Five Things You Learn From Working In PR (+ The Inspirational Blogger Award!)

Here’s the thing: Unlike most bloggers you know, I started blogging in 2010 kind of out of boredom. That’s right, boredom (and a dash of Marketing savvy–but it was mostly boredom)…

The six months that I spent as a PR intern at a local marketing agency in 2010 had me, among other things, research opportunities for our clients.

AND AS A RESULT OF THAT ^^WORK^^ I LEARNED A FEW THINGS:

1. All those product “recommendations” in magazines (e.g., “Product XYZ is awesome for split ends”  or “Oscar winner Jane Doe wears Mascara Y”) are actually paid spots. They don’t cost as much as an ad, but a LOT of work nevertheless went into making sure that that product got that specific mention. (For some clients, it was my job to ensure that a certain product got specific mentions.)

2. The blogosphere hasn’t been around for that long: I also know this because I had to research them [you?] all!) But the thing that I started to notice was that there wasn’t much tailored to Latinas like yours truly. And by “much” I mean “nothing.” As in, Latina magazine was pretty much it.

(Shameless plug: This job also taught me more than you could imagine to launch our successful natural soap business, Calantha Organics, btw!)

3) PR is fun: The quicker I got my work done, the more time I had to research more and more blogs, which helped to combat the boredom that arose from working so efficiently quickly.

4) PR = dinero: People get paid with/and/or free stuff to write about that stuff. Who DOESN’T want to be a part of that?

5) There was a niche that needed some filling: Clearly, I needed to jump on the bandwagon b/c I wanted free stuff and I had valuable things to say!

And jumping on the bandwagon I did! It wasn’t for the numbers or the fame (though those can become tedious/fun–depending on your perpective). Rather, it was to inspire fellow Latinas like me–Latinas who didn’t have a Hispanic college student who wanted to make something of herself to look up to. Because let’s face it, how many college-attending Latinas do YOU know? My point exactly.

So I started blogging. That first year was SLOW. (I had a job, school, plus a thesis to work on!) But I kept at it, because I knew (yay for stats!) that several someones out there were reading, coming back, and hopefully enjoying what I had to say.

Fast-forward around three years, when dear blogger (and blog-friend) Megan from Just A Small Town Girl calls knocking (figuratively) to nominate me (ME!) for…

THE VERY INSPIRING BLOGGER AWARD!

So, GRACIAS, Megan for your sweet nomination (everyone: see it below), because it means the world that you see me as inspiring.

This smart lady aspires to get her doctorate. If that’s not inspiring enough, she’s also very proud of her heritage and culture and defends it from negative stereotypes. -Megan

I mean, I could tell y’all and brag about my being something, but then when someone else says it, it’s beyond friggin spectacular :).

And while we’re at it, Megan, you’re the kind of person that a lot of bloggers should aspire to become. Your desire to live as un-frivolously as possible is admirable, your anecdotes are actually funny (without you ever calling yourself a “funny blogger”), and your down-to-earth-small-town approach to life is very cool, too.

A. DISPLAY AWARD LOGO on your blog/post. >> √ Check!