I am in Navan on Nov 11th giving a 3 hour intensive workshop on using Email Marketing to sell more rooms if you run Hotel.
It will be a very practical walkthrough of the steps needed for a successful long term email campaign.

Learn how to:
Sell more rooms with email marketing
Find and grow subscribers
Engage your readers and bring them back
Design your newsletter to maximum effect
Measure and improve your campaigns for maximum sales
Keep within the law
And
Learn how to do all this with little time and at low cost.

When: Wednesday 11th November 10am – 1pm
Where: Ardboyne Hotel, Navan

Places are limited so book now at http://toddle.eventbrite.com/
Call Alan at 041 9830152 or email info@spoiltchild.com for more details.
Investment €95 per person

—————————————————————————————————————-
Special Early Bird offer
10% off if booked before Midnight Wednesday 4th
—————————————————————————————————————-
Book now at http://toddle.eventbrite.com/

If that wasn’t exciting enough for one week, Lee Munroe’s article ‘Showcase of Web Design in Ireland‘ was published in Smashing Magazine online last Friday. Alan was interviewed along with Ray Doyle, Eoghan McCabe and Sabrina Dent about the state of play of Irish design. It was a lovely article and covered topics like is a college education important for aspiring designers to the quality of work produced by Irish designers. Thanks to Lee and Smashing Magazine for such an informative piece. Keep reading the series on ‘Global Web Design’ as Smashing takes a look at the design industry worldwide. Interesting to see how designers internationally rate their design, quality, output and education in comparison to the Irish design industry.

And so the BizCampBe last Saturday. It was fantastic to discover that the start-up industry is alive and well in Belgium and has lots in common with the Irish community. We met so may amazing people who were more than willing to share their knowledge and share the benefit of their experience with the 150 attendees. Contributors from Belgium, Holland, Spain and the US gave flawless presentations on everything from ‘Partnering with the Big Boys, Marketing your product to my mother, ‘how not to die’ (as a start-up), the benefits of outsourcing, and how to sail round the world for twelve years while running your business. Fantastic talks every one of them and I wished I had the ability of bi-location Thankfully, the organisers have put some of the presentations up on Slideshare so go there now and be inspired.

As this was the first BizCamp in Belgium everyone was in agreement that it was a great success. Everyone I spoke to really took on board the spirit of the day, sharing, networking, learning and listening. The fact that the organisers had a small shortfall in sponsorship to cover the costs wasn’t a problem. Attendees gave generously and it was covered by the end of the day.

Alan and I were really proud to be a part of the day. It goes to prove that a good idea and the willingness to help others transcends country boundaries and languages and connects us all together. The BizCamp format has as much relevance and is as necessary in Belgium as it is here in Ireland. At start-up stage, no matter where you locate any advice no matter how small can have a major impact. To get this kind of information form those who have gone a similar path is better than gold.

I learned lots and arrived home with new friends and a penchant for Belgian beer! Hopefully, we can extend the welcome to our Belgian colleagues next year at BizCamp Dublin. Well done BizCamp Be team I will certainly be back for the next one.

To top it all of we arrived back to the office on Tuesday to the news that or long time client Rehab Bingo have been shortlisted for a Golden Spider for best entertainment and games related website. We are thrilled for Irene and all the Rehab Bingo team. These guys are a treasure to work with and deserve to be finalists. Their enthusiasm, hard work and dedication are really inspiring. Fingers crossed for Rehab Bingo at the Golden Spiders on the 19th. See the full list of finalists here. It will be a fantastic night.

So to sum up. It is lovely when things come together and when hard work pays of. Even better it is inspiring to share these positive experiences with others. Lots of management theorists tell us at the end of a project it is important to celebrate success, smell the roses so to speak. So smell the roses today and congratulate yourself on a job well done. To take a point from one presentation in BizCampBe, celebrate the fact that you ‘did not die’ in business this year and that you are here to learn and to share even more next month.
Happy Halloween everyone!

Mary

I was really conscious about the kind of year most people are having. I presumed there would be many attending that were looking for a fresh start and a new beginning. I really wanted this day not to fail them or their expectations. I wanted BizCamp to be a positive experience and for everyone to leave the Guinness Storehouse with a lighter step and a belief that things will get better.

I met some really amazing people and I was truly honoured to help out and give advice. One man I met wanted to set up a new firm and looking at the mass of talks on the schedule turned to me almost in desperation. I know that feeling. Sometimes when you are at the beginning of something and you have so much to learn you don’t know where to start. Between the both of us we made a list of talks that were industry specific to his needs. As he walked away, I realised just how beneficial BizCamp is for anyone starting up. We all need to know how to run a business, file returns, be tax compliant, market ourselves and bring home the bacon each month. With knowledge gained from the presentations and with new connections made on the day, hopefully his dream is one step closer to reality after BizCamp.

It’s good to dream and to be surrounded by pragmatic dreamers who are crazy enough to set up a business and to encourage others to do the same. By the end of the day I was elated. I enjoyed the after party and counted a stack of business cards in my wallet. Many of these new connections gave me some great advice and helped me out on the day.

As for the top three things I learned at BizCamp, here they are:

1. Cashflow is more important than your mother – Steve Gotz
2. Fire the gobshites – Jerry Kennelly
3. Don’t forget to adjust for churn* on your projections – Caelen King

• A certain numbers of users drop off each month, some people even die, so expect 20 -30% churn rate. Note to self, put this in the business plan now!

To everyone who came, listened, gave a talk, helped others, gave advice, networked and enjoyed themselves, thanks a million. I can’t wait for the next one.

See all the presentations and the reviews of the day here.

Mary

Thanks to all of you who nominated us and thanks to the judges for shortlisting us.

Best Radio Website – sponsored by IGOPeople
RTE Doc On One

Best Government and Council Website
Weigh2Live

Toddle has been shortlisted for three awards:
Most Beautiful Website in Ireland – Sponsored by Beaut.ie
Best eCommerce / Services Website – sponsored by Cybercom
and Most Innovative Website – Sponsored by iQ content

Finetuna has also been nominated for
Most Beautiful Website in Ireland – Sponsored by Beaut.ie

We are honoured to be among such fantastic company and best of luck to all the finalists.

We have had the pleasure of working with some of the most creative people in Ireland this year who have vision and a passion for what they do each day. To the Doc on One team and all at Weigh2Live we will be there on the night cheering you on.

We are especially pleased that Finetuna and Toddle has made the shortlist. These sites have been a labour of love over the last number of years. Lovely to see hard work paying off.

Looking forward to awards night in the Radisson on October 10th and thanks to the organisers for putting in such a huge effort.

Mary

Back to School has just been launched on Rehab Bingo, featuring some naughty students, an exploding rocket and a little graffiti, this game combines photo realism with some beautiful animation. It’s fun to play and may bring you back to your school days!

We are also thrilled that our feature game Pharaoh’s Fortune was the most popular game on the site over the summer. You can try them out here.

Over at Cúl Kids, Spoiltchild created the Power Play game especially for junior GAA fans. Cúl Green is a fantastic joint initiative between the GAA and the ESB to make Croke Park a carbon-neutral stadium. Users can show their support by changing their behaviour and becoming more energy conscious. Play here and see how fast you can save energy around your home. Spoiltchild is proud to be part of this great initiative. Hopefully this campaign will inspire all of us to reduce our own carbon footprint. Now any tips for the All Ireland anyone?

I have been using LinkedIn for a while now and find it really useful. And the thing I really love about it is its randomness. You never know who will link to you, answer your question or give you good advice. Over the last few months I have met some amazing people who have helped in the writing of articles, in research for papers and generally given good advice or tips on just about every subject.

Before I had a car I spent lots of time on public transport and loved the fact that intresting people could cross my path at any moment. And they did. So much so, that my stories usually beginning with “guess what, you never know who I met today”, was followed by eyes rolling to heaven or “Mary you’re such a randomer!”

Now that these types of opportunities are not as frequent as before, LinkedIn provides the same type of buzz and connection for me, albeit on a professional level.

Actors always talk about the possibilities, the possibility of having a relationship with another character , the possibility of being open to feelings, and emotions with another person you have to get to know in a very short space of time. Most crucially for actors, their emotions and their performances must contain a truthfulness that we the audience believe and can relate to.

I often think of LinkedIn in this way. For it to be a success you must be open to the possibilities of meeting people from all over the world, for having beliefs or opinions similar or different to your own. They may not like what you have the say or maybe they will on occasion.

Being open is not easy at first, putting your work and your opinion on display. But if you push against it and put yourself out there you will be amazed who you might meet and what they may do for your business.

Image thanks to Erica_Marshall

Did you know email marketing has one of the highest returns on investment in online marketing?
Well from next Monday (13th July), Toddle.com is running a free four week email marketing course to show you how to get the best from it. Four emails over four weeks covering all the basics.

You can sign up here.

Image cc David Erickson

Click to view larger.

Spoiltchild has been busy working with RTE over the last few months to develop a new platform to showcase documentaries online. We are very pleased to announce the launch of the new Doc on One website showcasing over 200 documentaries from the RTE archives. You can download, search by category, review and listen to documentary podcasts. Users can even send suggestions for future documentaries to the RTE team. If like me, you are interested in a wide variety of subjects; events, history and culture, log on and enjoy 40 minutes of pure listening pleasure. Documentary lovers bookmark this site now! http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/index.html

You can follow Doc on One updates on Twitter and Facebook. Stay tuned as there will be over 400 documentaries added to the site by the end of the month. So plenty of entertainment and education for everyone.

The Doc on One team is passionate about their work and bringing documentaries to larger audiences via the web. Spoiltchild is happy to be part of the team that facilitated such a worthwhile endeavour. We are very proud of the site in helping to create a buzz and promote such a fantastic artform. We wish continued success to the Doc on One team.

Thanks to Damien and all those on Twitter who reviewed Doc on One and gave it the thumbs up.

Mary

Alan

We have just confirmed the location for our next two Email Marketing courses. Here is the ad that is going out to promote it.
Cheers
Mary

Email Marketing: Small Outlay! High Return! Get Results Now!

Following fantastic reviews from our previous courses, we are happy to announce an evening with Bafta nominated designer and founder of Spoiltchild.com, Toddle.com and FineTuna.com; Alan O’Rourke.

When: June 25th 6.30 – 8.30pm
Where: D Hotel Drogheda

Learn how to:

• Make this highly effective marketing tool work for you
• Use the technology you already have
• Find and grow a subscribers list
• A stepped approach to successful email campaigns
• Layout your Newsletters for maximum effect
• Simple writing techniques
• Measure and adjust your campaigns
• Integrating other types of marketing
• Working within the law

Book now to ensure your place.
Call Mary at 041 9830152 or email mary@spoiltchild.com
€95 per person.
All welcome.

Next course date: July 9th D Hotel, Drogheda, 6.30 – 8.30 pm.

Image thanks to foundphotoslj

How time flies, FineTuna is a year old. Odd things often happen around birthdays; I think they call it synchronicity, with a lovely review on Site Point today and a push from the Tuesday Push tomorrow.

We had one goal for FineTuna, to become the TinyURL of design feedback. Simple, fast and disposable after you have your point accross.

Our little app started out as an entry to a competition form Web 2 Ireland. Have a look at our initial presentation here.
http://www.web2ireland.org/2007/10/10/winner-of-the-web2expo-berlin-tickets/

We got such a positive response that we decided to build it and so a concept became a reality. And we never imagined just how many people would love it. The statistics are truly amazing. Over 25,000 images have been uploaded, shared and reviewed with more than 9 gigs uploaded.

It is really interesting to see how the initial concept for the website changed from how we thought it would work, to what we have a year on. The upload functionality with the Firefox extension really helped its usability. We also decreased the number of buttons from 5 to 4 making things simpler all round.

FineTuna unleashed a truck load of reviews and mentions including TechCrunch, CSS Mania, cnet, and many others during the past year. We are very proud of the coverage FineTuna has received and thank everyone for using, promoting and pushing our efforts.

Mary

Due to the success of our email marketing workshops in Drogheda, Donegal and Trim over the past few months, we are delighted to announce a few more. We will be in Navan, Drogheda and Dublin so hopefully you can attend a course near you.

Dates for the next series of workshops are:
June 25th
July 9th
July 30th
August 3rd
August 20th
September 3rd
September 30th.

Locations to be confirmed next week.

All courses are two hours, 6.30 – 8.30 pm and the fee is €95 per person. Give us a shout and let us know what date is best for you.

A big thanks to all who attended Meath Tourism Evening Lecture Series in Trim Castle Hotel organised by Meath Tourism last week. It was lovely to meet such a wide and diverse range of people working in the tourist industry in the region. As always I learned lots and received great feedback for my talk ‘Email Marketing made easy’ which is always gratefully appreciated.

Thanks to JaredChapman for the fantastic illustration.

The preparations are complete and we have a location. Thanks for all your suggestions. Our first meeting is in the D Hotel, Drogheda, on Friday 29th of May, 9.30 am.

Open Coffee Clubs are informal gatherings for business people and entrepreneurs to talk about projects, exchange ideas, and to network. Begun in London and Dublin on 1st of March 2007 there are now over eighty clubs in towns and cities worldwide.

Lots of parking space is available in Scotch Hall shopping centre on the Dublin Road. We have just created a Twitter account so please follow us @occdrogheda. So come along have a chat and some good coffee. Bring your business cards and we will provide the welcome. Looking forward to meeting you all.

Mary