from would-be clients who think it’s so easy to get there?

How many times have you been approached by an amazing potential client with an amazing story or an amazing product for which you could create an amazing pitch except this would-be client gave you absolutely no time to do your job? As in, one week to pull off a campaign? Or better yet two days? [Yes, this has happened to me.]

While this may fly at a large agency that has minions working around the clock, you may be dealing with 2-3 people max when you are working with a smaller firm. As PRos, we have to ask for, no, we have to demand time. And this may mean explaining that hey, when you work with a smaller firm you’re not dealing with layers of bureaucracy, or dozens of junior staff members.  You’re dealing with a greater attention to detail, a higher level of customer service, and of course a lower overhead.

Don’t be ashamed to turn down a project because there isn’t enough time to turn it around. Believe it or not, just because you are a public relations pro, doesn’t make you a magician. As with anything else, it takes time to do a thorough job and produce professional results. Clients expect nothing less than that from you. Demand that same level of professionalism from your clients.

When you are running your own consultancy, it’s easy to get caught up in how to get clients, keep clients, and how to get more out of clients. The client chase as I like to call it, is probably the number one consumer of a consultant’s time, outside of doing actual consulting work. We’re so obsessed with getting and growing that we sometimes fail to take the time to think long and hard about the people who we have supporting us.

Because at one point or another, you will come to depend on the services of a freelancer or subcontractor to help you with your client work. While you’ve heard me talk about the kind of clients to avoid, there also quite a few subcontractors to avoid, too.  Here are a few subcontractors to steer clear of:

The Diva Don’t let the feminine title fool you: a diva can be male or female. It’s the attitude and behavior of this dangerous contractor that will clue you in. Divas are generally very inexperienced and lack business acumen; they don’t understand the ins and outs of running a business so their actions and attitudes indicate as much.

The diva wants to do all of the glamorous things-attend red carpet events, get photographed, hook her friends up with VIP tickets, mix and mingle with the client or worse yet, the stars. But the diva does not want to do the simple tasks that keep the firm afloat. The diva does not want to be told what to do; the diva wants to tell you what she’s going to do.

There are service-oriented divas. The copywriter who can’t stand to be edited.The graphic designer who refuses to grant client requests because said requests will diminish “the integrity” of his “artistic work”.  Whatever the case may be, all divas have similar core characteristics: they think that somehow they are above instruction or menial tasks. They think you’re an idiot, and that they should already be running the show.

The Ditz Don’t we all know a ditz? This lovable character somehow makes it past even the most stringent screening processes and finds him or herself at work in the best firms. You know the ditz: you have to repeat everything to him 3 times. You spend so much time explaining a task that you wonder to yourself, would it have been faster to have just done it yourself. Continue Reading

So…a few people have mentioned to me that they would be freelancer by now if they only knew how to make it happen. I’m here to tell you, there’s no magic formula: but talent and persistence will certainly get you far.

I was inspired to post this by one particular PR pro who I know is going to light the Midwest ablaze as soon as she figures out how awesome she is. If you’re looking for help getting started with a new business idea, or as a freelance copywriter or marketing/public relations professional, you may benefit from my experience. It’s certainly not a road map for everyone, but for those looking for a little direction, it may be a start.

You know the feeling. You’re working on a new project and you’re in the zone. Your brain is rapid firing idea after idea; you’re drowning in a deluge of creativity. You’re thinking to yourself, “Wow...this client is doing some amazing work in the community,” or “This campaign is briliant; it’s so cutting-edge, the PR element needs to be over the top…” Especially when you have a new client whom you are trying desperately to impress, it seems that the ideas just keep coming and coming; you’re ready to produce the YouTube video and tie the Twitter campaign to a creative giveaway. PR superhero to the rescue!

Not so fast. Hang your cape back up on its hook.

If you find yourself working on a project and the scope seems to grow in medias res, take the time to solidify the details of your compensation before you continue doing your work. It can be nearly impossible to do for those of us who tend to get inspired and want to just do the good work. But a big part of our jobs as communications professionals, frankly, is communicating these evolving scopes with our clients.  Educating the client on how long things take, what steps are involved and how much things cost is all a part of that communications challenge.

Should you find yourself ready to rush to save the day, keep these things in mind first:

Don’t Squeeze: The same way you wouldn’t try to squeeze size 8 thighs into size 2 jeans, don’t try to fit a 2-Year campaign Into a 6-Month Contract. When you do, you’re setting yourself up for failure. If your client has limited time and goals that would normally exceed the time frame, let them know that in the future they should plan ahead so that everyone has the time to do a great job. And then let them know what in your professional opinion can be successfully achieved in the time they have left. Continue Reading

I am of the mindset that subcontracting is not just an economic means to an end, but more of an opportunity to learn on the job, and contribute to a worthwhile project that you wouldn’t have otherwise gotten the opportunity to work on. So my philosophy is not subcontracting=side hustle/extra money. To me, subcontracting is more akin to a paid apprenticeship that you should use to bolster your career profile. The experience you gain from subcontracting should be leveraged to get the next job or project.

But sadly, I know many wildly capable public relations professionals who ride the subcontracting train for far too long. As I mentioned in How to Subcontract Your Way to Success, subcontracting is a great way to get your feet wet and gain experience in a new industry. But there is a time to do it. And there is also a time to quit.

Just like those unfortunate “consultants” who go out on their own way too early, there are also those who linger on the train way past their stop. Instead of jumping off, they hide behind the larger, more confident personalities of those who aren’t afraid to be number one. And these talented but fearful professionals seldom if ever get paid what they are worth. Continue Reading

Ah, the cheapskate client. How do I loathe thee? You may know him/her well. S/he masquerades as a serious prospect and raises everyone’s hopes. S/he requests a full-on proposal with no intentions of pulling the trigger. Or the worst: s/he orders the work and signs a contract, but never pays the invoice.

While seemingly harmless at first glance, the cheapskate client is quite dangerous. The CC wastes inordinate amounts of time and resources. Heaven forbid you have team members you have to pay (graphic designers, admin help, copywriters). Dealing with a cc, you could even end up in the red.

But during a recession, everyone wants to believe in the promises of the CC, because we’re all chasing that elusive (perhaps fictitious) pot of gold. We all want to believe in good intentions and the upfront promises that (my personal favorite) this will lead to “more work later down the road.” But since the CC can end up costing you in the end, it’s better to steer clear altogether. Here are a few ways to spot them. And once you spot the CC, please run. You were warned.

They Hint About Brokeness:  If you’re interviewing a potential client and they actually use the words “We don’t have a lot of money” or “We’re waiting for a grant to come in…” or worse yet, “We’re just starting out , so our budget for this is small….” please run. A lack of funds at the onset of a project probably means there will be a lack of funds when it’s time for you to get paid. And remember that blood is thicker than water: if an organization or company is financially struggling, they’re going to make sure they pay their own in-house staff before they take care of the consultants. That’s just how it is. Continue Reading

Many Type-A personality types find their way into entrepreneurship, lured by the idea of being the boss. And given the detail-oriented and creative nature of the public relations profession, PR entrepreneurs find themselves at the mercy of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, our Type-A /take charge/make it happen personalities allow us to get tons done.  But our somewhat control-freakish entrepreneurial tendencies also hinder us: we often keep our projects on a short leash.

But keeping projects close doesn’t serve us in the long run because we end up spending loads of time on mundane tasks that we can’t bill for.

Lately I’ve been pondering the subject of growth, and what’s needed to make growth a reality for a service-based entrepreneur.  For many public relations and marketing pros, and now social media specialists, not only are we charged with managing client projects from start to finish, but we’re also responsible for handling the day to day operations of running a business.  We’re the mailroom, accounting department and janitor. We are the community relations person and publicist for our  practice, and it falls on our shoulders to get the word out about the business. Continue Reading