When you contact a journalist or even better, they contact you, you need to be ready. This is because you need to move fast. If they ask for something, be it a quote, tips or a photo, you need to be able to respond fast. And I mean - drop what you're doing fast. If you take hours, they are likely to go elsewhere and you will then lose the publicity. This is because they are working to tight deadlines, their deadlines and not yours. I have seen so many instances of this happening and clients or colleagues missing out.

The best thing you can do is to get prepared so you are always ready. Here are 5 simple things you can do this week, to set yourself up to react quickly in 2021.

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Create an up to date bio with contact details

Create an up to date bio with contact details (phone number and email address) on all social media. The priorities for this should be Twitter and Linked In as these are the best places to be found by the press. If you have done this already; go and double check that they are correct.

Write a 100 word bio and save in a template folder

Write a 100 word bio and save in a template folder so you can copy and paste at a seconds notice. This should include what you do, why you do it, who you do it for and any successes. Here is mine which I then tweak depending on who I am sending it to. Write it in the third person as if the journalist is writing it.

PRO TIP - big yourself up! It may feel weird but if it looks like the magazine has written it, you want to sound amazing right?

"Kate is the founder and director of The Indie Practice, helping creative, indie businesses get noticed through affordable marketing and PR and Bedfordshire Business Woman of the Year. She is the creative force behind Magpie Wedding - an award winning blog, show, magazine and directory, now in its 10th year, focused on inspiring style led couples to get the day they want, not what they are told to have. Alongside this, Kate writes for national magazines about her vintage lifestyle as well as having written a book (where Paloma Faith wrote the foreword no less) and has appeared on TV and radio as a style expert."

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Save a high res and a web size headshot of yourself

Have a high res and a web size headshot of yourself saved somewhere you can quickly access. Make sure that the photo represents your brand and your values. Make sure the photographer is happy for it to be in the press and ask if they need to be credited.

Create a folder of 10 photos that journalists will love

Create a folder of 10 photos that showcase what you do that would be amazing in a magazine. Clearly label them with your business name so they are easy for the journalist to find in the future. Again, you will need high res for print and web size for online and the photographers details and whether they need to be credited.

PRO TIP - it is useful if all the photos in this folder have the same photographer to make it super easy for the journalist and to avoid mistakes.

Check your mindset

Probably the hardest one on the list, but when a journalist wants to work with you, you need to have a "Can Do" attitude. Don't turn your nose up at their publication, or bail out half way through the process. They will remember, I promise! The ideal situation is that you are so wonderful and the process ran so smoothly that they are keen to work with you again!

The next stage is to get your business into a place that they want to work with you, to know what to say and how to pitch to attract them! If you want help with this - and if 2021 is the year you finally get into your dream publications, then check out our PR Masterclass we are running at the end of the month.

It is called Get Yourself Into The Press in 2021 and tickets can be bought here. Please note that this is free for HUB members but you are welcome to join us for one session without the monthly commitment.