When you do your own public relations, you're bound to have some misconceptions and make some mistakes along the way. Some people think PR can easily be done by practically anyone in business. But without some education, you run the risk of being ineffective. Companies that want to develop effective PR campaigns either hire professionals or take the time to learn how to do PR like a pro.

I've identified 10 of the most common mistakes that I've seen over and over. This column focuses on the first five mistakes; next month we'll take a look at the rest. Review them, and then be honest with yourself about your own PR know-how. You can avoid all of these mistakes by taking the time to understand how and why PR works.

Mistake No. 1: Thinking that PR is the same as advertising. Yes, both are marketing strategies you can use to get your business noticed and increase your chances for success. And sometimes the lines between them are blurred. But they are very different, and each should be used in appropriate situations. Take the time to understand when and why to use PR rather than advertising.

A PR program, usually centered on generating media coverage for you or your business, is a means of building your reputation through your expertise or your past successes. Media coverage signals that you and/or your company are worthy of a third-party endorsement. That is, someone else wants to talk about you, compared with you buying an ad to talk about yourself.

A few suggestions:

1. If your goal is to build credibility for your company or for you personally as an expert, PR is a better way to go.
    
2. If you have key messages that are educational in nature, PR is best.
    
3. If you have expertise on topics that are in the news, PR can be a winner for you.
    
4. If your company truly has a differentiation from its competitors, PR can work wonders.
    
5. If you have a more limited budget and aren't sure exactly which audiences are best for you, PR can be a good way to sort this out. You'll be able to tell which audiences are most receptive with fewer dollars spent.

Bottom line: If you just need to be visible, advertising can be the quickest and best way to zero in on your target audiences. But if you need to add credibility, take the time to explore which PR tactics can produce the results you need.

Mistake No. 2: Becoming a press release mill--and thinking that press releases without human fuel will do the trick. Press releases can be valuable tools to use in your PR campaign. They tell your story in a format preferred by the media and immediately have a higher degree of credibility than an ad touting your product or service. However, relying on a blizzard of press releases can undermine your effort. Too many press releases can be worse than too few. It's the "little boy who cried wolf" scenario: When your company really has something newsworthy to send out in a press release, few reporters and editors will still be listening.

And don't think that reporters will pick up a press release from your little-known company without gentle prompting from you or your PR representative. Don't skip the follow-up phone call. Too much competition, for too little space, means most releases don't see the light of day in print, although internet exposure happens routinely with any release distributed by a wire service. That may be all you're looking for--just know the upsides and downsides of your press release activity.

Mistake No. 3: Doing your own PR when you haven't studied how to do it best or you aren't a decent writer. I don't think PR has to be done by PR professionals. It's not rocket science; it's common sense, building relationships, thinking creatively, etc. Anyone can do it if he or she spends the time and exerts the effort. But that's the key, spending time and effort.

If you're going to be your own PR person, learn as much as you can by looking at examples on the internet. Read articles on the topic. If you Google "how to do public relations," you'll get more entries than you know what to do with. Pick a few sites and read up. Join and ask questions in discussion groups online.

Don't write your own press releases, website and e-newsletter copy unless you're a good writer. And even then, always have someone read it over to catch your mistakes. Every writer needs an editor.

But if you don't like writing, don't do it. Poorly written copy makes a company look unprofessional. You don't want bad writing to reflect poorly on your products or services, which are probably superior in quality. Hire a copywriter; it's worth it.

Mistake No. 4: Focusing too narrowly--and missing the really good stuff. Whatever your business is--whether you are selling clothing in a retail boutique or have developed an innovative software program--you are probably too close to your company to see the big picture. Business owners have a tendency to see things through their own filter, rather than from the eyes of people who don't know or understand their company.

Take a few steps back when you're planning how to leverage PR to your benefit. For example, what if your product is just like everyone else's? If that's the case, don't focus on the product. Focus on what makes your company "sing." Is it your management style? Workplace environment? Unusual distribution channels? Philanthropic contributions? Specialized training or past experiences?

Most entrepreneurs don't look up and see where the true PR stories are. Take the blinders off and see your company through the eyes of others--what do people find interesting when they step through your door? That's probably a key element of your PR campaign.

Mistake No. 5: Focusing too broadly--and never connecting with your real target audiences. The flip side to No. 4 is thinking too big. You can't be all things to all people, but some companies try to do just that. They believe their messages will reach all audiences, and they even water them down so they'll have broad appeal.

Unfortunately, doing so makes their PR efforts meaningless. People have a tendency to pay the most attention to articles that have personal appeal for them: Don't dilute your effort by undermining the personal appeal you'll have for your perfect target audience.

A better idea is to figure out just whom you're trying to reach with your company news. Then figure out what they would want to know and why they'd want to know it. Again, this is common sense. You may have 10 products, but perhaps only one should be fodder for your PR campaign (e.g.. this one truly is different from your competitors' products and showcases your incredible expertise; the other products are all commodities and a bit me-too in nature). Every situation is different--the point here is to think carefully about how you can best focus your PR efforts to smack a home run over the fence.

OK, how did you do? Are you guilty of any of these common mistakes? If so, think about how you can improve your PR efforts. And stay tuned for Mistakes No. six through 10 in next month's column.