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Pippa Goulden (02:16)
Hello and welcome back to another episode of PR Made Simple. Right, today we are focusing on how to not make your PR feel overwhelming because I know it is something when you're doing your own PR or even actually when you've got somebody doing it for you, it can feel like a really huge mammoth task. There's so many magazines, there's so many newspapers, there's so many different places that you could get known for what you do.

And it can feel so overwhelming that actually sometimes that stops you from doing anything because you're just thinking about it all the time and panicking about all the things that you've not done. So here we are breaking it down and giving you some tips on how to make it feel less overwhelming, how to stop overthinking and how to actually just get on and do the do because it's the taking the action that gets the results for you. So the first thing that I would recommend doing is upskilling yourself.

Don't dive in without knowing what you're doing because that will just feel incredibly confusing. So I have a course within the DIY PR membership and my one-to-one accelerators, obviously I talk them through, but there's lots of resources out there as well. But really try and understand the process of PR, what you need to do when it comes to pitching, the different ways that you can get your business featured.

upskilling yourself and that doesn't take a huge amount of time and I promise you it is not rocket science but upskilling yourself as the first point of call will help you in the future. The next thing and you may have heard me talk about this before but it's having some sort of strategy, having a plan just not going out there and go right I'm going to go and do some PR. Having a strategic plan that works to your business objectives and your target audience.

is really going to help you because it's going to help you to focus on what's actually going to shift the dial for your business. It's going to help you focus in terms of time and where to focus your PR efforts. And it's also going to help you in terms of time because it's going to help you to say no to things and to not do things that won't actually benefit your business. And I'm not saying you need a 64 page PowerPoint presentation.

but I would really recommend spending a little bit of time, what do you want to achieve in your business, who your target audience is, and what are the PR routes that will help you to do that. having that plan before you start is a really good way to do it. From that plan, I would then break it down into bite-sized chunks. So you're not trying to get to every single magazine out there.

maybe pick five to 10 places that you would love to get your business featured and focus on those. Another way to do it is to set yourself targets. So this is how I approach my PR. I have quarterly targets where I focus in on the things that I know really work for me. So I prioritize speaking opportunities. So podcast interviews, guest membership slots, panel talks,

because I've seen over time that those are the things that really work to bring people into my world and to turn people into and members. And then I focus on the written stuff. So it might be some brand collaborations or writing an article for a magazine. And I set myself targets each quarter so that I then know what I'm focusing on. And if I've got my say full podcast that I want to speak on, I can move on to the next thing.

So I find that is a really helpful way for me not feeling overwhelmed with what I want to achieve. But equally, it could be that actually you're breaking it down to, okay, I'm going to focus on magazines and press this month and next month I'll focus on podcasts. So obviously everyone works differently. Everyone's business is going to be different, but try and think of how you work best and plan your PR around that.

The next thing that I think you do need to do as well. this, lot of this is investing the time upfront to do the upskilling, to do the thinking and to do the prep. So I would get things ready for your PR. So you want to make sure you've got your headshots. You don't want to be scrabbling around worrying about whether you're going to need headshots further down the line. I would draft a press release if you need one. I've got a whole other episode on press releases and whether you do need them.

have a bio, especially if you're an expert, get that written, and even draft a pitch template or two. Now, I'm very much in the school of you want to do bespoke pitches for every pitch that you're sending, but having a basic pitch that you then tweak is totally fine, and that's probably going to help you when it comes to actually getting out there and sending those emails.

Something that I know people do find really overwhelming is the time and the research that it takes for, listening to the podcast you want to pitch yourself to, reading the magazines. I think you can streamline it. I don't think you need to listen to every episode, every podcast episode that they've done. You can listen to them, you know, on double time, just get a feel for them, jump into them. I do really recommend doing that though, so you're not pitching totally blind, but it doesn't have to be hours and hours of research.

When I read the weekend papers with my husband, he's still reading one article and I've basically flicked through the whole newspaper looking for opportunities for clients and members and people that I work with. So, you you can do it really quickly. It doesn't have to be a mammoth job. And it's actually quite a nice job. Maybe it's a Friday afternoon job of giving yourself a bit of time to read some magazines, listen to some podcasts.

doing it strategically, I mean how much time do you spend scrolling on Instagram? You could even make that scroll a strategic scroll rather than just a mindless scroll. The next thing is mindset, If you are thinking, I've got so much PR to do, I'm never gonna get there, it's too much, it's too big, I'm never gonna do it, well you're never gonna do it, are you?

If you really get into the mindset of thinking about how beneficial it's gonna be for your business, how important it is, how fundamental it is actually to the long-term growth of your business and your brand, maybe it's about reframing it. It's not about this like horrible thing that you've got to do. It's something that actually is a really strategic part of your business growth. know, try and get excited about it. Try and not...

feel like it's this big heavy horrible task. So I always say to people to start with the things that you enjoy because you're more likely to do them. I don't want you to stay in that comfort zone forever but if it's going to actually get you going and you know that you love in-person events then let's focus on you doing in-person events. it's not about making it a horrible part of your business it's about trying to make it a part of your business that you actually really enjoy.

And I found with like my DIY PR members, the more they do, the more their confidence build, the more they start enjoying it and it takes away that overwhelm. So actually by doing the do and just getting on and doing it, it can start to feel less overwhelming. Sometimes it's that big hurdle, isn't it, to get started. So actually maybe just taking some action is going to help you with that. But I would really recommend doing a bit of mindset work around it to make it try and feel not like this big heavy thing.

And also if you're building up sending these pitch emails to people and making that feel like a really big deal, then it's going to feel like a big deal for you. You need to remember that everyone you're pitching to is a normal human being just like you. Journalists are normal people, podcasters are normal people, everyone is just trying to do their job. And actually if you can reframe it to be that you are helping them to do their job and also to make it less about you and more about the people who...

will benefit from finding out about your business, the people that you serve with your business, the audience that is listening to those podcasts that is attending that event, the people who are reading those articles, make it about them and not about you. And I think you'll find it a little bit easier to start sending those emails. The other thing is that PR doesn't have to be a standalone thing within your business. It's actually really the most effective when it's integrated with the rest of your marketing.

So look at how you can double up from content ideas. So say you've got some ideas that you want to pitch to a journalist, they could also be content ideas for you across your blogs, across your emails, across your social content, across your podcast. You whatever different marketing channels you've got, they can be repurposed. So don't think that PR has to sit really siloed as this separate thing. It's actually much more effective when it's integrated with the rest of your marketing and it's...

communicating the key things that you're talking about through the rest of your marketing as well. There's a few little tips as well to make things feel a bit less overwhelming and like you have to be on top of everything. Google Alerts can be a great way of just monitoring what's going on in your industry. So if you do have things that you can jump on when you know that stuff has happened in the news, for example, that can feel a bit less overwhelming in terms of what you've got to stay on top of.

And also, I think it's about focusing on quality over quantity. You don't have to pitch your business to every single publication out there. I think I've probably over the last four years pitched myself to about maybe eight publications. I write regularly for a couple of titles because I've established some really lovely relationships with them.

But I don't pitch myself left, right and centre to everyone out there. You know, I'm really strategic about knowing the things that are going to work for me and work for my business and work to give me that credibility and that expertise. And that's because it goes back to my business objectives. So don't think that you have to get, 150 pieces of press coverage. It's not about that. It's about being strategic. It's about focusing on quality. So maybe that is a way of

reducing the overwhelm as well because it's just about thinking you don't have to go out to everyone you just have to start pitching yourself to the people that are really going to make a difference for your business. My final tip is and I have changed the way that I have approached this over the last year or so

I now spend 15 minutes every day doing something that's going to move my PR forward. So I've done all the prep, as you know, I've done the strategy, I know who I'm pitching to. I'm always looking out for new people though. So, you know, that is an ongoing process. But actually having those 15 minutes every day where I just make sure I've sent an email to someone, I've connected with somebody on social media as part of my PR strategy, I've pitched myself, I've put myself forward for things.

That makes it feel much less overwhelming than pushing it to the bottom of my to-do list and then three weeks later going I've got to do loads of PR now and spending hours and hours on it. I have an accountability session in my DIY PR membership and members do say they find that really useful. It's an hour and a half a month where you can just be totally dedicated to your PR.

But honestly, if you can spend 15, 20 minutes a day, diarise it maybe for the next three weeks, just say I'm going to do something every day that moves it forward for me, you will notice a massive difference with that. And I promise you it will start feeling less overwhelming.

And my number one tip and real thing that I just want you to do is to send the fucking email. You know it's important. You know taking action is what's going to get you the results. The amount of time that you're spending overthinking this is actually time that you could just be spending taking action and sending those emails. So go on, I dare you. Today, go and send an email to somebody that you've been thinking about for too long.

that start moving your PR forward and getting that PR that's really going to make a difference to your business. And if you have been inspired by this episode, you can use the code pod50 to get 50 % off your first month in my DIY PR membership. I also have some limited spots for my one-to-one accelerator for the next few months. So if you are interested in working one-to-one with me, then do jump in and send me a DM and we can get chatting about that.

I also have a waitlist at the moment for Get Known, which is the second cohort is going to be happening in May. And I'm really looking forward to that. And I have also just announced Power Up, which is for social media managers, marketeers, VAs, people who want to add PR as a revenue stream within their business. And I will be showing you how to do it. So teaching you everything how to do PR for other people.

and how to add it in as a revenue stream into your business to make it something that when people say to you, can you just do a bit of PR for me? You can say to them, absolutely. This is what it's going to cost and this is the best strategic approach. So find me at Pippa Goulden on LinkedIn and Pippa the PR set on Instagram or go to theprset.com and hopefully this has inspired you to feel less overwhelmed about your PR and time to take action.

I'll see you again soon for another episode of PR Made Simple.