Last night I went see Fiona Harrold (http://www.fionaharrold.com/) talk. It was an interesting evening - not just because of what Fiona Harrold said - but also because how I reacted. Rather than listen and absorb every word as I would have a few years ago, I found myself watching her - noticing the way that she stood, the way that she used her voice, the way that she held, or didn't hold her audience's attention. In short, I felt as though I was examining her for what I could learn from her - or not, as the case may be.

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

Oooh lots of client stories this week. Wealth coach Nicola Cairncross was on CNN breakfast news talking about how internet entrepreneurs are making money after the dotcom bubble burst, image coach Sue Donnelly takes on the role of style expert on a panel of experts for Health Plus, Ariana Gee, coach and co-author of Be Your Own Love Coach is featured in Prima, and fine art finder Beverley Knowles has opened her gallery 30 seconds walk from London Bridge tube station at 4 Bedale Street, SE1. Beverley specialises in women artists and you can see some stunning examples at www.beverleyknowles.com

Finally, I received this lovely email from Vivienne Warman of Beautiful Kitchens (VivienneKitch@aol.com)"I have just returned from a photo shoot from The Essential Kitchen Bedroom and Bathroom Magazine - Wow........It's been really hard work with lots of rejections on the way but I'm thrilled to bits. .I have used lots your tips but the main one was not giving up..it should be in the June/July Issue."

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

I've started work on our franchising/licensing programme. Our aim is to expand Do Your Own PR from a consultancy to a business, promoting a group of experts PRs nationwide. Once again, it's exciting business and the chance to work with a group of people, helping them build their own lifestyle business, or expand and grow their own consultancy.Watch this space for more details!

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

At last our sister site http://www.therestaurantprcompany.co.uk/ is live. Just like our own Do Your Own PR ecourse, the Promote Your Restaurant ecourse is a 30 day ecourse that is designed to help you raise the profile of your restaurant, bar or hotel. It's taken from years of experince with restaurants such as L'Escargot and Al Basha, and is a great investment that will help you basically get more bums on those seats.It was a joy to put together and I'm excited now that it's being let loose into the world.

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

I was talking to Mike Segal of http://www.speednetworking.org/a while ago and he told me this lovely PR story!"It was a rainy day sat at home decided to write a short piece about Speednetworking for that auspicious weekly The Watford Observer. It got published and as a direct result we got....1 telephone call...BUT...quality not quantity..it was from the BBC...could they come and film our next event?... I thought for a nanosecond...YES!...as a result of which THREE four minute pieces on LONDON TODAY at peak times 12.30pm 6.30pm and 10.30pm.....as a result of which we are now AS SEEN ON BBC1....and we also got.....1 telephone call....FROM Marketplace..could they come and record our next event for broadcast to 7,500 radio stations across the United States....from which we received 2 telephone calls and I have just visited Chicago and Detroit to talk to two prospective Speednetworking franchisees! We have since also been asked to record a piece for BBC Worldwide for broadcast in Portugese in Brazil and been featured in an article in The Independent On Sunday."

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

Blogging for PR? Does it work? Is blogging good PR practice? I've had a number of clients who have asked this recently. My own thoughts are that although I have yet to hear if anyone who has seen a huge increase in business as a result of their blog (although, perhaps the author of Belle de Jour might disagree with me there), it can do no harm.

n fact it can even help you gather your thoughts and help you make sense of what direction you want your marketing to head. If you have a well-read blog the feedback is educating and, once your blog has been indexed by the search engines, it can be a great way to lead traffic through to your site.It's easy easy enough to set up a blog at http://www.blogger.com/. And free. All you need to then do is find the creativity and discipline to update your blog as often as possible. Once a day, I am told, is best!

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

It was our wedding anniversary last night and we bundled up warm in our layers to make our way to one of our favourite restaurants, Hadley House in Wanstead E11. On the way we passed another restaurant - about half a mile closer, with good food, décor and ambience and you could tell that the question "Why aren't we going there?" had occurred to both of us at precisely the same moment. A tenth of a second later it had gone - we both knew the answer.The last and only time we had gone there we had a nice enough meal but it was spoiled by the minute amount of satay sauce that they gave us a starter. And when I say minute, I mean minute: we were practically grinding our chicken into the plate to get some flavour onto the meat. And the theme continued for the rest of the meal.

Okay, sounds a bit pathetic I know, but we don't like splashing out sixty quid at a place where we feel the hosts are stingy. It's one of those tiny but important things - a make or break detail.

Don't worry; this hasn't turned into a restaurant review newsletter. My point is that sometimes it's a small thing that can put a customer or potential customer off you - the way you answer the phone, the way you always have to be hounded to respond to your emails or the cold breeze that whips through your salon/office waiting room that makes customers think they could have an easier and more enjoyable time elsewhere.I've been kind and haven't mentioned the name of the restaurant but I wonder how many people would do the same when talking about a business they had been disappointed?

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

Today I've been busy putting together a PR strategy for http://www.rubbercheeseshop.com/. It's a new venture from graphic designers Kelly and Paul (aka Mog and Waggit) of http://www.rubbercheese.com/ (who also did our Do Your Own PR logo) and I think it will do well. They know they market, they've tested their products and they've already got good business heads on their shoulders. All they have to do now is make the transistion from B2B to B2C.

I'm also increasing my staff, taking on Amanda Alexander of http://www.coachingmums.com/ to help me with the PR ecourses. Amanda is a past client and I was so impressed with how quickly she picked up PR and what she did with it that I offered her a job. Watch out for more on Amanda on the Who is Do Your Own PR page soon!

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.

I don't know if you're a big believer in fate but sometimes strange things do happen. Years ago I was working for a PR agency and, hating every minute of it, planning on when and how to go it alone. I had met an inspiring woman, Shaa Wasmund, who had just started handling the press from Dyson, and found her both fascinating and fun. Then, Paula Gardner PR got started and I had to spend more time on building the business and contacts like Shaa fell by the way-side.

Anyway, a few days ago Shaa got in touch, quite by accident and it was wonderful to hear from her. We spent a few hours of catch up, followed by some exciting discussion of what we could do together. We came up with a great idea, now about to be put into a plan, and all I can say is, watch this space!

Paula Gardner is the author of Get Noticed: Boost your small business profile in 30 days or less.