Entering the world of PR was a scary thought for me 18 months ago. I knew PR was based on communications and, although I love a good chat, it’s a bit more daunting to do it professionally – or so I thought!
In the last year and a half, I have established excellent relationships with editorial staff and journalists through morning meetings and coffee dates (as well as regular chats on the phone) and developed brilliant relationships with clients through events and PR meetings. I mostly credit the team I joined at Taylor Alden for giving me the support to develop my confidence – an attribute that I feel I wouldn’t have got very far without – but also the welcoming journalists and editorial staff who understood what it was like to be new to the industry.
Every day, I am amazed that press releases I have written have been published and that events I have worked on have turned out very successfully! In 2018, I started to learn how businesses are run and gained a thorough understanding of each client’s business objectives. I attended my first exhibition. In the build up to the event, I arranged meetings with editors who were also attending the exhibition, I developed press packs which were given out during the exhibition and did shout-outs about the exhibition on social media. In the summer, I accompanied a client to an award event – it was a wonderful evening! It was great to hear feedback from the client about all our hard work and it was good to feel so valued having an invitation extended to me. I also had several meetings during the last year with editors and senior editorial staff which was a fabulous opportunity to get an insight into the magazines and grow my professional network. In 2019, I will be attending my first press trip and working closer with the media, and I’m sure as the year progresses, there will be lots more in the pipeline for me to look forward to.
The world of PR can be daunting at times, but as a lover of communications, there is no other industry I would want to work in.
– Callie Bingley, Account Executive, Taylor Alden