Autumn: new start

Summer’s over and a New Year, so it feels, is about to begin. The year that starts with Autumn. With leaves falling, nights drawing in, and summer clothes being put away…  Somehow the new year that starts some time in September is much more thrilling and promising than the traditional January 1^st New Year which seems cliched and hackneyed.

Here at the Golden Guide, it’s been a busy summer. We’ve enjoyed long stretches of working holiday in North Wales, where we’ve got a holiday cottage let off the ground (google ’7 Ivy Terrace, Borth Y Gest, Porthmadog’ for details). Back in Norwich, the October/ November issue of the Guide goes to print at the end of September. As always, there’s a terrific amount to do… As always, I leave far too much to the last minute so all weekends are eaten up, and for 14 nights bi-monthly we rely on  Golden Chips on Dereham Road, Planet Wok in Eaton, Rice And Spice in Earlham Shopping Centre far far too much for either purse or girth to be happy…

The big news for me this Autumn is the launch of my social media business. If you’re reading this, and want to maximise on social media but have no idea how to go about it, please do get in touch. Having spent a large part of summer surfing  social network sites,  time and time again, I’m shocked by how so many businesses are, say, signed up to Twitter but have no idea – and I mean none – how to use it fruitfully. The mistakes they make? Not treating followers as friends; thinking tweets should be all about them; rarely engaging with followers but selling  themselves brazenly and relentlessly to flog offers such as discounted meals, or 20% off vouchers. Social media is all about networking, about being social, about drawing people towards one. Most often than not, it’s about backing off on the big sell, and working with a far greater subtlety and dexterity. Very few manage it.

For now, it’s back to the October/ November issue of the Guide. Plus dealing with a bite that my dog suffered to his shoulder– not for the squeamish, nor (given the frequency of visits to our lovely vets up in Eaton) the time challenged. Hey ho.

Printers. Some bad. Some good.

So we’ve just gone to print, and have had to change our printers for the second time in 6 months. How I hate doing this! We were with one printer for over 2 years, and built up a terrific relationship with them, but then they put up their prices by 10% and wouldn’t budge so we had to look elsewhere. Cue for the debacle of recent months – with printers letting us down left, right and centre. Returning magazines late. Returning incorrect print runs. Taking 48 hours to respond to phone calls.

So we’ve changed to Gemini Press, a company in Shoreham on Sea, Brighton. And so far so good. One of the big reasons we were attracted to Gemini was for its green credentials. Of course most printers nowadays use fsc paper, but very few in the UK have bothered to get ISO 14001 certification. The reasons? It costs them time and money so to do, and the average customer using a printer probably doesn’t know what ISO certification means. It means looking beyond the more predictable issues of environmentally friendly printer inks and papers and solvents to fastidiously recycling in the office;  sponsoring bike to work and local conservation initiatives etc; using energy efficient equipment right across the board. In general, it means that the staff are 100% switched on when it comes to the environment.

We’ve only just gone to print with Gemini, so watch this space. But, like I said, so far so good. Helpful, fast-to-react staff; good prices; a fast turnaround rate (key to a publication such as The Golden Guide); the highest Green credentials. For anyone interested, the website is gemini-press.co.uk.

Hurray! Up and running

At last, the new website to launch my social media management consultancy is up and running! Hurray! And the new website is sophiefrank.co.uk.

So what does this mean? It means that from now on I’ll be offering businesses interested in maximising on the impact of twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube etc a bespoke consultancy service.

With the Golden Guide, I link local businesses to local people. As a social media manager, I’m doing roughly the same thing, except taking the introductions further, and using – really using – these exciting new platforms. So I’ll be – amongst other things – setting up twitter/ FB/ LinkedIn accounts, writing blogs and tweets, providing customised feedback reports. In other words following, adding, tweeting and commenting…

It’s my belief that when it comes to social media, most businesses really don’t know what to do or don’t have time to do it properly! So that’s where I’ll come in. Ill take care of all their social media activity for them, so they can maximise on the opportunities that Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, LinkedIn offer…

One can get messianic about all of this. A recent survey showed that 99% of UK business owners have little or no idea how to properly tap[ into and exploit social media – even those who are dabbling with it already! Food for thought.

smaller ads for longer

The first question most clients put to me is what size of ad do I need?

And really, there’s no right answer. But one thing is certain, it’s so much more effective to advertise with a smaller ad for longer, than make a big splash just for two issues.  The advertisers who have been with The Golden Guide since the very beginning or for over four years, all have small-ish ads.  They’ve run these ads month in, month out.  They understand the power of local marketing, and they’re committed to the long haul. The ads work for them. How do I know this? Very simple. They’d stop advertising if they weren’t getting results!

Of course, I do get the odd client who phones up and says he’s had five phone calls from the ad, but no actual jobs. Without being rude, that’s his fault! The Guide’s aim is to get our advertisers’ phones ringing. To make introductions.  What happens next is up to the advertiser.

Advertorials work very well too. They’re best for a business that has just launched, or has something special to say.  Over the course of 6 years of running The Guide, I can only think of 2 advertisers who haven’t reported success – and in many cases great success – with a gentle, chatty little piece about who they are and what they do. To boost interest even more, a photograph of them helps. Why? Because people are in the main terrifically interested in the human dimension to any story.  In fact, people tend to do business with people they like, or feel that they know…

Which is where social media comes in. Twitter/ Facebook/ You Tube/ LinkedIn – they’re all fantastic ways of putting a human face on a business. As well as doing a lot else besides, of course. More of this train of thought – or business – anon.

Mountains of North Wales

This Easter we headed  for the hills. One thing I don’t like about living in Norfolk is the absence of mountains. Once you’ve had them in your life, you miss them terribly when they’re not there. And that’s not to say that I don’t love Norfolk’s wide open spaces. I do. But I still miss the mountains sliding down into the sea which typifies the Llyn Peninsula, in North Wales. Borth y Gest is a little village close to Criccieth. It’a place I’ve been going to for over thirty years.

Once we swing round the corner and drop down into the village, a huge and strange mix of relaxation and excitement fills the car.  First thoughts on seeing the harbour is, when is high tide? (A crucial question which dictates the days since certain beaches are best at low tide; others best at high tide and sailing in the estuary is entirely dependent on the tides). And then it’s the usual chaos of unpacking the car before racing down to the beach with the whippets and Granny etc for that first glorious whiff of the salty air and a sight of much loved landmarks such as Harlech Castle and Portmeirion and, dependant on the weather lots of hugs, kisses and hellos to generations of families that we’ve known for, erm, almost half a century.

Yes, we do have broadband up there. So, yes, work does encroach. But, hey, that’s absolutely fine! I love the fact that running the Golden Guide is so brilliantly portable… Iphones and laptops make putting together a magazine like this so extraordinarily flexible. I can draw up an ad at midnight, if I need to (and often do!).  My family might complain – but I don’t!

Here are some shots taken this Easter. The sea was warm enough to swim in. In fact the beach was almost too hot to sit on. Amazing!

Beginnings

So how did The Golden Guide start?

With buying a women’s magazine, Red, and reading an article about one Sue Botterill who had started up something similar in Solihull. Sue was, in effect, selling her business plan at a very reasonable price to anyone interested.

Within one month, Sue promised you could easily be in profit – which indeed proved true. Within a month, The Golden Guide was in profit!  The Guide started out as a lowly little black and white booklet of 42 pages, delivered to 1500 homes in the Golden Triangle – mainly confined to the roads spanning off the Unthank Road. As time passed, we added more homes to our distribution. We grew incrementally, a little bit at a time. We upped our distribution to 3000 homes, then 4000, then 4500. Then we went colour in eight pages, and then fully colour throughout. We had a website designed, and soon an on-line version of the magazine was available. And so it all went on until today when we’ve grown as much as we can, and deliver to 14,000 homes all around the Golden Triangle and Eaton. I think it’s fair to say that The Guide is well established in the area, and is much used by residents and local businesses alike.

What now? I love doing the Guide, and I also love a challenge. Hence a recent, on-going commitment to learning about Social Media – to what LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and YouTube can offer to businesses. Very soon, I’ll be offering social media management packages to anyone wanting to grow their businesses through these exciting new media.

Perhaps 99% of businesses have little or no idea how to tap into and exploit social media. Nor do they have the time to do it effectively. Which is where – I hope – I can come in…

More later.

Working from home and loving it

One thing that I so love about my job is working from home. Especially on days like today. The ability to take a break when one wants, to pace oneself to one’s own rhythms: these are privileges worth having!

So today, I worked at my desk in my pj’s from 9-1.30, took a shower, and skived off to the park with the dogs. Back to my desk at 4.00 for a two hour stint. And then out to a networking event tonight. A lot of work was done today – I signed up three new clients and found a solicitor to tide me over a house move. I also write a longish piece on a photography exhibition that’s coming to the Sainsbury Centre, plus I had time to have lunch with my daughter…

Of course, it isn’t always like this. Often I’m wearing pjs at my desk and a client will turn up unexpectedly. Cue a mad scrabble for suitable clothes, lots of barking from excited dogs, and the client is then shown into a living room which hasn’t seen a hoover for days.

But on days like today – no unexpected clients at the door; easy phone calls, and a beautiful walk by the river, well, it finally seems as if a life/work balance is evenly weighted!