Are your pitches being ignored? Want to boost press coverage for you or your client? In this three-hour workshop, national journalist Suzanne Bearne who writes for national titles including the Guardian, the Observer and the BBC and former host of the Guardian’s PR Masterclass, will explore what journalists are looking for from a story, and how tweaking your pitch and your approach can have a major impact in securing press coverage.
Delving into her 18 years’ experience as a journalist across trade, national and consumer titles, Suzanne will offer guidance on working with the press, explain what to include in a press release that’ll catch a journalist’s eye, reveal how to take advantage of many of the digital platforms now available, and provide tips on building relationships with both in-house and freelance journalists (despite how tough it is right now).
Featuring strong case-studies, this interactive session is aimed at anyone interested in securing more media coverage, whether you work in PR or marketing, or run your own business. You’ll also come away with a document featuring tips and successful pitches.
Please arrive from 11.05am. The session will start prompt at 11.15am. There will be time for a half hour break so please bring your own lunch (or check out which shops are nearby). Please allow for an additional 15 minutes at the end in case we run over.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. If the event has to be cancelled, we will move the session online.
Suzanne Bearne is a freelance journalist for national titles including The Observer, the BBC, and The Guardian, where she has worked as a commissioning editor. She is also a radio producer. She covers everything from technology and travel to small businesses and lifestyle and has reported from Amsterdam, Myanmar, New York and Lisbon. She also runs Power Hours, webinars and connects PRs and businesses with talented journalists through her content network. More info available through her website.
“Susie’s workshop is the best one I’ve been to in all my years of comms-ing. Better than CIPR’s, if you ask me. If you’re looking to give yourself a refresher, or you’re new to the magical world of the media and need to learn how to pitch, Susie’s your woman!” – Lisa Davies, head of communications at PSS UK
“Suzanne’s workshop was invaluable. She gave extremely practical advice and creative suggestions for securing more media coverage. She shared with us varied examples of successful pitches and the kind of coverage that they resulted in. Her dos and don’ts of engaging with journalists were particularly instructive! I’ve already signed up to Suzanne’s newsletter for more helpful tips.” Katie George, Crest Communications
“My colleagues really loved last week’s session – they found it incredibly useful. Thank you!” Rhiannon Evans-Young, director and founder, Crest Communications
“Thank you for organising last week’s workshop on securing media coverage – as someone just starting out in PR, your tips were incredibly helpful and I’m beginning to have conversations with colleagues at WSP about stories and projects that would be interesting to share with the media.” Margarita Zvereva, public relations officer at WSP
“I’ve turned to Susie many times now, and her content has been incredible for my PR efforts. I started with a newsletter followed by a Power Hour and finally visited her workshop. Those were amazing three hours packed with valuable insights, life hacks, real-life case studies and pitches. I left with lots of notes and ideas that I can’t wait to implement. I also got a better understanding of how to become a reporter’s trustworthy partner and valuable source. I highly recommend the workshop both to PR newbies and more experienced folks – seeing the whole PR process through a journalist’s lens will definitely help you bring your A-game.” Nadya Movchan, PR manager, 3DLook
“I just wanted to say a big thank you for the workshop yesterday. I really enjoyed the session and have definitely learnt a lot!” Jamie Cuthbert, junior press officer, VoucherCodes
“Susie’s workshop was an absolutely fantastic insight into how a professional journalist views our pitches. The session was in-depth and covered everything you needed to know about getting a journo’s attention, without for a moment being condescending. I can genuinely say Susie’s course has helped become a more effective press officer.” Will Berrington, Media and PR Officer, Stepchange Debt Charity
“I genuinely think this was the most useful workshop I can remember attending. Really well thought out and just had the right amount of practical useful guidance.” Ben Yelton, Communication & Event Manager, Sepura
“After a training session with freelancer Suzanne Bearne, I came away feeling completely besotted with my chosen profession. After twenty years in this job, I didn’t think there was anything I didn’t know. I know that sounds full of myself but after a certain amount of time, you can say that right? But actually, Suzanne taught me a lot of things that I’d either forgotten about, taken for granted or just hadn’t even considered.” Lynsey Walden, director, Front Door Communications
“Suzanne’s masterclass is fascinating, engaging, informative and a real eye opener. In the space of three hours I went from a complete beginner to feeling like I knew exactly what to do to get a feature published. She gives you the top tips and all the tools you could need to be successful. Highly recommended!” Louise, Cocoa Libre
“I just wanted to quickly thank you for today’s PR workshop & learnings, it was a super useful experience for me and very interesting to delve a bit further into the journalist and media’s world to understand your way of working.” Lilly Gerlach, PR and media relations manager, Berlin
“Thank you so much for a beneficial and interesting workshop yesterday. It has given me lots of focus and ideas for launching ‘My Green Career’ in September.” Traci Lewis, Co-founder and director, Catalyse Change
“I just wanted to send a quick note to say thank you as two of my team members attended your workshop yesterday and both came back today saying how much they enjoyed it and how helpful it was.” Kate Baldwin, Founder & MD, The Flywheelers
