Gossip Girl PR

16/10/2024

It's been a long hot minute... and I'm excited to share that I just wrapped up my first "Writing for Impact" workshop! 🎉

After years of writing for my job - first my short-lived career in local newspapers and radio as a journalist, many years as a PR pro living the life in London, and now a content writer and producer, I've poured my experiences into this new workshop. It was such a joy to lead 10 enthusiastic participants through the ins and outs of impactful writing.

The feedback? Absolutely stellar (hence the grinning selfie)!

Remember: In a world overflowing with content, it's not just about what you write, but how you write it that makes the difference.

19/05/2021

It's been a while as it's been the craziest of years (I need a holiday!!!) but right now delighted at some great coverage coming through for my clients. First up, Confidence in Kids coach Nadine Shenton on how to reduce your kids screen time following Lockdown.

Coverage in Metro, with a link back to a website, is mega as the site has a really high DA so this is great for SEO. Chuffed to bits for Nadine who is incredible when it comes to kids and confidence.

Experts explain how to break bad digital habits.

29/01/2021

Media kits…have you got one?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over ALL my years as a PR (yes, it’s been over 25 years?!?!) is that you need to be READY. Ready for when a journo gives you the green light…when they say those glorious words ‘yes I WANT to feature you!’ you need to be ready to give them what they need. So have you got a media kit for your business or brand?

Chances are you do have everything, but it might not all be in one place so that you can ping to over to them the minute they ask for it. It’s time to get organised!

A digital press kit is designed to help members of the media tell your story easily. They help explain the core facts of you and your brand in a neat, straightforward package. The idea is that anyone reading it will be quickly able to figure out the key people, key facts, key messages and values which they can use without the need for a million emails.

There are a number of must-haves to include. Swipe left to get the lowdown 👈& are the bullets!

💥 Digital artwork. Visual story telling is essential and having a bank of great images could be the make or break when it comes to media coverage. Swipe left for more on this and they need to be high-res and print ready.

💥 Boilerplate. This should answer the basic questions: why, what, when, where and how.

💥 Bios. Just yours or you and your team. Include name, position, contact details for each person and how they can help the media.

💥 Press releases. You may have some archived press releases so include them. General launch release, Spring/Summer trends, new collections. Don’t add anything over 6 months old.

💥 Products/Services. An outline with a few bullets of what your products/services do. Note this is not hard sell, just a good overview.

💥 Case Studies. If you’ve done work for a big client, include some info. It gives you clout. Customer quotes or testimonials will be seen as social proof. But no hard sell!

💥Press Coverage. Include any media coverage. It shows verification and press can get you more press.

💥 Contact info. Make it easy for them to contact you DIRECTLY.

Let me know if you found this useful!

20/01/2021

WELL HELLO THERE!

I'm following my own advice and taking this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Rachel and I’m a PR & Social Media Consultant based in Berkshire. I'm passionate about helping small businesses tell their stories through their comms - from social media and traditional media to newsletters and blogs. My strapline is 'Let's Get People Talking' and for anyone who knows me, they'll agree that talking is one of my favourite things!

(I also help to run my husband's photography business Jon Bradley Photography and love creating content with him for his amazing clients including L'Oreal, Space NK, Moet & Chandon).

I know how important great quality images are and when you put them together with authentic stories about your business and brand, you're definitely onto a winning formula!

I'm a trained journo and a BIG FAN of local media and how it can work for small businesses. I worked on the production side of things at BBC Radio 2 and as part of the news team at a local radio station in Manchester (anyone Key 103?). I pride myself on being able to pick out a story quickly....my weekly pitch-side interviews with the Man United team at their training ground was my training ground too. Back in the days of Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona & Alex Ferguson, I didn't have a clue about football but thankfully I knew how to put a story together.

I moved from being a journo into PR, working on the consumer side of things for fab brands at L'Oreal, Wella, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. I loved the London PR girl life and I've been hooked ever since.

I now offer PR coaching, 1-2-1 & group workshops, as well as working directly on client accounts. And I've added social media into my lovely work mix, because it's a massive part of comms for business. In fact, I've totally built my business through social and confess that I still don't have a website (it’s coming!!).

I've love running, Clubhouse, and David Rose’s knitwear collection.

So tell me, if you’re new around here...what’s your name and what is it you do to help people? 💋

17/01/2021

🏡 Have you had your invite to join Clubhouse yet? 🏡

If you're not sure what Clubhouse is let me tell you (I'm still a newbie so bear with!). Basically it's a social media platform that allows you to listen to experts talk on various subjects in real time (the discussions disappear once they're over). They're a bit like a live podcast (audio only so perfect for anyone with Zoom fatigue!) so it may be that there are two experts speaking, or a panel of people, and you can join to just listen or raise your hand to ask questions 🙌 And the good news is, anyone can host a conversation ON ANYTHING. A great way to show your expertise and thought leadership, right? ✅

It's only for iPhones at the mo and still in beta testing so you have to have an invite to join. Have you had your invite yet and have you hosted an event yet? If you're on there, let me know in the comments so that I can find you (I'm gossipgirlpr). And I'm running an event this afternoon at 4pm so come and join in!

And if I've still not convinced you to check it out, here are my 3 reasons why I think you should:

➡️ You can get your questions answered by THE EXPERTS. I heard loads of people fangirling over Amy Porterfield yesterday morning and it was so great to hear her answer their questions directly.

➡️ You can connect with your target audience so it's a great place to listen in to what they're asking for, you could use it conduct market research and hey, maybe even GAIN NEW CLIENTS.

➡️ If you get in you now you'll be an EARLY ADOPTER. It's not over crowded just yet. Now's your chance to get in early.

And yes, I hear you, it's hard enough showing up on the platforms you're already committed to but I'd definitely suggest having a mooch around Clubhouse and see what you think. I was super surprised at how high value it may be.

And don't forget, if you are on there, please pop your handle below so that we can connect and don’t forget, I'll be live at 4pm ⏰ talking about growth strategies on social. I've linked up with Jaimmie McGivney Riley and Ruby Beech to host this one and I'm super excited - come join us! 💋

https://www.joinclubhouse.com/event/9myWzQnx

21/12/2020

So sad for all businesses forced to close, at what's often the busiest week of the year. My amazing client on ITV Meridian News this evening talking about how it's affected her business.

Businesses in the South are counting the costs after being forced to shut because of the tier 4 restrictions

21/12/2020

TUNE IN to the amazing Women On Top with Frankie Cotton featuring my incredible client Toni Kent. It really is a fabulous episode. Toni shares her own experiences and talks class, social mobility and sensationalist media.

Feel like I'm ending the year on a high with this one! Thanks Frankie Cotton and team for featuring Toni.



https://www.thewotpod.com/episodes/episode-64-toni-kent

04/11/2020

CONTENT PLANNING TODAY TODAY.

23/10/2020

This week has been great for Smart Works Reading. I've hosted an Insta-Live with Daily Telegraph fashion writer, and broadcaster, Virginia Chadwyck-Healey. And Chair Sarah Burns was interviewed on BBC Berkshire this morning, along with a Smart Works Reading client. All to celebrate 5 years of helping get women back into work. I love the work I do for this wonderful charity and it's great to help share the charity's story.

19/10/2020

NEW CLIENT....so pleased to have picked up a project for a collective of local businesses for a pre-Christmas campaign supporting a local charity.

Can't say too much about it yet but so looking forward to getting started on this one!

30/09/2020

Another great piece of coverage, this time for client Claudi and Fin!

The work I do on collaborative partnerships featured in this piece on ways to increase brand awareness.

Part of my work for the brand is smart partnerships with other brands for social media competitions. They're an inexpensive way to reach lots of people, build great relationships with other brands and they are also very targeted.

Thanks for featuring my wonderful client alongside the likes of ZARA and JCPenny Latana!

https://www.latana.com/post/6-ways-to-increase-and-improve-brand-awareness

89% of marketers claim brand awareness is their top goal. Here are some strategies you can implement to increase brand awareness.

28/09/2020

A great piece of very targeted coverage here for my client Distinctively Me - Discover the Pleasure of Made to Measure. Jill specialises in made to measure corporate and occasion wear so this piece, in Insider Engage, is spot on.

So pleased with this one!

Insider Engage filters out the noise around the classic black-tie look and offers some modern alternatives