Don’t Get Caught With Your PR Down!

Why risk embarassment when with a little basic PR training, you as a business, non-profit or association manager can always be ready for battle?

Never again will you fail to do something positive about behaviors of those important outside audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation.

Never again will you fail to create external stakeholder behavior change leading directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

And never again will you fail to persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, or move them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

In fact, once you digest underlying premise of public relations, you’ll understand how right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to those changed behaviors you need. Here’s how it goes: people act on their own perception of facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action very people whose behaviors affect organization most, public relations mission is accomplished.

However – and this is a big however – it requires more than special events, brochures and news releases if you really want to get your PR money’s worth.

For example, business, non-profit and association managers who employ this kind of public relations can benefit from results such as new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; rebounds in showroom visits; membership applications on rise; community service and sponsorship opportunities; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels, not to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

As time passes, you should see customers making repeat purchases; prospects reappearing; stronger relationships with educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies, and even capital givers or specifying sources looking your way.

Obviously, you want your most important outside audiences to really perceive your operations, products or services in a positive light. So be certain that your PR staff has bought into whole effort. Convince yourself that they accept reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Get together and go over PR blueprint carefully with your staff, especially regarding how you will gather and monitor perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with how things went? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Harness following techniques and you won't be a freelancer who calls it quits. Your business newsletter will be different and powerful. It'll serve as a business-builder, lead-generator, and repetitive project-producing money-making marketing tool.

GUIDELINES TO CREATE A BUSINESS-BUILDING NEWSLETTER

Your business newsletter should serve multiple functions, not just one. Here's how to do it.

Function #1: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO SELL YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERTISE—BUT DO IT QUIETLY AND CLEVERLY.

Your newsletter should provide worthy, timely, helpful, problem-solving information — anything else, such as blatant promotion or bragging about benefits of your skills and services, will trigger prospect or client to toss out or delete your newsletter, including future issues. Learn to sell yourself cleverly and subtly.

You can do so by showcasing specific examples, samples, and results you've achieved for other clients. Your newsletter should contain 80% information and 20% (or less) promotion. You also can mention any awards you've received, if you did charity work for a non-profit association to help raise funds, spoke at a workshop or led a seminar, or had an article or book published. Both prospects and clients will enjoy reading these newsworthy achievements as they are reflections of your skills and abilities.

Function #2: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER AS A REPETITIVE MARKETING TOOL. Securing a client is multi-step — and marketing repeatedly to same prospect or client is vital to secure work. Publishing your newsletter frequently satisfies this need and increases chance of prospect or client outsourcing work to you. According to marketing experts, it takes five consecutive times to make an impact. Publish your newsletter no less than bi-monthly. Monthly is standard. Weekly or bi-weekly is recommended, especially if you publish your newsletter online.

Function #3: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO INTEREST PROSPECTS AND CLIENTS IN WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.

Your newsletter should contain interesting, problem-solving copy — not fluff or generalizations. You can craft interesting copy by writing copy that:

a) solves a problem or problems; b) solves a potential or future problem; c) helps prospect or client achieve better results; d) lends valuable advice; e) helps define his or her problem; f) provides case studies of mistakes that other businesses have made and how he or she can avoid them.

Favor brief copy over long-winded sentences and endless paragraphs. Use periods over commas. Use a software program like StyleWriter, found at http://www.StyleWriter-USA.com, to help you write in plain english and to clean up your copy. Writing interesting, problem-solving, plain english copy makes prospect or client read your newsletter immediately and increases chance of securing work.

Function #4: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO BRIDGE TOGETHER YOUR COPY WITH YOUR VALUABLE FREELANCE SKILLS. How does a prospect or client know you can exceed their expectations on their next project, if they decide to hire you? Because your newsletter subtly shows your capabilities. Make sure you bridge together newsletter content with your freelance skills. Your newsletter content should be an extension of your experiences, skills, expertise, and knowledge. The client will realize you're well qualified to undertake his next project.

Function #5: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO GENERATE NEW WORK FROM EXISTING CLIENTS.