Cheryl has written the most beautiful testimonial-case study where she shares her PR journey and how she swiftly needed to change tack thanks to Covid.
She actually got so much coverage that someone got sniffy and said you’re being published everywhere! Best complaint ever in my book!
“I have been caught up on focusing my business marketing efforts via social channels like Facebook and Instagram, but the consistent effort required to ensure you are up to date with trends and processes is time-consuming and my wins were nothing to write home about. In the past, my exposure in glossy magazines came mostly with an appended financial transaction!
I had been following Amanda for a few years and I liked her devoted PR energy and ideas on how to get noticed. I joined Amanda’s VIP Visibility Mastermind programme in May and together we worked on a plan to gain international press.
Amanda introduced me to several journalists who were keen artists too that I could extend an invite to join me on my upcoming painting holidays in Portugal.
To my dismay Portugal joined the Amber Country Travel list a matter of days before my June Painting Holiday was to commence! I was devastated as the arty journalist and some of the other artists cancelled their painting holiday trip because of the enforced travel restrictions.
This left me with empty spaces to fill with little notice.
So, when life served me lemons, Amanda stepped in and helped me make lemonade!
We changed tactics from pitching to the international press to pitching to local press and on Amanda’s guidance, I befriended the local journalists in my area and successfully got to be seen everywhere on Portugal’s Algarve!
PR success came easily once I understood how to craft my press angle and how to pitch to a journalist. Attending Amanda’s monthly “Pitch to the Press” clinics with leading journalists are of great benefit in understanding how to get a journalist’s attention.
Over a period of time, I established ongoing relationships with the local journalists who are now coming to multiple events that I put on so they can cover them and are always interested in hearing about my upcoming events and publishing them.
I have been seen in local glossy magazines and newspapers and online websites and there was an occasion when one of my acquaintances told me about a newspaper article I was featured in before I knew that it was out there!
Multiple PR mentions:
-Portugal News The first local journalist I approached accepted my invitation to join one of my painting workshops and I got a full page in the regional newspaper on my painting holiday and other events we host at our riverside location, Figs on the Funcho
-I pitched my first walking event to the glossy magazine, Tomorrow Algarve, who sent a published walking author to cover my event and I got a two-page spread in the magazine. I also invited our local mayoress who thoroughly enjoyed the walking event and happily shared her local knowledge about the area with my guests and has since become my BFF
-I put on a carob event, to mark the harvesting season of this fruit, and I gave an informative talk on the benefits of the superfood, carob, and how to include it in your diet. I was featured in the glossy magazine, Algarve Tomorrow and the local newspaper, The Portugal News
-To reach a wider audience for my scheduled events I contacted the journalists I knew and got my events published in the glossy magazine, Algarve Plus magazine and the local newspapers, Algarve Daily News and The Portugal News
-I pitched to The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in UK and they included our “Moving to Portugal” story on their website, that is seen by many people who are interested in moving to Portugal
We offer several holiday activities such as painting and walking holidays, wild swimming, kayaking and I promote the riverside location as a wedding and events location.
As a result, my target market isn’t that straight forward but on the up side I have loads of material to create a variety of press angles when pitching to various journalists.
Creating a concise press kit was a challenge for me but Amanda helped me create an amazing one-page press kit with all the details a journalist would want to know and included my hero images. The press kit is my go-to reference to confidently pitch to journalists! (See below)
My husband, Graham, and I are to be featured in the seventh TV series of “A New Life in the Sun” which is about Brits who have left their homeland in favour of a new start in Portugal. The series follows the highs and lows of setting up a business in a foreign country. Amanda’s tips and guidance with working with a TV filming company proved to be very valuable especially when crafting my press pitches.
After Portugal was put on the Amber Country Travel list, I did get a mention on the International circuit, The Guardian Live blog, in the first week of working with Amanda as I made a good impression on a journalist who had agreed to join my painting holiday.
Amanda has a great set of downloadable worksheets that help you track your efforts and ideas so that you don’t annoy any journalists by pitching the same angles repeatedly as this can so easily happen, Amanda learnt the hard way!
It is worth knowing Amanda’s PR secrets if you want to stand out in the crowd and get seen everywhere. Armed with Amanda’s VIP Visibility Mastermind process, I feel confident to extend my PR efforts further afield by crossing the English Channel and befriending the English journalists!
Figs on the Funcho, https://figsonthefuncho.com, is run as a B&B establishment, in Portugal, with winding pathways for easy waterside access for kayakers, paddle boarders, wild water swimmers and fishing enthusiasts”.
A range of painting, walking holiday and cookery packages are on offer. Its idyllic riverside setting overlooking the Barragem do Funcho makes it ideal for large events including weddings, birthday celebrations and with high-speed fibre optic, it is perfect for business events or digital nomads who are nature enthusiasts and seek the “home-from-home’ modern comfort accommodation option. A full account of their adventures can be read in Alyson Sheldrake’s Book, “A New Life in the Sun”, how they bought a property on the banks of a river and turned it into a 10-year rental business and how they changed their then current business model from a self-catering holiday break to special interest holidays for holiday makers looking for more than the beach.
Check out Cheryl’s Press Kit:
