​

September 2024

The last couple weeks I have been consistently getting up every morning at the….ummm…we’ll call it the butt crack of dawn…to get movement in. I walk my neighborhood, do weight training, and just move my body. I usually try to listen to a business podcast or some of the classics — I’m talking Ludacris, Juvenile, OutKast, NKOTB, Dave Matthews Band. But I digress.

If you know me personally, you KNOW I do not like getting up early. Hate it. But I’ve got goals — and a wedding to go to early next year. Ya know what I’m saying?

But how on earth does me getting up early and listening to millennial music before the sun comes up relate to your business? It doesn’t, really, but it’s got me thinking about doing what needs to be done to reach a future goal.

Stay with me here. I have a GOAL to reach before I attend the wedding of the century. And I’m taking steps NOW to reach that goal. Right? OK. I assume you have business goals to reach before the end of the year? Yea, me, too. So, it begs the question, what steps are we taking now to reach those business goals?

There are only 3 months left in the year. But don’t panic! There’s still so much opportunity out there — and so many options are FREE.

You’ll find — if you haven’t already realized — that I talk a lot about PR. But that’s because it’s such a great, underutilized and often misunderstood tool in a small business owner’s toolbox!

I’ve put together a short, and absolutely not exhaustive, list of ideas and ways you could promote your business in the next 3 months. For free, or for pretty cheap. And my challenge to you, Reader, is to pick one of these and do it for your business.

• Find a holiday tie-in to your business, product or service, that you can pitch to a local publication. So many do holiday gift guides. Do this now! Publications are already working on this.
  • Publications can include: local/regional newspaper, local/regional TV station morning show, your college’s alumni publication, etc.
  • Google “Holiday gift guides 2023 in [your city]” and see what comes up.
• Follow a local or regional social media influencer (or just someone you admire) who you think would love your product/service? Reach out to them and send them your product and ask them to share.
  • Go to their bio. Look to see if they have PR representation, and reach out that way. If they don’t have a management company, you can message them directly on Instagram/Facebook/whatever social platform.
  • Also, pro tip: Many of them do holiday gift guides.
• I recognize the following bullets aren’t necessarily free, but if you do have some funds set aside, could be great ones. Sponsor a local event or have a booth at a local event. Fall and the weeks leading up to Christmas are full of incredible markets in our communities. Buy a space, set up a table and get out there!
• Have kids in school? Sponsor a basket or a big-ticket item for an upcoming event or silent auction or whatever fundraising gimmick your kids’ school is running. There’s always something!
  • Don’t have a child in school? Pick a local elementary school near your home. Reach out to the PTO/PTA and see what opportunities there are.
• Sponsor a YMCA sports team (or related organization). They’ll put your logo on a t-shirt.
• Buy a shirt and take it to a local embroidery place and have your logo embroidered on it. Then wear it all the time. (Or maybe have a couple made so you’ll have a clean one to wear…)
  • Same goes for a bag, hat, water bottle, keychain. Whatever you always have with you, put your logo on it!

All of these are PR. It can really be that simple. Crazy, right?

That said, sometimes we, as business owners, really do need to know when to bring in support. So, do you need to schedule an hour with a PR pro who can walk you through some solid options that could be beneficial to your business? Then do it! Sometimes making the plan is the hardest part, right? ((And shameless plug here — I do this. Click here if you’re interested.))

Look, I know that doing work like this can feel absolutely daunting when you’re focused on your product/service/production/all the things and when you’re not a trained writer or PR pro. But don’t let it scare you. You have a great product, a great service, and you are awesome.

As always, make sure to email me your wins! I wanna hear what you decided to do and how it turned out. I’m here to support you, and my goal is to build a community that supports each other and cheers every single victory.
​

WHAT NISHA'S READING

Honor by Thrity Umrigar – If you remember, I tend to flip between Fiction and Non-Fiction books. I am nowhere near being done with this book (I think I’ve renewed it like 3 times from the library). But, so far so good! It’s about an Indian journalist traveling back to her native country to cover a murder story involving a Muslim man.

WHAT NISHA'S POURING

​ Nisha ​nisha@npatelcommunications.com​ ​​​ Subscribe

802 Augusta Street, Greenville, SC 29605
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​