Keys to A Winning PR Campaign

If you are ready to shine your light, establish your legacy and bring your dreams to fruition, then you are ready to launch a public relations campaign.

After 20 years—going from tech public relations to hospitality PR, then through the Hollywood trenches and finally starting my own PR company—I can confidently say that I have figured out a good game plan for a successful PR campaign.

I always have said that PR is a formula, and once you know how to do it, you can apply it to just about anything. For the first time, I am revealing my failsafe blueprint by distilling it into a 6-step process.

If you want mainstream press to start buzzing about your products or services, then you are ready to go from the sidelines to making headlines. This guide will help you gain a global audience, earn credibility, and not only reach your business goals—but actually take your business to the next level.

The PR STAR Formula:

1: Persistence
The first step in my winning PR process involves creating a persistent mindset. It is imperative that you know what you are doing and why you are doing it. There has to be an authentic drive behind the campaign to generate true success. Getting into alignment with your purpose is paramount.

2: Research
Doing the appropriate research to create your branding, positioning and messaging is the foundation for your campaign. Knowing how to highlight what sets you apart and makes you an expert in your field is what will allow you to become an expert in the media, and ultimately, the public eye.

3: Shine
To rock at running your PR campaign, you have to be willing to shine. This is the time to come out of your shell, from behind-the-scenes, own your worth and talent, and courageously flaunt it to the world. Putting your best foot forward in every way possible—through your product and services and how you present them and yourself—is going to set the stage for the type of exposure that you receive.

4: Timeline
The planning for a PR campaign and its timeline determine the direction and strategy of the approach. It is never too early to be thinking about PR. Make sure that you take the time to plan accordingly. Know your deadlines. Know the media’s lead times. Otherwise, you might miss out on once-in-a-lifetime media opportunities that can make or break a launch.

5: Awareness
Once you have properly executed your PR plan and timeline, you are at the stage of generating awareness. Through strategic editorial exposure to the right target audience, you will gain momentum, build relationships and earn bigger and better press over time. Media relations is a slow and steady race. Using long-term strategies to nurture media contacts is what results in long-term business success.

6: Results
At this stage of the game, you have properly executed your campaign and have secured editorial results in mainstream media. Your credibility and audience is growing. People are buzzing about you and your products or services. The cachet that comes with appearing in mainstream press is bringing you more of what you were seeking, whether that is clients, customers, partners, investors, sponsors or other opportunities for growth. It’s important to seamlessly push your press results back through social media channels and utilize the growing momentum for optimal success.

The idea is to integrate public relations and these strategies into your business on an ongoing basis so that PR isn’t seen as something separate or just for special occasions. With a solid public relations plan in place, it is less likely for you and your brand to get lost in the shuffle.

To be a successful entrepreneur, you’ll want to learn and utilize the public relations formula for a business breakthrough. Know your value, learn how to express it and whom to express it to, and I promise that you will be on your way to capturing the awareness and audience that you desire.