Build no more than 20 percent of your publicity and marketing activities around yourself.

I know. Sounds crazy. "What else besides me would I showcase in my promotions?" a sane person might ask.

But hear me out. Think of all the advertising and marketing messages you're barraged with all day. Do you welcome them? Do you feel, right now, like hearing from one more person, one more time, about how great their product or service is?

Well, neither does anyone else. And if the next message your neighbor – or prospect -- receives is yours -- and it's all about how great you are, why should anyone (your mother excepted) welcome that?

Now you see the problem with building a marketing or PR campaign exclusively around your credentials, or the superb service or product you offer. Sorry to break the news, but most folks just don't care.

So the question becomes, what do they care about? And what should you build 80 percent of your PR around?

Here's my simple to answer. You even knew it all along, because it applies to you too. Most people care most about one thing.

Themselves.

And that's just what any professional or business should build 80 percent of their publicity around. What your prospects care about. That's right -- their prospects and clients.

By this, I mean the following: Your service helps people in some vital way. If it didn't, they wouldn't pay for it. You help them solve a problem, or enable them to delegate a task they'd rather avoid. You're using the highly specialized expertise and professional knowledge you've acquired over years to serve clients or customers

So that's what your PR should be all about -- 80 percent of it, at least. Especially your media publicity. Because in the media, information rules. It's the fuel that drives our society's vast media machine. Only one thing the media love more than information, and that's peoples' problems. And didn't we just say that you're an expert on solving those, too?

The formula's simple: talk to your prospects – via the media – about the problems and needs they face. Share the information and insights you have on these topics. If you're a cardiologist, offer tips and information on heart disease with the media. If you're a matrimonial lawyer, send the media news they can use on the latest in divorce legislation. If you do, the media will quote or interview you on the topic. Instant and free publicity for you!

Give the media your articles, press releases, informational pieces about the trends and key developments your prospects and clients face today. Share your knowledge -- and share it generously. Don't hold back.

And finally, if and when you are compelled to mention yourself, do yourself a favor. Skip the adjectives and superlatives. All of them. Because if the media like what you say, and start relying on you as a knowledgable, trusted resource -- which they will, if you follow this approach -- they will seek you out. Eagerly.

The remaining 20 percent of your PR? Go ahead and write some press releases about the awards you won, about the new office you opened, about your great skills. It can't hurt. But don't think for a minute the media will embrace it as big news.

So remember the 80-20 rule. Give the media and your prospects useful information they need, and let them reach their own informed decision that you're a good resource. I have seen this work for countless professionals and businesses. Share your expertise and wisdom. A little bit of it, you'll find, goes a long way.

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