The Art of Public Relations: Building a Positive Reputation

I've been doing public relations (PR) for almost 10 years, and I've learned a lot about how to maximize our efforts and our impact. I also want to share some of those lessons with you.


A lot of the time, we do a lot of stuff that only works for us. But if you think about what kind of impact you're making with every single thing you do, you can use that to your advantage.

STEP 1: Find the Right Person

This is the first and most important step. We all have different goals for our PR efforts, but if you don't find the right person to work with, everything you do could go in vain.

In fact, there are several important things to consider here. One is to avoid PR agencies that will tell you that they have relationships with influencers. In most cases, they won't have them. What they mean is they know a few influencers, so they can try to sell their services to influencers as a service. Don't let them do that.

If you want to do the same thing, you need to identify the influencers and then contact them directly. The reason you should do this is because you might end up working with an influencer that actually does have connections. That means it's likely that they're willing to work with you. And even if they don't, at least you tried.

The other important thing to consider here is your budget. Most PR agencies are expensive. There are cheaper options, but it's important to know what you're getting. Are you paying for something that's not providing you with value? Remember that any action has a result, so don't just throw money at the problem.

STEP 2: Start Small

Now you have a solid idea of what you want to do, and you have your target person or influencer. What now? Well, start small and build slowly.

If you were to pitch your idea to that person straight away, they would be skeptical about whether it's something they want to help you with. But over time, they might see that you're committed to being a part of their brand and that you're willing to be patient with them.

And you know what? At some point, you'll have to tell them no. You may get turned down a few times before you finally find a project that you think will work. But that doesn't mean you have to start your entire campaign from scratch. You might get rejected from a project, but it doesn't mean that you shouldn't talk to other influencers or do some research to find new ones.

STEP 3: Do More Than Just Pitch Them

Once you've gotten the go-ahead, it's time to make a plan. It's very easy to get caught up in pitching and get excited about the project. But you need to make sure you're doing more than just asking for the project. You need to give them something that shows that you care about what they have to say.