How we do DIY PR here at Nightire HQ

We were so pleased when the go-to DIY PR site PROntheGO got in touch with us recently to garner some insight into the Nightire PR strategy. PR, for those of you not too in the know when it comes to marketing-speak, is short for public relations, which at the end of the day, is all about reputation - the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. We work hard to garner a strong reputation for Nightire, because we believe the customer is always right, the customer comes first and the customer needs to sleep well every night in Nightire. If you haven't caught the original interview on their own blog,we've copied it here for you to have a read. Now you know all of our secrets...

So here goes, in the words of our founder Nina Clark:

'I launched Nightire Sleepwear at the end of last year. It’s been running for 5 months now and has grown only organically. I have a small (i.e. next to non-existent) budget for marketing, so have had to be creative with how I get the word out there. My focus for this brand has been all about word of mouth, as the product speaks for itself — its the softest and most temperature regulating PJs *ever*, and people want to share when they’ve found a good thing. Much time has thus been spent on reaching out to journalists, bloggers and infuencers to toot the Nightire horn. I’ve already received great coverage in leading titles such as Emerald Street and Refinery29. Bloggers such as @ellenextdoor( > 80k followers) and @musingsofemma(> 75k followers), among quite a few others, have raved about Nightire on their IG.

I’ve also made a conscious decision to punt my own story quite a bit, so have focused on sharing my knowledge as a newbie entrepreneur, as well as my quest to find the best sleep — as I really do believe that it’s the most important thing you can do for your health and general wellbeing, and it is complete bliss too. I love reaching out to journalists on SourceBottle, HAROand Twitter’s @journorequestto find these opportunities. The first range is flying off the shelves fast and I am currently working on developing the second Nightire range to go live soon. Nothing makes me happier than receiving repeat purchases though, as it means that my product is so good that customers cannot possibly sleep in anything else — and they are telling their friends and family about it, which is the best kind of PR.'

 

 

What is your best PR tip for creative entrepreneurs who have just founded their own company?

'I’ve always been in Brand Management and Marketing for larger FMCG brands, so have gained a host of PR experience through the years — however, it’s been fascinating to explore this field on a more granular level now that I can so easily track the effect of each little activity or referral on every single sale. In doing so, I’ve found that it’s all about getting the right people to talk about your product — it’s not necessarily about quantity of coverage, but quality.

Making sure that the message of the brand falls into the right hands, is key, otherwise it will just fall on deaf ears. Ensuring that you have a clear idea of who your end consumer is, will help to clarify which influencers and media titles should be approached, as one will then know what kind of media this ‘ideal customer’ likes to consume.'

Please share your favorite budget /DIY PR tips and tricks.

• 'It is 100% who you know, so meet and greet as much as you can. You never know how some contact might help you out somewhere down the line with regards to putting you in touch with the right person or for brand collaborations. Network like there is no tomorrow.

• Social media is now the way of the world, so embrace it. Specifically, interact with and engage with people on social networks. Again, people buy from people, so they want to know more about you — the person behind the brand, the story of the brand. They want to know WHY they should bother with your brand, so get out there and be human, be real, be relateable. Don’t try too hard — be ‘social’ on the social networks.

• Be transparent and honest when it comes to budget. There is no shame in admitting that you are starting out with next to no money to spend on paying for influencers or for an advertorial — people like the honesty and might very well do you a solid for coverage with no investment whatsoever.'

 

What’s your best advice to find and reach out to ones target audience?

'Following on from my previous point, I do think this is so key — to have a very clear idea of who your TM is, and what media they consume. It helps when you as the brand owner is part of your target market (which is the case for myself — I target young urban female professionals for Nightire), but if this is not the case — just get out there and speak to people in your target market. Keep it informal so folks don’t feel they need to answer according to what they think you might want to hear. Get into the nitty gritty — what they do for fun, their interior design style, their hobbies, their hopes and dreams. You can never know too much about who you are ultimately speaking to.'

Please reveal your best journalist pitch tip!

'Find a piece that they have written, that you love and know a bit about, and then plop a reference to it into your intro email. It’s good for their ego, shows you care enough about your interaction with them to take some time to prep & it’s not just a stab in the dark.'

Be active on all social media channels or only on selected ones?

'Choose one or two MAX platforms to focus on, and really go to town on it. It takes a heck of a lot of work (for many a full time job after all) to ensure the content, aesthetics, community development and overall strategy is perfect for each platform, so know which race you are running, and run it well.'

Your best advice for creative entrepreneurs?

'You will probably find it massively challenging to marry the creative aspects of your brand with the business side of things. Staying passionate and creative and interacting with interesting individuals, yet keeping on top of all the admin, finances, customer services and supplier management that comes with the package; is for sure a tricky balance. If you are lucky enough to be able to, then outsource what drains your creativity and love of what you do. If not, tackle the dreary or difficult tasks first, and make sure to keep aside lots of time for creativity.'