The first time a potential client says you must carry $1 million in general liability coverage (or more) to win their business, the tendency is to freak out! But there's no need to worry - the most commonly required insurance is probably much cheaper than you imagine,...
Heather Rast
How To Build A Conversation Calendar For Social Media
Contributed by Content & Community Specialist Heather Rast. As social media becomes more integrated with PR services, the need for mapping activity to strategic objectives, efficient tactical workflow, controls to ensure on-brand messages will continue to grow. In...
January Lets You “Re-do”
This post contributed by Content & Community Specialist Heather Rast. The early weeks of every year can be pretty symbolic. We give ourselves a pass to shirk the poor work habits of just a few weeks prior. Hopes abound that a big red “re-do” button will let us...
Hot Posts of 2011
2011 Has been a great year for Solo PR Pro. We grew our readership (which means we’re helping more indies get the information they need) and participation in our weekly Twitter chat (thanks to everyone spreading the good word with the #solopr hash tag) expanded to...
Financial Success: It’s A Numbers Game For Indies
This post contributed by Heather Rast, Content and Community Specialist for Solo PR Pro. In the corporate and agency worlds, there are resources to help career-minded professionals assess their financial place in the talent stream. I remember a rule of thumb I picked...
Year-End Advice for Pros New And Old
This post was written by Heather Rast. It’s that time of year again. The time where independent consultants think about this year's work and how to move into the new year with sound footing. Over the last three years, we’ve had several blog posts and Twitter chats...
7 Ways To Build Trust With Your Clients
This post is by Solo PR Pro Content and Community Specialist, Heather Rast. Working with Kellye, you learn early on she’s smart about servicing clients. A recent project got us talking about ways to build trust after finding a new client and how vitally important it...
Have A Hero In Your Corner You’d Like To Thank?
This post is by Solo PR Pro Content and Community Specialist, Heather Rast. Last week, Kellye celebrated her 16th year as an independent PR practitioner. Her post, “Celebrating 16 Years And Counting,” called out three key lessons for those wishing to commit to a solo...
What Can Brands Do After The Facebook “Like”? [video]
I had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Hicks, former Social Media Manager with Facebook. As you can imagine, Matt is full of insight into how brands can better use their Facebook Pages to connect with audiences with the goal of developing relationships. This...
New Business: Is There A Right Time To Say No?
This post is by Solo PR Pro Content and Community Specialist, Heather Rast. In last weeks’ #SoloPR chat, we talked about the circumstances in which an indie consultant might elect to decline a work offer and the best ways to handle communicating a “No, thank you”...
Celebrating 16 Years and Counting
In the year 1995, Google hadn’t been invented yet, the then-admired Mel Gibson won the Academy Award for best director (Braveheart), and grunge goddess Alanis Morissette won the Grammy for best album (Jagged Little Pill). In November 1995, Crane Communications, LLC...
#SoloPR chat: pulling all-nighters, opting out of work offers, and more
During the November 9 #SoloPR Twitter chat, independent PR pros discussed the pros/cons of working beyond normal business hours, criteria for declining or referring work, and more. Specifically, the following questions were addressed: Does it ever make sense to pull...
You May Be An Image Consultant (And Not Even Know It)
As a follow-on to our recent discussion during the #SoloPR Twitter chat, this guest post is from Atlanta-based #SoloPR community member Tiffany Rogers. As a solo public relations professional, people always ask me, “What is PR, and what exactly do you do?” Depending...
Finding What’s Most Important: An Interview with Beth Harte
It’s a common discussion in the Solo PR community: how much does online popularity matter when it comes to business success? And are these online relationships really friendships? When one of the industry’s top bloggers (and my good friend), Beth Harte, chose to...
On tapping your personal networks, over sharing, and building an email list
During the November 2 #SoloPR Twitter chat, independent PR pros discussed leveraging personal social networks for business purposes, how best to straddle the line between business communications and personal messages in social media spaces like Facebook, and more....
5 People Who Should Never Be Solo
Not everyone is cut out to work independently, and and there’s nothing wrong with recognizing that solo life isn’t for you.. While most of us wouldn’t trade this career path for anything, if you’re considering taking the leap to self-employment, ask yourself if you...
Top 10 Ways To Find Clients
As most successful solos will tell you, networking is the key to your long-term viability as an independent consultant. We've talked about some foolproof excuses to reach out to your network, but where do you go to make new contacts? You don’t have to attend every...
Budget Trends and Plummeting Klout Scores, Oh My!
During the October 26 #solopr Twitter chat, independent PR pros discussed budget trends and dipping Klout scores (influencer marketing). Specifically, the following questions were addressed: In last weeks' newsletter, we discussed client budget plans. Seeing budget...
On tapping your network, evolution, and growing the biz
During the October 19 #SoloPR chat, independent pros weighed in on using your network to gain exposure, how the industry is evolving, and thoughts on growing the business (or not). Specifically, the following questions were presented to the group: At #prsaicon,...
Do Indies Hold The Purse Strings?
As independent consultants, we’re often responsible for both purchasing and recommending everything from media databases and wire services to commercial printers and social media measurement tools. We thought it would be interesting to do a quick poll to quantify...