Self Promotion Tips For Entrepreneurial Women
Featured in the media – what next?
One of the most common things I hear from people who have been featured in the media a handful of times is,
“I was featured in Forbes / HuffPost / Entrepreneur and then nothing happened. PR doesn’t work.”
Self promotion is not easy but does it work? I said the same thing. I started my business and I was watching other people in my industry get featured in the media and it looked like their business was really taking off.
So, I decided to do what they were doing. I started by becoming a regular contributor at HuffPost, which led me to be interviewed in countless podcasts, Glamour Magazine and Bustle, and also becoming a contributor at ThriveGlobal.
My drive to figure out why nothing happened after that first article was published is what led me to get featured in the media every 2 weeks for an entire year.
Self Promotion Tips For Being Visible
I learnt self promotion is essential and after the visibility I got for my business that year, people started inviting me to teach workshops about public relations and other business owners asked me to teach them how I did it. Now I am thrilled to be able to share my strategies with other business owners so they can do it too!
You can hear more in my ‘How to be Your Own Publicist’ workshop in the Women in Business Member’s Club.
One of the most important things I learned is self promotion, and overcoming imposter syndrome is just as important as being featured in the media. Part of the reason nothing was happening is that I still wasn’t comfortable promoting myself. Here are 5 ways for self promotion and how you can upgrade your online credibility by leveraging the media features you have that you felt ‘didn’t work’:
Self Promotion Tips #1: Create Your Media Bio.
Your Media Bio is a little bit different from your ‘About Me’ page on your website because your audience is different. Your website is designed to speak to your ideal client. Your Media Bio is designed to speak to editors, writers, producers, podcast and radio hosts.
Typically the media influencers you are pitching yourself to are not ideal clients, but their audiences are so you don’t need to sell influencers on your services. You do need to sell them on your credibility and authority in your industry so your Media Bio should include any awards, certifications, degrees, or other accolades that distinguish you from everyone else in your industry.
You should have three versions of it: 50 words, 100 words, and 300 words. Each version is useful for different situations. This is your chance to shine and to show what makes you unique. It should be written in the third person and you should include your website at the bottom so people who are reading it know where to find more information about you. You will find a bio is the first step towards your pursuit for self promotion.
Self Promotion Tips #2: Update Your Website
While I don’t believe you should get publicity just so you can have fancy logos featured on your website, they are important.
Every time you are featured in a new media outlet you should update your website to let your readers know about the feature. This could be on your homepage by showcasing logos, videos, or audio clips. It could also be on your press page and you could repurpose the content on your blog.
People judge your site in the first 10 seconds of seeing it so make sure the first thing they see gives them a reason to want to find out more about you. An up-to-date website is your best tool for self promotion.
Do you want to learn how to land more speaking opportunities? Read our blog post on ‘8 Things to Add to Your Public Speaking Profile‘.
Self Promotion Tips #3: Offer a Free Gift
When approaching publicity, you should have your goals, objectives and ROI in mind before you pitch. What are you expecting to get out of it?
My guess would be that the people who think ‘PR doesn’t work’ did not have a clear goal in mind when they were featured in the media those first few times.
One benefit of publicity is that you can increase brand awareness and leverage that to grow your email list. Create an enticing opt-in that is relevant to the article you are pitching so you can collect email addresses when people love your article so much they decide they want to read even more of your content, leading them to visit your landing page. This self promotion strategy always works!
Traditional marketing told us that people need to see your brand or product 7 times before making a purchase, but that was before Facebook decided to show you those shoes you clicked on and decided not to purchase to entice you to change your mind.
Now, I believe the number is closer to 16 times. That doesn’t mean people need to see you promoting your product 16 times before they buy it, it just means they need to become familiar with who you are and what you do.
One way you can create those impressions without feeling like you are selling all the time is by updating your social media so all of your handles and profile pictures are the same. This gives the illusion that “you are everywhere” and when you are everywhere, your audience has more opportunities to begin to know, like, and trust you. Social media has indeed become an important tool for self promotion. Read more about Social Media in our recent blog ‘Social Media Secrets‘.
Self Promotion Tips #5: Get Professional Headshots
If you are a personal brand then your headshot is critical to allow people who have never met you to recognize your face online. You want to hire a professional photographer who specializes in branded portraits because they will ask you specific questions about your brand so they can capture your unique qualities on camera and help you stand out.
When preparing for your photo shoot you should pay close attention to the clothes you want to wear, the colours you want to use, the time of year you are taking the photos, whether they should be taken indoors, outdoors or both, and the facial expressions you want to have in the photos.
A great photographer will help you plan out this shoot so you get everything you need and can use the photos for multiple purposes without having to have a new photoshoot every time the seasons change.
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Tara Bradford
Publicity Strategist, Reputation Designer & International Speaker
I’m a former ICU nurse turned Emotional Resilience Coach and Leadership Consultant. I hold certifications in high performance coaching, hypnotherapy, neurolinguistics, emotional freedom, and TIME techniques.
I have a 100% success rate getting my clients booked for TEDx talks and I’ve successfully helped clients take their businesses from $100k to $1M in revenue in less than a year. I also consult with Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business and the masters students I have coached have gotten jobs at Big 4 Accounting Firms.
As seen in HuffPost, Bustle, ThriveGlobal and Forbes
