As well as being a part-time university lecturer for a BA Journalism degree, I run professional training courses.

Olivia and Johanna is the brainchild of two highly successful but also staggeringly friendly and genuinely nice freelance journalists - Olivia Gordon and Johanna Payton.

Photo by Nina Hollington

 We've set up a dedicated blog where you can find out all about the courses we're running. We're experienced freelance journalists and, between us, have written for everyone from the Guardian/Observer, Independent, Times, Telegraph, Mail and Express to Red, Grazia, Prima and Look.

PR Training

Unique PR Masterclass

'You have really helped me structure my pitches and I feel like I understand journalists much better now.'

'I don't know if there is anything else like it around.'



In response to demand, Olivia Gordon and Johanna Payton run a one-day masterclass for PR professionals and companies wanting to get journalists' attention.

The focus of this unique workshop is how to work more effectively with the women's consumer press, in particular, winning the interest of journalists. 

Unlike many 'former journalist' media trainers, we're both successful working journalists, so we know the current market and your competition right up to the minute.

Unlike media trainers who've only worked on one or two magazines on staff, we're both longstanding freelance journalists and between us have dealt with virtually every national paper and magazine out there - so we have the same broad view of the consumer market you do. 

Unlike other media trainers who spout marketing claptrap and charge a small fortune, we're the real deal - two friendly journalists who can tell you what works - and what doesn't! Olivia and Johanna are two successful freelance journalists working across the national print media, with over 12 years of experience between them, who run hugely popular media training workshops (Olivia and Johanna training). They know exactly what journalists and editors want - and exactly what they don't - up to the minute.

The masterclass covers:

* the stories journalists and editors will take notice of;

* preparing perfect pitches;

* responding to journalist/editor case study requests to get results;

* using services such as Response Source/Askcharity wisely;

* finetuning approaches, press releases and emails to journalists;

* pre-interviewing case studies, spokespeople and experts and preparing them for the media.

Olivia and Johanna also run private, bespoke media training sessions for companies in-house and are available to media train spokespeople and experts in any company or organisation on working with the consumer press.

For more information on any of our PR training options, an informal chat or to book a place on the next masterclass please visit the Olivia and Johanna training blog or email Olivia@oliviagordon.com or Jo@johannapayton.co.uk.

Journalism Training

Olivia and Johanna are now running a very popular correspondence course in ideas & pitching in response to requests. Please see our blog for more details.

If you'd rather do a one-day course in person, we also run two highly acclaimed workshops in conjunction with Journalism.co.uk. Our one-day course in Successful Freelance Journalism is a masterclass which will help anyone thinking of working as a freelance journalist, as well as new freelancers, or those who are already working in the field but want a refresher to up their game. Led by two experienced and in-demand freelance journalists, the course provides a comprehensive and practical introduction to everything freelance journalists need to know, from how to pitch ideas and getting paid work, to building relationships with editors and making sure you get your fee on time. Click here for details of our next course, in central London.

We also run the Case Study Journalism course for Journalism.co.uk (http://www.journalism.co.uk/36/43/104/) which will run next in spring/summer - date to be confirmed. This course helps both freelancers and staff writers who want to learn all the practical skills required to put together case studies for features and news, including how to find interviewees and stories, how to place them, interviewing and writing techniques, and the common issues, legalities and pitfalls. Click here for details of our next course, in central London.

We'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have on any of our training courses - you can email me at Olivia@oliviagordon.com.

 

Previous delegate comments:

'After going on the course I scored a commission worth a thousand pounds from a major national paper. I wouldn't have had the confidence or know how to pitch it before and that one commission alone will cover my course fee more than six times over.'

'I thought that the course was really helpful, very good value for money and I also made some good contacts out of it. I don't know if there is anything else like it around. Also, it was quite inspiring just hearing you speak about all the publications you have written for. Will definitely recommend it to my fellow hacks and may also see you at the real life one!'

'Saturday's course was excellent and I feel so much less unsure about the process now. After the course I had the interview I needed set up within about six minutes (and I am not exaggerating!). I had been trying most of last week without success!'

'The course was comprehensive and excellent. It answered those little niggling questions that I couldn't answer using my own common sense and the insights you gave into working practices will, I'm sure, turn out to be invaluable. It was exactly what I needed.'

'Very useful. I have 10 years of on-staff experience, but Jo and Olivia have taught me alot about the 'other side'. I'm really going to put their generous advice into practice.'

'Absolutely fantastic at showing the reality of day to day existence as a freelancer. Left the course more confident about ability and also how to proceed.'

'Very useful. It answered all the little questions I've come across but didn't know who to ask.'

'Thanks Olivia and Jo for such a brilliant day. I have learned so much and I can't wait to put all your fab advice into practice.'

'It's given me confidence and made me believe far more strongly it's possible. A really enjoyable, interesting and informative day run by friendly, positive, unpretentious people.'

'It was a superb course as the tutors were very helpful and provided us with everything we needed to know about real life journalism. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to venture into this field.'

'Thanks again for the brilliant course! I thought the day was really well planned and structured, very thorough, and interesting at all times. Nice friendly environment - much more engaging than being lectured to. I liked that fact that there weren't too many of us, and that we sat around the table so the whole day was more of a discussion than a lecture. Everyone was encouraged to contribute and share experiences. It was great to have such detailed hand-outs at the end, so I didn't have to worry about writing notes throughout. You provided lots of helpful tips that you don't get from more general training - it was a bit more personal. And there was a lot of opportunity to ask questions. It's really helped me structure my pitches and I feel like I understand the journalists who commission real-life pieces much better now.'

'Useful, in that it gave me some pointers as to where to find case studies; how to deal with real life editors; and how to handle interviewees re fees, etc. Very good style and pitch. If ever I am asked to find a transsexual Ecuadorian with 7 children all of whom were breastfed to the age of 22 I will think of J and O!'

'I found Olivia and Jo were very approachable and down to earth. The course was packed with practical information and handouts, and other people chipped in with their own experiences and questions. There was no time wasted.'

'I thought it was well-organised, comprehensive and relevant. I found you both sincere, professional and genuinely keen to help. It was great fun too!'

'Thanks for the fantastic course on Saturday. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt so much. I'll let you know when I get my first commission.'

'Thanks so much for the fabulous course on Saturday. It was great hearing your experiences and gaining insight into the magazine world. Would definitely like to attend any other courses you offer and would recommend you to anyone.'

'I found the course extremely useful, particularly all the tips and advice for pitching to, and writing for, glossy magazines, which I have found much more difficult to crack than newspapers. I picked up a lot of really useful nuggets of information I could never have figured out for myself. The handouts were fantastic too - the best I've had from a training course.'

'To sub a heartfelt story to reasonable length, this course was easily worth the fee, the return flight from Dublin, the hotel - all three.'

'A fantastic course. Jo and Olivia's approach was friendly and informative and their handouts comprehensive. I'm just starting out in freelance journalism and I very much appreciated their honest and realistic presentation of the way this branch of the media works. They were very down-to-earth and their love of what they do shone through. I thought the course was great from start to finish.'

"I have had two features from the course commissioned and the phone call is a real selling point - a rare opportunity to ask lots of questions without feeling like you're being a pain!"

"Absolutely invaluable! Essential! There's nothing left in my new style from the way I was preparing pitches before the course at all! I have loads more confidence because I feel equipped with the right skills and more insight into how to go about pitching in a more professional manner. I did half a course in freelance journalism at The City Lit, but learned more from just the first week in this one than all I learned there."

"The course was over too quickly! Excellent value for money, would have happily paid for another 4 weeks. The feedback provided every week was invaluable and I will undoubtedly refer back to it for many years to come."

"[The course has] already made a big difference to my attitude. I feel a lot more positive. My pitches are a lot more professional. An excellent course! It's improved my confidence greatly and has made a real difference to how I approach pitching. I've also gained a real insight into the commissioning process, which will help me in future with tailoring pitches & generating feature ideas. I thought the format was perfect: easily digestible modules and homework assignments that really made me think. The course was comprehensive but easy to fit around work."

"Thanks so much for running this - I think it's a great course. It is useful to get some reassurance that you're not going to look daft by sending a certain pitch. Or indeed, to be tipped off that you are going to look daft!"

"[The course] has given me both the confidence and the technique to approach a new range of publications. I really appreciated the detailed feedback, the hints and tips for finding contacts and the checklist to run through before developing a pitch. I loved the pace of this course - with time to think about the course notes and the flexibility to change the pitch I was working on within the course. The personal feedback was fantastic - I was glad it was critical as that was more constructive. Plus, it made the praise at the end feel very motivational!"

"I have been on six Press Association courses and none come close to yours! I think this course has been very useful and I hope to put my newfound knowledge into practice as soon as possible. It boosted my confidence and gave me the push I needed to start approaching editors. That alone was worth the money. When you start out as a freelance it is all a bit of a mystery, so to find out from people already doing the job how to crack the industry was fantastic. The feedback was always helpful and constructive and my questions at the bottom always answered fully. It was a great course and I will be recommending it. It was excellent value for money. The chat at the end of the course is a very good idea."

"It was very helpful to have so many examples of pitches, good and bad, included within the course notes. The phone one-to-one was also very useful to address my individual concerns. Everything was useful in terms of refreshing my knowledge. Thanks Jo and Olivia for all your help!"

 

Photo by Nina Hollington