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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 272
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| Thought for the week: "Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done." Andy Rooney |
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In this week's issue:
Get creative work done on a budget
Bad marketing isn't just a waste of money, it has a negative effect. For many businesses, marketing is a major dilemma; you need it to improve sales and build customer awareness, yet you don't want to divert capital away from other areas of the business such as production. That's why it's important to get marketing done for as little as possible, without sacrificing quality.
Here are a few low-budget ways to get creative work done:
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Go direct and cut out the middleman. Many people working for larger businesses may be willing to moonlight, so see if you can get hold of the home phone number of a studio's designer, say, from a colleague who has had work done by them and offer to employ them directly.
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Professional photographers are expensive so consider using a good amateur. Try your local camera club, further education college or camera shop noticeboard.
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You may not need a photographer at all. If you want photos of common themes, such as holiday scenes, restaurants or city centres, you can get them from a photo library. Another option is to find a firm in the relevant line of business. Contact their PR department and you'll usually find that they'll give you photos free, provided that you credit their client.
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Check out the Internet. For artwork, photography and graphics, consider using royalty-free resources available on the net. For example, www.photos.com charges reasonable rates and you can download as many images as you want, from fireworks and children in playgrounds to offices and office equipment.
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Creative copying is another way of cutting out designers. Study the adverts in the press and adapt the most eye-catching adverts. Provided the businesses are distant from you, either in line of business or geographically, and provided you do not copy but adapt, you should not upset anyone.
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Manufacturers often have free promotional material you can personalise with your contact details. You may find that they will co-fund your publicity in return for a mention. It is therefore worth contacting the product mangers of your suppliers.
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Consider sharing the cost of creative design with other local firms you don't compete with. You can each then add your own details to the framework created. It's important that the designs you commission with other businesses are different for each of you. If all of your adverts look the same, you will, at best, be associated with each other or, at worst, be seen as cheap. So add details to make your advert unique.
Bear in mind that you are taking risks by cutting costs. The amateur photographer and the college design student may produce results comparable to those of a high-cost agency. But equally, they may turn out worse.
This tip is an extract of an article from EnterQuest's sister publication, BETTER business magazine. Subscribers to the magazine can read even more articles to help them run a better business, including:
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Get your website noticed! It's all very well having a website - but how many visitors are you getting? If you want your site to be seen, you need to carry out some clever 'e-marketing', says Bruce Townsend. (Issue 158)
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To receive a free copy of BETTER business magazine simply send us your name and address to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com, putting 'EQ magazine offer' in the subject box.
Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK and elsewhere around the world.
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Furniture made from recycled footballs. Fans of the beautiful game can now recline in the comfort of furniture made from recycled footballs. The fact that the furniture is eco-friendly is a bonus.
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Auction site for experiences. Sweemo is like any other auction site but users bid for 'experiences' rather than products or services. The experiences are listed under five main categories of entertainment, adrenaline, lifestyle, travel and groups. Those offering the experiences are usually well-connected or have a quirky job.
Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations.
Do you know the meaning of the word 'conversant'?
a) a participator in a conversation
b) familiarity with a topic or process
c) opposite, different
d) chatty, talkative
Answer at the end of the Bulletin.
The following topical business issues have been recently reported in the media. Did your radar pick them up?
1) The UK's small businesses lose up to £42 million per day due to what kind of problem?
a) ineffective filing of paper documents
b) poor waste management policies
c) leaving computers and other equipment on standby
d) unnecessary parking charges
2) The demise of which watchdog in October, will leave small businesses short of help and advice?
a) Postwatch
b) the Financial Services Authority
c) Energywatch
d) the Information Commissioner's Office
3) English Heritage, the organisation responsible for promoting and protecting England's historic environment, plans to introduce tighter planning rules on developments by what kind of businesses in the future?
a) restaurants
b) hotels
c) off-licences
d) waste disposal firms
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
Useful job listings and advice site for freelancers
FreelanceSwitch is a site that provides advice and job listings for all kinds of freelancers, including writers, graphic artists and web developers. There's a freelance jobs board, podcasts and useful resources for new freelancers.
Create ads with Spotmixer editing suite
Businesses can use video in all sorts of contexts on the web – on blogs, websites, and video sharing sites like YouTube. Spotmixer is a free service for turning basic videos into advertisements, with an editing suite providing typical effects and the opportunity to add sound, music, and text.
Free alternative to Office software
Stixy is one example of the many web-based applications now competing with Microsoft Office software. It is a private online noticeboard that brings together many of the features of Word and Publisher, but also allows you to edit images, add video and sound, and gives access to other members of your team to work on shared projects.
Find out how to do business abroad with Business Planet
The main page of Business Planet is an interactive map giving an overview of how easy it is to do business in 178 countries around the world. From there, users can click on individual locations to find out more about taxes, red tape and finances in each country. It's an invaluable resource for anyone researching overseas markets.
Win an e-commerce web programme worth £400
EnterQuest has teamed up with Actinic, developers of e-commerce software for small businesses, to give a lucky reader the chance to win a copy of one of the top e-commerce web programmes.
Actinic Catalog is ideal for small businesses looking to sell their products over the Internet. It provides a range of e-commerce features and design flexibility needed to build and manage an individual and highly functional e-commerce operation.
The programme enables you to handle customer account management, taxation and shipping options, stock monitoring, content management, mailing list production and digital delivery for products. It also integrates with a wide range of online payment services.
Actinic is offering one lucky reader the change to win a copy of Actinic Catalog, worth £400. To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question:
Q. What is the name of the organisation that protects and promotes England's historic environment?
E-mail your answer, together with your name, address and daytime telephone number, using "Actinic Competition" as the e-mail subject line, to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
All entries must be received by 31 August. EnterQuest and Actinic will use the information you provide for their own marketing purposes only and your details will never be shared with any third parties (except to arrange delivery of the prize). Competition rules are available on request.
This book gives the reader an overview of management concepts, handily delivered in 50 bite-sized topics. It summarises key topics such as branding, outsourcing, the long tail, supply and demand and includes quotes from key businesspeople. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is b).
Conversant means familiarity with a topic or process.
The entrepreneur was conversant with Web 2.0 applications so he was able to understand the blogging process fairly quickly. |
How's your business radar? The answers
1) The answer is a) - according to a survey by YouGov and document management firm Invu, managers and directors of small businesses waste up to an hour a day looking for documents which may have been lost, mislaid or misfiled.
2) The answer is c) - according to the Federation of Small Business, the demise of Energywatch will leave small businesses with nowhere to turn for help and advice about energy contracts.
3) The answer is b) - hotel operators who want to expand their properties to include golf courses or gardens in historic environments will face tighter rules on planning applications under English Heritage's Historic Environment at Risk Initiative. |
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Good luck
The EnterQuest Team
This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that the information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate. |
