Today I want to talk about getting great press for your work.
This could be articles written about you, social media shares and shout outs about your business. or being placed on “most recommended” or “check this out!” lists.
I’m going to share with you what I believe to be the single most important factor in getting the media coverage you want, offer an example, and then give you a simple exercise you can start doing today.
To get great press, be at peace with your content.
Content includes your social media posts, website, and videos that speak about what you do and what you value. It’s not only your digital footprint, but the words you use to describe your work in person and speak about how it can impact your audience and transform them.
Being at peace with your content means you are happy to share it, allow it to be seen, and welcome new eyes.
This ease in your body means you are not wasting countless hours, days and possibly years feeling anxious that your work is not good enough. The toll of constant anxiety can create a cascade of self questioning and even more, cause you to try to “be like someone else” or just spin in circles and never release your work because it’s “not ready.”
When press does appear, or an opportunity to be interviewed arises, it may feel impossible to relax and enjoy it because the whole time you are thinking, “is it good enough?”
Or you may be thinking, “will they find out I’m just a fraud?”
When you are at peace with your content, your internal imposter is quiet. Your inner raging critic is taking a vacation. And without that insane noise, you can then just ENJOY the process and watch your audience expand.
Let me give you an example.
This week, my client Erika and I were having a party on her call. There was so much to celebrate for her! She just released her second single, is receiving great press, and has been compared to Joni Mitchell. She is over the moon.
She looked at me and said, “what I put out is a reflection of how I feel, how I see myself. If it’s not for a certain person, that’s ok! I finally recognize my writing is not for everyone, and I’m ok with that. My songs, my writing is how I make sense of my world.”
Her cheeks were flushed and glowing. She loves her songs. She loves what she is writing and singing about. It’s completely aligned with who she is.
“Now I can just SHARE my work,” she said.
This is not how Erika always felt. In fact, when we first starting working together, she knew she wanted to write her first album, but was terrified, lost, and had a raging inner critic. She’s gone through her own transformation to understand what she wanted to say, and to trust that the way SHE says it has value.
And because of that inner work, she exceeded her Kickstarter and is bringing her first album to life with joy.
Being at peace creates an energy of invitation.
This is no accident that Erika is receiving the praise she is. Her process has been deeply intentional, and very sacred.
Now that she can self connect to her inner life, she is able to translate that into her work. And it is her inner peace that is magnetizing her press and her fans.
So, how can you create these same results?
Start with this exercise. Grab your journal and answer these prompts:
- Look at your work. Look at your business, platform, or art and ask yourself, “what are the themes?” List these out. The themes are the things you repeat over and over. This could be talking about discipline, healing, sisterhood, human rights, or the importance of personal choice. If you are feeling stuck, go back and look at your social media, blogs, or marketing to see what is repeated.
- Now, looking at your themes, take a moment to feel each one in your body. For instance, if you have a theme of family in your content, close your eyes and feel that. Does it feel expansive or constrictive? What sensations are coming alive with each one? Write these down.
- For those that feel expansive in your body, take note these are in alignment with your personal values, and plan to continue to share them.
- For those that felt constrictive, re-visit them one by one with curiosity. Is there a voice that arises or a critic that is judging you for talking about that theme? For instance, if you feel constrictive about the theme of healing but have a voice that says, “you are a total fake! You are not qualified to help people with this”, then set that theme aside.
- Bring that theme and the critical voice to my free Silence Your Inner Critic training. This process has helped hundreds to finally transform that voice. Sign up at the link above.
- Revisit your themes after you have completed the process and pare them down to the ones that feel expansive. You may get rid of some, and now can create your content from a smaller and more aligned list.
Being at ease is possible.
Your body has actually just been sending warning signs and signals, because it wants to be whole. Relaxation is your natural state.
Your being wants to support your work.
So, place your attention on what creates ease in your body and let that be the foundation for attracting in the great press that will expand your audience.