Last week we talked about who you target audience is and how this is the first step you need to take when trying to do your own PR. By making sure you are clear on WHO you are serving, ensures your visibility efforts will not go unnoticed. 

But once you have that nailed – what is the next step?

Step 2 is all about YOU! YOUR expertise and YOUR stories!

Journalists are looking for stories & people are looking for inspiration and insights. PR all comes down to the power of storytelling. 

Storytelling goes back to the days of cave paintings and gathering around a fire telling stories. Yes we live in very different times now, but let’s be honest, we all still love a good story! The inner nosey parker inside us gets intrigued and wants to know more. 

When you go to tell a story to someone, what do you put into that story to make it interesting to other people & how do you find YOUR story? Let’s find out….

YOUR STORY

Think about all the twists and turns of your story – we all have them. What are all the things that have got you to the point where you are now? What have you learned from those experiences? 

Often people are drawn into people’s stories and their backgrounds. They are looking some similarities between themselves and you. So think about what aspects of your story are relevant to your ideal client from Step 1. 

What part of your stories will resonate with them? What are the things that would grab their attention? It doesn’t need to be earth shattering! It could be a career change, recovering from difficult situations, a happy moment in your life that made you think of something in a different light (e.g. becoming a mum for the first time).

Particularly think about the context of this within your business. What part of your story made you want to start your business? Why do you do what you do? 

All of these aspects of your life and business intertwine and it is just trying to find the parts of your story that will be particularly interesting to your ideal client, to capture them into your story and into your community. 

Do not underestimate the power of your own story and how much people are interested in knowing more about you. 

QUICK TIP: Use your personal story on your own channels as well as others! Don’t forget to share things on your social media about you, your story, why you started as well as what your business does and what it offers. People want to know about the person behind the brand. 

TAKE ACTION >> sit down with a nice blanket, a warm cuppa and a calming space and just work through the ups and downs of your life and business story so far. Remember you don’t have to add in everything, only include those things you are willing to talk about publicly. You don’t have to tell everything to everyone!  

The thing is, Journalists won’t just write about your business and nothing else. Particularly as a solo business owner and a personal brand, WHO YOU ARE is weaved through your whole story and has taken you to this point now – that is the hook! That is what is really interesting and that is what you need to find. 

YOUR EXPERTISE

To get to the point of you having the business you have, you will have a whole raft of experience! Do not forget that. 

Some of it will be your life skills, some of it will be from your business and much of it will be intertwined. 

When we talk about expertise, we are talking about what you know more about, than the average person. You will know more because you either do it day in day out within your business or you have experienced it as a part of your life story and you can advise others on it. People are looking for guides, for experts, for advice (especially at the moment!). They want people to be inspired by and be taught by. 

TAKE ACTION: >> bullet point your expertise! 

It could be things you have official qualifications for, it could equally be things that you have learned through experience. 

e.g yes I know a lot about PR as I have worked in it for 20 years, but I also know about how to work from home, coming back from redundancy, recovering from post-natal depression and much more. There are so many more things outside of my business that I know about that I could give tips to others on. 

So if you feel nervous about your own expertise and think that you don’t have any because you don’t have any qualifications. I can assure you it is not just about that! It is about lived experience and things that have got your through life. 

We’re not matching stories with media opportunities here (although you will do that soon). It is just thinking about what you have got to offer, that you can use for content and PR ideas. Get it out of your head and on to paper! 

When you have done these two lists – get them on display! Make them prominent so they are front of mind. If you hop on to twitter and search for #journorequest, you may start seeing different angles you can take on your story that is relevant to you and your clients. 

What insights did you get from this exercise? Please share below in the comments!

I’m offering some FREE 30-minute PR Breakthrough sessions via Zoom to help you to get clear on where you focus your PR efforts going forwards. To book your FREE 30-minute call click here.

Keep an eye out for future blog posts on how to do your own PR in the coming weeks.