How To Be Your Own PR by Jules Cardozo-Marsh

I attended this workshop as a guest of Antonia's in exchange for an honest and accurate review of the workshop. Yet again, Antonia didn't disappoint and delivered another fantastic, professional workshop on HOW TO BE YOUR OWN PR. Here is my story...

Hands up if you have spent £1,000's on hiring a PR Company to help you in your quest to build your business/brand's awarness in the media?

ME!

Hands up if you have done this TWICE? (yes I know you would have thought I would have learned the first time but clearly I didn't and this workshop wasn't around to help me). 

ME!

Hands up if this money could have been better spent on other areas of your business/growth?

ME!

Hands up if you have become disillusioned with how PR's 'spend' your hard earned money on PR that THEY think you need?

ME!

You hopefully get my drift......

This is me pre workshop and on my journey to creating a brand and name awareness for my company in the media spotlight. This has been a very costly mistake (at times) and a rather frustrating journey. You see I expect results FAST and, any PR worth knowing will tell you that you are not going to achieve overnight success so, if like me you like instant results please think long and hard before signing up to a PR. To be fair I have had some amazing PR coverage over the years and I am sure you might all be reading this thinking what is she going on about but, had I been on this workshop first I might have thought and acted differently. 

I suppose I got frustrated with the constant repeat of being submitted to the same publications (oh the shame) and being asked to offer costly tutorials to editors, bloggers etc. in a quest for PR that quite frankly didn't amount to anything. I was always being asked to contribute to something that needed my investment and, as a small independent business cost had to be considered and wasn't always justified. 

I also like to know what's going on with how 'my' money is being spent and the mistake I made was thinking that they were employing me rather than me employing them...... I should be able to ask questions, challenge decisions etc. but I felt I couldn't or rather didn't know how to approach this.  Unless your PR knows your company/brand inside out please do not hire them. 

I am NOT saying don't hire a PR firm, all I am saying is if you are a small/medium sized business, freelancer or just looking for the next steps for your business you MUST attend this workshop first THEN make your decision. it might just save you £1,000's...

Now I have met and still work with some amazing industry experts/contacts that I have met along my PR path so it's not all bad news, you have to weigh up the pros and cons and think about what works for you and, if sharing a few of my highs and lows helps you in your quest for the perfect PR then that's a result. 

I thought I was business savvy but Antonia's the savvy one...... she has quite literally put a 3 hour workshop together that had I know about this years ago might have saved me a small fortune. I am not saying I would have avoided employing a PR firm to help support my business goals and plans but I certainly would have had a go at representing my company myself. I mean who knows their own business better than a PR? YOU......

So what did I learn....

I learnt that with a little direction and know how we can all PR ourselves. Yes, even you! 

We can all google and research for contacts within our chosen industry, we have an amazing amount of information at our fingertips so get researching. 

Network with the RIGHT people.
Be seen at the right events. 

We all need to write a strategy/plan of attack, this is crucial and something I have avoided doing in the past because I simply didn't know where to start. 

We all have a story to tell and sell.

You don't have to be a journalist to write a great article.
Be patient, success very rarely happens overnight.
Am I accessible? Meaning can I be contacted morning, noon and night?
Anyone can be on TV....

Okay that's enough sharing, you simply need to attend this course to find out the rest!

In closing, we are ALL Diamonds in the making, Antonia's little gems I like to think. She can spot a potential Diamond from afar and believe me, I AM going to be one of them. Antonia has this belief in us all and that's a very rare gift, she empowers, inspires and motivates you to where you just want to burst out of the workshop and take on the world. I thank the lord that god gave us Antonia and her workshops. AMEN

Thanks to the lovely Charmaine and Jenny for sharing all things PR with the group. 

I attended this workshop as a guest of Antonia Mariconda, my objective was simply to give an honest review of the Twitter for Success Workshop.

This 'sold out' workshop was held at the fabulous Soho Hotel, London I met with 24 other like minded individuals all looking to emulate Antonia's Twitter success. Now here is a woman who knows her Twitter and, with over 41,000 followers (and growing by the second) she knows a thing or two about this subject. Twitter is rather like Marmite, your either love it or you hate it...

Firstly, the Soho Hotel is a fantastic hotel for hosting meetings, centrally located and bursting with cool designs and ultra hip rooms, I felt right at home... Antonia had already set up the room (I was a little early) with every imaginable breakfast treat you could think of, fresh fruit, pastries, biscuits, tea & coffee, smoothies & water. If you think this lady hosts a stuffy workshop think again.

Every delegate received a pad, pencil, agenda and a little bag of sweet treats to keep energy levels but be assured, as lovely as this was, you didn't need them as this group was buzzing...

Mingling before the workshop started was encouraged and I noticed that Antonia personally met every delegate, it's no surprise that some had already been on her hugely successful Beauty Blogger Workshop, so this kind of says it all.

A heading stating "I have 180 minutes to change the way that Twitter works for you" is quite a statement and one Antonia certainly seems to think she can deliver. So did she? Let's find out....

Antonia kicked off the workshop with some surprising stats which had the room gasping, I could tell you the facts & figures but that would rather spoil the point of attending. If like me, you struggle to fit Twitter into your daily schedule you MUST attend the next workshop. Antonia rather cleverly
 schedules her tweets, something she's happy to share and I must stress at this stage that Antonia is
happy to share her knowledge and let others benefit, how inspiring is that?
I'm not going to divulge the content of this workshop, as that would rather spoil it for those that truly want to benefit from attending this incredibly 'hot topic' but all I will say is that all of my personal objectives were met and then some.

It's interesting to note that Twitter is now more popular than Facebook, it's also one of the first places that people and businesses will look for news and views and share information. It's a 24/7 instant communication tool accessible to everyone.

I didn't know my widgets from my buttons to my tools but I certainly do now.

Antonia and her team work seamlessly together although I guess she could have hosted this workshop on her own.


A sassy, confident presenter Antonia answered all questions competently and no question was
deemed too daft or irrelevant. For me, Antonia is sharing her knowledge at an affordable price that many would take advantage of, she knows her 'stuff' and despite appearances (yes she is glamorous and gorgeous and some don't like it) is a leader in her chosen field. Many would be jealous but not me, I can't wait for the next one.

So did she deliver? Oh yes and then some..... after we left it was a quick turn around for Antonia as she was hosting a private 'Twitter for Success' workshop for a corporate client, wow! 2 workshops, 50 happy delegates....

P.S. It would be rude not to mention the fabulous goodie bag crammed full of beauty products and the  workshop notes waiting for me on my return home. The best bit, we now have an official workshop meet up planned and I've made friends with people that I feel will be with me for a long long time.