The Book Every PR Professional Should Read

As PR pros, we can’t ever stay away from books. We are avid readers and have an endless desire to know more. This is why are we in this field, right?!!

The latest “trophy” of a book I came across was “It’s not how good you are … It’s how good you want to be” by Paul Arden – aka a pocket bible for the talented and timid alike. Needless to say, it made my PR, Marketing & Advertising confidence skyrocket.

Written for those who thrive to be better versions of themselves, this it is a book for everyone wanting to unleash his or her creativity and ambition,

Why am I saying that you may ask? Well, I will simply shed the light on few points and will leave the judgment to you. Keep reading:

1.Don’t seek praise, seek criticism

Getting approvals for the jobs we deliver is always easy, but that shouldn’t be our aim. The only way we can improve and push our limits is by looking for criticism in every PERFECT job we deliver.

Do not be afraid of asking the question “what’s wrong with it?”

2. Don’t look for the next opportunity, the one in hand is THE opportunity

We are always waiting for the perfect brief from the perfect client to come up with that “IT” idea, but it almost never happens.

You are probably working on something right now, telling yourself it’s boring and wanting to get it over with right? WRONG. Make sure that whatever is on your desk right now is the ONE – just like the guy/girl you met last Friday and asked on a date – treat every business brief as your golden opportunity.

3.Know your client’s aims

Most clients are corporate people; they mostly see ideas as a risk rather than an advancement. Therefore, their motivations could be quite different.

Find out what your client’s real objective is. Look beyond what is written in the brief because, the reality is, all your hard work can be rejected simply because you did not understand the client.

4.It’s Wrong To Be Right

Being right is always based on your knowledge and experience but, if we pay close attention, they both come from the past and it is out of date.

If you are on a consistent drive to prove yourself right, then you are stuck in concrete and cannot move forward. Be open to new ideas and avoid being rigid-minded and dull.

5.Don’t be afraid of silly ideas

We all get mental blocks sometimes.If you are in deadlock here a couple of tricks that can help:

Do the opposite of what the solution requires

Look out of the window and whatever catches your eye (a bird, a man or a car), that could be the solution to your problem. USE IT IN YOUR NEXT IDEA.

6.If You Get Stuck, Draw with A Different Pen

Change your tools; it may free your thinking. For example, doing your layouts in water colors, charcoal, pencils or decoration paints and brushes can help you open your mind and it’s fun!

7.Get out of your field

Most of us live within the world of PR and advertising. As such, 90% of our inspirations come from other campaign or people in our field. However, if you are looking to be original, try seeking inspirations from other sources.

8.How a junior account executive can make a big difference

If you are working on a big corporate account, you can either hide behind the bureaucracy or stand out and push your agency’s image as well as your own. How can you do that should be your next question, and here is the answer:

Take the initiative to push your idea, even if it means allocating a small budget from the agency to get it done. Speak to the best creative people and, if you are worried about the quality, get the creative director to oversee it.

Present it to your client with the complete trust that you did all you could do and more. If it gets rejected, well you just lost your small budget. However, if you win you will be the creative person everyone wants to work with.