When creating a public relations (PR) program for your business, make that public relations (PR) program as profitable as you can. This PR-program path can get you on your way:
Clearly establish the goals of your PR program. Many people forge ahead without knowing what it is they’re trying to accomplish. You can use PR to accomplish many different goals, but if you don’t establish your goals at the outset, you’re unlikely to achieve them.
Assemble pertinent facts. Keep an organized file of the background material you collect on a project. Review the file before you begin to formulate your solution.
Gather general knowledge. General knowledge has to do with the expertise you’ve developed in your life and includes your storehouse of information concerning events, people, media, culture, science, technology, management, and the world at large. Read books in your field and start a reference library. Take some night school courses. Attend seminars, conferences, and trade shows. Make friends with people in your field and exchange information, stories, ideas, case histories, and technical tips.
Look for combinations. An idea doesn’t have to be something completely new. Many ideas are simply new combinations of existing elements. By looking for combinations, for new relationships between old ideas, you can come up with a fresh approach.
Sleep on it. Putting the problem aside for a time can help you renew your idea-producing powers just when you think that your creative well has run dry. But don’t resort to this method after only five minutes of puzzled thought. A solution may strike you as you sleep, shower, shave, or walk in the park. Even if that doesn’t happen, when you return to the problem, you will find that you can attack it with renewed vigor and a fresh perspective.
Use a checklist. You can use checklists to stimulate creative thinking and as a starting point for new ideas. Keep in mind that no checklist can contain an idea for every situation that arises. Use a checklist as a tool for creative thinking, not as a crutch.
Get feedback. If you don’t work as part of a team, getting someone else’s opinion of your work can help you focus your thinking and produce ideas you hadn’t thought of. If you feel that you’re right and that the criticisms are off base, ignore them. But more often than not, the feedback provides useful information that can help you come up with the best, most profitable ideas.
