Denisha is the founder and CEO of her very own non-profit and producer of live events. I had the pleasure of serving her via my done-for-you PR programme before, during and after the launch of her most recent book that went on to become a #1 Amazon bestseller in January.
During the course of our time together, one of the services that I performed for her was monitoring HARO and pitching editors on her behalf whenever relevant opportunities came up. With one in particular, not only was her initial pitch accepted, the editor came back and asked her if she would be willing to write for them again. The issue? None of the topics that he put to her were in line with her brand or areas of expertise. She had 3 options:
Write about one of the topics that he chose because "all publicity is good publicity" and he knows his audience/platform best
Thank him for his proposal but say a hard "no" because none of the topics were in line with her brand
Thank him for his proposal, explain that none of the topics he suggested were her area of expertise, outline her expert topics and say she'd be happy to write for the platform again if they ever needed any of her expert topics covered in future
Let's review the pros and cons of each scenario:
#1 Write about one of the topics that he chose because "all publicity is good publicity" and he knows his audience/platform best
Pros: The editor gets what he wants and needs and Denisha gets publicity
Cons: The publicity does not serve her well. In fact, it dilutes her brand and draws the wrong people to her platform (one of the common brand clarity mistakes discussed last week)
#2 Thank him for his proposal but say a hard "no" because none of the topics were in line with her brand
Pros: the integrity of Denisha's brand remains in tact
Cons: The editor does not get what he wants and the hard no burns that bridge, destroying all good will and possible future collaborations
#3 Thank him for his proposal, explain that none of the topics he suggested were her area of expertise, outline her expert topics and say she'd be happy to write for the platform again if they ever needed any of her expert topics covered in future
Pros: Denisha's brand clarity is preserved whether the editor agrees or not. However, if he agrees, both parties win.
Cons: The editor could pass on the counter offer, meaning no-one wins.
Can you guess which one we went for?
Yup, option #3! And guess what? It paid off in that the editor said that she could choose to write about whichever one of her expert topics that she wanted!
The editor got a win!
Denisha got a win!
Everybody got a win!
All because of the power of brand clarity.
Want to take the first step towards making sure that your brand is as clear a possible too? Well, sis, I've given you everything that you need to do just that with The Media Attraction Audit- the checklist that helps you to make sure that your website proves your expertise, credibility and authority so that you can get more visible, attract your dream clients and get paid what you want. Click here for access and scroll down!