We had the chance to catch-up with PR expert Amanda Ruiz as she shared with us some of the secrets of her success and what other aspiring trainers can learn.

1. How long you been running PR training seminars and what do they involve?

I have been running the PR seminars for the past year, before then I was delivering retail marketing workshops and general workshops on marketing planning.

I am keen to spill the beans to my fellow entrepreneurs on the dos and don’ts of how to get into the press – all the secrets I wish I had known when I first started my entrepreneurial journey back in 2008. I had invested in a lovely website, stock and office equipment but the phone wasn’t ringing red hot with orders and I knew from my role as PR and Marketing assistant at a successful mail-order company that the surest way to raise brand awareness was PR and press exposure.

Since starting the fashion ecommerce store I evolved my business and now I help others in their PR and marketing and I run a boutique PR and marketing agency and love getting great results – my clients call me The Ultimate Door Opener!

In the workshops I take the delegates through just one of the ‘7 secrets on How to get into the Press‘. To cram all 7 secrets in an hour is way too much of a rush as each secret is at least an hour’s worth of seminar.

The current favourite activity we do is ‘Digging for Golden Nuggets’ – many people hide their light under a bushel and don’t share possibly the most important piece of information that the journalist would like to hear about as they either don’t like to show off or they just know it so well that they have brushed it under the carpet. I implore to people – Dig, dig, DIG! And usually some very interesting nuggets crop up!

2. How many training seminars did you run in 2014, and are you planning to grow the numbers in 2015?

I ran 6 last year and in 2015 I plan to deliver more as there is such demand for the places. It was great as the last event was a sell out and we had people on the waiting list. However it was a case of striking the fine line between day time sessions versus evening ones, so we have a perfect solution – learn from your desk as the hour long sessions are via webinars.

I am offering intense 8 week courses where people sign into the live webinar once a week, they have access to the private Facebook group where they are supported by each other and my team, plus we distribute one press release via our external PR newslink distribution platform.

And of course the bookings can be made via Eventbrite my favourite ticket seller – it’s just such a great platform – I have found customers I never would have thanks to the sharing tools and natural SEO it provides! In fact I have just Googled ‘The 7 Secrets to Getting into the Press’ and my two latest events with Eventbrite are at the top of page 1!

3. What do you think is the key to your success?

I have been told that I am energetic and enthusiastic, passionate and know my onions! Also I like to give people live examples which are all drawn from experience of me hitting the phones to journalists and I teach people not to repeat the errors I made and to do the things that worked!

As I have been doing my own PR for the past 8 years as well as for my clients, I practise what I preach each and every day and this gives me even more examples to draw from.

4. What were the biggest obstacles you faced in running your training seminars in 2014 and what did you learn from them?

It was the time pressure, trying to get as much as possible into one session without wanting to overload and overwhelm the delegate…so I learnt to cut back and just do one secret and do it really well.

5. One of the questions we get at Eventbrite the most is how to promote your event and reach a bigger audience. How do you reach your customers? Any tips you’d suggest for reaching a bigger audience?

I posted my event using the Eventbrite sharing tools, I put the event on Facebook, plus on TechCity News and I had people I have never met before booking. Also as I run the workshops from O2 Workspace they kindly published details on the events to their large database. Speak to Natalie at O2 and tell her Amanda Ruiz sent you and I am sure she will give you a good deal!

6. What is your favourite Eventbrite feature and why?

I like the fact that I can call the help desk for techie help – the guys there are so knowledgeable and helpful it is a breath of fresh air! Otherwise, I do like being able to email the attendees directly from Eventbrite or create mailing lists there.

7. What was your favourite moment from your 2014 events? 

Having a delegate come all the way across the country for her second session – it shows that she got a huge amount of value in the first session. The wind and the snow did not stop her! She has now signed up for the 8 week course as she is determined to get into the press.

8. Any other advice to organisers running seminars or training events in general?

Use the share tools to promote your events and when running the event, I always ask the delegates to do a short intro about who they are, what they do and what press they’d like, this is great to help people network in the breaks. I am pretty sure that on one event two people may have ended up dating as they were getting on so well!

9. In an increasingly digital world where people often look to the internet to learn new skills, why do you think live events like your seminars still resonate? 

I definitely think so as nothing can replace being taught in a room face to face with the trainer as well as being able to meet fellow entrepreneurs!

10. Where can people go to learn more about Amanda Ruiz PR training seminars in 2015?

They can go to www.amandaruiz.co.uk or email me directly on hello@amandaruiz.co.uk or book here. In addition, for Eventbrite readers, they can fill out this form to get a free personal consultation!

If you’re planning on hosting your own training sessions, check out how Eventbrite works and sign up for a free organiser account here.