I’ve got another infographic for you today. I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for them. If you’re a blogger though, this one is a must – 30 really simple ways to promote your blog and get more people reading your posts. That’s what it’s all about after all isn’t it? Knowing you write great stuff is all very well but it’s so much more rewarding to know that people are actually reading it.

Do you have any extra tips for reaching new readers? Please do share! View Post

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Today I am live blogging from Arkansas! How cool is that? I am actually writing this whilst in a talk at SoFabCon from Tami Cannizzaro, Executive Director of Marketing for IBM.

The topic is essentially change. Marketing, advertising, connecting with customers – it has all changed dramatically over the last few years. More and more people are turning to social media for news and information, and individuals are looking online for reviews and recommendations. Expectations are high and companies who fail to adapt their traditional Mad Men style advertising model will find themselves left behind.

According to Tami, there are three things that you have to think about as a brand in order to create that consistently excellent customer experience.

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In case you didn’t know, (do you not follow me on Twitter or something??), I’ve recently set up a new business with my friend Rin*, an interiors journalist. The essence of our business is to provide marketing and PR training to small businesses, to equip them with the skills and confidence they need to shout about their business, make social media work for them, and get journalists’ attention.

(That sounds rather good doesn’t it? Like a proper grown-up business.)

There are some bits of the business, like registering for corporation tax and taking out insurance, that aren’t exactly thrilling, but there are other aspects that we’ve been really enjoying. If you are thinking of setting up your own business in 2013, these are the parts I think you’ll love:

Choosing a name
So long as no-one else has registered it already, you can choose any name you like for your new business. Any name at all! How cool is that? You could be Dog Bowl Media or Pineapple Chunk Construction Limited – absolutely anything that takes your fancy. We’re called Inside Scoop. Nothing to do with ice cream.

"Media training"

For all your marketing and PR training needs!

Getting business cards
This is possibly my Best Bit. I love all kinds of stationery so getting official business cards is really exciting! Make sure your business card includes all essential information such as your name, business name, website and contact details and do double double check everything is correct before you go to print. Compare prices too – perhaps a local printer and an online service like Instant Print. We went for rounded corners on ours – always the mark of a professional.

Becoming a Company Director
Because we’re a registered company, both Rin and I are now officially Company Directors. Now when I have to write a bio for anything I write ‘Jo Middleton is an award-winning blogger and Director of media training company Inside Scoop’. I’m almost too intimidated to look in the mirror in the morning quite frankly.

Business meetings
I know this is supposed to be the boring bit, but the great thing about setting up a business with a friend is that business meetings are actually coffee and waffles in your favourite cafe with a bit of a chat about something nice like business cards or magazines that we really like or cushions we want to buy. It’s hardly like work at all really. We probably should actually cover more of the work element to be honest.

Do you run your own business? What’s your favourite part of being your own boss?

*This makes me sounds like my mum, who always refers to people as a phrase rather than a name – ‘my friend Andrea’ or ‘my cousin Mandy’.

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