Video production tips

By David StrelitzNo Comments
Video communication is great for websites and SEO and here are some practical video production tips. I will formulate a top 10. However, in the meantime if anyone has any questions regarding video production, feel free to post here or contact me. Many people like to film themselves for their websites. Invariably what lets these videos down is the audio. On board mics on cameras and phones won’t cut it, so invest in a proper mic. A wired tie clip mic will give you clearer sound and reduce the 'boomy' effect that comes from the mic being non directional and too far away. If you intend to work with a professional company, get some ideas together about your business before you meet them. You know more than they ever will about your business. If it is a simple presentation to camera, don’t expect it will take five minutes. Allow plenty of time. Don’t just take the back of a flyer/brochure and think that it will...
Read More

Buying and managing business print

By Stuart1234No Comments
Do you use brochures, leaflets, flyers, postcards or stationery in your business? Printed matter is remarkably effective, no matter what size your business is.  If you're not a professional print buyer, here are some tips on how to make the whole process run more smoothly. This may sound obvious: produce written orders. So many companies still operate on word of mouth - how on earth can people remember every detail of every conversation is beyond me. Also, ensure that your written order contains an accurate and agreed upon specification, deadline, delivery address and final price (with or without VAT). In these times of email it’s easy to have dozens of communications about a single job. When it comes time for the printer (or broker) to produce the job it saves time and limits the chance for error, if you have captured ALL of the final details agreed upon right there - on the order. Even though you are super efficient, there are situations where you may...
Read More

Networking for Managers

By Jacqui-Hogan1 Comment
It was not until I left corporate life that I realised why networking was so important. For me, as for many managers, I was just too busy to give it much thought. However, launching myself into the world as a management consultant, I soon realised that ‘who you know’ was not only vitally important to me now, but would have greatly enhanced my career prospects had I done this sooner. Many of us start out being quite good at networking. We know that to get started in our careers, we need to make connections with lots of people. Time passes, our career takes off and we get busy and networking takes second and then third place to the pressures of day-to-day work. Complacency sets in, until we find ourselves being made redundant or languishing in a career backwater. Then we find we are back to stage one of building a network from scratch. How much better would it be, if we...
Read More

Networking tips

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
Business networking works - in terms of creating awareness and customers. However, you have to go about it the right way. Here are some networking tips, which we hope you find helpful. You are in the relationship business. If you focus on building relationships, business will come to you. When you're networking, think about what your contacts want – not just what you want. Some people turn up at networking events and only talk about themselves. They grill each person they talk to, in order to find out whether they are a prospective customer. Unsurprisingly, they soon discover that networking, somewhat strangely, does not work for them. I imagine that they go back to hitting the phones (otherwise known as ‘cold calling’). Do not expect instantaneous results. Take time to learn about other people and build trust. The more you invest in networking - the higher the returns. Networking is now an established part of business life. You can network whilst eating your breakfast...
Read More

Email marketing strategy

By Nigel Temple2 Comments
I now offer MailChimp training via www.mailchimptraining.co.uk which includes open courses and in-house training. Email is a highly effective promotional technique, in terms of awareness building and response rates. Key elements include your list, copywriting ability, scheduling and metrics. Email marketing is a promotional mix category.  It includes person-to-person emails, autoresponder messages, newsletters and e-shots.  Here is a list of promotional mix categories. You should send out a monthly newsletter to customers (dormant, current and prospective), suppliers and other relevant contacts.  A newsletter (sometimes referred to as an ezine) should provide useful, helpful and interesting material about your enterprise. There should be a number of links from the newsletter to your website. MailChimp and ConstantContact are popular newsletter production platforms. They include newsletter templates and metrics, so that you can see open rates, click through rates, hard bounce rates (i.e. dead email address), soft bounce rates (temporarily unavailable), spam complaints, etc. An e-shot, on the other hand, is selling something (i.e. a product, service or seminar place). Here is a...
Read More

The promotional mix – 29 ways to promote your enterprise

By Nigel Temple1 Comment
Here are 29 promotional mix categories: * Advertising * Alliance Marketing Partners * Authorship * Business blogging * Channel marketing (i.e. distributors) * Content marketing * Customers (i.e. customer clubs) * Direct mail * Email marketing * Events * Location marketing (i.e. signage) * Media relations * Networking * Newsletters * Packaging * Point of sale * Printed matter * Promotional gifts * Referrals * Sales promotion (i.e. competitions) * SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) * Selling, professional  [Visit our Professional Selling Group] * Social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) [Visit our Social Media Group] * Sponsorship * Telemarketing * Vehicle (i.e. livery) * Videos (i.e. via YouTube) * Website  [Visit our Websites Group] * Word of mouth How  many are you using? Which ones are working well for you? Which ones should you abandon? You are welcome to discuss this within our website. The promotional mix should be part of your marketing strategy and plan. Navigator members of our community can blog within our website as often as they like. We promote marketing related blogs to circa 20,000 social media contacts. Written by marketing strategist, consultant, trainer and speaker Nigel Temple....
Read More

How to write an e-shot

By Nigel Temple1 Comment
Email marketing includes newsletters, 1-2-1 emails, autoresponder messages and e-shots. A newsletter should provide useful, helpful and interesting material about your enterprise. If you're interested in newsletters - here is an article entitled 'How to get more newsletter subscribers'.  An e-shot, on the other hand, is selling something (i.e. a product, service or seminar place). Rule 1: Always write e-shots for specific target markets Here is an article on market segmentation  Think about the person (within the target market you are aiming at) who will receive your e-shot. If you were that person, what would your issues be (in relation to the products / services you are marketing)? Rule 2: You live and die by your headline The email subject line is the gateway to the rest of the e-shot. If it is boring / irrelevant / pushy / un-targeted you have lost the game before it starts. If you spend half your time honing a perfect headline, this will be time well spent. Rule 3:...
Read More