The PR Spotlight

It was an absolute joy to spend time talking to the utterly fabulous Emma Morton-Turner, superstar Interior Stylist and Writer, for this episode of the podcast. Emma Morton-Turner has been an Interior Stylist and writer for eighteen years. After five years as Home Editor on Woman & Home she went freelance and has styled magazine photo shoots, company brochures, press launches and filmed video tutorials for the web too. She also writes features for interiors magazines and has been craft editor on Essentials and Prima.  Five years ago, Emma leveraged this expertise and her position in the industry to create Inside Stylists, a community and resource bank for stylists, writers, photographers and assistants. In this episode we learn more about this revolutionary community and how it has found its place in the PR industry. Emma shares her media and styling journey and experience as well as the process of creating and building Inside Stylists.  Emma also shares her best practice tips when it comes to best showcasing your product and how to style your product best for your Christmas PR activity and what trends to look out for.  Take a listen for some exclusive heads up news on what you need to be thinking about when it comes to your Product PR this Christmas but also some brilliant insights as to the inner workings of the media and how the PR/media relationship works behind the scenes.    Find Emma here: https://www.insidestylists.com/ https://www.instagram.com/insidestylists/  https://www.instagram.com/emmamtstylist/    Get in touch: https://www.instagram.com/bossyourpr/  https://www.instagram.com/theprspotlight/  https://www.theprspotlight.com/ 

In the media and PR world, Christmas starts NOW in July.  Yes, we might be dreaming of sunny beach days and cocktails, but I want you to be thinking all things Christmas! In this episode I share the brilliant benefits of bossing your Christmas PR this festive season as well as seven key reasons why you need to be starting now and how you can start gearing up to ace your Christmas PR and promotion this year. I talk images and what they need to look like.  I talk research, pitching and how you can make your Christmas PR super streamlined, effective and easy! I also talk content planning, scheduling and avoiding the festive period panic! It's a BUMPER episode - an early Christmas gift to you 🎁 Are you thinking about Christmas yet? Why not join me on my FREE Boss Your Christmas PR Workshop on the 6th July?  Sign up and you'll get the replay even if you can't attend live: https://www.theprspotlight.com/christmas-pr   Get in touch: https://www.instagram.com/bossyourpr/ https://www.instagram.com/theprspotlight/ https://www.theprspotlight.com/

Have you ever thought about about pitching yourself as a podcast guest?  If not, why not? If you've got a story to tell, expertise to share or are generally fun to chat to then guesting on podcasts can absolutely be a hugely powerful avenue for you. In this episode I talk you through why this should be on your to do list as well as running through the process from research to pitch and beyond. If you've ever hoped for the process of guesting on podcasts to be demystified, wait no longer, just take a listen of this episode.   - In this episode I reference my membership, The PR Spotlight, as a source of even more information on how to guest on podcasts, how to create and launch your own podcast and so much more when it comes to getting yourself and your business visible.  Here is where you can find all the info and sign up with your first two weeks totally free: https://www.theprspotlight.com/ 

It was such a pleasure to spend time talking to absolute Product PR Guru and Founder of Press Loft, Nicola Snell, for this episode of the podcast. Nicola built Press loft after having worked in PR herself for nearly 20 years. She, like many other PR pros, felt that she was spending valuable time repetitively sending product info and images. So, she created the platform so that agencies and brands could trust that product placements were still happening in the background, whilst having time to invest in more tailored pitching. In this episode we learn more about this revolutionary platform and how it has found its place in the PR industry. Nicola shares her PR journey and experience as well as the process of creating and building Press Loft.  Nicola also shares her best practice tips as well as some incredible insight thanks to the amazing analytics she can access from both brands uploading new-season designs to Press Loft, as well as what journalists are actively searching the platform for and downloading for upcoming features.  Take a listen for some exclusive heads up news on what you need to be thinking about when it comes to your Product PR this Christmas. Find out more about Press Loft and connect with Nicola and the team here: https://www.pressloft.com/ https://instagram.com/pressloft

Collaboration is something that I feel incredibly passionate about and something that can absolutely accelerate your business, reputation and visibility when done well. I want to give you some food for thought when it comes to collaboration.  I have collaborated a lot on my Boss Your PR journey over the last four or five years and I'm going to share some of this with you.  In this episode I am looking at some of the super tasty reasons why collaboration can be so brilliant for small businesses as well as looking at what form collaboration might take for you.  From content collaboration to product bundles to collaborative podcasts and beyond... Are you thinking creatively enough about collaboration in your business? https://www.instagram.com/bossyourpr/ https://www.instagram.com/theprspotlight/ https://www.theprspotlight.com/

Oh yes, I'm throwing the mic over to you to ask me anything about PR & Visibility - what it means, how it could work for you, what actions you can start taking now and more! In this episode, I answer two gorgeously juicy questions and get stuck in with some practical steps and guidance that everyone could put into action in their business this week. - How can I get started with some PR for my interiors business? - As a service based businesses, how can I reuse and leverage my content to get PR opportunities and results? A super special shout out to the ladies who shared these fab questions with me: Natalie Roukin - https://www.natalieroukininteriors.com/  https://www.instagram.com/natalie.roukin.interiors/  Plum Martin - https://www.wearesociallyengaging.com/  https://www.instagram.com/plumellasocial/   If you have a quesion, please do share it with me.  You can record your audio to feature on my podcast here: https://www.speakpipe.com/theprspotlight  or if you don't fancy recording audio, DM me here: https://www.instagram.com/theprspotlight/    I'd love to hear what you think of this episode and the Q&A format, so please do pop me a review with your feedback and rate and subscribe if you have a moment!

In this episode I want to introduce you to Catherine Erdly, Retail Expert, Small Business Champion and Founder of The Resilient Retail Club. Catherine & I started working together in 2020, not long before the first national COVID-19 lockdown. We met when we were both presenting at Top Drawer 2020 and then started a conversation about how PR could help increase Catherine's visibility as a retail expert. Catherine has absolutely SMASHED her visibility objectives and is now a 'go to' when it comes to small business retail; her results have been incredible. Take a listen to find out more about her expertise but also how we were able to work together to leverage this expertise and accelerate her profile and business success through some go-getting and savvy PR activity.

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of hosting a panel talk at Top Drawer covering some of the top predicted social media trends for 2022, so I thought I'd share some of this insight with you on The PR Spotlight. In the session we covered 10 tips but I've skimmed from this to give you 3 that I think are most relevant to my mission here on the PR Spotlight and that is getting you and your business visible with savvy use of PR!   TREND 1: Reaching New Audiences Will Become A Primary Goal For Brands The key consideration here is to work towards continued growth of your audience.  You want to avoid stagnating.  Yes, you will have those in your audience that are loyal, repeat customers, but you want to avoid over-saturation of your audience by consistently growing and replenishing the breadth of people you are speaking to. I'm sharing why this is important and how you can can avoid this over saturation and maintain a steady growth of your audience.   TREND 2: Video & Live Content Will Continue to Dominate Across All Channels  This will be no surprise to anyone; video content is on its way to dominating social media.  We only need look at the in-app developments coming from the likes of Instagram and Pinterest to see how heavily weighted towards video content these platforms are becoming.  Instagram brought in reels in order to compete with the explosive growth TikTok has seen through the pandemic.  The Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, said last year that the focus for the app moving forward is creators, video, shopping and messaging, with photos falling slightly out of favour.  Live streaming is also continuing to grow across social platforms, with live streaming expected to make up almost 20% of ALL internet traffic this year.  I'm sharing some things to consider when you are getting going with video content as well as some top tips.   TREND 3: Influencer Marketing Will Continue To Soar  Influencer marketing has long been a consideration when it comes to brand promotion.  The aplimfication of this trend can be seen from both perspectives. Not only is there the sheer rise in the number of influencers on social media, but there's also an increase in marketing spend on influencer marketing by businesses.   Investing in influencers is much cheaper than running paid ad campaigns, and yet it delivers good results. Moreover, influencers can help marketers achieve a variety of marketing goals and not just generate leads. These are the two main reasons why it has become so popular and is continuously getting stronger and bolder.   Wondering where to start with influencers?  Wondering if they are right for you?  Take a listen for some actionable starting points.   Let me know what you think of these trends.  Are you seeing them come to fruition?  Are you thinking about how you can work this thinking into your social media marketing this year? https://www.instagram.com/bossyourpr/ https://www.instagram.com/theprspotlight/ https://www.bossyourpr.com/ 

7 Key Retail Trends for Small Businesses in 2022 with Claire Morris, Retail Expert and Founder of Retail with Clarity Claire is an absolute master when it comes to retail merchandising, systems, stock management and all that jazz.  As the founder of Retail with Clarity she works with SMEs to support them in all of these areas; bringing a big business mentality and experience to the world of small business.   In this episode we talk a little about Claire's career trajectory and how being a numbers whizz opened up doors to a career in retail merchandising.  We then go into 7 of the key trends in retail that small businesses need to take note of through 2022, from influencer marketing to strategic inventory management.   You can find Claire here:   https://www.retailwithclarity.com/  https://www.instagram.com/retailwithclarity/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/retail-with-clarity/ 

Lead Times: What are they and why do we need to know? With my PR Dictionary series of bitesized podcast episodes, I want to share some of the PR 'lingo' that will not only de-mystify the dark art of PR but will also give you practical and helpful insight when it comes to tackling your own PR.  Talking about lead times is a perfect example of this. Put simply, a lead time is the time between a magazine issue being started and its publication. But what's a long lead?  How long is it?  How short a period is a short lead?  What do we then do with this information?! All is revealed in this snappy little episode.  Take a listen and let me know what you think...

You can't sell without an audience to sell to.  Sounds so obvious doesn't it?  But so many of us fall into a trap of pouring everything into our offer and a shiny website and forget that we need to be building an audience to launch to! I often get asked when the right time to start on PR is; the answer is really as soon as possible because pre launch you need to be building the audience that are going to speak to, launch to and want to buy into your business. In this bitesize episode, I talk through some of your starting points and why sharing value will fill the collective 'piggy bank' of your target audience....

Have you imagined becoming an award winning business? Or wondered how it happens for others? I work with Boss Your PR clients and The PR Spotlight members on building their confidence when it comes to entering awards as well as the practical elements of crafting the perfect award entry. In this episode, I am sharing the reasons why you need to make awards entries part of your visibility activity as well as some starting points to get you going with it. Keep this in mind... The main (and probably only) difference between you and someone else in your field that is winning awards is that they are putting themselves forward for those opportunities. So what's stopping you?

There are many reasons why I feel that PR in house (or DIYed) is the strongest route forward for many businesses, however PR agencies very much have their place and if this is the right path for you, let's explore how to make it work… Some of you may know that, before moving into the DIY PR space and launching Boss Your PR, I spent 6 years building and running a boutique PR agency.  I have worked on both sides of the fence; in house and in agency and have seen the advantages and disadvantages at play. As such, I thought it might be helpful to sum up some of the most crucial aspects that a client should be aware of when looking to get the most out of their investment in PR. The nugget; 'In PR, everything is URGENT' is a takeaway for you all, so take a listen!

A new year always feels so full of promise and opportunity... but also pressure.  What if, we looked at the foundations of how we work before we get swamped by the 'to do' list? In this episode, I explore some negative habitual behaviours that may be holding you back in your business and how we can overturn them by nurturing new, positive habits in their place. Are you easily distracted?  Spending too long aimlessly scrolling?  Finding your days consumed by reacting and responding leaving you little time to work through your intended actions for any given day? Give this episode a listen and let me know what you think...  

IT'S HERE! The Pantone Colour of the Year for 2022 is Very Peri, a vibrant blue-purple. It's the first time that the Pantone Colour of the Year is a brand new colour.  'We are living in transformative times,' say Pantone. 'Very Peri is a symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through. As we emerge from an intense period of isolation, our notions and standards are changing, and our physical and digital lives have merged in new ways.' Encouraging personal inventiveness and creativity, Pantone describe Very Peri as a 'dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone'. It blends the faithfulness and constancy of blue with the energy and excitement of red. In this episode I'm going to show you how the Pantone Colour of the Year could be an opportunity for you.

Have you been wanting to do more public speaking but wondering where the hell to start?  Maybe you've not even considered it to be an option for you? Public speaking is something I work on a lot with clients and members, so I wanted to dive in and share some starting points. There is full training is available in my membership - http://www.theprspotlight.com/ - but in this episode I will explore some of the ways that you can make the first tentative steps towards building a profile as a speaker.  It could even become an income stream for you! I would love to hear from you; Have you explored public speaking as an income stream or a way to get yourself and your business visible?  Leave me a comment/review and let me know.

In this episode, Jerry & I talk through her creative career in brand development and communications as she delivers a unique insight and inspiration that will hopefully give you a spur to get creative when it comes to promoting your business. After studying Fashion Marketing & Communications at Nottingham Trent University, Jerry landed an internship and subsequent job at Lazy Oaf.  After 12 years growing with the brand, she made the leap to The Ragged Priest, joining as Creative Director in June 2020.  Through her work at Lazy Oaf, she led and managed collaborations with the likes of Dr. Martens, Vans & Disney, ran events at Tate Modern & Somerset House and also launched the brand globally with pop-up shops and events in Tokyo & New York.  She has also shared her experience with fashion students with a number of lecturing stints.   I have known Jerry since our school days.  It's been a joy to watch her career evolve and we had a great time sitting down to chat for this episode of the podcast.  

Yep, Google is your friend and I'm going to tell you why... Have you got Google Alerts set up?  It's something I always suggest to clients when they start getting themselves visible. By setting up Google Alerts for a selection of key words/phrases (brand name, website, your name) Google will pick up on any reference to these key words and pop into your inbox with a virtual 👋🏻 and let you know. How does it help?  Take a listen to this episode and let me share this easy *and free* hack to support you in DIYing your PR.

Getting visible, like everything in life, starts with the decision to try. There are lots of questions around how to get visible, what PR is, how you can use it, what messages to share, what other routes to use but in this episode I share a few key starting points that will reassure you about making the decision to get started. Once you make this a deliberate decision, things will start to happen and when you're ready, you just work your way towards the next step. And the next. And the next.... 

We can't wait until we're perfect, or the timing is perfect, to give anything a go; otherwise we can never be truly effective in moving forward. So let's implement as we go and refine as we learn; because the secret to getting ahead is to get started. In this episode, I talk you through some easy activity to get you started on your visibility and PR activity that will help you get ahead of your competitors and get noticed. Think grassroots research and tentative steps to making contact that can add up to open the doors to incredible opportunities. Are you ready to up the ante and get your business seen?