With the beginning of every New Year, people are often motivated to start anew. It’s the perfect time PR-wise to launch a new initiative or get going on that e-newsletter you’ve been putting off. But by February, it’s inevitable that many of those aspirations never come to fruition. In fact, according to Forbes.com, only 7% of people keep their New Year’s resolutions. So, what happened to the 93%? Why do so many people abandon their sincere and heartfelt goals? What goes so terribly wrong?
While I don’t have all the answers, I can tell you what I’ve learned from working in the public relations field for so long. I’ve seen many well-intentioned clients with wonderful intentions lapse and fall off the PR-wagon, so to speak, and I believe that it comes down to goal setting. There is a lot of planning that goes into goal setting that begins with asking yourself some very important questions beforehand:
1) Are these goals truly attainable? I’ve had clients say, “I want to be on 'Good Morning America' right away.” That is simply not a realistic out-of-the-gate expectation if you're just starting out. While it is always my goal to attain as much press and media coverage as possible, you need to be honest about your expectations or else you will be setting yourself for failure before you can even begin.
2) Do I have all the tools and know-how I need? When you work with me, I want to make sure you take full advantage of all the services offered and not waste your precious time and money on ones you don’t need. Don’t waste your valuable time “guessing” at what your company needs to do. Trust us; we know what we’re doing. We can devise a customized plan that will help you get to your PR goals faster.
3) What is my plan of action to stay on course? In other words, have you agreed to making PR a priority? What happens if you get off track? You need to have a backup plan in place. PR is a dynamic field – as they say, “The news never stops.” The ability to revise your plan is a must because life will throw you unexpected obstacles all the time. The key is to address the problem immediately instead of abandoning your goals altogether.
The real question is, this time next year will you be part of the 93% who failed, or the 7% who didn’t? The choice is yours.
While I don’t have all the answers, I can tell you what I’ve learned from working in the public relations field for so long. I’ve seen many well-intentioned clients with wonderful intentions lapse and fall off the PR-wagon, so to speak, and I believe that it comes down to goal setting. There is a lot of planning that goes into goal setting that begins with asking yourself some very important questions beforehand:
1) Are these goals truly attainable? I’ve had clients say, “I want to be on 'Good Morning America' right away.” That is simply not a realistic out-of-the-gate expectation if you're just starting out. While it is always my goal to attain as much press and media coverage as possible, you need to be honest about your expectations or else you will be setting yourself for failure before you can even begin.
2) Do I have all the tools and know-how I need? When you work with me, I want to make sure you take full advantage of all the services offered and not waste your precious time and money on ones you don’t need. Don’t waste your valuable time “guessing” at what your company needs to do. Trust us; we know what we’re doing. We can devise a customized plan that will help you get to your PR goals faster.
3) What is my plan of action to stay on course? In other words, have you agreed to making PR a priority? What happens if you get off track? You need to have a backup plan in place. PR is a dynamic field – as they say, “The news never stops.” The ability to revise your plan is a must because life will throw you unexpected obstacles all the time. The key is to address the problem immediately instead of abandoning your goals altogether.
The real question is, this time next year will you be part of the 93% who failed, or the 7% who didn’t? The choice is yours.
RSS Feed