Happy 2016! We’ve decked the halls and dropped the ball and now it’s time to get back to business. Many independent PR and communications professionals have set new business resolutions with plans to take their practice to new levels. For others, 2016 is the year they make the leap into independent consulting.
Whether you’re a veteran solo consultant or someone who’s just starting out, read Solo PR Pro’s most popular posts of 2015 (and sign-up for our free newsletter today to keep the great content flowing to your inbox all year) to help you meet your 2016 business goals!
How much are other freelance communications consultants charging? What factors influence compensation, and how satisfied are independent practitioners with their careers? To study these questions and more, Solo PR Pro conducted our first-ever survey of self-employed consultants in communications-related fields. This highly popular post, with exclusive content for Solo PR PRO Premium members, delivers real data to help independent communications consultants see what’s working — and what isn’t — for other professionals across multiple success factors.
Key messages are not dead but they are thankfully evolving. Learn how to craft or refresh modern key messages for yourself or clients. The post also includes downloadable key message formats and detailed message mapping templates, along with an accompanying 25-page ebook to help you craft your own messaging, exclusively for Solo PR PRO Premium members.
Strategic planning forms the basis of what we do as communications consultants, and provides the foundation that allows us to gain consensus and chart a strategic course for – and with – our clients. What differentiates top consultants from others – including many PR agencies – is an ability to look beyond the public relations (or other communications discipline) hat we wear and focus on our clients’ business goals. This post outlines formats, elements and top tips, so you can develop plans that are immensely useful (and set you apart!). For Solo PR PRO Premium members, this post provides a full ebook, planning templates and budgeting worksheets to support you in the planning process.
Love them or hate them, highly-sharable infographics have become an enduring part of the content marketing landscape. The key is to focus on communicating useful information in an easily digestible way. These handy tips, outlined in an infographic,show you how to use this visual format to stand out and get noticed.
The best PR pros know that persuasive communication benefits from a healthy dose of psychology. How do people think and process information, and how can we use that understanding to improve our communications? Understanding how this works can help PR pros avoid the pitfalls of misunderstandings and errors, and we can use it to our advantage to become more persuasive.
Delegating work is an important consideration for any busy independent communications consultant, and determining how best to handle that aspect of your business is key. Solo PR PRO Premium member, Mary Deming Barber, shares in this post her insights and experiences on how to decide whether a PR intern or assistant is the best fit for your needs.
In 2015, Solo PR Pro Founder, Kellye Crane, celebrated 20 years in business. That's a long time! Here she shares her experiences, advice and top tips for those considering the transition into consulting, as well as those looking to maintain and grow their Solo PR Pro practice.
Though this post was published late in 2015 and didn’t officially get the most traffic, it’s definitely one we recommend checking out to start 2016 off on the right foot. It covers the full client lifecycle – from lead acquisition to providing services and growing the business – providing a step-by-step guide through each phase. Exclusively for Solo PR PRO Premium members, this post offers numerous downloadable examples, templates and resources for immediate use.
We hope we’ve captured all of your favorites from this past year. If you have one that didn’t make it to our list, share it with us in the comments section below.
Here’s to another fabulous year ahead with even more resources and information from Solo PR Pro to help you be the best consultant you can be!
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