Common PR myths that are NOT true

As a go-to person for people who need PR advice or help, I often hear ridiculous reasons not to do your own PR. Of course, PR company’s don’t wanna lose their jobs so they’ll tell you it’s impossible to do it yourself let alone for free, but let me tell you: it’s not impossible and it can be done for free. Public Relations and especially free publicity can be done for free and without professional PR experience! Head over to my Ultimate Guide To PR & Free Publicity here to get started. But before you do, make sure you read these myths to make sure you’re not falling in the trap.

Myth #1: If you don’t have the right connections, don’t know any journalists or just a few, it’s impossible

Ha, this is probably the number 1 reason for people to not grow your business with free publicity! But you don’t need thousands of contact in order to succeed! When I first had my first ‘press attack’ – waaaay before I worked in PR or even had a marketing education, I only had about 10 journalists/bloggers on my mini press lists and I cold emailed them. Most of them never replied but two journalists and 1 blogger did. It was a very ‘big’ blogger at the time and as soon as she published an article about me, it sort of went viral and got picked up by a lot of other blogs! So don’t feel discouraged! In Master the Media I have dedicated a whole module to this topic: how to get your first press contacts.

Myth #2: you need to spend a lot of money on advertising, sponsored articles, and expensive PR tools

Ha, this is my ‘favorite’ myth, because it’s SO not true! I’ve never spent a penny on PR and that’s not only because it’s my background. Of course, you have to spend some money on marketing, but my favorite thing is free publicity and it’s totally free.

Myth #3: you have to work months and months in advance

Ok true, most magazines have a very strict deadline, but there are ways to be featured like last minute. You’ll notice journalists often decline you with the reason that you’ve missed their deadline. But you can easily get a few last minute press mentions if you know how to reach out to journalists right, when and the right offer! I mean, who works months and months in advance? For most of us, it’s impossible!

Myth #4: I don’t have time to do PR – I run a blog/business!

Ok, I get it. That’s exactly what I do too! But please, please know that running a biz or blog is not all about doing what you love. For me, that’s taking photos and writing, but of course, I have to do my admin, emails, sales, and marketing too! You can definitely hire someone to do this, but I like to schedule hours in my week devoted to these ‘less fun tasks’ If you want to grow your biz, you have to make time for activities to reach more people! It’s just stupid if you don’t! Imagine: you devote one or two hours a week to PR and you easily reach more than hundreds of new followers and possible clients/buyers. Would be a shame to not do this right!?!

Myth #5: Nobody will write about my small company, blog or me

False! As blogger and journalist, I’m always looking for new article ideas! And especially new bloggers and startups are very interesting! I don’t want to be the tenth journalist writing about the same business or app everybody is already talking about. My editor won’t accept that. So I want and need to discover new things – so please don’t be discouraged by the fact that it’s just you or that people might not know you! The longer you do this, the sooner people will get to know you and you’ll get over this fear the minute you do your first interview!

Myth #6: I didn’t study this in school so I have an idea where to start or how the field works – I just can’t do it!

Ok, let me tell you this. Most things that leave you with great result aren’t easy. I mean, have you ever tried to lose a few pounds? There is no shortcut in life. The same with free publicity. It’s not difficult, but you have to put in the hours in order to make it work. You don’t need a fancy education, you just need enough knowledge of the field and a business that’s ready. That’s why I created Master the Media. So you don’t need to follow a PR related study. You don’t need to Google old articles till’ you die. You don’t need years of experience in the PR field, working your *ss off for others while running your own business in the evening hours. Skip the endless trial & errors. The instant stress you feel when you do something wrong in an email sent to thousands of your most important contacts. I’ve been there, so you don’t have to go through this.

Download your free checklist to see if you’re ready to get started with free publicity & PR:

You might also like to read:

• Myths About Compensation Claims
• Money Myths That Could Easily Ruin Your Finances
• What is PR? And how can Free Publicity or PR help me grow my business or blog?
• 8 reasons to fall in love with Free Publicity as your #1 business promotion tool
• 5 Signs You Need A New PR Strategy