When you are real in your music, people know it and they feel your authenticity”.  Wynonna Judd

(that is real me!)

Beautiful words, right? I think each of us is an artist inside. Each of us plays our own music. We are composers of our life and how the world views us!

“The publicity is all I need!” I hear it all the time from some of my clients who are seeking to get media attention and increase their online presence.  I often want to ask them the question if they really know what they are getting themselves into because I often see some of them do not know what they really want to be and do in life!

Just a few days ago, I made a visit to my favorite makeup artist, my German friend Kim, at the Chanel boutique.  As women, we all love having “Me” time to feel special and beautiful while enjoying a lady’s chat. We were talking about fashion, new fall styles, new holiday colors and the quality of Chanel products. While chatting, we brought up a great point: quality, authentic products will always enhance your inner beauty as well. We cannot put something fake on our face. It will damage our skin, how we look and how we feel!

Often in our business, we want to create an image, a persona we want to go by and be known for in our circles of influence. However, many business owners forget one thing: they start to reinvent themselves! They try to come up with a new version by making up something about themselves that is not true or real. The real problem is that their new makeup is cheap… bad quality. They lose sight of who they are while chasing something that does not belong to them.

Here is one little tip I want to give you that can summarize what I want to say:

Publicity tip: Love what you do… because if you do not, you create the wrong image and wrong publicity for yourself. Publicity sticks to you and then it takes your own energy and your own time to bring the real you back. With the wrong publicity, you will bring wrong connections, wrong friends and wrong results and even worse- feeling miserable inside! Being a fake flake can cause more trouble for your business, your relationships and it can really destroy your reputation.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine shared a story about Johnny Carson. In his biography about his personal life, a shocking truth was revealed… Johnny was miserable. Right before going on the stage for his “The Tonight Show”, he would put his smile back on and would greet his audience. He was not happy inside. His real make up was absent. He wanted to please his audience ONLY. It was his job. It was his PUBLICITY.  Honestly, he was too afraid to tell the truth to himself. I would say he was too worried what everyone would think or say. Did he forgot why he was doing all that? Was he real? Was he passionate about his work?

What do you REALLY love about yourself and what you do? Show it to people. Let it shine through… be YOU.  Authenticity is one of the major secrets of effective publicity that will stick out and bring more light into everything you do. It will truly open doors to the media and to new connections! Because when you feel that light inside, it attracts the best! The light attracts!

When you are not real with yourself, it shows up in every piece of publicity about your business and your life. You will eventually have to go back to the starting point and really begin all over again, because you will not feel right and it will not serve your purpose!

One more important aspect of real, authentic publicity is our core values. They affect our publicity and what we stand for. Personally, I had to let go of some people in my life, so that I could let the right ones in. Values can define how we want our customers to view us. Values are the core of how we do business and how the media perceives us. Values determine the network of people we build.

Remember, just one small mistake: being fake for the sake of popularity can be very costly! Your make-up can build you up or tear you and your business down. It’s your choice.

What do you think?

It’s time to be REAL.