EP111: How to DIY your PR with Lucy Sambrook and Toya Satnarine from PR for the People
“Part of PR is working out what your USP is and what sets you apart from everyone else. The more you can niche that down the better. If you can’t describe what you do in one sentence then a journalist won’t be able to and they’re not going to remember you either.”
My guests today launched their business during lockdown when they noticed a gap in the market for a DIY PR membership platform to empowering people to have the confidence to speak to the media.
Lucy Sambrook, a PR and journalist who has worked at national publications like the Metro, and Toya Sambrook, a professional dancer turned events manager, launched PR for the People to demystifying PR and make it easy for everyone, from all walks of life, to be able to understand and afford.
The lockdown has seen hundreds, if not thousands, of new small businesses, launch all with an amazing story to tell. But start-ups often can’t afford high PR agency fees, or even very average independent freelance PR rates. So how do they get their business noticed?
PR for the People provides a DIY PR tool kit with virtual memberships offering hundreds of press contacts, a unique Facebook community for entrepreneurs and press to connect via journalist requests, monthly ‘what Journalists want’ webinars, and more for £55/month.
“Getting press coverage should be inclusive for everyone, from all walks of life, not just the privileged. We want to revolutionise the PR industry and make it easy for journalists to find diverse experts and exciting stories.”
The couple is also launching a new lifestyle business publication about self-employed life and how to get the work-life balance while ‘hustling’.
We also talk about:
The difference between PR & marketing
What journalists actually want
How to create the snowball effect
Ethnical barriers and the lack of diversity in the media
The importance of the sustainability message