This quarter inside The Hype has focused on pitching.
And the same question keeps coming up. In my DMs. In my inbox. In the Ask Me Anything thread.
“I’m extremely time poor. I’m juggling creating new work, servicing clients and I know I need to hype myself. Your method for getting press is quality over quantity but that takes time. I really need new sales. How do I prioritise my hype time?”
I’ve worked in PR for over 20 years and for self-employed folk I need to dispel a myth.
Getting press is not a silver bullet for sales. It isn’t.
Yes, in rare cases, if your book or product appears on a TV show, you will see a spike.
But overall, if you need sales in the next 30 to 60 days, I would not focus on press.
Which leads to the obvious question.
Why the hell have you been teaching us to get into press so well for the last two months then, Lucy?
Glad you asked. Even if I am technically talking to myself. Because press does work. Just not in the way most people think.
What press is actually good for
It builds authority.
Investors, researchers, producers, event hosts, literary agents, journalists and brands are always searching for experts. Press helps with search.
It is harder to measure. Unless there is an obvious spike, you do not know who read about you, followed quietly and bought six months later.
I have had clients from press. But it is not where most of my work comes from.
For me, building authority in the newsletter, freelance relocation, creative entrepreneur, writer and PR space matters. So I systemise it.
I pay for Apple News+. It gives me access to multiple international publications. I mostly read opinion columns, personal essays, listicles, trend features and series. I save anything relevant to me or this community.
I allocate one full day a month to pitching. Sometimes that becomes two mornings because a child is sick, a lorry takes out the WiFi cable, life is lifing. I pull up saved articles, draft pitches and chase unanswered ones.
I screenshot opportunities on LinkedIn. I used to use X for journo requests but my LinkedIn algorithm now serves me better. That requires curating who I follow. Mostly journalists from target publications. Here are a few good ones recently: - Happiful Magazine -a community group call out from CICs or charities - Alt Marketing School interview for marketeers - Business Insider - personal essays for wellness, fitness and lifestyle
But outside of pitching to press, here is how I topped up my sales by £5,000 in the last 60 days by hyping myself. And what you should take from it if revenue is the priority.
Where my sales actually came from
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