Six reasons to NOT to write that content

Let’s get straight down to business – you need to write it, but for some reason you just haven’t, don’t or can’t. Whether it is web copy, a leaflet, an e-shot, sales letter, a blog or even a Facebook or LinkedIn post. Here are some reasons our clients use us to write all their content, whatever it is:

1: Get your website sorted

The single biggest hold up to getting your website live is a delay in providing the content. Using a copywriter will get that onerous task completed within the correct timescale, saving you time and therefor money in the long run, but more importantly keeps you up to on track with deadlines.

A good copywriter for the web should be able to understand the need for keywords, the minimum requirements for Google and also format your copy so it is as effective as it can be online. We work very closely with both clients and web developers to ensure content, including any images are delivered in a timely fashion with a fully understanding of what is required from both sides.

It’s a simple process; we look at the pages you want, research the appropriate keywords and the volume of search, get a feel for your company, tone of voice, USP’s and then write it all for you. Even those fiddly descriptions you see in the search results, we do it all.

“Lucy provided expert assistance when I needed help to refresh the structure, copy and design of my website. 

In three hours, she swept through my site, providing insight, inspiration and a welcome fresh perspective on how to revitalise my business message to truly reflect my personality, experience and the services I offer, simply and effectively. 

Where I had feared criticism, Lucy actually gave me a huge confidence boost and some brilliant ideas about how to communicate better with prospective clients. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and after a thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating morning, rather than dreading the revamping task, I could not wait to put her recommendations into practice. 

Lucy is fun to work with, fantastic at helping clarify your business vision and really knows her marketing stuff. Excellent value and highly recommended”

Clare Parrack, Clarify Interiors

2: Keep to your deadlines

Out-sourcing the donkey work is an age-old solution to keeping you focused on what’s vital for your project. Copy-writing is no different, except that writer’s block, lack of inspiration and procrastination seems to effect those needing to put fingers to keyboard even more.  A trusted partner to help you get those words down really makes a difference, we can write it with you or for you, so you can move on and concentrate on the all the other stuff you do.

3: Staying up-to-date

When you’re running a business, chances are you don’t have time to review your original website for a change in direction, products, services and updating on page SEO keywords, let alone adding regular content. We can take all that off your hands, making sure your digital presence is in tip top condition, attracting leads and dispensing advice. We can work in the back end of most website platforms, so we can make the changes directly without having to go to a developer.

4: Remaining Consistent

We see it all the time with blogs, social media and emails; you might be inspired to take two days and go to town but can you keep it up? Can you post regular blogs, supported on your social media and emails and perform regular analytics reviews to make sure your content is working? Congratulations if you do, but if not and you’d like to then it is time to talk to us.

5: Copywriters write

You know WHAT you want to say, whether it’s for a leaflet, full blown brochure, social media or emails, but a professional copy writer ensures consistency across all platforms and mediums. They know HOW to write. How to engage the readers in a way that delivers the message succinctly and reflects your brand perfectly.

"The main thing that strikes you about Lucy is her energy, she is full of ideas and a real self-starter. This translates into the her work and content producing as she can tease out of you an angle or side to the business or your service you hadn't considered, or help you polish any ideas you might already have. If you don't have the time, she can pro-actively bring you ideas and move things forward, either way she is a practical and solution driven individual who makes the complex seem simple  She is friendly and collaborative and an ideal partner for any copyrighting and content creation you might need."

Malcolm Maclean, Director, Times Ten Media

6: Evaluating results

It maybe you are so happy you’ve actually got something ‘out’ you are not particularly interested in how it performs. We on the other hand are really interested in the results of our written work, open rates on emails, sharing and engagement rates on social media, click throughs on your website and seeing where your visitors are going, so what they’re reading on your website. We can’t help ourselves but be nosy and we share those results with you.

So what are you waiting for?

Get that monkey off your back and get in touch for an informal chat about what we might help you with. We are flexible, proactive and frankly very easy to work with. 

Ring Lucy Lavers on 07813 846569 or take a look at the Push Start Marketing website for some examples of our work

Tenacious me – The power of self-efficacy

When you were a child did your parents ever pick you up after a fall, brush you down and tell you, ‘you’ll be alright, off you go’? Mine did, but what they perhaps didn’t realise they were doing was teaching me to be tenacious, to be strong and to know that what feels like a failure, really isn’t that bad.

Of course there were times when I needed a plaster, an ice pack or once or twice, stitches! Did that stop me running? No. Did that stop me carrying in the milk bottles? Maybe trying to carry them all at once, but it didn’t stop me. Because I wanted to do those things. I wanted to feel like I was contributing, like I was achieving.

Tenacity

Having the quality of tenaciousness makes it easy to brush yourself down and go on your way. But what if you don’t naturally possess tenacity? Can you learn it?

Well, from an early age it can be instilled in you from your parents, teachers and other influential adults and older peers. You learn that crying about it doesn’t get other people to do stuff for you, if you want that thing, hold onto your dream and go and get it.

“There are times in life when people must know when not to let go. Balloons are designed to teach small children this.” - Terry Pratchett

In adulthood you’re expected to have a certain level of self-efficacy, to know how to approach a task and control your own motivation and positivity. If you aren’t a natural, you can learn it – you can learn by repetition, practice, listening.

Repeat, improve, grow

Practice makes perfect. We all know this to be true. So if you’re not confident, keep practicing until you are. In the real world you will not always succeed, but you will learn from those times and you will improve your methods - You will learn that carrying one or two milk bottles reduces the risk of you dropping them and falling in the spilled milk! If tenacity isn’t natural, wanting to avoid failure is. Repeat your methods, over and over again until you have it down and you’ll find tenacity grows as a by-product of avoiding failure.

Listen to yourself and be mindful

Listening to yourself is not a slushy, airy-fairy theory, no. Recognising and committing to memory, being conscious and committing to understand those changes you made in your methods – that’s teaching yourself tenacity. Be mindful of the moment a mistake is made because if you are un-focussed and doing your best to forget your mistakes. you will end up repeating them, you won’t be aware of where the changes are that can be made to improve. Think, where did I go wrong? How can I improve? Is now the right time to ask for help? Listening to yourself is teaching yourself tenacity.

Tenacious me – an example

When I started working with Push Start Marketing, I had never been a manager before and nor was it my goal to become one, but it was a necessary step to take in supporting my friend in running her own business and in developing my own skills within that business.

I started part-time, the odd couple of hours here and there, then it got serious… Lucy asked me what I wanted from her and from the next five years and I said, “I’d like a bigger chair and PAYE”. The next morning, there was my big chair and the rest is history…

But, I fell down. I didn’t know how to network and speak to a room full of business people. Then Lucy offered me real employment, with a contract and everything, just like I’d asked for! At that moment I questioned if I missed self-employment and walking dogs and cleaning on the side. And actually I didn’t, I knew that if I wanted to work for myself, I had to get serious and go and get it, even if that meant public speaking.

I was an adult and couldn’t rely on my mum to pick me up and tell me she’d do it for me because it was my dream, not hers. So I did. I thought long and hard about my barriers, I practiced mindfulness in situations that seemed unfamiliar and I was willing to make changes to my methods and practice them until I had it down. I’m still listening, I’m still learning and I’m still growing, but my tenacity is stronger now than it was last year and my self-efficacy is powerful – Not only CAN I do this, but I am DOING THIS!

The moral of this story? Maybe, ‘be careful what you wish for, Lucy’s listening!’ Or maybe it’s, ‘if you want it, go and get it’

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas A. Edison

Planning my best year, being the best I can be (in just under three hours?)

Having started my own business there are SO many things I thought I would never do; read business books, wear flesh coloured tights, be a boss. But I am a true convert to business books and by extension using a business coach. If you want to get better at something then make the effort to learn, even if you already know it – be motivated to apply it.

So to take three hours of my time to attend ‘Make 2016 the best year ever’ with Penny Tunnel of DD Capace was a no brainer. Over the Christmas period I read Eat That Frog!: Get More of the Important Things Done – Today by Brian Tracy, got a dedicated note book, wrote a list of goals and plans for 2016, 10 things I wanted to achieve in 2016, like I had achieved them. In 2017…

1.      Push Start Marketing HAS doubled its turnover

2.      I am earning my old salary

3.      We had an awesome Christmas do

You get the idea..

I had certainly started to think best year ever, but how will I actually get there and what will all that look like?

The fluffy Part – A reintroduction to my values

Since I started working with a coach in 2013 I have been aware of my personal values and trying to hold true to them; honesty, trust, hard work, motivation, helpfulness, generosity, inspiration, value.

But as an extension to those what am I at my best? When I am in front of the room, in consultation with a client, working on a project?

Inspirational, motivated, solution driven, action orientated, future focused, supportive and fearless.

What lessons will I leave on my death bed? ‘Enjoy the now’, ‘fight not flight’ and ‘their circus their monkeys’.

And on my gravestone (hopefully)… She will be missed and remembered, but we’ll smile when we do.

The focused business planning part

Running your own business you have to be on top of so many 'things', and if you start to think about it are you? And if not what’s the worst, and what’s the priority?

I could see in a simple exercise where I was with all of these 'things' and what needed addressing.

1.      Brand and product

2.      Strategy and planning

3.      Financial management

4.      Profit and cost

5.      Marketing

6.      Sales

7.      People/HR

8.      Customers

From those eight, I could then create 24 goals (three per area) to achieve them, this is all practical things to do with my business I know need doing – but all of a sudden I have a 24 step plan to achieving 10/10 in all of those eight areas.

What is stopping me??

Great question. The answer is me.

1.      Time management

2.      Fear of failure/success

3.      Prioritising

4.      Distraction/focus

5.      Overload

Having to bullet point all that really hit home. I can overcome all of those, they are totally doable. How can I remove those barriers?

1.      Time management – planning and diarise

2.      Fear of failure/success  - Just do it

3.      Prioritising – numbered lists, use dates to help

4.      Distraction/focus – turn off emails and phone when focusing

5.      Overload – Delegate, organise and ‘delete’ what’s not relevant

So now I have goals, a 24 step plan to get my business in tip top shape and I can now break that down into monthly actions.

But can I actually do it?

If you want to get anything done you’ve have to be in the right mind set. Overcome and eliminate anything that is holding you back, get the environment right for being the best I can be. So I need to look at what has to go, and what I need to do more of. Not just in business planning but socially, relationships, clients. What shall I say no to and yes to, who or what has to go.

What and who are the ‘drains’ or the radiators.

Now I have identified those, I can make the changes I need to give me the best chance of success. With a clear plan, a release of everything holding me back and the mind set of ‘eating that frog’, I will have the confidence and freedom to achieve even more as the day, week, month and year progresses. Bon appetit!

Thank you Penny.

DD Capace.

And now for something completely different – How graphic design works at Push Start Marketing

We can, but we don’t generally replicate the same old graphic designs that everyone else has. We love to be different, we love to be innovative and we love to be occasionally controversial.

Quadrant Estate Agents

Quadrant Estate Agents have been established since 1996 and are a progressive, dynamic company in a prime town centre location. We were asked to re-design the existing marketing collateral, namely business cards and company brochure. From here we produced some stunning and unique concepts, incorporating the distinguished silver ‘Q’.

With Bicester saturated with estate agents, how will Quadrant get noticed? We had to produce something to appeal to everyone, something that will get picked up and read, even it is only on the way to the recycle bin. Something that will draw attention to itself when it lands on the doormat. So two examples of their flyers are the ‘save every dime’ and ‘everything turns to sold’ designs. In contrast to the vibrant fronts, the back of the flyer had to be in a recognised format that conveyed the information clearly.

Conversely Independent Mortgage Solutions, with two new business to talk about, had a lot of information to get across. The company has strong branding already out in the public domain, so our brief stuck to simplifying the facts, offers and promotion of brand awareness.

·        Disclaimer alert – with full disclosure and Push Start Marketing’s principles of transparency both clients were aware of each other and happy for us to work on similar accounts.

Isis Electrical

The brief began with branding the van. We were asked to create a design that not only signified Oxford, but incorporated all the services that the client provides. And so the electrical skyline was born:

Look carefully and you will recognise the dreaming spires of Oxford, but look closer and you’ll spot light bulbs, pliers and screwdrivers among them! Consistency was safeguarded by using the company colours and this design is perfectly adaptable to posters, business cards and leaflets.                        

Whether it’s original concepts for fresh branding you’re looking for, or practical solutions to your existing marketing objectives we will strive to pull it together for you, as we did for Isis Electrical.

How you choose to portray your company’s identity with graphic design is a reflection of your ideology and principles. These principles can be interpreted into print using three main formats:

1.      Digital design – websites, social media, emails

2.      Physical – Shop fronts, branded clothing, vehicles

3.      Printed design – Leaflets and brochures, business cards, posters and bags

All these formats require great graphic design and in order for the brand to be instantly recognisable the golden rule is consistency. There’s no value in a business card that has no relation to your website, or a van that looks nothing like your headed paper.

Jessica and Lucy in the hot seat

Our resident creative, Jess works closely with Lucy to ensure your identity is not lost, but celebrated in graphic design. It is the belief of Push Start Marketing that authenticity is essential – the tone of voice used in print must match the service your clients can expect when they meet you to conduct business.

Lucy, as creative director has the rare talent of being able to identify your principles and tone of voice, pulling out the ideas you didn’t think you could articulate and Jess has the talent to put those ideas into concepts. Together they ensure your branding, message and identity are displayed with accuracy and consistency. Your company’s identity and tone of voice will be portrayed to your exact specifications.

Get in touch

These are just a few examples of some effective print marketing, produced by Push Start Marketing in alliance with our clients, so once you’re done cyber stalking, give Lucy a call on 07813 846569. What’s the worst that could happen? 

Doing what we say on the tin: How 'Push Start' works for our clients

The company was founded on the desire to help: to help those that knew the value of good marketing, knew the value of social media for business and knew the value of great looking websites, but just didn’t know where to start.

Push Start Marketing developed into a company that wants to teach and empower, working hand in hand with clients and even eventually handing the reigns of marketing back to you to continue in-house. With this ethos in mind we know that our clients have truly benefited from our best and most authentic assistance, that we work for you and with you, consistently and honestly, and without hidden costs, and one of our measurements of success is if clients take on elements themselves and Mollie Blake is a perfect example of this.

Contemporary Romance. It’s been emotional!

Mollie Blake is the pen name for one of our clients who writes contemporary romance novels and has an interest in fund raising, particularly for victims of abuse. She came to us when we were newly established, just over two years ago. The brief we had initially was four hours a month to develop the profile of ‘Mollie Blake’ through social media , sharing book extracts and topic related general interest items.

Mollie was motivated to write following the birth of her son and discovering that returning to a high profile, high stress job was not consistent for her with raising a family. Mollie soon realised that her previous work lifestyle was not what she wanted, now that she had a child to raise. As a more ‘mature’ mother she wanted to empower women of a similar age and help them rediscover their sexual confidence – to return their sexual mojo in their forties.

Start as you mean to go on….no…start, evaluate, change…

Mollie had a publicity company but they felt they could do no more for her, and she approached us to help with PR. Push Start approached PR professionals who all turned the opportunity down because they didn’t work with fiction writers, didn’t specialise in the industry etc.. so with Mollie’s agreement we took on the challenge and got her and her book featured in her local press and made contact with a range of journalists on her behalf, resulting in guest appearances at book groups and local radio interviews.

To her credit Mollie then followed up these contacts several months later and secured radio interviews herself, with the confidence that we had paved the way.   

So our role changed once more and Mollie took control of the social media accounts, whilst we continued to find her PR opportunities including the opportunity to appear in a prestigious local magazine that profiled influential local people.

She’s made it!

Mollie has now been signed by a book publisher in the U.S. Push Start Marketing has succeeded and handed the reigns over to the client who is now able to confidently manage her own marketing, if she so wishes.  We’re called Push Start for a reason you know…

Cheerful farewells…

Push Start Marketing is always sad to say farewell to a client, but are pleased in much the same way as a proud parent or mentor who sends their protégé into the world. But, you are never truly alone once you have engaged with us, we are always here to serve and ever willing to advise.

If you'd like to read stories, advice and news from Mollie Blake, check out her blog, but remember, it often comes with an 18 certificate!

http://mollieblake.co.uk/blogs/

And if you'd like Push Start Marketing to help you with a marketing campaign, give us a call on the Hotline: 07813 846569, or visit our website: www.pushstartmarketing.co.uk

Have to let someone go? Think of the animals that make up your teams

When dealing with the emotional aftermath of letting a much loved member of my team go my coach asked me to look at my team as animals. This process helped me to accept that I had made the right decision, because I get a better picture of how they work as individuals and what kind of ‘animal’ I need and don’t need working with me, how different personalities will interact and effect each other in the close quarters of the office.

A lion and a zebra may not be the best of friends, but looking at the way they behave, their defining characteristics and tendencies gives insight in how and why we as humans behave as we do and can be used as a reference as a way of managing the differences in personalities.

I knew which animals I would assign to my team but wanted them to know how they would describe themselves and have that conversation with them all so they would get a greater understanding of the team they were working within too.

Hilary Nightingale, my social media manager: A dog.

‘I have chosen a dog to represent me at work because I often feel afflicted with the need to please. I like to provide for others, am fiercely loyal and like to find the good in others - to find reason for poor attitudes and behaviour. I definitely do not like to make mistakes and always feel really bad after, if they are made.’

I had thought of Hilary as a meerkat, looking out for everyone around her, busy and efficient and working very well within a team – so the two were not so different!

Samantha Stonehouse, PR. An Otter.

‘The animal that I think I would be in terms of work ethic is an otter. Intelligent, communicative, popular, hard-working and useful. I focus on problems but can become easily distracted, I never give up, suffer from self-doubt, am determined, a good motivator whilst avoiding taking on leadership roles, perform well in groups, have good social skills and I am loyal.’

For me Sam is was a Flamingo. Wanting to be part of the team, delicate but strong and agile at the same time and trying to be the best she can be, just like Flamingos try to be as pink as they can.

Jo White, Finance. Dolphin.

‘My animal that I believe best represents me would be a dolphin. I am entertaining, stay close to my family group and can fight off a shark in one swift motion! I also feel that when I am in my domain, I am at the top of my game.’

Perhaps because of the Savannah theme I was going on, Jo was a Hippo to me. Happy in the water or the land, laid back and placid the majority of the time, but one of the deadliest animals when crossed.

Jess Yarnold, Graphic Designer. Another Dog

‘I am less of an adult dog and more of a puppy. I like to take on tasks that involve lots of things to do, to keep my interest up. I am creative and look for ways to get things done that aren't always conventional.’

I saw Jess as a lion cub, she is young and is learning and playing while doing so. As I work closely with Jess as an Art Director type I am quite often criticising, changing and sometimes rejecting what she does. She never sulks about a metaphorical clout from me, she just comes bounding back for more much like a cub would in a play fight.

And I was a lion. Not sure Lion or Lioness, the clichéd leader of the pack, provider of sustenance and security for my pack, always working and alert to opportunity and danger even if it looks like I am asleep under a tree. I can throw my weight around if I need to but let the pride get on with their jobs with me keeping an eye and taking the lead when I need to.

So there you have it

It seems that all of us fit perfectly into the 'African plains' of Push Start Marketing, we all have a role to fulfil and I can now think of the other types of animals I need as I grow the team.

Just talking about this and everyone’s animal sparked so much conversation. For example, it came out that Jo, as a dolphin, is skilled at balancing, but if she were to drop her ball, Hilary as a dog would happily bring it back to her! Thoughts and reminders of each others personality traits come up all the time and it helps to be able to think to ourselves, 'that's because she's a ....'  it helps us to understand one another a little better.

If you’ve the inclination ask yourself what animal am I best represented by when I'm at work? And what animal are my colleagues? Share your thoughts with each other and I guarantee you will have one of the most enlightening conversations ever.

With thanks to Charly Cox for setting me that homework in the first place.

Three things social media's done for our clients

Ever asked yourself: Do I really need social media? Why invest my time in writing 140 character messages to people I don't know? Why would people notice my company in the noise of social media anyway?

Well, here's three things we love about social media that should make you think again...

1: Soft touches and gentle reminders

Soft or light touches are not a new sales phenomena. But now they are so much easier with social media. The ‘Saw this and thought of you’ idea for contacts you don’t know but want to know better is a great way to build on what might have been a very brief introduction.

Traditional marketing includes leaflet dropping, emails, customer call backs. Any astute professional knows that these things create presence of mind in those that could become customers or professional advocates. Many leaflets go straight into the recycling, emails go into trash and call backs are politely brushed off. A soft touch means a gentle approach to reminding people you are still there. A flash of your corporate identity within a timeline or newsfeed filters in the minds of those who may need you one day. A social media soft touch is in no way obtrusive, creates no unnecessary rubbish or takes any time away from the recipient.

One of our lovely clients likes to send an email very now and then to offer a discount code. Of course, not everybody takes up the offer, but in Spring this year, five did and we're willing to bet a lot more will be waiting and expecting a  winter offer in time for Christmas!

2: Share your personality

'People buy from people'. A very competitive market these days means people look to more than great deals, or free delivery to sway their decisions. If they believe they have an affinity to the person or company that is resolving their issues, then you will have the competitive edge.

Sharing tips, advice and anecdotes builds a personality into your brand and on the appropriate platforms be that Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. We had prospective a client come to us because of our blog and post on Dr. Zeus and Now we are Six, they liked and connected with the ‘personality’ of the business.

3: It's free and it works!

Push Start Marketing is called push start for a reason. We want to give you that helpful push into using marketing tactics for yourself, our ethos is to empower. It's free to sign up to Twitter, to LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+. You have been given four powerful marketing tools here, for nothing - nada - zip. Why not make use of it?

We started working with a client two months ago. When we started, a regular Google search, even for their specific company name produced disappointing results. Eight weeks later and the same Google search brings the company up to first on the list. With slightly different search words, the client's company appears third on the list as a Google+ post. Why would you not at least give it a trial?

For more help and advice give Hilary a call on 07825 031036 or book on to our Social Media 101 for some hands on help with your specific issue.