ADHD, True self & getting in the press for free with insiders knowledge

ByMandie

Here Insider and business woman Michelle Shavdia talks about ADHD and how being her true self led to press coverage and radio interviews for her small business. Michelle shares some of the benefits of PR for small businesses and how the Insiders and Mandie, our founder assisted in this. But first, Can a person with ADHD live a normal life and overcome ADHD?

This is a question that was posed to me recently.  I was somewhat shocked.  Firstly, what is a normal life? 

And secondly, why must everyone live the same life anyway!? 

Despite the somewhat offensive question, the answer is, that someone with ADHD has the potential to live a fulfilled life full of success.  It may not be quite the norm, but then, like I said, why must everyone’s life be the same?!  If everyone were the same, life would be boring anyway.  Also, ADHD is not something to overcome.  It is something to be understood, accepted, managed and embraced.

This is taken from someone who knows and who hasn’t lived too normal a life and found that when I tried to, it hasn’t worked out well for me.  In fact, the more ‘normally’ I behaved, the less successful and happy I am.  I was more ‘successful’ pre finding out I had ADHD than I am now.  I was all over the place and had a million and one jobs because I couldn’t sit still. Now that I have learnt to sit still and be a bit slower, I have an easier, more sane/normal life, but am having to build up to the success again for myself.  Researchers have found that having a messy brain, which people with ADHD are said to have, is linked to higher creativity so that may in fact be why.  There are so many strengths to being someone with ADHD, intuition, innovativeness, humour and creativity to name just a few and I wouldn’t be without it now that I know what it is and how best to work with it.

Recently, however, I was able to be more of my true, authentic self. 

This was whilst on radio. BBC Essex in fact.  I was invited by one of the producers to come and speak about ADHD and found that I came into my element whilst live on air. Who knew?!  Afterwards, I felt so exhilarated and my true self, I felt like I was on cloud nine and like I had finally arrived.  The link to listen to this interview audio can be found here on BBC Sounds till 22nd June 2023: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fkxxrt  . Alternatively, you can find and listen to it here:  Positive resources – Find Your Spark

Following on from this I managed to get printed in a newspaper, the Mersea Courier, thanks to the help and support of Mandie Holgate of the Business Women’s Network and the Insiders who gave great feedback to me.

Getting on the radio and into the newspaper can offer several benefits for small businesses.  Radio and newspapers remain a popular influential medium reaching a broad audience and providing a unique platform for businesses to promote their products or services so I would encourage small businesses to use these forms of marketing too as well as networking such as with the The Business Woman’s Network – As Passionate About Your Success as You Are (thebusinesswomansnetwork.co.uk)

Here are some benefits of using radio for small business marketing:

  1. wide audience reach: radio has a broad listenership allowing businesses to reach a large and diverse audience. It can effectively target local communities or specific demographics depending on the station and programming.
  2. Cost effectiveness: radio advertising can be more affordable compared to other traditional advertising channels such as television or print media.  Small businesses with limited marketing budgets can leverage radio to reach a significant audience without incuring exorbitant costs.
  3. Local targeting: many radio stations focus on local regional audiences.  This enables small businesses operating within a specific area to directly target potential customers within their community enhancing brand awareness and driving local foot traffic.
  4. Frequency and repetition: radius repetitive nature allows for repeated exposure of your business message.  Frequent exposure helps reinforce brand recall and can increase likelihood of customers remembering and considering your business when making purchasing decisions.
  5. Immediacy and flexibility: radio allows businesses to quickly deliver their message to listeners in real time.  This immediacy is particularly useful for time sensitive promotions events or limited time offers.  Additionally, radio advertising campaigns can be easily adjusted or modified to align with changing business objectives.
  6. Emotional connection: radio has a personal intimate nature often establishing an emotional connexion with listeners.  This characteristic can help small businesses build trust credibility and loyalty with their target audience by effectively conveying their brand story and values.
  7. Complement to other marketing channels: radio advertising can work synergistically with other marketing channels such as digital and social media.  Integrating your radio campaign with online efforts you can create a cohesive and comprehensive marketing strategy that maximises exposure and engagement.

When considering radio advertising its essential to research and select the right stations that align with your target audience and marketing objectives. Craft compelling and memorable messages that effectively convey your unique selling points and compel listeners to take action. Monitoring the results of your radio campaigns such as tracking increased website traffic or sales enquiries can help gauge the effectiveness and return on investment of your radio advertising efforts.

What I learnt from the process was that it is not as scary as you would imagine especially given all the technology is sorted for you, which is one of my weaknesses.  The key to doing this is to prepare lots in advance (I did three mind maps, first a draft and then two revised, more concise versions).  I also learnt that doing this is an effective way to get your key message across to a wider audience and then be able to use this audio in future marketing to get the word further to your network and beyond.

If you would like to learn more about this and hear the talk plus all the things I didn’t get to say, then I have an ADHD Awareness session on 26th June where you can do just that: ADHD Awareness Group Tickets, Mon 26 Jun 2023 at 19:00 | Eventbrite We also have a further training on 10th July which has been booked by popular demand.  Please email amanda@findyourspark.co.uk for further details.  And please remember, if you do know someone with ADHD, to treat them kindly and learn to understand and support them, don’t try to change them.

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