How To Generate Publicity for Your One Woman Shop in Just 30 Minutes Per Day

You know the struggle when you’re first learning something?

One moment you’re vigorously trying new ideas from your entrepreneurial gurus. And the next? You realize you wasted three hours and you can’t tell if you accomplished anything.

That’s how I felt every day when I first started doing publicity.

Everything was hit and miss. My days got swallowed into the computer screen. I was driving myself crazy -- and not seeing results.

Of course I learned a ton, but I wished someone could have said, “Here’s a way to break things down into bite sized pieces!”

That’s exactly what this post is about.

After several years of refining my own routine, I’ve reduced my weekly schedule into simple chunks. I got rid of the time-gobbling fluff and focused on tasks that bring about tangible outcomes.

This one-woman schedule is easy, actionable, and totally results oriented.

Once you get into the rhythm, you won’t spend more than 30 minutes per day on generating your own free publicity!

Monday

Read three articles from blogs or magazines you want to be featured on.

As you do:

  • Take notes on what you think about the article. Keep this in an easy to access place like an Evernote notebook or a Google Sheets spreadsheet.
  • To really make your presence felt, leave a thoughtful comment on the post. This will notify the writer or editor that you actually care about their work. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to someone you will eventually want to send a pitch to.
  • If they don’t have a comments section, feel free to send a quick email thanking the writer for the post. Don’t try to pitch or sell anything to them. You’re literally just there to acknowledge the value of this person’s article.

To take things a step further, spend a few minutes scheduling reposts for these three articles on your social accounts throughout the week. This shows bloggers that you care about their work and giving them exposure, too.

Tuesday

Pitch three writers you've connected with in the past.

Unless you have a last-minute time constraint, I don’t recommend that you pitch someone upon first contact (that’s why we read those articles and took those actions on Monday!).

Previous contact can include anything from connecting on social to getting a warm introduction from a mutual connection -- but giving it at least a bit of time to marinate is key.

Whether you’re pitching a guest post or are pitching a full-blown feature, today is the day to make it happen!

Wednesday

Check in with your network.

Ahh hump day. Everyone’s feeling the weight of the week today, which makes this the perfect time to check in with your network!

  • Message a few of your business connections and check to see how they’re doing.
  • Comment or share some new blog posts from a few of your entrepreneur friends.
  • Hit up online networks on Facebook, Slack, Mightybell or even Quora and answer questions about your field.

I can’t count how many times I’ve gotten collaborations, new clients, and PR opportunities just from checking with with the people I’ve met online.

Thursday

Follow up with three people you’ve pitched.

If anyone you pitched on Tuesday clicked links in your email, but didn’t get back to you, today is the day to follow up. Come from a place of helpfulness in your follow up. For example: Do they have questions you can answer?

If there haven’t been any clicks in this week’s outreach, let those sit. Instead, take this opportunity to follow up with the people you pitched last week. (It’s now been nearly 10 days!)

Friday

Add three new outlets to your media outreach list.

Woo! It’s Friday, which means it’s the perfect time to prepare for the coming week. Today is the day to do some maintenance and add new publications to your media outreach list.

When thinking about adding a new media outlet to your outreach list, consider this:

  • Do your customers naturally gravitate toward this publication/website?
  • Is it a place they return to over and over again?
  • Can you provide obvious value to the publication’s audience?

Make sure you save the link to an article about your niche -- this saves you time on Mondays!

Note the name of the publication, the author’s name, and their direct email address. If you need help, use free tools like Hunter and Big Picture’s Email Finder to track down almost any email address in seconds.

There you have it. A week’s worth of publicity work in only 30 minutes per day, and you’re set up to do the same next week!

Your turn: What first step will you take to kickstart your publicity efforts?

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Ieva Urbaite helps ambitious entrepreneurs get heard online by teaching them how to do their own publicity. She runs The Friendly Publicist, an approachable publicity and marketing blog. Based in New York City, Ieva has an international roster of genre-bending, empowered clients. When she’s not running PR campaigns, she teaches publicity workshops.
  1. Beverly says:

    I ABSOLUTELY love this idea of breaking things down to daily tasks! I will definitely implement this strategy. Thank you so much for sharing.

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