It's Business, Baby - Home Grown PR

aka the Smart Girls' Guide to Gaining Good Press!

Whenever I post a link on our Facebook or Instagram accounts to our latest piece of press coverage, one of the comments that pops up the most is 'how do you do it?!' Dipping a toe into the world of fashion PR has been one of my most challenging but favourite aspects of running my own business. This time last year, we had zero printed press coverage, and even less budget to invest in hiring a PR company (or, truthfully, a clue abut how to go about that!) but fast forward 12 months and our products have appeared multiple times in international magazines like Company, Now, More, Teen Vogue, Wedding Ideas, Fabulous and Grazia. I'd estimate that our printed press coverage is the leading factor in increasing our turnover 10 fold over the space of 12 months, and all without hiring a PR company, paying for advertising space or throwing a press day. Can I get a hell yeah!?

That's not to say that any of those things are inherently bad moves for a brand. I've said before, that as soon as you can afford to (or can beg, borrow or steal...) outsourcing the aspects of your business that you either detest or know someone can do better than you, is definitely a smart move. But when you're first starting out, budgets are tight, and the world of PR is a big, scary one. So here are my top tips for home grown PR, Crown and Glory style.

 

• Network, network, network! Get yourself onto any invite list you can that is relevant to your area; you never know who you might meet!
• Be nice! Send thankyou cards or nice emails if people call in your pieces.
• Don't overlook the importance of the interns - many will intern at various different titles so if you make a good impression, they're likely to pull your pieces again, elsewhere.
• Ensure you have a good stock of sample pieces ready to send.
• Research a good same day or next day courier service. Many call ins are done with 24 hours or less notice.
• Include a line sheet in your parcel, detailing credit and lending terms, item details and RRPs.
• Ensure your items are labelled so there is more of a chance of them getting back to you.
• Keep a record of where you are sending the pieces out so you can keep track of conversion rates.

Have you got any other tips you feel has helped you gain successful PR coverage? Or do you work at a magazine and can share some tips for standing out from the crowd? We'd love to hear from you!

Images by Lacey for Vogue Japan via WhoWantWear