I love it when people share their media relations triumphs, and this example packs a punch.
I first met Shauna Brennan, founder of My Day Office, at a media relations presentation I gave at the invitation of Eastside Commercial Bank. She was inspired to spend $10 to purchase the Authentic Visibility Publicity Tips Booklets as a means of earning her own publicity for her new venture. She signed up to receive the Authentic Visibility ezine and started paying attention for media contacts and resources that could serve her do-it-yourself publicity goals.
The week of July 4, 2007, Shauna shared a press release and a data sheet about work from home trends with a reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. On Monday, July 16, 2007, a powerful and favorable front page business story ran in the paper, bringing her story far and wide. Here is the link:
https://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/323777_officespace16.html
I talked with Shauna about her approach to employing the tips, and here is what she had to say.
“I am a start-up business with high hopes, big expectations, and limited dollars for marketing. I know I need to have a corporate image, and that includes marketing and public relations. When I met you at eWomenNetwork and heard you speak at Eastside Commercial Bank, I learned about the tools that would make it easy to do it myself. With those tools and those I gained access to via your ezine, I took the initiative and did everything you said I should do. As a result, I was able to earn a front page article in the Seattle PI business section. I sent a press release on July 4 week (a slow news week) and included a data sheet about the latest trends in home officing. You said to bring the information to the people, and it will all come back. And it has.
“When I met with the reporter, I gave her all the contacts to make her reporting job easier. I gave her information about my competition and their phone numbers. I also shared the names and contact information of my potential clients. And, I shared recent information about trends in the workplace that highlighted how many are working from home or the local coffee shop. I was prepared. I would not have been prepared if not for the coaching I got from the tips booklets and the Authentic Visibility ezine.
“The front page article drove a lot of business to me. People were calling to book my conference rooms right away, weeks before I opened my doors.”
When asked what she would say to others wondering if they can do their own PR, Shauna had this to say. “It's empowering. It's not difficult. You can do it, as long as you follow the guidelines of the tips booklets. You have to know your own story. The article placement I earned is valued at $5000 or more easily in paid advertising, and the cost of hiring a publicist would have been in addition. I earned that story placement on a do-it-yourself basis by following tips I purchased for $10. Talk about return on investment. It was a little bit of work, but so what! In less time than it would have taken to explain it to someone else, I was able to do it myself. That is the true beauty of it. I take these booklets with me everywhere I go. I use them as a checklist. They are small and convenient and fit easily in a briefcase or daytimer. I plan to share them with my customers to support their success.”
My Day Office opens officially for business on September 24 with high hopes, great expectations and the benefit of excellent PR earned on a do-it-yourself basis. How cool is that?
Learn more about Shauna's company by visiting this link: www.mydayoffice.com. When you do, share your preferences about how you like to work to inform Shauna's next PR idea, which is to pitch a story about how My Day Office solves real needs among those who work in news ways to make their ways in the world.
And, if you are curious about those handy dandy tips booklets, read more by clicking on TIP BOOKLETS along the horizontal navigation of this blog.
Got a great do-it-yourself publicity story to share? Comment here so the world can know about your success and your venture!
