As a public relations industry leader, it’s essential that you take on the responsibility to coach your team. In order to draw ideas from your team members, the best way to do this is through asking questions, listening, and then providing whatever insights you can. Your ultimate aim is to create a strategy that helps your team members solve their problems. Here are some key questions that are essential to a PR team coaching session....
Do you have a passion for something that isn’t what you are currently doing in your career? If so, it may be time to start a side business like a blog or a shop, or side hustle as many call it. Although it may be tempting to want to put 100% of your time and effort into launching a new business, jumping in with both feet is far riskier than working the business on the...
The answer is simple: so the blood doesn’t show. Many people think that once a company starts promoting its products or services, editors will be knocking at your door. In some cases, that does happen, particularly if you have the latest “hot product,” but it’s not the norm. Public relations is an important part of the marketing mix, but it’s a tremendous amount of hard, detailed work. Public relations is very different from advertising. One...
Today, the world is changing faster than ever, especially for women in public relations. From emerging technologies that are helping level the playing field, to widespread social movements that are shining a light on exploitation, to opportunities that are rising from the dark clouds of the COVID-19 pandemic, recent years have fuelled significant structural changes for women working in public relations, marketing, and communications. Of course, this isn’t to say challenges and inequalities don’t remain...
Today, we’re more likely to connect with people digitally than face-to-face. If you’re engaged in any type of business online or off, you need to be able to convey your ideas and interact effectively with your audience. That’s where professional writing skills comes in. Professional writing is any type of writing you do in the course of your career or business – it includes everything from emails to blog posts to sales pages. Even if...
There’s an often-expressed belief that successful women in business have at least seven streams of income. If up until now you’ve primarily been working with clients one-on-one, you won’t need to be told there’s a ceiling on that business model. No matter how hard you work, there are only so many hours in a day you can put in, and so much per client that you can charge! If you’re unprepared for the year or stressed out...
It has been proven over and over again that networking and building relationships will help you navigate your career. From landing your first PR job, taking a better position or simply connecting with established professionals in PR (or any other field for that matter), networking is a must for your career. While attending networking events in your area and touching base with PR pros is great, digital networking can also open up possibilities at another level....
Owners of PR firms learn quickly that if they want to get paid fairly for their professional work, they must establish and account for hourly rates per staff at all levels. To get to the right place, they must manage salaries, overhead, benefits, out-of-pocket expenses, utilization rates and – most important – profitability. Related: Want to be fully booked with new clients? Create your signature system to really grow your business this year. In many ways, this...
A career portfolio is a collection of items that shows your work. It contains evidence of your knowledge, skills, and abilities, highlighting what you’ve learned, what you know, and what you can do. Many people assume career portfolios are only useful in a job search but they can be used in a variety of situations such as performance reviews, professional development plans, and more.
In PR, we often write the speeches. However, how often do we use public speaking as our own PR tool? Public speaking is an underrated, yet fantastic way to increase the awareness of your own brand. It gives you the ability to communicate your message directly to key audiences. When used as part of the marketing mix to promote your brand and your message, it can provide a powerful boost to your own campaign. Public...
