Introducing Do-It-Yourself PR kit for Entrepreneurs

A friend of mine shared a very interesting perspective on PR with me,

While you laugh at the joke, we PR pros try to build stories that actually make you happy and us happier. I have attempted to give you an insight into PR and what it can do in my previoustwoposts and while there is not just one definition which can explain PR but if I have to in FIVE words, here are my choices:

‘Think-Talk-Plan-Conceptualize & Execute’

Consider this: You are launching a product or a service. You will eventually look for investors. Have you ever read something which inspired you to create your own brand and you wished the world to be as excited as you are about your idea? Figuring out random contacts, approaching friends and friends of friends, posting on Facebook, Twitter, going full blast about connecting with new contacts on Linkedin? You even follow your favorite brands and try to snoop around! If you manage to get one PR story somewhere in the newspaper (without making any effort, god bless the journalist for noticing you), you fret over the buzz being fizzled out soon and you get worried, ‘out of sight is out of mind?’ Not to mention, the budget is always a constraint and you want to try doing a bit of PR yourself to keep the momentum going till you are ready to get a professional on board.

To begin with, ask the entrepreneur in you, “are you PR Smart to ‘Do It Yourself’?” If the answer is yes, let’s get started! Based on my experience in the industry and the examples that I have gathered, read about and handled, I will share with you and that will bring you closer to understanding the nature of PR.

Together, you and I will create a DIY PR book for start-ups. You may not able to do all that a professional does but some things that can help you get going in the right direction. Juggling the roles of a full time entrepreneur and a PR pro representing your product isn’t easy. While you are going through that phase where work is slowly trickling in and you are establishing a firm holding in the field, there are a few things you can do on your own with respect to PR.

I am broadly going to attempt covering the following aspects of PR which you can try to manage yourself, from understanding if you are PR ready to clarifying the thin line which separates PR from advertising. This will also include non- media PR tools and lists of dos and don’ts to remember, creating your own PR portfolio, need for having a face to represent the organization, etc.

Before we start, let me underline an important point- PR is not just about being in the news, it is not limited to traditional media, social tools, and it could be B2C or B2B. Media could drive your PR or it could be just one of the tools. In certain cases, non media activities could be the answer to all your requirements. PR comes with a guarantee, but only of the efforts that go in making it effective for your maximum gains. It is a sustained long term exercise not a jiffy three month fixed plan.

Keep an eye on this space, as we roll out interesting articles on Do-It-Yourself PR for entrepreneurs every week.