How To Be Your Own PR, Antonia Mariconda Workshop

Every so often someone comes along who inspires you, who pushes you and makes you want to strive for brilliance. That’s what Antonia Mariconda does to me, it’s just the effect she has, she makes me want to better myself, my blog and my business. Not to mention this ladies repertoire of experience and social media presence, if you want to see I think the basics are covered here.

Today I attended my second workshop led by Antonia and a team of experts. I wanted to gain as much knowledge as I could about How To Be My Own PR. I wanted to learn about being featured in the media – called on as an expert, I wanted to learn to build influential relationships within the industry, I wanted to find a way to share my passion and experience (all 11 years of it) with confidence and conviction. And I did.

I arrived slightly early at the Soho Hotel in London, it didn’t matter that I had been here before, I still got lost and walked round in squares on the London streets. If you haven’t been to this hotel my description of the decor would not do it justice it’s exquisite and I recommend you visit.

I got to sit at a table with some lovely ladies I already knew, which was nice particularly the lovely Emily Byrne of StyleImprint Blog. We had befriended one another at the last workshop and her bubbly personality made me feel confident and comfortable immediately today.

The workshop itself was 3 packed hours of knowledge, wisdom and expertise. I learnt about the core concepts of Public Relations, the importance of strategy when it comes to PR (not something I’d considered in my marketing plans), the different platforms – how they are driven and influenced, how to utilise them and knowing what ones appeal to me most.

I got to hear from other experts that included Charmiane Harris and Jenny Pabila. Both with a lot of klout when it’s comes to the beauty and pr industries, I loved having the opportunity to ask them specific questions and hear their stories and experiences. Then Antonia brought to the front someone like me, (well different story but same drive and passion) Melissa Foreman is a true example of a polished diamond who is really making it. Sharing her journey as a blogger, as someone I’d briefly heard chatting away at the first workshop I’m in awe of how her success has rocketed, she is still so kind and down to earth and was more than happy to help me and answer my questions when I made a beeline for her after the workshop had finished.

The biggest message that resonated with me and where I know I need to grow is confidence, polishing this diamond into something brilliant. I know going forward I need to first be more regular with my blog, Twitter and Facebook (I also really want to start a vlog but one at a time). I need to create a snapshot of myself and my achievements, to drive forward with strategy and opportunities allowing people to see my passion and conviction for an industry I love and most of all to get over that niggling fear of failure to push through and forward with my ideas.

Next blog… To tell you all about the amazing goody bags and the Beauty Pick & Mix!!