Lessons from a Journalist: How to Secure Press Coverage online course

This course is for anyone who wants to be featured in the media. Whether you're the founder of a business who has never spoken to a journalist before or you're a PR with 15 years' experience (I run global workshops on securing press coverage which attract a mix of founders and PR agencies with decades of experience), this course is designed to help you or your client discover the tricks of the trade, when it comes to being featured in the media, whether that's across national newspapers, business titles, radio, TV, podcasts or consumer magazines. Featuring strong case studies, this fun and interactive course is aimed at anyone interested in securing more media coverage, whether you're a startup, an entrepreneur, a PR or a big business.

You'll come away understanding how the media operates, what journalists look for in a story, how to present you or your client as an expert, the fun and creative (and easier!) ways you or your client can land press coverage – without even having to draft a press release – how to pitch to a journalist (including what to include in a press release and the simple tweaks that can help catch a journalist’s attention), how to take advantage of digital platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, and lots of tips on building relationships with both in-house and freelance journalists, which I know can be more difficult than ever given how busy journalists are.

We also explore the common mistakes made by PRs and businesses when approaching the media, and the dos and don'ts when it comes to working with the press. I've put together a full-length video full of insider tips to help boost your relationship with journalists.

This course stems from 15 years' experience of working as a journalist and working with PRs and founders of businesses wanting to share their or their clients' stories. One advantage of taking the course is that you're hearing all this valuable information straight from a journalist – the one who actually picks up the emails and writes the stories. Thanks to my experience I can explain exactly what does and doesn't work.

So whether you're a founder of a business who'd loved to be featured in a consumer title your audience reads, you're a press officer or PR wanting the inside view from a journalist who writes for national publications such as the BBC, Guardian and Refinery29 on what kind of stories they want or how to become the media's go-to favourite PR who they call whenever they need a case study or expert comment, then this course is for you. By the end of the course you'll feel more confident than ever in pitching to the media and will be bouncing with new and fresh ideas of ways to land press coverage across TV, newspapers, radio, magazines, online titles and podcasts.

I'm Suzanne Bearne, a freelance journalist for national titles including The Guardian, The Observer and the BBC. Like many freelancers, I have many side gigs. I'm also a media consultant, Guardian PR Masterclass tutor, and a I run a copywriting/press release/media bio scribing and blog/guest posting service (more info under the Services tab).

I started my career writing for media and fashion magazines, rising through the ranks from editorial assistant to senior reporter. During this time I worked on news desks, reported from national and international trade shows and fashion events, landed front-page stories, and wrote features and profiles of some of the biggest people in the industries I covered.

I've worked as a freelance journalist since 2011, and have written for titles including The Evening Standard, The Independent, The i, The Metro, Stylist, Women's Health, Cosmopolitan, Positive News, and the Guardian, where I've worked as a commissioning editor. This course has been created from the perspective of a journalist with 15 years' experience of writing about small and large companies for titles such as the BBC, the Guardian, the Observer, The Independent, InStyle, Vogue, Drapers, The Business of Fashion, and many more. I've also freelanced as assistant editor at Professional Beauty and news editor at Drapers.

As a freelancer I've covered many subjects. I've planned my funeral for The Telegraph; interviewed female Bletchley Park codebreakers for the Guardian; visited Myanmar to look at its burgeoning startup scene for the BBC; wrote about the hippest place in Bali for Refinery29; highlighted the impact of volunteering in a long feature for Stylist; scooped the Media Award 2016 for my Guardian piece on how the tech community helped with the refugee crisis; investigated the cost of attending a wedding for the Guardian; explored the rise of effective altruism for The Observer; researched the best independent shops for Vogue; covered getting a dress tailor-made in Vietnam for The Independent; looked into the alternative funerals industry for the BBC; explored how technology has dramatically changed the fashion industry for The Guardian and reviewed hotels and spas worldwide for numerous titles. That's always a tough gig.

The course isn't live – you can go ahead and access it and start it at any time - but I'm available for any questions regarding the course. I'm also available for consultancy and can recommend excellent PRs for short- and long-term projects, if needed. 

You can also follow me on Twitter at @sbearne, Instagram and join my Facebook group. You can email me at susiebearne@hotmail.com. I also run regular live webinars and hold workshops for businesses and PRs across the UK and globally.

There's also pre-recorded webinars you can access via my website that you can watch at anytime. For more details, please visit www.suzannebearne.com.

The key difference is there's a hell of a lot more content in the course. There's a whole chapter on how to pitch guest posts to the likes of Forbes and Entrepreneur, another section looking at how to pitch for gift guides and product placements, and it includes examples of sections you can pitch to straightaway and email addresses of publications to pitch to. There are a lot more tasks to complete, it's continually updated, and it's also yours to keep, meaning you can dip in and out whenever you like. However, if you book my webinars you'll still benefit from my 15 years' journalism experience and if you book for a live session, you'll be able to ask me questions through the live chat functionality.

If you have attended my webinars or my workshop and would like to take the course, you can book this at 50% of the price (so £99). Please do email me if you would like a code. Please note this cannot be shared with anyone else.

Once you've purchased the course, the content will be yours to keep, meaning you can dip in and out whenever you like.

I totally get this. Many of my workshops are, in fact, attended by PRs with up to several decades of experience and afterward they always come up to me at the end or email afterward to say something along the lines of: “Thank you. I've never actually heard it from the perspective of a journalist before - I've learnt so many new things that I'm going to put into practice! Thank you.”

We don't bite! Yes, I'd be scared about being interviewed by someone like Jeremy Paxman too but thankfully we're all just human like you. So be brave and send us a pitch (after you've learnt the tools of the trade courtesy of this course, naturally!).

I’m interested in hearing more. Feel free to email me at susiebearne@hotmail.com.