The UnNoticed Entrepreneur

Publicity is the fuel of sales, and yet one of the greatest challenges for entrepreneurs is to get noticed. This book provides ideas from 50 entrepreneurs, experts and technologists on winning publicity for free. Interviews held by public relations expert and international entrepreneur Jim James on the top 10 rated "UnNoticed Entrepreneur" podcast, have been written into a series of 50 articles for the founder of any business or non-profit with an emphasis on practical solutions which can be implemented immediately.

The author shares the SPEAK-pr methodology which stands for Storification, Personalisation, Engagement, Amplification and Knowledge. This simple 5 stage approach creates a frame work for the business owner to build a simple and structured approach to their public relations. Key concepts in the book include the democratisation of communication due to technology, engagement as a function of content creation and not of scale of budget, and ultimately the positive message that publicity is attainable by the application of a simple process of content creation, channel management and consistency of sharing.

The book is structured into 5 parts, each one reflecting the SPEAK-pr approach, with thought leadership, technology applications and case studies in each part. Included in the articles are the thoughts of leading podcaster and author John Lee Dumas, branding coach Gerry Foster, and story meister and Park Howell. In addition is the inclusion of technology entrepreneurs covering applications for personalisation at scale, AI content creation and sentiment analysis. Entrepreneurs share how they are building tribes around their content, creating stories for clients in construction, and gaining over 1.5 million views of edumercials made for a fraction of the cost of a conventional studio.

Also addressed is the phenomena that getting noticed is more than just a business issue, it's personal. Thymōs is the Greek term for the need for recognition, and in Platonic philosophy is that area of the soul where feelings of pride, indignation, shame etc are located. In his book "The End of History and the Last Man," Francis Fukuyama coined the terms: "Megalothymia" which refers to the need to be recognised as superior to others, and "Isothymia" is the need to be recognised as merely equal to others. In Homeric poems, thymōs is one of a family of terms associated with the internal psychological processes of thought, emotion, volition, and motivation.

Today we know that feelings of pride and self-esteem impact levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, releasing the "happy chemical" at a biological and sociological level we need to get noticed as people. As entrepreneurs we are the business, we put our heart, souls and bodies into these ventures with all kinds of dreams, and anonymity does nothing to validate our aspirations, nor deliver sales. Anyone who has undertaken investor relations will know that the 3rd party validation of media or analyst coverage can affect valuations, recruitment is easier when candidates have heard of your company, supplier credit terms are better and of course sales pipelines fill up much more quickly.

The articles are kept intentionally short for two reasons: a) entrepreneurs don't have a lot of time as we pay for it ourselves b) entrepreneurs don't want to become PR experts, just to learn enough to give directions to others to take the right strategy.

This book is a working guide for any entrepreneur who wants to unlock the value in their business, using technology instead of an outside agency, using creativity instead money. The articles show what is being done, and what can be done, and what will be possible in the future to build any business in the world.