HYPE YOURSELF

4.5 stars out of 5

My interest in a book like this was honed over many years from every side of the desk. As a university administrator trying to promote public and private training programs, I needed to utilize public relations to connect with my customers - business leaders and the general public - on a very limited budget. As a public relations director at an advertising agency, it was my job to convince editors that my clients had wonderful stories to tell. And as a newspaper editor, I was the one being "pitched" by anyone who had stories they wanted me to tell - wonderful or not (usually not). So when the publisher approved my request for a review copy, I was delighted. Still, armed with all that practical experience, I said to myself, "Self, if there's much of anything truly valuable in here, I'll eat my favorite pair of flip-flops."

Now I've finished reading. And let's just say those flip-flops didn't taste very good (and worse, with spring fast approaching, I'm gonna miss 'em like crazy).

Subtitled "A no-nonsense PR toolkit for small businesses," this book really is all that and more; the author has hit a home run when it comes to practical and thorough advice (put another way, I couldn't have written it better myself). Well, actually I could have in one sense; I'd like to have found more resources geared to U.S. businesses (the author and her company are based across the Pond). The points are well taken and it's easy for me to transfer the concepts to this country, but the average small business owner here likely wouldn't without some professional help.

Chapters are heavy on the how-to, from developing a public relations plan to nuts-and-bolts templates, a glossary and plenty of other resources - all geared toward teaching small business people how to "transform your business for free" (other than, of course, the cost of your time). Even for those who have no time - or don't want to spend it this way - the book is an excellent primer that provides a heads-up on what you should expect if you hire a PR professional. 

The tips are spot-on when it comes to the real world; one of my bugaboos, for instance, is that while putting a positive spin on clients' news is part of any PR professional's job description, telling lies certainly is not. I've seen my share of company owners who expected the latter - and to be sure, they didn't get it from me (nor would I accept them when submitted to "my" newspaper).

The writing is interesting and interspersed with humor - I've lost count of the times I've exorcised the words, "We're excited to announce..." from news releases, for instance. The last chapter, titled "Brain Farts," refers to creative ideas that pop into your head (tying into the overall concept that defines public relations as "anything you do in the public eye"). It read like a laundry list of suggestions I've made to clients in the past - plus a few I never thought of, like podcasting (well, okay, that possibility wasn't even around back then, so I'll cut myself a little slack here).

My bottom line? Reading this book and learning how to get positive exposure for your business could help your bottom line. At under 200 pages, it won't take long to finish, but the return-on-investment possibilities if you follow even some of the advice are well worth your time.

Hype Yourself by Lucy Werner (Practical Inspiration Publishing, January 2020); 170 pp.