You Need PR

An Approachable Guide to Public Relations for Early-Stage Companies

By: Jenna Guarneri

Narrated by: Teri Clark Linden

Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Why you need PR and how you can get it—even on a budget

Did you know that about 90 percent of startups fail within the first five years of operation? One of the major reasons for their failure is poor brand awareness, which is developed through PR strategies. Having the right exposure is vital to gaining new clients, growing the company, and securing future funding—in general, company success. But startups and small businesses don’t always have the kind of skills or resources they need to increase their visibility in an already oversaturated media landscape. Jenna Guarneri, CEO and founder of JMG Public Relations, believes that, equipped with the right tools and thinking, entrepreneurs and business leaders can become their own effective publicists.

In You Need PR, she presents the key principles and practices behind good PR, showing you how to:

• Establish your brand, including how to humanize interactions to build a loyal following
• Build your press materials to develop the best possible story
• Formulate a strategy to launch your PR initiatives
• Deliver on the media interview and follow up appropriately

A practical guidebook and powerful tool for any entrepreneur or small business owner, You Need PR offers a smart step-by-step do-it-yourself approach to publicity that will allow you to enhance your company’s reputation and build lasting business momentum.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Jenna Guarneri (P)2022 Greenleaf Book Group

Accidentally crafted my entire PR strategy

This book is just what I needed. The direct, here’s-how-it-really-is delivery and concise takeaways left me with a way more holistic plan than I was expecting.

Rather than being told a hundred things to test out or hearing a bunch of distant parables, this content makes me feel prepared to execute the most significant and impactful PR avenues — which are of course the ones scariest to approach. But the author inspires confidence by making it seem as though we’re under her wing instead of simply listing out some tips and tricks. It’s as if I just got a free pass to skip a bunch of the awkward, stumbling failures of beginning media relationships.

I wasn’t quite sure what I was searching for when I saw this book. Although I knew my marketing experiences would not at all translate into PR knowledge, I still didn’t want to be dragged through a stale, long tour of platforms and corresponding best practices. I wanted the tangible, pragmatic stuff, and that’s exactly what I got.

The narration felt a bit robotic at first, but I didn’t think about it for long. And, I personally didn’t need some of the metaphorical stories sprinkled in to drive home Ms. Guarneri’s solid points, but do honestly believe they will add value for many. Nothing droned on for too long at any point, which I always appreciate.

With a big product release months away, I ended up piecing together about 10 slides’ worth of categorized bullet points while listening to the book (entirely unplanned). It was not at all difficult to connect these key takeaways to my project, which reassured me I was reading the proper book. I was expecting to have to read two or three more, but I’m now working on framing my PR “house” instead, and perfecting my press kit to start reaching out to reporters. Thank you, Jenna!