On the ninth day of Christmas, Spin Sucks gave to you nine business gifts, eight PR trends, seven professional development opps, six PR conferences, five business books, four online courses, three productivity tools, two lies told about the PR industry, and a phrase to banish forever.
Business Gifts for You and the PR Pros You Love
Here is how you can use this list of business gifts:
- Print out and give to your friends and family, “just in case” they are looking for just the right thing to give you.
- Secret Santa a PR professional you know.
- Secret Santa yourself (we won’t tell, and let’s be real here….you deserve it!).
Let’s get started….
These business gifts came from our team, the lovely folks of the Spin Sucks Slack Group, and my own brain.
Subscription to Audible
I’ve been an Audible member for about four years now, and as I was telling Hanna Knowles the other day, it’s the most worthwhile $14.99 I spend each month (well other than basic living necessities such as food, and rent, and stuff….but you get my point).
For me, Audible is great because I love to read (business books, fiction books, non-fiction books, books to make me a better human, ALLL the books), but when I’m not working I don’t want to be sedentary or inside.
I want to be out and about, and Audible lets me do that. It allows me to have my books and my freedom, too.
For those of you who aren’t so hyperactive it’s still a great way to fill time when you are in the car, or just running errands.
Stay Sane with SaneBox
Gini Dietrich calls SaneBox “the best thing since sliced bread,” and it really is nothing short of amazing.
It will change the way you deal with your email and save you a ton—I mean A TON—of time.
My favorite element is “Sane Blackhole” where you send all those unwanted emails from email lists you DIDN’T sign-up for (or only signed-up to see what their free eBook looked like….).
Buy the PR pro you love a year’s worth of SaneBox and by one for yourself as well!
(If you want to try it out for free for two weeks, use this link, and we will both get $5 off. But a word of warning, don’t do the free trial unless you are prepared to buy it, because you won’t want to go back to a SaneBox free life.)
Professional Development is the Gift that Keeps on Giving
This is a great business gift idea if you are looking for what to get the PR professionals on your team.
They learn the skills they need to improve in their roles and you and your business benefit from those skills.
I’ve been on the receiving end of this gift and I can’t even tell you how much I appreciated it (not to mention the tremendous value for my professional life and job).
It’s a great feeling as an employee to know your leader has so much respect and faith for how you can support the organization, they are willing to invest into building you as a better professional.
You can either choose the professional development opportunity that makes the most sense based on the PR professional’s goals and plan for career progression, or you can let them choose the opportunity they’d like to pursue (you can also put guidelines on this as far as cost, and focus).
Not sure where to start in the wild and vast world of professional development?
Here are a few ideas:
- Gini recommended several great professional development opportunities for PR professionals on day seven;
- We have the The Modern Blogging Masterclass Self-Study available now (and the live course will be relaunched next year, along with a few other different professional development opportunities); and
- If you want to gift yourself something amazing and FREE, you can join our 30-Day Communications Challenge .
Stop the Insanity
One of my favorite ideas that came from the Spin Sucks Slack group was anxiety medication.
In case you haven’t noticed, PR professionals have a tendency to be a bit of a stressed out bunch.
And, while actual anxiety medication isn’t the right choice for every day stressors, we can take that idea and bring it to life with business gifts which accomplish the same goal, just naturally.
This could be meditation retreats or online courses focused on mindfulness, a subscription to a place such as Massage Envy, yoga classes, membership to a great gym or exercise class, or great books to help you learn how to better manage stress, and the like.
Evernote Moleskine
If you love to write, actually write notes…raise your hand (everyone reading younger than 30 is probably aghast at the thought of hand writing anything).
Well you are in luck!
The Evernote moleskin makes that possible AND still gives you the ability to upload, save, and share notes digitally.
It’s a great gift for PR pros, who need to have everything connected digitally, but aren’t always at a computer or desk (or always want to use a computer or desk).
Technology-a-Plenty
We all have a love/hate relationship with technology.
But regardless of all the cons it DOES make our lives and jobs much easier.
So find out what type of technology is on the wishlist of your favorite PR professional and help them make that wish a reality (can you say Apple gift card?).
Give the Gift of Uber
Uber gift cards are the perfect business gift idea for the PR professional who is constantly on the go.
And why don’t you also throw in a Starbucks gift card, because everyone is nicer when they are caffeinated, and we could use a lot more nice in 2017.
AP Style Online
What if you had the AP Style Guide as an app on your phone or iPad?
Or maybe had the latest version, easily searchable and ready to use right on your desktop?
What if you had an AP Style integration for Word that checked all your documents under AP Style guidelines….or even your emails?
You can do that, and the PR professional on your gift list can too!
Spin Sucks Store
OK…ARE…YOU…READY??
Our very favorite of all the business gifts!
The gift destination of the season.
We are very proud to announce the launch of the Spin Sucks Store.
WOO HOO!!!
It’s the place where you can find the coolest gear, without the spin (Gini is totally rolling her eyes at me right now).
Choose from clothing items such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats, and other gear such as bags, mugs, and iPad and iPhone cases.
Then there is my favorite: The PESO Model Puzzle!
So you can put together an integrated communications strategy (get it? Hahaha!).
You’ll see several designs and styles currently, but each month we will add a new design, available for that month only.
So keep on the lookout for new styles (and let us know if you don’t see something you want—we’re working on cycling leggings for Gini).
In 2017, all the cool PR professionals will be wearing Spin Sucks gear….so either either join the club or be left behind!
We can’t wait to see all you PR pro models out there.
Now that I’ve gushed over THE SPIN SUCKS STORE, tell us what business gifts you’d add to this list.
