Small Business & Marketing Matters

My friend, Nick Falk, has been penning this fantastic children's series of books, which have now been published by Random House in Australia.

It's been fascinating watching the process that he has been through to get the books onto shelves; from finding a publisher, editing the books, working with the illustrator to bring the stories to life, book signings and promotions (in costume! yes, he is a nutter) and finally this fantastic promotional video made by his wife, Carmen Falk - they are a very creative family.

Nick talks here about writing the books. This video is unusual in that he is sitting relatively still and not leaping about dressed like something from the Cretaceous period (don't know it? read the books...). He also talks about his favourite dinosaur, which happens to be a head-butting dinosaur. Who knew?

They are a fantastic series of books that will fuel your child's imagination. Full of fantasy, adventure and rather surprisingly, a lot of facts about dinosaurs and the Cretaceous period. Nick manages to capture the tone of the characters so well and each one has their own story to tell and personal adventure with a dinosaur or two. If you like to read with your kids, then this is certainly a series that you can enjoy together - your back garden will never seem the same again....

The first part of the Saurus Street series are now available in the UK on Amazon... more coming soon!

Home Grown

2013-04-07T13:33:00.001+02:00

Continuing the theme of consuming less this year, i am also attempting to grow more too. I made a start last year with some spuds, peppers, tomatoes, chillis and courgettes. Quite successful for my first attempt.

This year i wanted to start from seed and try a little more. So, the seeds are underway, so far so good.

I will give them a couple of weeks to grow in the little mini green house i have in the kitchen, then will transfer to the raised beds i am making in the garden - made out of reclaimed wine crates. How appropriate is that? :-)

It's certainly not that cheap to grow your own, especially in the beginning. Farmers have cracked economies of scale in a way i can never acheive. But based on last years' first attempt, its a lot of fun, very interesting and i'm learning a lot about my garden, the soil and how to grow veg organically.

Nigel Slater is my inspiration. I love the way he cooks straight from then garden or allotment. That's fresh!.!@

A Year of Less is More

2013-03-16T15:01:00.001+01:00

I do a lot of work promoting Repair Cafe at The Goodlife Centre in central London and its all rather infectious. So, I challenged myself to consuming less in 2013. Buy less crapjects and clothes eat less, drink less, spend less. Generally be less of a burden on the planet and take a step back from gluttony and global consumerism. A commitment to spending this year being more aware of my 'consumer footprint', if you like.

Things do need to be bought along the way. I know this will happen and when it does I vow to buy either second hand or quality goods and consider the source before price. I can afford to be more discerning in my decision-making. I don't mean just financially. I'm at a stage in my life where I have a lot of stuff. A house full of furniture and household goods and clothes and shoes and accessories and and and.... There is very little I 'need' any more. So its about deciding how much I want the new thing and at what cost. Spend an extra ten minutes having a good think about the latest {insert must-have item of the month here} and resist the sudden rush of retail blood to the head.

So, how am I doing? Nearly three months into the year and its time for a review.

Purchases...
Electronic hair curler
Dress for a wedding
2 x running tights
2x running tops
2x running socks

Better than usual, but admittedly I'm still slacking. My world would not collapse if I had chosen not to buy any of these items. So to offset some of the afore mentioned consumerism, I am selling some clothes ebay, which is also a first (I bloody hate ebay).

So then I thought about this some more and realised I could do more with this. In a total arbitrary system created in my head, I allocate 'consume' points for each item purchased offset against 'conserve' points (at 50% approx consume value) for items sold on and 100% for anything reused, recycled or repaired. Got it? Good.

Here's the balance sheet then...

Consume points		Conserve points
Electronic hair curler	50	4x Dresses selling on eBay	-200
Dress for a wedding	100	Handbag repaired	-50
2x running tights	50	Suitcase repaired	-50
2x running tops	50
2x running socks	10
Haircut (no colour!)	25

Total	285	Total	-300

Net running total for 2013: -15

So in my total arbitrary balance sheet I declare that i am currently on top. But I know its going to be easy to slip into old habits and with summer hopefully around the corner, it will be very difficult to resist the pulling power of shop windows. So, I am off to look for some second hand shops in preparation and denim patches are on today's shopping list to repair some ripped threads....

Life Skills: The Dirty Martini

2013-02-08T14:17:00.000+01:00

There are many things that I consider essential life skills: Reading, Writing, Cooking, Basic DIY... but as it's Friday let me add one more indispensable string to your bow of life; The Dirty Martini.

You are most welcome.

The State We're In

2013-01-31T15:43:00.002+01:00

I have to share this story to show what a wonderful, wonderful village I grew up in.

Read: Volunteers clean up disabled man's home

The piece doesn't really tell the full story - how a very vulnerable person's care was dropped with no notice and no where to turn, but it does offer the tiniest glimpse into what has been a huge community operation by many people to transform this person's house into something more liveable and more manageable. There has been hours of work by so many to make it possible and many local businesses have also supported.

I have been following the progress from afar via Facebook and updates from my mum and am so proud to know the people in this village. And at the same time so horrified to learn of the gaping holes in social care in modern Britain.

David Cameron - take your social care cuts and your big society and peddle your filth elsewhere. We still cling on to small communities in some parts of Great Britain, thank you very much. We call it village life where, despite popular belief, not everyone forms their opinions from the tory-state sponsored Daily Mail. And we don't need a blitz to find our spirit.

The welfare state and social care system is the most precious, wonderful safety net in the world. It was never designed to give one person an advantage over another, but to allow disadvantaged people the same opportunities as what most of us accept as 'the norm'. Don't be blind-sided by dreadful headlines about immigrants and scroungers. THIS is the face of social care reform - vulnerable people falling through the cracks with no safety net. One day you or your family will probably need that safety net.

There’s a Hare in my Kitchen - A Short Story

2013-01-22T15:41:00.003+01:00

This short story was written by Barbara Seidle, a student in last year’s University of Cape Town Summer School writing course taught by Sharon Colback, founder of Learn to Write Online - Creative Writing Courses.

It is a very accomplished story and shows what you can achieve in a week on a creative writing course under Sharon's tuition.

—————————————-

The neighbour arrived at the front door beaming. He had the Hare firmly by the hind legs and held it aloft for me to admire. The Hare’s eyes were glazed. I managed to mumble ‘Thanks very much Dimitri’ before shutting the door in his face. But he ambled away good naturedly.

The old knot in my stomach tightened as I turned away. I saw the dead boy’s eyes again in my mind. Glazed like the Hare. It was my Billy who had shot the boy. He had shot the boy when he meant to shoot the Rabbit.

‘He walked in front of me Ma’ Billy had said ‘I had the Rabbit in my sights.’

Koos lived next door. He was Billy’s best friend. He was always at our house. Koos was like my other son.

It was me. I was the one who had to go next door to tell Koos’ parents. Jan Willem was away as usual, off on one of his diamond business trips. If he wasn’t away on the diamond business, it was the hunting trips. My, he had so many guns in the house. I always told him, he should lock those guns away; but no, we might need them in an emergency. He was the one who taught Billy to shoot. I told him Billy was too young. Didn’t he know a 10 year old shouldn’t be in charge of a gun. But no, Jan Willem said,

‘A boy must be a man someday. So he must learn to be a man. He must learn how to shoot.’

All very well for him to say. He wasn’t there that night that the boys went out to Boucher’s Kop to shoot Rabbits. He wasn’t there when Billy came back with blood all over him saying,

‘Come quick Ma. Koos is shot. He is bleeding.’

I ran. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me and Billy ran too. We ran down the road and through the farm gate and up that dirt track to Boucher’s Kop.

Koos was just lying there. His eyes were glazed like the Hare. I could see he was dead straight away. By the light of that moon I could see he was dead.

They took him away in an ambulance, and I had to tell his parents. They never spoke to me again of course, or my Billy. They never spoke to either of us. It was hard on Billy. He was always at their house too. My heart used to weep for Billy. I would see him looking at Koos’ bedroom window and I could see his heart was breaking.

I used to cook rabbit all the time in those days. Whenever the boys brought back a rabbit, I would make a stew, like a Bredie with lots of tomatoes. Jan Willem said it was the best rabbit stew he ever ate. Every time he said that.

‘Elna’ he would say, ‘this is the best rabbit stew I ever ate.’

But I have never cooked a rabbit stew since that day.

I am alone now. Jan Willem has passed on and I am older. Now I have a hare in my kitchen. What am I going to do. It was very kind of Dimitri of course, to bring this hare for me. He doesn’t know about Billy and Koos and the rabbits. But I don’t think I can cook this hare. I can’t give it to anyone. Dimitri would hear of it and be insulted. Poor Dimitri, he is a good neighbour.

Even when Freddy started coming round to the house, Billy never stopped thinking about Koos. Freddy was new in town maybe that is why his parents let him play with my son.

Freddy and Billy were in the bedroom that day, when those skollies broke into my car. Billy told Freddy he mustn’t worry because there was a gun next to his Father’s bed. I told Jan Willem after Koos was shot,

‘Jan Willem, now will you put those guns away?’

But Jan Willem said, ‘OK Ma, but I’ll just keep the one next to the bed. What’s the use of having a gun if you can’tuse it when you need it?’ Jan Willem said.

And what did I say? I said, ‘Jan Willem, you must know what you are doing.’

But you see what happened, That Freddy he goes straight to Jan Willem’s bed and he gets the gun to scare the skollies. And my Billy runs up to him to stop him, and then there is a shot, and I come running upstairs, and there is my Billy lying on the floor. And Freddie is standing there with the gun still in his hand and a shocked expression on his face.

It happened all over again. I couldn’t believe it. Only this time it is my Billy who is lying dead. I thought I was going mad and it was all a dream. But it wasn’t, it was real.

So you see why I can’t cook that hare. But maybe I will. Maybe I should cook it. I will cook it for Billy and for Koos and for poor Freddy who suffered just like my Billy. Maybe God will be merciful and punish Freddy too like my Billy, or maybe Freddy will live a long life with his suffering. I don’t know because I never saw Freddie again either.

Now, I think that I will cook that hare. I will cook it for those boys and I will invite Dimitri to come and eat it with me. Maybe he will say like Jan Willem used to say

‘ Elna, this is the best rabbit stew I ever ate.’

Copyright Barbara Siedle January 2012
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To discover more about Sharon Colback's Online Creative Writing courses, visit her website: www.LearntoWriteOnline.com

Case Study: The Goodlife Centre

2012-12-11T15:51:00.000+01:00

Background:

The Goodlife Centre (TGLC) is an independent learning space in Waterloo that offers daytime, evening and weekend courses in DIY, Upholstery, Decorating, Woodwork, Furniture Restoration and Crafts. Workshop sales are managed online through their website: www.thegoodlifecentre.co.uk

Problem 1: Website and sales process

Old Website Design

The existing website was visually nice but not as client had originally envisaged it. Workshops are difficult to update and do not display more than one image, which meant lots of pre-sales questions that needed to be answered. Images were restricted to certain size and format. Managing the workshop sales and administration of workshop reminders and follow-ups was being done manually – off the site, which was time consuming and prone to error.

Possibilities of updating the homepage were limited and any changes to navigation were disastrous due to poor coding of the site. A (very patient) designer was required for every little tweak.

Solution: Redesign website and online sales process

The client has a design background, so had a strong idea of the branding that TGLC should have. She wanted a website design that reflected this. So we worked with her design and customized a website around her vision.

New Website Design

I made suggestions as to best uses of the home-page “real estate” and how we could use it to improve search engine results, enhance the visitors’ experiences and ultimately improve sales.

The first big decision was to change the back-end sales system. The current e-commerce “shop” approach which was too limited for workshop sales, so we moved away from this and instead found an event management system, which is much more suited to TGLC’s “product”.

Workshop sales, reminders and follow-ups are now all managed from one dashboard on the website. Adding or repeating events is much easier and there is plenty of scope for customization. Images can be added as desired and there are no size or orientation restrictions. This is important as it means website visitors are getting a great deal more information about each workshop, which reduces pre-sales questions and reduces reluctance to purchase.

Navigation is a key element of the new site. I felt clients might be looking for workshops in a number of different ways, using a variety of keywords to search. I wanted to ensure that we created enough opportunities for the visitor to find their workshop no matter how they went about searching for it. So there are many different options on the navigation menu to come at the same information.

The new feature boxes on the home page are easy to change, update and are optimized for SEO. The new sliders on the home page are easy to change and update and are used to promote seasonal offers or new workshops. This keeps the site fresh at all times.

The client wanted to be able to manage website and workshop updates/admin herself. Whilst I have designed a website solution that allows her to do that, I am currently still managing this myself due to the large increase in sales which has kept her and her staff very busy. However, as further sales enable her to expand her own in-house team, I have no doubt this role will be successfully and easily managed by TGLC staff in the future. I will assist them as required and continue to provide marketing support.

Problem 2: Increase sales as TGLC expands to larger space

For a relatively new start-up, workshop sales were good. As the new website was launched in June managing the sales became much easier, allowing for more time to be spent on business development. New workshops were in the pipeline and TGLC had expanded next door to open a second workspace – allowing for two workshops to take place at the same time. Additional sales were needed – fast!

Solution: Comprehensive online marketing plan: e-newsletters, social media, SEO, adwords

Using the new website as a launch pad – I gave the Adwords campaigns a comprehensive re-working. New adgroups were created and specific landing pages used to more closely match keyword searches.

I now manage a much larger campaign with double the number of adgroups. Despite this, Click Thru Rates have leapt up by 500% whilst only increasing total costs by 6.30%.

The html Newsletter was re-designed and is sent regularly (every 3-4 weeks). Content is mainly driven by me, but always approved by the client.

TGLC Facebook Page

A regular program of SEO and social media marketing is in place to improve Page Rank as well as SERPS. I manage most of the twitter and facebook updates – though the client and her staff also provide ad hoc updates too, which makes for a nice mix of interesting posts that are not too commercial.

We’re on the front page of Google for almost all of our keywords – and this is ongoing to get us to the top.

Press Relations

Regular Press releases are sent (approx once per month or as required) and by providing a press area on the website I can respond quickly to journalists’ requests for information, interviews and images. We have gained some nice coverage in local and national media.

Results: Increase in Sales of 263% over the period since website launch (mid June), which is a continuing upward trend. Marketing spend is maintained at 10% of sales turnover.

Client Response:

“I had a low opinion of marketing companies before i discovered Michelle's straightforward and transparent approach. All my fears about being fleeced, hoodwinked and duped disappeared as i began working with her. Michelle has listened carefully, responded quickly and confidently and yet my ideas and visions have stayed under my control. She is there as a valuable sounding board for my concerns and is full of great suggestions and happy to 'get stuck in'.

Michelle spotted the gaps in our unwieldy website and we now have a scalable, easy to navigate site that was built, launched and maintained within time and budget. If i had the technology, i would clone her. She loves Hummus.”

Alison Winfield-Chislett - The Goodlife Centre

Why I think we all need to see Harry's naked bum

2012-08-23T11:12:00.000+02:00

Play boy or just letting off steam before a tour of duty? I'll let you decide on that one.

But one thing is for sure, it is NOT ok for the Palace to censor the UK press over leaked images of Harry's strip billiards party. For once I'm on the side of the tabloids - this IS a public interest story. Like or not, Prince Harry is a tax-payers paid for public servant, which I am afraid gives us a degree of scrutiny over his life (did say like it or not).

Harry is not a child or a teenager anymore and therefore has to face the consequences of his actions. To some it’s endearing, to others he's just been a “lad”. But consider this... what if one the guests at the party made a claim of inappropriate behaviour? Or worse? Where does that leave the third in line to the throne? Harry has been well trained and should know well enough to choose the company he keeps much more carefully - the pictures were leaked from a camera phone for god sake! The oldest (new) trick in the book. A school boy error. Except that he is not a school boy anymore.

I'm not knocking HRH. He's a single guy about to go and get shot at in Afghanistan for Granny & Country. He's a hoot, very hard working and a wonderful, passionate patron of many charities. One night of pratish behaviour does not, and should not, detract from that. But it is a wake-up call. Choose your company more wisely, remember the world is always watching.

The issue here is one of censorship. The UK press industry is (rightly) taking an absolute battering for its despicable practices and downright illegal behaviour. But the Palace had no legitimate right to ask newspapers not to publish these pictures. It is a public interest story and Harry does not require special protection.

We cannot not allow the Leveson enquiry to curb open, enthusiastic journalism, even if that means we flirt around the edges of tabloid sensationalism (a bit).

So, publish and be damned I say. And remember boys, what goes on in Vegas, does not necessarily stay in Vegas...

The Rocky Road to Dublin

2012-07-15T23:22:00.005+02:00

I am now four weeks into my second attempt at facing a marathon, Dublin to be precise. And so far its feeling pretty damn good.

On Saturday I ran 9 miles, which is my longest run in over two years. A milestone of sorts, but still only just over a third of what I need to acheive in October. It isn't so much marathon day that I fear, it's breaking down before then that freaks me out.

Last time, I made it to four weeks before the big event before a chronic injury brought me tearfully to the conclusion that I had to face facts - it wasn't going to happen. Ironically, it was the day of the Great North Run, which I then limped home to emotionally sit through on TV. It was not a good day.

But that was then and this now. And this time my only goal is to make it to the start line uninjured and with a race number pinned to my shirt. What happens after that is just the icing on the cake.

The Strongest Motivator

Running for Tick Tock

My husband, David, is the one really trailing the blaze towards Dublin. I'm just jogging along in his slip stream. His motivation, as well as getting fit, is fund-raising in memory of his cousin Tommy for the charity, Addaction.

And what a strong motivator that is. I didn't realise until I was in the middle of my run on Saturday how much it is now pushing me along too. As is often the case when running, my mind starts drifting off to think whatever it is to keep me going - started imagining me, David, Beth and Martin running around the last bend into O'Connell Street and knowing that we'll be doing it for Tommy.

Will we make it to Dublin? Stay tuned...

You can contribute to David's fundraising for Addaction in memory of Tommy by clicking on the Just Giving link at the top right of my blog.

Note about this post: Not sure if I should really add such personal posts to this, my business blog page. But I am my business, and my business is personal to me, so it's difficult to have one without the other. You decide...

And the Oscar Goes to...

2012-07-09T17:43:00.003+02:00

Oscar for the most pointless award ceremony goes to...

Here's an idea. Create a fairly pointless business club, charge people to join, then have an annual, or better still, monthly awards ceremony and charge members more money to attend it.

If you are daft enough to part with your start-up capital to join a 'business club', you will at least at some point win an award. Just continue to pay subs long enough til your turn comes round and its in the bag. Trust me.

"Hurrah. You have won the Stoke Newington Entrepreneurs Circle Award for Most Admired Female Entrepreneur. Well done."

"Really? How lovely. Who knew that with a whole five other members that were eligible to enter, the competition would be so fierce."

Folks, self-praise is no praise.

Start-Up Up-Starts

My personal favourite being "Start Up" Awards. Usually sponsored by either a bank (as if they are any sort of business role model) and a local paper touting for additional advertising fodder and staged by...."ANO Entrepreneurs Circle". More self-serving drivel.

I'm not knocking start-ups. It's bloody hard work to get an idea out there, have someone take you seriously, get some funding and launch. Really it is. But the real hard work begins when the start-up cash runs out. When cash has to flow without a safety net. That's when a business survives on its merits or more importantly, it's customers. Or not.

If there were awards ceremonies for "Businesses that Succeeded After 5 Years", then I'd be in the front row cheering. As long as the nominees weren't restricted to the five paying members of a club.

Networking Nonsense

And that brings me back to 'networking groups'. Another stroke of brilliance: Attend a massively over-priced breakfast each month. Spend spend an uncomfortable hour meeting the same group of people and nervously pretend you are not there to sell your services whilst espousing some B.S. about wanting to meet like-minded, goal-orientated business owners. Jesus, who has the time.

Groucho Marx said, "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member." There's something in that.

And on a lighter note, here's some puppies in a bucket.

2012 Logo Bashing - its the taking part that counts

2012-06-28T13:35:00.000+02:00

Can I just wade in please, on the London 2012 logo argument? I know I am late to the party, but it's the participation that matters, right?

Its unavoidable. Its everywhere. And each time I see this dreadful, awful logo and the accompanying font, it provokes such a violent reaction that I'm a bit scared of myself. But in the main, I’m just embarrassed. Embarrassed that our Olympic visual legacy is just such a pile of pointless, unwashed pants, that I am afraid the history books might just erase it entirely and replace it with the Coca Cola branding, or worse yet, the ubiquitous holy Apple just to plug the gap.

Don’t misunderstand me... I’m not Olympics bashing. I’m as excited as a puppy with a full bladder about the games coming to the greatest city on earth. I’m also as proud as a sports-day mum of our athletes’ dedication and commitment to sport (something I dabble with when it's not raining, or too humid, or a Weekday). But that is what makes the disappointment in the logo all the more jarring - it should be epic, iconic, massive, brilliant, shock-and-awe-inspiring and instead it's just a bit well... rubbish.

Here’s what Get Set London 2012 has to proudly say about the logo;

The construction and palette of the London 2012 logo has been considered very carefully – thinking about font, colour and image.

Colour

By using interesting shapes and angles, and bright vibrant colours the logo creates a sense of energy

The brand colours are a modern twist on the colours of the Olympic symbol. The colours are inspired by the world of media, communications and fashion.

MP: So, in fact… not the Olympic colours at all then.

Buzz!

The addition of the buzz outline (seen here in yellow) adds to the feeling of energy.

MP: Are you buzzing yet?

Powerful images

The logo or emblem is the year 2012, something everyone can recognise and feel part of. It aims to be simple but bold.

MP: Recognise? Five years after its launch and I only just found out that those shapes are supposed to represent 2012.

Clever fonts

A special typeface was created for London 2012. It is used for all communications and key messages. It is intended to convey energy and dynamism. The logo captures the spirit and energy of the London 2012 Games.

MP: Less said about this type face the better. Can’t see it being bundled with the next Adobe pack…

The Contenders

Here are a few that, IMHO, should have at least made the podium:

Bronze: MIND THE GAP

Is there a more recognizable or iconic brand than the London Underground? It’s at the heart of the city and connects all of London’s boroughs and diverse communities together in one genius spaghetti network.

Then how appropriate would it have been for the brand of this class-less transportation network to feature at the centre of London 2012. Alas it was not to be…

Silver: BIG BEN

Credit for this design goes to Joe Brust.

I’m not crackers about the font on this one either, but it’s a striking design and its iconic – which is exactly what I expected the London 2012 to be – instantly recognizable as London. The colour palette is cool, but would just as easily work with the Olympic colours too.

Also, I’d like to see Big Ben look more like Big Ben, and less like a minaret, but that’s just semantics now…

Gold: EASTENDERS

And then there was the logo design for the original bid, which I think was and remains rather lovely (but I am a lifelong follower of the all things Walford). The Thames, the other great central feature that connects all of London, is central and iconic. Did I already mention that the logo should be iconic? Oh, ok.

We did afterall, win the bid on the back of it (and several million quid, lots of hard work and politicing etc etc), but that does rather suggest success, doesn't it? Plus, it was already bought and paid for. Cha-ching, keep the change, thank you very much.

PAST PERFORMANCE

Then again, in the context of all the previous Olympic logos, perhaps London 2012 isn't such a bag of hammers. Aside from the original Olympic Rings design, there isn't much here that inspires awesomeness amongst this mixed bag - though I think Athens 2004 might have come the closest. But if the Greeks can't own an Olympic logo now, who can?

That is all. Carry on with your day.

Event Management Tools

2012-05-11T10:57:00.002+02:00

So, I started a new website for a client this week. It was challenging. They had been using an e-commerce package to manage sales for their events and it just wasn't jiving.

Events require a different kind of application. There is more to organizing an event that just selling places. It requires some very specific requirements:

managing numbers
sending reminders
moving people from one event to another
managing a waiting list
adding attendees
manually sending
follow up emails after the event
an event calendar
lists of event categories
recommendations for similar events
integration with third party apps (paypal, mailchimp and others)

So, armed with this wish list I went searching for the ultimate event management tool, and came across Event Espresso, a plugin for wordpress sites that claim to do exactly what I ask, plus a bit more.

I've bitten the bullet. Signed up to be an affiliate and have purchased the advanced version for my client's site. Installation starts today.

Is it going to be everything it promises to be? Plugins rarely are, but I'll keep you posted as to how close it gets.
Click here to visit Event Espresso.

Those who can do - those who can't... are learning.

2012-04-15T23:45:00.002+02:00

We're programmed to outsource. If you want a light switch wired in or a pipe unblocking, you will probably call an electrician or a plumber and brace for financial impact. But there's a small learning space called the Goodlife Centre in London’s Waterloo that is trailing a (self-wired) blaze to buck this trend of dependency.

Skills for life. Skills for living.
Taking control, having fun and learning a skill for life is the mantra at the Goodlife Centre. A spacious workshop studio nestled in Waterloo, the Goodlife Centre runs short and snappy DIY, decorating and home maintenance courses for anyone wanting to get their hands dirty.

If you are a total DIY beginner or just need to brush up on your techniques, then this is the spot to come to.

Make do and mend is not just for girls.
Seriously, it's 2012. DIY, decorating and home maintenance are no longer skills being passed down from father to son. We're all as helpless with a hammer as each other these days. True parity of the sexes achieved at last through the medium of coving. The glass ceiling finally shattered, when someone dropped the chisel. OK, I'll stop now.

But the point is really that the Goodlife Centre's DIY, Wood Work and Decorating courses are not just filled with sisters doing it for themselves. We’ve all moved on a bit now. The groups are mix of the sexes and ages and everyone seems to rub along together quite nicely. Hard not to when the person along the bench from you is armed with a powertool and not afraid to use it.

Co-counder, Alison Winfield-Chislett explains why the centre has resonated with Londoners:
"We're at the 'hard-end' of the make-do-and-mend culture. We're about the more basic needs of maintaining your home, losing your dependence on trades(wo)men for the small jobs around the home and saving up your hard-earned pounds for the big jobs. And there is an enormous about of satisfaction to be had from literally doing it yourself.”

I'm writing on behalf of the Goodlife Centre, an independent learning space offering daytime, evening and weekend courses to learn life skills in DIY, decorating, basic electrics, plumbing, tiling wood working, carpentry and furniture restoration .

Website: www.thegoodlifecentre.co.uk
Address: 122 Webber Street, London, SE1 0QL.
Call: Alison on 0207 760 7613
Email: alison@thegoodlifecentre.co.uk

Top Tips For PPC Management

2012-04-11T11:52:00.001+02:00

PPC management can be a daunting task; there are so many things to think about! I’m going to take you through one of my biggest tips for making your day to day management easier, and faster. Setting up your AdWords account is just the beginning, once it is live and running, maintenance is extremely important for making it work and increasing your return on investment.

Let’s look today at one of the most important tasks I carry out on a weekly basis – analysing the exact keywords that I’ve been paying for in my AdWords account. To do this, we need to look closely at the search term reports. In order to run a search term report, first you need to open your account in AdWords. If this is the first time you have looked through the search term reports; then change the date range to all time in the top right hand corner of the account. Now go to the keywords tab, once in here a number of other tabs open, click on ‘see search terms’ and select all. This will show you all of the search terms that your ads were ever matched against. Export this data to Excel by clicking on ‘download’ and then ‘create’. When you have this data we can now analyse it to make adjustments to the account. I look through these reports on a weekly basis; I suggest that you look through these on a weekly basis too. Remember to change the date range to the last 7 days in the top right of AdWords if you are doing the same.

You should now have the search term report exported to Excel. You can analyse the data within AdWords itself but I find it easier to look at it within an Excel spreadsheet. Most of the time, when I have exported the search terms to a spreadsheet; I sort the data by the highest number of impressions. This makes it easier to see the search terms that are the most active. The most active search terms are costing you the most money- so look at them closely! You can also sort the data by the highest cost, number of clicks or number of conversions. Take a look through the search terms to see where your ads have been matched against words that you wish you didn’t pay for. You can then go back and add those matches as negative keywords in your account. This will prevent your ads from being matched in the future for those search terms. Negative keywords are extremely important to increase your return on investment by preventing unnecessary clicks.

Now focus on looking at search terms you have been matched against by AdWords. If you see a new search term that has caused a conversion then add it in. Then you can create an ad matched towards that new keyword which will increase the chances of further conversions for that keyword. Furthermore, getting the exact keyword will increase the money you are making on them as you are rewarded by Google for being relevant.

Good luck – once you’ve run some reports come back and let us know how you’re getting on!

Daniel Blinman is writing on behalf of Marketing by Web, an SEO, Social Media and PPC Management company.

2011-09-29T11:10:00.000+02:00

Someone asked me this week if working with small businesses was just a stop gap until I could find some bigger clients? My reply? Hell no! The fact is I have chosen to target small businesses, individual business owners and in some cases, sole traders. That is the niche I elected to pursue, and I don’t rule out targeting an even smaller niche yet.

Marketing starts with customers. Working out what they need or want and then providing that, ideally for a profit. Small business owners know their business and more importantly know their customers, sometimes even on a personal level. As a marketer it does not get any better than that. Small business owners have the freedom to make decisions quickly, they can respond to change rapidly and frankly are usually more than willing to listen to advise and admit when they need help.

Big companies spend thousands trying to understand their customers and are often still none the wiser or worse, do what they wanted to do anyway. Big businesses must consult heads of departments, various echelons of management and perhaps even shareholders to sanction change. It can be like turning an oil tanker around. By the time anything is decided the opportunity is missed and the ship has sailed.

I’ve worked with and for big companies and met some lovely and very talented people within the corporations. Without exception these great assests became ultimately frustrated with lack of autonomy to make decisions to get things happening, and demoralized by the beaurocracy required to get something as simple as a press release approved in a timely fashion. Most now work for themselves – what does that tell you?

And as for the myth that bigger businesses have bigger budgets? Please, show me any business that throws money around these days (aside from corporate bonuses, but that’s a rant for another day!).

I’m very happy working with the top decision-makers in tiny enterprises. Small is most definitely more beautiful.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, outsource.

2011-06-20T23:48:00.001+02:00

Stick to your knitting and outsource the rest.

People, and by people I mean potential clients, are often a bit surprised that I myself outsource some of the marketing activities that I offer them.

But it makes perfect sense. I focus on what am good at, and outsource tasks that are done better by others. Simples! It's much more cost effective for me and my clients, and they get to have the best people doing the best work without lengthy contracts or a large overhead for the privilege.

I generally focus on the bits I am good at: account management, social marketing, marketing strategies, sales strategies, copywriting and particularly project management; co-ordinating any other outsourced freelancers on the project and cracking the whip to keep projects on time and on budget.

I outsource other marketing activities to a trusted network of freelancers who are specialists in what they do: Website design, programming, SEO, PPC, exhibition support and event management.

For my small business clients, outsourcing gives them some very tangiable benefits: cost-effectiveness, flexibility, low-overheads and the possibility to flex their virtual team up and down with the business as required and at short notice.

But the biggest benefit to any business owner has to be time. Delegating non-core services to a trusted freelancer and freeing up your own time to focus on what you do best - running your business.

As my granny used to stay, stick to your knitting.

Never Ever Cut Prices - Add Value

2011-06-15T15:22:00.001+02:00

Don't Cut Your Prices; Instead Add Value

Price is not everything, but customer service is.

Let's take my hairdressers as a prime example of why not cutting back on little extras during the lean times has proved to be a very cute strategy for improve sales and no doubt profitability.

Let me start by saying that I do pay top dollar for my hair treatments and I am fully aware of that. I mean it's not quite London pricing (remember, I am in Germany), but it isn't far off. And I don't care. That's not to say I have money to burn, far from it. But for four hours every five weeks or so, I simply do not care what the end result will cost.

It's worth it. Not just for the brilliant cut, the rich colour or the fabulous style, which occasionally on a good day I can almost recreate at home. It's worth it for the four hours of uniterrupted all-about-me time. The service is not sycophantic or claustrophobic, it's simpy attentive, professional, polite and laced with treats. I often work during this time (I'm writing this blog now), but not until I have received a complimentary head massage, hand massage, bottomless glass of prosecco, selection of snacks, and a lightly toasted panini that is sent for upon request, or rather submission.

These treats are not necessarily expensive but one imagines they could be first in line for the chop (pardon the pun) during tough times. But here's the nub, the perceived value is high, huge even. And the brains behind my salon simply stood his ground kept the goodies flowing. And so the customers continued to flow also, and I believe quite regularly.

I won't lie, the last 18 months or so has involved some serious financial cut backs for me (and the rest of the world). But rather than choose a less expensive salon or opt for (god forbid) self-styling, I simply moved my 3-weekly appointment to five or sometimes six, and came home empty handed rather than with a bag full of expensive salon recommended shampoos (actually they rarely suggest, let alone push which is a pet hate for most customers). But I did not cut back on the key service that I went in for - cut, colour and styling. It adds up to a pretty packet when you factor in 8 -9 visits in a year.

I'm a loyal customer. I've lived in Mannheim 8 years and only ever had serious relationships with three hair stylists and only two salons. The first one ended after the salon decided they were always too busy for my custom unless I gave them six weeks notice; the second simply because the stylist moved on (she didn't even leave a note, I was heartbroken) but I stayed with the salon and tested a new stylist. It was a tense first appointment, they always are... whilst I am happy to experiment with my hair, never with my stylist. But as it turns out it was love after the first cut. Then the salon changed ownership and the relationship was cemented forever. Well, forever so far, and they never seem to take that for granted, not yet anyway.

So, what I am trying to say in a rather protracted and long-winded kind of a way is... when times is tough don't necessarily think about what you can cut... rather what value you can add.

And if you are at all interested in experiencing the best of hairdressing and customer service then you could do worse than The Parlour, Fressgasse, Mannheim. My stylist is Sandro but everyone there is faulous and quite beautiful and for four hours every six weeks or so, I am a little bit too.

3 Totally Awesome Benefits of Twitter for Your Small Business

2010-11-30T23:14:00.008+01:00

Are you one of those short tempered sorts that rolls their eyes at the mere mention of Twitter? Perhaps it's time to think again and investigate its benefits for your small business...

1) Level The Playing Field
The great news for small business is that Twitter enables you to compete at the same level as a bigger brand. The importance of Twitter is not who you are but what you say and to whom. There are many big brands whose followers dwindle away because they have nothing interesting to say, other than dull promotional messages. Whereas a certain energy is generated around certain individuals and businesses, not because of who they are but because of their witty, interesting or inciteful posts and interaction with followers.
You don't need a big budget to play on this field.

2) Quick Information, As You Want It
Don't listen to those grumpy gits that complain it wastes away the hours. The abosulte beauty of Twitter is it's brevity and relevance. As a personalised search tool it's something special. You follow "tweeps" in a field that interests you and sit back while they go out and gather information for you like a little army of ants. The simple micro-blog element of Twitter forces posters to choose their words carefully and allows you to quickly scan and pick out daily posts of interest and relevance in a matter of minutes, saving hours of fruitless online searches.

3) Free, Fast and Furiously Effective
OK, I know that's three reasons but three good ones!

It's FREE for crying out loud, how fabulous is that?
The speed of spreading the word throughout the twitterverse is well known, in fact it's part of the awesomeness of this media. Within minutes your content, links and ideas can be winging their way around the world to thousands and even millions of followers, provided it hits the right note. You acheive something that no mass marketing campaign with a budget of millions could manage so effectively.

So, go and get involved! Or if you want to just tip your toe in the water, follow me.

What's This Social Marketing All About?

2010-11-15T16:23:00.001+01:00

What is it? Things like Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare.

This is no longer a world dominated by teenagers, it's an important business tool for every business owner. Social marketing is all about getting in touch with potential customers as your business/website becomes known and respected through key social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

When a small business uses social media as a marketing tool, it allows the company to compete on a level playing field as big organisations. In fact, in this context it is most definitely an advantage to be small and accessible.

The current big thing is Facebook, You Tube and Twitter. Social marketing is at its heart about people – building relationships and interacting with “people” or in the case of your business “potential customers”.

Why is it Important?

Customer referrals and word of mouth are without a doubt the best way to get new business. One major advantage of using social networking sites to market your business is getting these ‘word of mouth’ referrals to go a lot farther, quicker. Social Networking sites like Facebook have hundreds of millions of members and massive amounts of daily daily active users. It's becoming hard to ignore.

Do I Need It?

You have to decide if the investment of time and effort is worth your while. If you provide B2B products or services, then it might not be appropriate for you right now, but don't rule it out. Check to see what your competitors are doing and how.

For any business that sells to a consumer audience, then social marketing is almost a must now. Don't believe me? You should also check out your competition and make sure you don't get left behind!

How Do You Get Started?

If you are a complete newbie, then it's best to select just one social media platform to start with, until you are more comfortable with putting yourself out there. Facebook is probably the must fun and rewarding to start with.

Start by creating a Facebook Page for your business, this is different (but looks similar) as a Personal Profile, which is about you as an individual. Complete all the basic information about your business: website, blurb, contact details and opening hours. Then begin by posting some news and links from your website and other sites that are interesting and relevant to your industry.

You'll need to find some fans to "Like" your page and follow your posts. Start by inviting your friends just to get things moving. There are more intensive strategies to building your fan page we can address later.

What is really important is to also seek out other pages and groups that are relevant and complementary to your industry and then participate on those pages too. Add some friendly comments, "like" some posts and share some posts on your own Page too. The goal is to be seen as a very interactive participant in this important social community. You should avoid posting too many sales messages, especially at these early stages.

Stay tuned for more detailed tips of setting up and marketing your Business Page on Facebook.

The Plug

If you find the prospect of social marketing a bit too daunting, but want to get involved, then get in touch! My Outsourced Marketing Team manages several social media accounts for small businesses, just like you! Have a look at what we do:

http://www.myoutsourcedmarketingteam.com/wedo.php

Reinventing the Wheel

2010-11-15T00:14:00.007+01:00

I've just spotted the new Heinz Baked Beans ad. How cunning! A tiny tweak to packaging and wey hey a whole new lease of life!

Previous favourites included Vaseline and Lucozade. Remember when lucozade was something you gave sick people in hospital and Vaseline was....not a lip balm!

Or is it a case of The Emperor's New Clothes?

Made of Meaner Stuff

2010-11-09T22:25:00.002+01:00

At last! Someone is making decent car ads. For the longest time watching a car ad has been like having an anesthetic; you wake up not remembering what happened. I mean does anyone actually remember what cars brands are being advertised in any tv ad?

Finally Skoda have broken the mold and made an ad that is interesting, funny and .... memorable. The Holy Grail. Amen.

Lovin' the latest ad (snakes aside)...