Post by Tanya Goodwin-Maslach, contributing Women On Business writer
You remember when you just started something, and all the creative juices were flowing, your mind was abuzz constantly, and you thought “Who’s NOT going to love this?!”
Well at the dawn of your first major success, that first big milestone, your critics will peep out from behind the corner and show you the five top reasons your idea, service or product sucks.
What a great opportunity to shine.
Well, if your critics are loud enough, or have a specialized megaphone they like to use (email newsletter or something similar), you could say No PR is Bad PR.
My jury is still out on that.
In the meantime, there are a couple of things you can do to make sure your PR is the kind you really want to get:
- Take the high road. If you’ve been getting bad press all around you, but not yet heard a peep from the person starting the dramatic chatter, invite them for a conversation. Listen. Keep listening. Ask questions. No need to get defensive. Just listen. Then, if you’re invited to respond, educate. Then remain open to future conversations. I think this is the “kill them with kindness” approach.
- Invite others to judge for themselves. Be the infomercial. The wonderful thing about living here in the U.S. is our ability to try and do things of our own free will. You don’t agree with something, you can write a letter, boycott buying a product, pen an OpEd, or stop paying dues. But others still get to decide for themselves what works for them. Invite them to do just that. Perfect chance is when someone is making a big stink about what you have to offer.
- Be transparent. You don’t have to open up your financials. But do share your goals, your activities to reach your goals, the efforts of those who are helping and in what way are they helping you to get from Point A to point B. Remind people of your values, your promises, and even your story. Then, let THEM decide (see #2 above) how or if they want to play.
I’m going to end it at three things. Of course, there’s more. But three is some kind of magic number. And these are the biggies anyway. I’m not saying they’re easy, just that they’re necessary.
Because behind every great idea lurks many critics waiting to make it a bad one.
Onward and UPWARD!!
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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