We've been doing a bit of media list updating for some clients. We haven't done this for a while and it's been depressing to find out just how many publications have closed - including Supernanny magazine, First and New Woman - and I remember the very first issue of New Woman magazine all those years ago.

Now in magazine world it's not unusual for publications to come and g. It's obviously not pretty for the staff that lose their jobs when it happens, but it also means that PR opportunities are decreased, and what ones there are having more hungry people circling for them.

You have been warned!

Once again we're taking a look at a business owner who has successfully done their own PR. This month it's Beverley Knowles of www.beverleyknowles.com. Beverley had a Get Noticed consultation with me getting on for three years ago now and I've been keeping in touch with her via her very readable newsletters ever since.

Beverley, tell us about your business
I run a contemporary art gallery in Ladbroke Grove that specialises in women artists. We've been in our current location for just over two years.


How much time do you spend on PR? (press releases, blogging, newsletter, tips, articles etc)

Probably about a day a week not including website work.

PR is often a matter of trying things to see what works for you, so, what have you found most successful?


I think the best thing has probably been the writing, which Paula suggested I start doing in the first place. I get quite a lot of feedback from the newsletters we email out and it seems to get passed around from one person to another. The more I've written the more pleasure I've got out of it too and it's become a way of getting featured in publications in itself which of course is good for PR.

Getting in with local glossies has also been helpful. We're lucky in Ladbroke Grove because there are a few and they always seem interested to hear what we're up to and are happy to be supportive of local initiatives.

I find it difficult to know sometimes what is working and what isn't. Who was it who said that only 5% of their marketing produced any results only they didn't know which 5%. It feels like that a lot of the time.

Sometimes it's just a matter of luck. Somebody I knew happened to know Antony Gormley from art college days. My friend's wife had some work in an exhibition here so Antony Gormley came to show support for his friend, so the private view snaps had Antony Gormley, so the local magazine featured them in the party section. Quite a few people came down to the gallery after that purely on the basis of that and we made quite a bit of business as a direct result. But I couldn't have planned that. We just got lucky. On the other hand it's useful to be aware that personal or personality endorsement is a big thing, particularly when you're selling expensive and sometimes enigmatic things like art.

Only 2% of my business last year came from passing trade. It's all word of mouth and endorsement and pr is a part of that.

Where are you now with your relationships with the press?


Not bad. I'm on good terms with the editors and arts page writers of all the local glossies and a few journalists from the broadsheets. I need to step it up a gear now and start calling up the scarier journalists, the more academic art writers from the weightier publications. Endorsement from them means a lot in the art business.

What do you enjoy least?

Ringing round I suppose, not so much because I'm nervous of speaking to the press because I'm not really any more. I've finally figured out that they're just people like you and me. More because it's such a waste of time in terms of the amount of time spent not getting through to the person you need to speak to. Either they've moved jobs or they're "away from their desk" (what a ridiculous phrase that is, as if usually they're chained to it.)


What's been your highest point so far PR-wise?

I suppose it depends what the definition of highest point is. Results driven or satisfaction driven? Results are difficult to measure so I'd say what I enjoy most is seeing my own written work in print and especially getting feed back about it.

The goalposts are constantly changing aren't they? The first time we got into the times I thought I was going to burst with excitement. Now when we get into the times I'm like great and what else has been going on?


And your lowest?


Nothing so far really. I had an arrangement with the Mail on Sunday online to write a series of articles for them. There seemed to be some communication problems and out of the blue I'd suddenly get emails saying - where's the latest copy, why haven't you submitted it, when nobody had asked me to submit anything. That was a bit frustrating. But they're all busy and have deadlines and nine million other things to be doing so I can't complain too much and they were very good to give me the coverage anyway.

What have you learnt about PR over the past few years?

PR doesn't necessarily translate directly into sales. PR is very useful but selling still has to be pursued in its own right. Journalists are human (most of them!)

What advice do you have to give?
I'd say try to make your press releases personally engaging; anecdotes and quirky things grab people's attention far more effectively than reams of geeky product information. Remember that it's a person who is reading it not a computer and they receive hundreds of releases every day. The best way to get noticed is to reach out to them in a personal way.

What did you find helpful about your work with Do Your Own PR?

Everything really. I didn't have a clue before that day. I'm not sure I do now but the results seem to be coming along slowly but surely.

You can check out the gallery's website at http://www.beverleyknowles.com/ and it's situated at 88 Bevington Road, London, W10 5TW

So, today I handed the manuscript of my novel over to my agent Jacqueline Burns. The handover took place in Carluccios in St Christophers Place. I had a stinking cold, the weather was predicted to be the worst storm of the winter and Jacq had a tummy bug - what a combination! But it was a great feeling to finally pass it over and two cups of hot chocolate and an almond macaroon made the winter weather just melt into the background.

My manuscript's in Jacq's hands now and I'm just waiting for her feedback - nail biting time. So, once again my focus is formly back on the PR. It's dwindled a bit recently, and I know that's because I haven't nurtured it. Now I'm ready for some new clients and to revisit some old ones...and quite looking forward to it. Bring it on! Check out www.doyourownpr.com to see what I'm up to!!