Don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet.

And most of us are thinking about and longing for heat and sunshine whilst being trapped at home with roads and schools closed due to snow and Red Weather Warnings. Gulp.

But alas, being housebound means that we can lock ourselves away, work without any disturbances and catch up on writing those blogs that we should have done a week ago.

That’s what I’m telling myself anyway. So here goes.

As some of you may well know, Text From A Friend, was my 'money while I sleep’ idea and since purchasing my very own hand pressed foil machine last summer it’s steadily grown arms and legs.

To the point where I’m now thinking I’ve created a monster and it’s taking over my day job. I’m an art director and still freelance for other design agencies, have my own clients and like to take on new ones. Who says I don’t love a challenge?

Anyway, as it’s grown I thought I should take it more seriously too. Like a proper business. You know? And think about all of answers to the questions that I usually reserve for clients. Where do you want it to be in X years time? What do you want to achieve from it? What’s the next step? How are you going to get there? 

One of the first steps was to build more awareness and attract more customers. Social media only does so much. How do you extend that reach? I decided to enlist the help of a PR expert to help me spread the word. 

I had commissioned said expert previously to work on a press release for one of my day job clients, Pole Junkie, and they had a huge amount of coverage in the press and on the radio. 

I was thinking I should do the same and build on my credibility as a business and realise it’s not just a hobby. I was thinking I should take myself more seriously and believe in myself more. We all struggle with that don’t we? It’s time we did that thing millennials call adulting.

So that’s what we did. I could have written the press release myself, tracked down journalist contact details, followed up to see if they would cover the story but sometimes there’s more success to be had when you work as a team and focus on your own skills. And that’s what we did.

It also meant I could get on with my massive to do list and not be distracted trying to be an expert at something else. I wear enough hats throughout the day without adding another one.

A press release was issued two days before Valentine’s Day and we decided to focus on my best selling Tinder inspired card “I’m Glad I swiped Right For You’. Timing and having a story to tell is everything when it comes to trying to capture the journalists attention out there. As well as snappy headlines. 

Throughout January and February I had to print this design every other day to keep up with the demand in the run up to Valentine’s Day. I was well chuffed to see one of my cards in demand. It sure is a pleasure every time someone buys one or sends a message of appreciation.

So did it work? It sure as hell did. Did you not see me splashed across the press? Kidding. A lot of people did and got in touch to say so. I also got loads of messages of support and well done when I shared the news coverage across my social media. 

It was brilliant to reach a different audience, remind people I’m out there and being successful at it. In my eyes we’re all winners if more people buy from you and we're at a stage where we’re not afraid to shout about what we are doing. Because we don’t do enough of that either.

There's nothing wrong with blowing your own trumpet and we should all do it more often. Do you shout about your successes? What's holding you back? Let's have a chat and see how we can shout about our businesses together.

You’ll find the press coverage on my About page and if you want to enlist the help of my PR expert then get in touch and I shall introduce you.