My thoughts on Hype Yourself…

Working for myself is fun. Working out how to get new clients isn’t. I hate it. Mainly because I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t like putting myself out there, waiting instead for people to come to me. For the most part, it’s worked. I’ve gotten most of my freelance work through word of mouth. Sometimes, though, I wonder what I could achieve if I was just that little bit braver. Which is why I was interested in Hype Yourself. I was hoping it would help me take the next step with my business.

Then, the coronavirus hit and my work dried up, as did my energy for doing much of anything work-related. Come September, though, with my daughter back in school, and a couple of clients back on board, I felt it was time to think about ‘hyping’ myself again. Which is what I’ve been doing for the last few months, using Hype Yourself as a guide.

Has it worked? Yes and no. Because of the work I do, not everything was relevant to me. This meant I had to pick and choose the bits that I thought were relevant. For me, that was the PR plan, sitting down and thinking about what I wanted to achieve, how I wanted my clients to see me, and how I could better promote myself and the work I do. The media toolkit helped too, though possibly not as much because I’m not selling anything but myself. The same is true of the section of engaging the press.

These sections did, however, come in useful for one of my new contracts, which is long-term and includes helping a smaller charity develop their profile to increase fundraising. I’ve used the press office section for that and managed to get some media interest for a report we released as a result. To say I – and my client – was happy is an understatement.

All in all then, I’d say this book works. I’d also say start at the beginning and take time to do the exercises. They are really useful.

Good luck!

Emma x

Please note: I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts, feelings and opinions are my own.