Please note this transcript is generated by AI - apologies for any mistakes!

Pippa Goulden (00:02.84)
Hello and welcome back to PR Made Simple. So today I'm going to jump right into how I got my biggest PR opportunity in my business so far to date. I'm going to talk to you about how I prep for it and then also what it's doing for me in terms of outcomes so that you can see how it all fits together and hopefully be inspired to do similar things in your own business.

So hot off the press or stage should I say I'm recording this the day after I spoke at TopDraw about PR and how small businesses can use it to get known for what they do and build their business. So if you're not aware TopDraw is a huge trade show at Olympia in London for product businesses to connect with buyers, retailers, industry people.

So there's a huge range of product businesses there covering lots of different sectors from jewelry to food to gifts to homeware, cards, all sorts. And there's hundreds and hundreds of exhibitors. There's also thousands of visitors from different businesses ranging from small independent gift shops to huge retailers.

big brands so it's a really big deal in the product world. It goes across three days so I was there Sunday and it's also on Monday and Tuesday as well and then you also have lots of service businesses there visiting clients and just seeing what's going on in the world of retail. It's got a really good reputation. They have the retail revealed stage where experts talk about relevant subjects from trends to social media to customer relationships to PR and there's also

there's a business hub as well where you kind of do one-to-one sessions with small business owners as well. So it's really great from a profile perspective and I've known about TopDraw for a long time, I've seen other PR people doing things there and for about the past three years I've always thought how much I would love to talk there because it's got such a great reputation, it's known by so many people, it's such a stamp of authority when it comes to kind of

Pippa Goulden (02:11.805)
small business community and then larger brands as well but I've always held myself back. My subconscious has played its usual trick on making me feel a bit impostery, you know I've had all of those thoughts that I'm sure you've had too about when it comes to these things like what if they realize that I don't know what I'm talking about or what if I mess up, what if I can't do it, what if everyone thinks I'm rubbish, you know all of those thoughts.

And so I kind of sat there waiting for them to come to me, which I now realize having done a lot of work on all of this mindset stuff last year was really me putting off the hard things and putting off something that was going to massively take me out of my comfort zone. I've done a lot of speaking. I love guesting on podcasts and doing talks and memberships and that kind of intimate space.

I do them in person too, but usually to kind of much smaller groups. I've never actually stood on a stage and delivered a talk about PR. And I know that by not proactively putting myself out there, I was really putting off something that I knew would be quite a bit of work for me and would really push me out of my comfort zone. So I'm sure this is familiar to lots of you and I wanted to kind of talk about that because I think we need to be really open and honest about how we feel about these things.

because often you see people standing on a stage and you think, my God, they're so amazing, I could never do anything like that. But most people have the same thoughts as you, it's just that they push through them and they, you know, do the work to kind of get over them. And that's exactly what I did. So last year I really focused on where I've been holding myself back in my business. I did a lot of work with my coach and I've also joined a really great mastermind which has really increased my confidence in my business.

help me to acknowledge that I'm really good at what I do and that I do know what I'm talking about which, you know, after 20 years you'd hope that I do but I'm not saying this to blow my own trumpet or because, you know, I've got a huge ego and I don't know if this might be triggering you because I'm saying it because we need to own who we are and what we do and step into that higher self, the one who wouldn't give two hoots about worrying what people think.

Pippa Goulden (04:36.162)
When I was on the train to Olympia yesterday morning, somebody was messaging me, a business friend of mine, Nikki, and she said, good luck. And I said, I'm feeling really sick. And she said, think about who you are helping with your business. Don't think of it about you. And I think that is such good advice. And it's something that I actually say to people all the time. You need to think about the people you serve.

benefit from your business. It's not about you, it's the people who should be hearing from you and you also need to go on the stage with the confidence of an average middle-aged white man, that's what else she said and I think she's very right. I don't know if it's a female thing because I'm not a man but I do think as women we often overthink these things.

All of this is practicing what I preach by the way. I am fully aware of that, but I thought it would be useful for you to kind of try and get inside my head and hopefully see that I feel these things too and that I have done the work to get through them because they're holding you back. They're not benefiting you. So last year I wrote a list of, you know, specific PR things that I really wanted to achieve in my business and Top Draw was one of them. So to get the speaking gig,

I simply did the research, I found out who the best person to pitch to was and you know what? I sent the email. I was going to swear then but you might have children present.

So, do you know how I got the speaking gig? I did exactly what I teach people to do. So do you know how I got the speaking gig? I did exactly what I teach people to do. I did my research, I found out who the best person to pitch to was, and I sent the bloody email. That's it.

Pippa Goulden (06:40.162)
The person I pitched to actually replied straight away because she actually said she was leaving, but she CC'd me in there with another person who's absolutely brilliant. We had a call, we discussed the different ideas that I pitched and it went from there. A few things on this. don't know if I'd pitched it when my business was say a few months old and I didn't really have much to show for myself. I don't know if I would have been accepted. I probably wouldn't.

I do think there are things that I've done over time that's helped to build my profile, show that I know what I'm talking about, so that when they go on my socials and website, which they might do to kind of check out my credentials, they have that PR, that third party endorsement is there telling them that they're in the right place and that I do know what I'm talking about. I also wonder whether my podcast might help show people that I can talk, that I do know what I'm talking about too. I mean, I...

doubt whether they actually listen to it. They might do, people might listen to things that you've been featured on to kind of hear how you speak and that kind of thing. Whether they had time to do that I don't know but it is all these layers of things that I've done over the years since I've started my business that I've been really focused on building my reputation and getting known for what I do that have helped elevate my expertise and given me the right credentials. And one thing that I hear

people kind of, I know people think is that you need a massive insta following for these type of opportunities. You absolutely don't. My insta isn't massive. I've got about 4,000 followers. And there were other people speaking on the stages after me who've got much less followers than me. So it's absolutely not about the size of your account or the size of your business even. know, most of us were one woman actually bands talking yesterday.

It's more about the credibility and showing that you know what you're talking about. So there you have it. I researched the right person to pitch to. I put together a really good bespoke pitch for them that highlighted my expertise, linked to a few things like my podcast, highlighted the types of businesses that I worked with and suggested a few different areas that I could talk about. It was that simple. So I thought...

Pippa Goulden (08:59.926)
Whilst we're talking about it, I'd also look at what I did to prep for that talk, if that helps you, and then also the impact I'm seeing on the other side of doing the talk from a PR perspective, what it's actually doing for my business. So I was planning actually on working with somebody who helped coach people doing public speaking once I'd kind of secured the op, but I was really ill over Christmas and the timings just got too tight. but I, so I didn't do that and I

but I might do that again in the future because I think it would be really useful and I would recommend it. know lots of people I've spoken to have done that to kind of help build their confidence, help them feel like their presentation is kind of on the right path. It's going to kind of communicate what they want it to communicate. But I did use the basis of a presentation I've done before. So I knew my content really, really well, which I think helped me. It wasn't like I'd created a whole new thing for this talk. And to prep for it, I practiced

over and over and over again. I did it in sections and I did it in whole. There was one section that I wanted to make sure I was really clear on so I kind of just literally spent a whole evening practicing that kind of, I don't know, it's probably about 45 seconds, 60 seconds just to make sure I got the wording right on it. For me this is what worked, obviously you might be different, you might kind of approach this in whole different way but...

I also took Janine Jacob's advice. So she's been on a previous episode and she does lots of public speaking. I took her advice. So I recorded the talk on my phone and then I listened to myself on dog walks when I was in the car for longer drives, when I was kind of doing housework around the house. I listened to myself talk. It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Over and over again. And I think that really helped to kind of get it into my brain.

Also, I want to kind of acknowledge the fact that I was so nervous about this. The week in the run-up before, my poor husband and kids, I was like a kind of walking ball of anxiety and I couldn't really articulate what was wrong, but it was funny. As soon as I'd done the talk, I literally felt that kind of tension lift. I had an absolute wardrobe crisis the day before.

Pippa Goulden (11:20.383)
even though I obviously had lots of things that I could have worn for it. I bought about seven different things to wear which I actually now need to send back because I didn't wear any of them but I think I was channeling my kind of nervousness and angst into my wardrobe and taking it out on my clothes in my wardrobe but I just thought it's really useful to acknowledge all of this stuff because I think you just see people standing on stages kind of looking fabulous and speaking wonderfully

but there is a lot of stuff that kind of goes into the run-up to that and there's a lot of thinking and prep that goes into it. But do know what I found when I got on stage, I was probably about three minutes in and I thought, my goodness, I'm really enjoying this. The audience were on my side, they were smiling, they were taking notes. I got a few whoops and claps from people when I said a couple of things.

I also had some really supportive business buddies there, which was really nice because I looked out into the crowd and I saw these like beaming faces back at me. So that kind of really helped me. A few of my DIY PR members past and present were there. So it was just really lovely to see their faces in the crowd. I really enjoyed it. I didn't forget my words. I had slides that I took people through. I had a script that I was kind of following, but I let myself...

do it naturally if that makes sense. It wasn't like word for word verbatim. There was a structure. I had slides that kind of took me through and I might have forgotten a few bits and stumbled here and there but the audience is on your side. They don't remember that stuff. They wouldn't have noticed it anyway. And I was also, as I mentioned, part of the business hub. So I did two hours of meetings with individual businesses who were looking for PR advice. So I got to meet some really interesting business owners and

The other thing that I did whilst I was there, which I find really awkward, is walking around and chatting with kind of the stall owners as well. Now obviously they've got their own agenda of talking to buyers, so as a PR, you know, it's not the time or place for them really to be thinking about whether they want to do PR for their business, so there was absolutely for me I was not kind of on the hard sell, but I just wanted to connect with a few brands there that I...

Pippa Goulden (13:34.094)
I've admired for ages and got the opportunity to meet them in person. I also discovered some amazing new brands and got chatting to the owners of those businesses as well. It was really about me using it as just a chance to have a few face-to-face chats with business owners about what's going on out there and how they're feeling about 2025. It was very short and sweet but yeah it was really nice to connect with those kind of business owners as I was walking around and

discovered one of them actually went to the school that's behind my house so you just never know who you're going to meet at these things. And then in terms of what it actually does for your business you know what's that speaking opportunity done for my business so obviously it's a bit early to say as it was only yesterday I have to do a part two later on but I can already feel the impact in terms of it being another rung on the ladder of getting known for what I do.

The social media support has been amazing. My Insta account has grown by quite a lot over the last few days, more than it would for any other PR ops that I've had, I think. I've also decided to launch a flash offer for my DIY PR membership. So I'm offering 50 % off until the end of the day this Thursday, if you're quick for your first month. And I've had quite a few people sign up for that. So I'm using that kind of momentum kind of through my marketing.

The community of people that I already know have been so supportive and I think people often put off doing these things or shouting about their achievements or really, you know, standing up and talking about the things they've done because they're worried what people will think of them. But in my experience it only ever creates good noise. I've had more views on my insta story yesterday talking about me

heading off to TopDraw than anything I've ever posted on my Insta stories before and that's because everyone was sending me good luck messages, cheerleading me, telling me that I've got it, you know, like people are supportive of each other and if people aren't going to be supportive of you then they are not your people, right? So I've also decided I'm going to offer the talk as a free webinar in the next couple of weeks as a few people have told me

Pippa Goulden (15:50.888)
who were there had said that they'd missed it or they'd only caught the end of it and I thought I can open up because obviously a lot of the product business owners who are there as well are on their stalls, they haven't got time to go and listen to these talks so you know their objective is a totally different one from mine for being there so I am going to offer that so if you do want to listen to it look out for that I will be posting it on my socials and my email list and over I'll be doing it in kind of the next couple of weeks.

And I have had a few discovery calls booked in too as a result of that. And a few people that I spoke to have said that they're keen to work with me. So you don't know, do you? I mean, if I was a sales director wanting data today about whether it worked or not, I probably wouldn't be able to give you a huge amount of specific data. But that's the thing about PR. Sometimes you can just feel the impact it's having on your business. I can see the numbers growing in terms of

members in my DIY PR membership and social media but I can also feel it acting as a stepping stone to other things and it's what I talk about a lot is about pushing that snowball down the hill and the momentum building and it keeps building and building and building and it creates more opportunities for you in your business. So now I've also got a strategic plan to do more of the same and I will be pitching myself again and again to make that happen. I will not put it off for another three years

I will be sending those pitch emails. I will be making it happen rather than waiting for it to come to me. So I hope this has inspired you to take action. You know that you can do it. Look out for that free webinar I mentioned if you do want to catch the talk that I did. And don't forget you can use the code POD50 which gets you 50 % off your first month in my DIY PR membership.

and my new six-week group sprint called Get Known that starts the week commencing the 27th of January so you've still got time to join that for anyone who wants to build their profile, use their expertise to get known for what they do, come on in and join us.

Pippa Goulden (17:53.48)
doesn't have to be about standing on stage just speaking, we'll be looking at all the PR routes relevant to you and your business. I've got an amazing group of business owners in there already so I'm really looking forward to starting that on the week commencing the 27th of Jan and I also don't forget I have my one-to-one accelerator program if you want kind of more bespoke done with you and on my client delivery too so check out the prset.com or find me

Pippa the PR set on Instagram or Pippa Golden on LinkedIn and I will see you again soon for another episode of PR Made Simple and in the meantime send that email.