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Hello and welcome back to another episode of PR Made Simple. Right, today we're going to jump straight into the different PR routes that you can use to build your business because there are so many of them out there and it will very much depend on what type of business you have and also you as a business owner about what you want to focus on because one size doesn't fit all when it comes to your PR. But I'm going to talk you through all the different routes and the background into how I recommend building a PR strategy and that will hopefully inspire you to take some action and see what routes are right for you in your business. You may well have heard me talk in previous episodes about the fact that PR isn't just about press coverage, despite what a lot of people out there think and what PRs often talk about. So today I'm going to deep dive into all those different ways that you can get PR for your business. But first off,

I'm going to talk about the press because although it's not the only PR route, it is a really important one and a brilliant way to give you credibility, to often drive sales and to reach new audiences. Think of those titles that leading experts and brands often have in their bio as seen in at Forbes, at Telegraph, at Stylist, whatever it is, they're great trust triggers for your website too. So when it comes to the press, there are so many different types of publications and different ways that your business can be featured.

And there's a huge range of titles out there across so many broad subjects, whether it's national newspapers and women's glossy magazines, for example, they tend to cover a wide variety of topics or it might be niche magazines, which are much more specific around a particular subject for a specific audience. You also have consumer and trade titles. So consumer titles are aimed at well consumers and trade titles are business titles which again can have a broader reach or a very specific subject and target audience and often they are in print and online or maybe just online but we're seeing more and more that content that is produced for print publications is then replicated in some way online and it's maybe expanded it's maybe added to with video content and additional imagery but there are lots and lots of different opportunities for you out there. So whatever you do, whatever your business is, it's highly likely that there's a media publication out there that's relevant for your business and more importantly, your target audience. When we come to look at the different ways that you and your business can be featured in these titles, there are so many. It could be a news story, it could be a PR stunt that gets you press coverage. It could be research, white papers, you could be linking to trends, to seasonal conversations or insights, for example. If you're an expert or you have some specific areas of expertise you can talk about, and that can apply to product and service businesses alike, you could be included as part of a wider feature talking about that specific area of expertise, or you could even write a whole feature about it.

A great example of this is I recently worked with a clinical nutritionist and we did lots of features where she wrote articles for the publications around topics that their audience was interested in, explaining those subjects and explaining it in kind of ways that normal consumers can understand. So topics such as gut health, for example, and she wrote about things that were happening in the news at that time.

For example a new study that was released about protein and she helped to explain the study and translate the findings into a way that the publications readers could understand and apply to their own lives. One of my brilliant one -to -one accelerator clients Gemma, she's an amazing yoga teacher, she got a six -page feature in Women's Fitness magazine for example about yoga and sleep where she provided all the insight, all the tips, all the yoga moves for a feature that connected good sleep to relevant yoga positions.

So I just want to use those as examples of the different ways that you can use your expertise to generate wider features for your business. Seasonal tips, tricks and tips can be linked to trends and relevant topics of conversation. The news agenda can be a really great way to kind of react to stories that are taking place in the news. So it might be, for example, maybe not news agenda, but from a seasonal perspective, financial tips on how to not overspend at Christmas for a financial expert or from a news agenda perspective if there's a high profile resignation then that could be an opportunity for a careers coach to talk about how to know when it's the right time to resign or the next steps to take after you've kind of resigned where to go from there. A lot of PR is about storytelling and if your story is inextricably linked to your business there also could be some great opportunities for you there to tell that story. I just want to caveat that however, as I don't want you to feel like you have to tell stories that you don't want to, no press coverage is worth that and you really want to put boundaries in place to know where and what you want to talk about. I also don't really recommend just going in the newspapers and talking about random things that aren't connected in any way to your business because they don't really shift the dial for you and they just take an awful lot of time up that doesn't really do anything for you. Priya is a really good example of someone who uses her story to talk about her business. So her grandmother taught her to sew and her business is based on making items out of pre -love saris and she's had some really lovely press coverage linking to that kind of generational bond and press coverage that really helps, that tells that story.

Don't forget if you are a B2B service business there's lots of press opportunities for you out there too. For example those vertical trade titles that I've already mentioned, there's the startups and entrepreneur press, there's commentary on relevant things happening in the business world. There are lots of people out there who've done a really brilliant job of building their profile as the go -to expert in their industry and they are often called on to comment on industry happenings or the state of play in relation to something like the budget for example.

So start looking at who's doing it well. Look at where they get featured. I really recommend going detective mode on this, having a look at who is doing it well and where they get features because that will provide you with some inspiration for your own profile building. If you're a product business, there's lots of opportunities for you across the press too, from news pages to roundups, gift guides, what to buy now.

There's fashion pages and jewellery pages and food and drink and wellbeing and travel, all sorts of different topics and opportunities for you to be featured in the relevant ones across both print and online PR for you. The best way for you to see where and how you fit into publications is to read them. Readly is a great tool. It gives you access to thousands of magazines. I will put a link to that in the show notes or buy the weekend papers.

buy the papers through the week and sit and come spend some time reading them and getting to know them. It's not exactly a horrible job, is it? The more you immerse yourself in the press, the more you pick up the free magazines and papers, the more you buy them from the shops, the more you're going to start thinking like a PR and find opportunities for your business that maybe you haven't been aware of before. So as well as press though, you have also got lots of other PR routes to investigate and see if they are right for you.

Podcast interviews. Being interviewed on a podcast about your area of expertise is a brilliant way to reach new audiences whilst you're deep diving into your subject and showing that you know what you're talking about. And you really don't have to be on the diary of a CEO for podcasts to work for you from a PR perspective. Niche podcasts can be great for connecting you to the right audience. Again, a really good place to start is to search for someone

who's maybe aligned to what you do, maybe not direct competitors because if they've been featured on a podcast, they might not want the same episode, but maybe somebody who's aligned to the same kind of area as you. So if you're in business and you're a retail expert, you could maybe find somebody who is a merchandising expert, for example, or for me, from a PR perspective, it could be somebody who works in ad spend or SEO.

for example, look at where they've been interviewed and pitch yourself to those podcast hosts. know, spend some time doing some research but that can really help you find the right podcast for you. Guest blog post is another route for your PR which can be a really effective place for you. It can often be forgotten about but a great way of cross promoting to other brands audiences.

Cross promotion can be so effective you my friend Lucy Wolfenden calls it dancing on other people's dance floors and I just love that. So have a think about how this could work for you. It could be you say as an interior designer writing some tips for a ceramics brand on how to introduce color into your kitchen or maybe a women's health specialist writing tips for a sports brand on how to get back to exercise after having a baby or if you're a product business that specializes in I don't know wild swimming.

you can still do content around your area of expertise. So for example, you could do some tips on how to get into wild swimming for a gym chain or a woman's wellbeing business. The key is to thinking about how you then maximise the content that you produce through your own channels and encourage that brand to do the same. It also helps you to get reciprocal content for your own website, which is WinWin.

Another PR route I want to talk about is awards. Now, I'm going to caveat this, not all awards are created equally and I will do an episode on awards because it's something that I get asked an awful lot about. But awards can be a really great way of raising your profile either locally within your sector or to a wider audience. It can also give you something else to shout about and to talk about from your communications channels.

Priya, who I've mentioned already, one of my DIY PR members, she is brilliant at using her award wins and nominations to get great PR for her business. She's got local press coverage, she collaborates with other nominees, she's done instant lives around them. She's really used them to elevate her credibility and use them as a news hook to get PR for her business. Another PR route I want to mention is working with influencers. Again, it can be really great for working

your PR hard and my members and my one -to -one clients often use it to generate sales, build their social profiles, reach new people. One member I can think of for example generated 1500 quid's worth of sales just from featuring on one insta story on a not particularly high profile kind of instamoms social stories. So it doesn't have to be always mega influencers. Look at what works for your audience. In fact,

I've worked with brands before where the kind of really big high profile influencers don't have as much impact for them as smaller ones who have a really loyal and niche following. I've actually done a whole course on this with influencer Kat Sims who is not so smug now and some of the tips we suggest is to try and build relationships with influencers before you reach out. know, try and get on their radar, share their content, comment on it.

you're much more likely to succeed doing it that way than going in cold and saying, can I just send you some product because I want something from you. But when influencer marketing, influencer gifting is done well, it can be really, really effective for your business. Another PR route I want to talk about, and it's one of my favorites, is panels and speaker opportunities. They can be a great way to raise your profile as an expert in your field for print, for print, for

product and service businesses alike. Whether they're in person or online, I personally, for example, find doing talks in other people's memberships online works really well for me. But I also think we are seeing a rise in in -person events becoming more and more popular as people want real life connections and to take things offline. So have a look at the types of events you could speak at and start pitching yourself.

And I know, I know that that can feel a bit scary, the thought of standing on a stage, the thought of pitching even, but it can be so great for your business. I've had clients on panels for stylists and other media titles, for example. I've had members who joined the PR set not really being known for what they do at all, building their profiles and then being paid to speak about their subject at events. I've had members who've talked at huge industry events such as Top Draw and Spring Fair.

And I've even had a couple of members do Ted Talks as well. The opportunities are out there for you, but you've got to be aware of what they are. You need to start building towards those things and you also need to start putting yourself out there. Sitting there waiting for them to happen to you is not how it works, unfortunately. And the last PR route I want to talk about is one of my absolute faves, which is collaborations. And I think for small business owners,

Collaborations are so incredibly powerful. We're really good as small businesses at lifting each other up. And I personally find the small business community is so supportive of one another. Collaborations have been brilliant for me, to kind of building my business. They were really great when I started out. They allow me to cross promote to other people's audiences and get on people's radars. And again, it's that third party endorsement of someone saying, you know what, I think this person's good.

So, you know, really do think about what collaborations could work for you in your business. And they come in all shapes and sizes. You can do big collaborations, mega ones such as launching a whole new product range, for example, but they don't have to be big. They could be smaller, whether it's just instalives, for example, or guest blog posts, like I've mentioned, sharing social content, co -hosting events, giving each other shout outs.

There are lots of different ways that you can do collaborations. So a great place to start here is to have a think about the types of brands or businesses that could work for you. Maybe start with your network. Start by reaching out to the people that you know and put those plans in place to be proactive. You can't just sit there waiting for it to happen like I've already said. But one of the things that I think you might be thinking now is how do I know

which of those PR routes are going to be right for you to grow your business? Because often I see it when people say, PR doesn't work for our business. If I deep dive into why it's usually because they haven't been strategic about it. They've maybe got a bit of coverage here or there, but they've not thought about who their target audience is, who they're trying to reach.

and they've certainly not done anything to then use that PR across the rest of their marketing channels. And I promise you, I will talk about that in a full episode in more detail about how to really make the most of your PR. But I just want you to remember that the best type of PR is strategic. You want to know what your business objectives are. For example, if you're going after investment, your PR strategy is gonna be really different if your focus is on Q4 sales, for example, or if you're just launching your business. But marrying those business objectives

with your target audience is gonna really to help you to develop an effective PR strategy. I'd also say when it comes to choosing which PR routes are right for you and your business, start with your zones of genius or the areas that you enjoy. If you absolutely hate writing, then pitching yourself to write articles is just gonna fill you with fear and you won't get round to it. You won't cross that off your to -do list.

If you enjoy talking and you find that that's what connects you with your audience, then focus on that area. I know for me that that's what works really well, where I can deep dive into my subjects, I can build trust with the audience and show them that I know what I'm talking about. So those are the PR routes that I will focus on first and then I will do the writing and the kind of broader press stuff as a kind of secondary piece. But my focus is usually, depending on what's going on in my business, but it is usually

the speaking opportunities that I'm searching for. So I hope that this episode has inspired you to think strategically about what PR routes will be right for you and your business. And it may well be a combination of them or a phased approach so it doesn't feel so overwhelming. The key to it is getting out and starting. It's something that I do with all my one -to -one clients, putting that strategy in place because I think it's so important to not only doing effective PR but also to saving you time

It means that you're not going after things that don't work for your business. We also have regular planning sessions in my DOYPR membership too. So we really are trying to forward plan and think about the right PR routes for our business. So to recap, you can look at press, whether that's online or print, podcasts, guest blog posts, awards, working with influencers, panels and other speaking opportunities and collaborations.

Which ones do you think are going to work for your business objectives and target audience? I'd love to know which ones you want to go after. And if you want any help working it all out, then please connect with me. I'm on Pippa the Piazza on Instagram, or you can find me on LinkedIn, Pippa Gouldan. And you can use the code POD50 to get 50 % off your first month in my DOIPR membership. And finally, I would be so grateful.

please, if you can remember to rate, review and subscribe to this podcast. If you like it, of course, if you don't, then maybe just move on. But yes, it really will help little old me to get this podcast out there. And I will see you very soon for another episode of PR Made Simple. Bye.