How to Get PR for Your Holistic Business

Public relations (PR) is an effective way of marketing your holistic business. It’s a great option as it’s effectively free advertising and if you do it yourself, it only costs your time.

PR done well will provide you with credibility and help to build trust in your brand. It’s about raising awareness of you, your services, and the things you’re passionate about.

The world of media is changing fast. A few years ago, when you tried to get PR for your practice, it was about getting featured in newspapers, magazines, on the radio, or on TV. Being featured in the traditional press is still a powerful marketing strategy but there are other options available now.

Today, a host of other media opportunities exist, including blogs, online magazines, video channels, social media, and podcasts, to name a few. Businesses are becoming their own media companies. You can become one yourself or share your stories with other aligned media platforms.

Whichever route you decide to take, here are a few pointers to get you started.

Have Your House in Order

Before you start doing anything, make sure your own website and social media profiles are all up to date. When you get any PR, the journalist or media owner will want to check you out and you want to give a good and consistent impression.

Know Your Message

You can comment on anything where you have an opinion or experience. Even if it is not directly related to your business, it will all help to raise your profile. Have a list of the topics you can speak about that work with your personal brand so there is consistency in what you share.

You do need to be able to clearly articulate what you do in your business so having a clear marketing message will help. Find out how to create yours here.

Do Your Research

Spend time researching the publications and content your ideal client consumes. What magazines or websites do they read? Which videos or podcasts do they subscribe to? Do they listen to the radio or watch TV?

Make a list of your client’s favourites and decide which you are interested in getting featured in. Buy copies, watch or read the content they produce, and get to know them and the type of stories they share. Find out about the schedules they work to as many, especially traditional media, are planned and compiled months ahead of publication.

Build Relationships

Find out who writes or creates the media and follow them on social media. Journalists are known for spending time on X (used to be Twitter) and sending out requests for articles they're writing. Follow #journorequest to find out who is looking for help on a topic you can talk about.

Get on their radar by being helpful, sharing their information, commenting, and connecting with them. Then, when you decide to send them an email pitch, they will have some idea of who you are.

When you do get published, make sure you show your appreciation and share their content with your audiences.

What’s the Story?

Whilst you want to raise awareness of your business, getting featured in the media is not all about you. Journalists and media contacts are busy, and they want to know what’s in it for them. They want stories that are different and will resonate with their audience. Why is it important for their people to know about this story?

Keep Your Pitch Simple

Instead of trying to be clever, keep your pitch to the journalist or media owner clear and simple. Don’t make the reader work hard to understand the story you are sharing as it will have the opposite effect and get deleted. Instead, give them the necessary information in a few lines and show you know why you are a good fit for their audience.

Be Consistent

As with all marketing, PR is a game of consistency, and getting featured once is not enough to have clients flooding through your door. You need to see it as a marathon and not a sprint and consistently find ways of being featured.

Plan out your PR in advance using a diary or wall planner. Get an overview of your year including any special dates or celebrations you can create PR around. This way it won’t suddenly creep up on you and you’ll miss out on a great opportunity.

If you want to learn more about getting PR for your holistic business, a book I recommend is "Your Press Release is Breaking My Heart” by Janet Murray. It’s very practical and walks you through exactly what you need to do to get PR for your holistic business.

Conclusion

PR is a great way to market your business and raise your profile as an expert but it does take time and effort and is one of the many ways you can attract clients to your door. If you’re not sure about where to start or you feel your current marketing isn’t working, let’s have a chat. I can help you get clear about your best next steps and point you in the right direction for the support you need.