Made With Love by Kat

Psst.... would you like more press coverage for your handmade business? A few weeks back I  wrote a piece for the Folksy blog on how to do just that - you can read it here:  http://blog.folksy.com/2015/08/18/get-more-press-coverage-for-your-crafts-and-designs

One of the things I love about selling on Folksy is how much support there has always been from other sellers, even back when I started out nearly four years ago. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but people were always so willing to help, and I hope I’ve given some of that support back in kind now – as a former journalist and now a PR professional, I’m always happy to take the time to help people promote their shops. That’s why this post is dedicated to all the other Folksy (and Etsy, and all the other sites) sellers out there. Post your links to your shops below, and next week I’ll blog about my favourites. 

A while ago I read a blog post via Comms2Point0 on Twitter, based on "things PRs wished journalists knew". Mostly it was whingeing about being asked to get quotes with three minutes notice, and I was rather incensed - for a start, if I worked in PR, thanks to my journalism background (which the author said did not necessarily make good PRs - I've never met a non-journo PR that's been any good I'm afraid) I would like to think I would be able to anticipate stories and have quotes ready. But maybe that's just me. Anyway, a rather tongue-in-cheek spat ensued, and at some point I promised to write a counter post on "things journalists wish PRs knew." So here it is... 1. Journalists work to tight deadlines, and if we have to spend all morning chasing you around for a one-line quote that should have been provided in your press release we'll remember and not bother in future. 2. London PRs in particular take note: Do not lump everything North of Birmi...

Like a vintage-obsessed Clark Kent, when I'm not indulging my ego as a jewellery-making entrepreneur, I'm a working journalist. Mostly I write about music and the arts, but at Uni I specialised in fashion journalism. Now I've been on the receiving end of a lot of press releases - good and bad. And now the shop is functioning, this weekend I need to get cracking on the Made With Love releases. But to be helpful, I thought I'd share some dos and dont's when it comes to writing your own press releases - from a journalist's perspective. This is the most important thing I can tell you - look for a news angle. Your mere existence does not constitute news and does not entitle you to a feature - you have to find a hook. Being local or new (or, better, local and new) is always a good start, but also look at how you fit in with current fashion trends, consider what makes your product unique or highlight something exciting you've done recently. Having a sale or speci...