How to Win at Live Events - Media Influence Live 2018 #MIL2018
On the 2nd April 2018 I won the second prize in Janet’s London Marathon charity prize draw which helped Janet raise over £2k for The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JanetMurray18. The prize was a two-day ticket to Janet Murray’s live event Media Influence Live in London worth over £500. I was totally gobsmacked and super delighted, I never really win anything and I had entered purely to support Janet and her charity so I was really chuffed when I won. I know I will learn so much which will not only help my business but will help my clients with theirs too. So here is my 3 point strategy to maximise the opportunity this fantastic event presents…. Don’t Panic As soon as the delight and frantic social media posting had subsided I was in a little bit of a panic. My business is fairly new and while I have clients (who keep me fairly busy) and I am working on social media and blogging to raise my online profile actual media or press coverage is non-existence and something I haven’t actively pursued and I will tell you why…..because I don’t think I have anything of any interest to them. There I put it in black and white. So, since the 2nd April I have been working on just that, trying to think of areas of my life or business that might be of some interest to a journalist with the help of Janet's Podcast and blog posts it started to seem more and more possible. Get creative I started to think about different angles that might be of more interest to the industry or local press that are not directly connected to my business but are more about me or other aspects of my life and how I approach work. I am a project manager and I work with insurance brokers to help them become more efficient and make more money. So, while there may not be journalists queuing round the block to cover this, there are probably other areas of my business they might be more interested in for example: - How I set up a business from scratch for free - How running helps my business grow - The challenges of running a business around school hours What have been trying to do is think about topics that might have wider appeal outside the industry I work in but may nevertheless lead to finding my ideal client and may give me the opportunity to include something about my business. Be realistic I know from experience that Janet puts on excellent events which always deliver heaps of value and it tends to be the case that if she sets out how to do something and you follow those steps you get results but I also get that this stuff takes time and thought and strategy so I am pretty confident that I will learn so much next week my brain will be spinning I don’t expect the 8 journalists who are there on the day to necessarily want to be able to propel my business straight onto the front pages of national newspapers or magazines overnight (but they absolutely can if they want too!), but what I will learn is;
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]What kind of content journalists and influencers are looking for (plus how to get in touch)
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]How to write the perfect pitch for my ideal publications, programmes and podcasts
[if !supportLists]3. [endif]Practical tips to help you ‘get found’ by journalists and influencers (without sending a pitch or press release)
[if !supportLists]4. [endif]Why creating your own media e.g. blogs, podcasts, videos & social media can help you get noticed by journalists, influencers and prospective clients (plus how to do it with style)
[if !supportLists]5. [endif]How to grow your media influence by working with high-profile bloggers and YouTubers
Although this ticket was won as a prize I do like to invest in my own training and development and I like to set time aside to plan and prepare for events like this where I know I will get so much value and I would recommend anyone attending training of any sort does the same to make sure they get the most out of it. I have written several blog posts on how to do just that;
How to get the most out of live events - http://bit.ly/2nODITZ
6 Things I learnt at Your Year in PR - https://bit.ly/2yNH5TX 5 Reasons to blog after a live event - http://bit.ly/2EFJUph
What do you do to prepare for training? What tips can you share with others to help them make the most of the training they attend? I would love to hear them.
Please feel free to drop me a line at catherine@catherinefrance.com or find me over on Twitter at @CathFrance or on Linkedin. If you want regular news stright to your inbox you can sign up here.
