If you think publicity is just for big companies, think again.

Publicity is a competitive advantage for small business, freelancers and individuals. Getting published, landing a media mention or just making an insightful observation via social post is an effective way to establish your thought leadership and brand yourself as an expert. Publicity puts you and keeps you front of mind with people who can hire you or refer you to be hired – whether it’s an employer hiring help or a customer buying a service.

Publicity also keeps you top of mind with your broader network – the connections you don’t correspond with so frequently, but who could be very helpful for information, leads or even opportunities. However, it’s hard to continually think of things to write about or timely, relevant comments to make.

This 2021 PR calendar is one of my favorite branding and networking tools.

My longtime friend (and go-to PR expert) Selena Soo puts out a PR calendar each year that highlights key dates, monthly themes and other timely topics. It’s FREE (though you do have to input your email to download it):

The above is an affiliate link, meaning that by using my link, Selena knows I referred you, and if you decide to work with her company in the future, I may get a referral fee.

With the 2021 PR Calendar, you have a steady stream of topics to write about, post on social media and pitch to media outlets. Publicity lends credibility and can differentiate you among the competition.

In 2020, I landed media mentions in Bloomberg, CNBC, Newsweek, The Washington Post and more.

Publicity helped keep my services top of mind with my audience and finish 2020 up over 75% from 2019. How about you? How will you ensure that people think of you for opportunities that you would be perfect for?