Wendy Alpine of www.alpinepr.com shares some advice on what actions PR Professionals can take to get their business off to a good start in the new year.In the last blog, we talked about promotion resolutions for PR clients. In this one, we focus on resolutions specifically for PR professionals:

  • Brush up on your writing skills. Take a writing course or seminar, or read a book about writing. Or, just read. The best way to improve your writing is reading other people’s work.
  • Improve your time management skills. For example, check email 3 times a day, not every chance you get so you don’t get off-track with your other projects. Or keep a running task list and highlight the top priority items. Be sure to cross off completed items which gives you a sense of accomplishment during your work day.

 

“Study other marketing campaigns that have been successful and/or are in your client’s industry. You may be able to use some of the same techniques but in a different way.”

 

  • Organize your electronic files, putting old stuff in an “old” folder so that the newer stuff is at the top of the list.
  • Catch up on business software and services such as QuickBooks.
  • Trade publications put out their editorial calendars at the end of December for the following year, so you can see what is coming up and get a sense of what is going to be covered. This is important because they work a few months ahead, so you can plan accordingly. For example, if you are working with a woman’s magazine, items submitted in January are actually for the July issue, so pitching a winter story to them will get you nowhere, but something about bikini season might get picked up.
  • Consider starting your own blog or hiring a blogging firm to help. Having a blog helps you establish yourself as an expert in your field, and increases your visibility for new clients.
  • To borrow a tip from my colleague Liz Keith, create your own “press kit” including a welcome letter, company fact sheet, bio, and backgrounder on what PR can and cannot do for your company. (See my last blog post, What to Expect from PR.)
  • Take stock of your client list. If you have several clients in one industry, it may be a good idea to specialize and look for additional clients in that industry.
  • Schedule vendor demos, such as media database companies, email marketing services, social media companies which track your blogging and social media profile efforts.
  • To enhance your PR skills, sign up for webinars. Some are free and some charge a fee, but you can attend without ever leaving your desk.
  • Attend professional organization meetings to learn about the latest PR topics and network with colleagues.

Do you have New Year’s resolutions for your business?  Feel free to share them below.

Wendy Alpine
wendy@alpinepr.com
www.alpinepr.com
Phone: 770-321-1695
Fax: 404-806-5316