Hi there,
This issue, I wanted to talk a little bit about making progress with comparison.
Brené Brown, queen of all things confidence, vulnerability and creativity once famously said:
“Stay in your lane. Comparison kills creativity and joy.”
And boy, am I gonna get that shit written down, framed and hung above my desk.
Why is it sometimes that when you’re trying your best at life (and doing it pretty bloody well) that another person’s achievements can make you feel less worthy, or successful? Whether it’s my mates who have definitely been exercising more than me in lockdown, or another agency or PR who has been smashing it out of the park with coverage, my mind has a tendency sometimes to compare my performance against other peoples – and wonder why I’m not up to scratch.
If you’re relating to any part of what I’ve just written above, this is totally normal by the way. There’s a whole concept in social psychology which explains that we’re constantly looking to others for cues on how to behave. The theory suggests that we naturally assume that others know something we don’t, and so we’re constantly looking at the behaviour of our peers for an indication of how to behave.
And this comparison can be really helpful sometimes – there’s a lot to be learnt from looking at other people’s lives; and as this week’s Work in PRogress Will Hobson tells us, identifying people that inspire you and following their work, is a great way to develop your own personal style.
This being said, it’s important to realise when comparison is no longer serving you.
In a bid to make progress in reducing unhealthy comparison tendencies and “stay in my lane” like Brené told us to, I’ve made a list of all my achievements. From my favourite pieces of coverage for clients, to the lovely feedback I receive from sending this newsletter, to messages of love and support from my friends and family.
The moment I start to get that niggly comparison feeling, I get off social media, read through this list and remember to put my blinkers back on.
Cheesy? Definitely. Helpful? Why not try it the next time you’re in a comparison rut and see for yourselves…
Enjoy issue six of Work in PRogress!
📩abigailebennetts@gmail.com 📩
Abi x
Issue #6 -Fave PR Campaigns
My fave PR campaigns from the last two weeks…
- I absolutely adored the visual in this campaign by Small Business Prices which visualises the world’s wealthiest billionaires.
- Amazing reactive PR work from Brewdog, who following the Dominic Cummings debacle, created a limited edition range of Barnard Castle Eye Test beer, with all profits going to funding their production of free sanitiser for the NHS & Health Care Charities. Funny, and charitable.
- I loved this super topical competition from Liberty Games, who are giving away a year’s supply of beer to the best home bar owner. Does me drinking sauv’ blanc in my living room count?
- I was really pleased to see that Crayola has announced a set of new crayons that will represent 40 different skin tones. Though not necessarily a PR stunt or campaign, this is a wonderful (and long over-due) move by the brand, and has been covered far and wide in the press over the past couple of weeks.
- And finally, while we’re all wondering how we’re going to socially distance in normal life moving forward, Burger King has delivered us the solution in the form of their Social Distancing Crowns, which ensure people are six feet away from one another at all times.
Develop your skills..
Learn something new and discover useful resources this Friday morn with my fave tips, tricks and informative articles from the last fortnight:
- Biased, I know, but I loved poring over this study conducted by James Brockbank which analyses 500 campaigns and looks at the average number of links earned, average DAs, TrustFlow and so much more. A really interesting read and a nice snapshot into the performance of some of digital PR’s best campaigns.
- I found this blog post about writing expert quotes by ex-journalist turned digital PR Surena Chande so insightful and helpful, and as someone who was previously wary of a long journo quote, I am now a more-the-merrier convert!
- I loved Shannon McGuirk’s presentation at TurnDigi last week about what is normal when it comes to digital PR campaigns. In a time where we all have probably compared our own performance to that of another agency’s viral campaign (see intro above), Shannon’s talk was the Powerpoint slides equivalent of a pep talk and a warm hug – we got this! Catch up on her slides here.
- I LOVED this top tip from Lene Nervik about how to save time when prospecting. Change your life here.
- Calling all female SEOs! The incredible Areej AbuAli has launched a Community Speaker Hub in which women working in SEO can submit speaker profiles. I LOVE this initiative and makes it impossible for events organisers not to diversify their speaker lineups. Ladies, get submitting!
- I really enjoyed this blog post by Stephen Kenwright at Rise at Seven on how to communicate SEO concepts more effectively. The “it depends” can be an easy out sometimes, but this post really challenged me to think about how I’m communicating digital PR and SEO concepts to clients, and even friends!
- Finally I am loving this visual vocabulary chart by the Financial Times, which was referenced by Ashley Kirk in JBH’s webinar. Think my boyfriend would let me hang this above the bed? 😍
Speaking opportunities
🚨In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, I will be putting a pause on this section of the newsletter, until events organisers re-gain more clarity on when all events can be re-scheduled safely.🚨
However, if you organise (or know of) an amazing digital PR, SEO, or digital marketing event please do submit the details of the event below. I will share these events with subscribers as soon as normal life resumes!
Submit your SEO, digital PR or marketing events here
This issue’s Work in PRogress – Will Hobson
This week’s Work in PRogress is the fabulous Will Hobson, PR Director at Rise at Seven.
Read the full interview with Will on my blog, linked below.
And that’s it!
Please direct all feedback, suggestions and any events, training courses or campaigns you think should be included in this newsletter to: 📩 abigailebennetts@gmail.com 📩
And catch up on other issues of Work in PRogress here.
Abigail Emily Bennetts 