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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 197
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| Thought for the week: "The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none." Thomas Carlyle |
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In this week's issue:
If
you have any questions about your business idea or target market, or need help tracking down a grant, subsidy or business support
in your local area, then send an e-mail with your query and location to the EnterQuest
information team and we'll do our best to help.
Send
your question to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
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To
access over 800 factsheets, guides and small business reports, go
to www.scavenger.net. |
How to appear in a national magazine...for free
David Frey, the author of our popular and practical book, the UK Small Business Marketing Bible, is an expert at finding ways to get publicity for your business at little or no cost. In fact, there's a special report on just this topic at the end of this highly practical manual.
We've selected some extracts from a recent article by David on this subject, which looks at how you can get your business mentioned in a national magazine with a huge circulation, without spending a penny.
Here's what David says:
"There's a sneaky little marketing tactic that anyone can use that can get you national exposure in major magazines and newspapers.
"It's called an 'op-ed'.
"An op-ed is an editorial space in a magazine or newspaper where that publication gives you an opportunity to express your opinion on a topic that they recently covered. Hence 'op' = 'opinion' and 'ed' = 'editorial'. This section is also known as 'Letters to the editor' and similar variations on that theme."
David's own op-ed appeared recently in Inc. magazine, after he sent an e-mail to share his opinion on the marketing problems encountered by a business the publication had profiled. After his op-ed was published, he noticed a sharp increase in traffic and subscriptions to his newsletter.
Here are five practical suggestions David makes to help you use op-eds to get great results for your business:
1) Submit op-eds to publications in your target market
There's no use getting publicity in a market that doesn't have a high propensity to buy your product or service. Submit your op-eds to magazines, newspapers, television shows and any media that allows op-eds to be published in your target market. Check out Media UK and TradePub.com for listings of local and regional magazines, newspapers and trade journals in the UK.
2) Don't submit a stupid op-ed
Be smart about what you're going to say. If you submit an insightful, thought-provoking and interesting op-ed, it will almost certainly get published. Take some time to think about what you're going to say before you submit your piece.
3) Be controversial
The media loves controversy so you might want to consider stating an opinion that is controversial and perhaps in opposition to the article that you're commenting on.
4) Follow the exact instructions for submitting your op-ed
This usually involves just submitting your opinion to the person who moderates the op-ed column. At the end of every op-ed there are instructions on how to submit your own opinion. It's worth taking care to ensure that you get the spelling of the moderator's name correct, and that you've proofread your own piece to eliminate any errors.
5) Use the right credentials
Always try to include your website address at the end of your op-ed. This way, when the op-ed comes out, people will know exactly where to go to get more information about you and your business.
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For hundreds more practical tips and techniques to help you find new customers and increase sales on a shoestring budget, check out the UK Small Business Marketing Bible. |
When to upgrade your PC for Vista
If you want to install Microsoft's new Vista operating system on your PC, you may have to invest in a machine with more processing power or buy add-ons with the power to handle it - Microsoft's website has the full system requirements run-down. According to the Green Party, there'll be "thousands of tonnes of dumped monitors, video cards and whole computers" due to the arrival of Microsoft's new product.
Even if you haven't been swayed by the publicity surrounding Vista, you may still be considering upgrading your system. According to Microsoft, PCs up to three years old are still worth using. Rather than replacing them entirely, there are several things you can do to keep them ticking over and to keep up to date with new developments.
There are a number of online guides available to help you through the technicalities:
- The Daily Telegraph has a guide to upgrading your computer memory.
- PC Review has a range of tips and advice on the upgrading process.
- The BBC has a basic guide for novices.
Finally, if you're sick of hearing about Vista, the Living Without Microsoft website aims to show PC users that their machines can run without Microsoft. It claims to be "informative, impartial and accessible to non-techies" and includes features, tips, news and a blog section. It's divided into an archive dating back to November 2005, with subjects also categorised by topic, and there is a useful search facility.
Each
week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business
ideas in the UK.
Here
is this week's idea:
Most recognised brands in Europe
Brandchannel.com is a website for marketing professionals that does regular international surveys to determine which brands are most widely known by global consumers, asking its readers to rank the brands that had the most impact on them in a given year. Its graphs provide interesting reading, as they compare each year's results with previous years. Here's the top ten for Europe for 2006:
1) IKEA
2) Skype
3) Nokia
4) Zara
5) Adidas
6) H&M
7) BMW
8) Audi
9) BBC (9=)
10) Puma (9=)
Mobile phone brands scored particularly highly, with Vodafone and Orange also making the top 20. Food brands also did well, with Nestlé and Innocent Drinks also included in Europe's top 20. The global results for 2006 have some similarities, but see Apple, Starbucks, Google and YouTube hitting the top ten.
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 what the word 'germane' means?
a) irrelevant or missing the point
b) popular or likeable
c) trivial or insignificant
d) connected with or specific to a particular topic or situation
Answer at the end of the Bulletin.
The following topical business issues have been reported recently in the media. Did your radar pick them up?
1) Which IT equipment cupboard stalwart was consigned to history this week, after PC World announced it would not replace it on the shelves when current stock runs out?
a) The blank cassette tape
b) The floppy disk
c) The video cassette recorder
d) The traditional personal stereo
2) What's the name of the proposed bit of European Union (EU) legislation that came in for harsh criticism recently after business groups said it would damage enterprises trading via the Internet?
a) Madrid Protocol
b) Paris Order
c) Rome 1
d) Geneva Convention
3) What ongoing problem is eBay said to be struggling with, despite announcing record profits this week?
a) Phishing e-mails, which claim to be from the PayPal payment system eBay uses
b) Shill bidding, where friends and family bid to boost traders' prices unfairly
c) Chargeback fraud, where customers deny receipt of goods delivered from the site
d) Feedback hijacking, where competitors give poor feedback to damage other traders' reputations
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
Food hygiene guidance isn't good enough
Guidance for food businesses published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been roundly criticised by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) for failing to include advice on your legal obligation to demonstrate the traceability of produce. The booklets 'Food hygiene: A guide for business' and 'Starting up: Your first steps to running a food business' were published last year to reflect new requirements under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006. However, the FPB reckons the guidance omits any reference to traceability, despite its having been mandatory since 2004.
You can make a mint from hotel rooms
GuestInvest, the UK's only hotel buy-to-let business, is earning its room owners a tidy sum. The scheme allows people to buy hotel rooms and stay as and when they please. They also have the added benefit of receiving 50% of the room revenue every quarter, earned from guests when they use the room. The rooms must be occupied for the investor to make money from the scheme, and service charges are approximately £500 per year.
Choose which laws you'd like to ditch
To mark the launch of the Law Commission's new website, visitors are being asked which laws in a selected list they'd like to ditch. There are 40 archaic laws listed in a consultation, which is open until 4 May, including eight acts to look after the poor in London - one of which refers to a workhouse in Wapping mentioned in Charles Dickens' The Uncommercial Traveller. The website is simple and to the point, with sections about the Law Commission, its publications, laws under review and an A-Z, as well as a news section.
What's your technology quotient (TQ)?
This quiz, run in partnership with PayPal, aims to test your know-how about all things techy. It asks a series of questions - some easy, some hard - about topics and terminology such as bandwidth, Bluetooth and e-commerce, aiming to find the gaps in your understanding. You get a score at the end, and the chance to win a video iPod.
Although written for the US market, there are plenty of tips in here for female business owners in the UK. Author Margaret Heffernan interviewed hundreds of women business owners, and found many had gone it alone after working for firms that didn't listen to them or respect their views. She discovered the key qualities successful female business start ups tend to share and why they consider running their own business to be about more than simply making profits. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is d).
Germane refers to something that is connected with or specific to a particular topic or situation.
Your business plan should include reference to research that is germane to your target customers and market. |
How's your business radar answers
1) The answer is b) - the floppy disk will no longer be sold in PC World after the IT giant claimed it had been made virtually obsolete by other memory devices.
2) The answer is c) - proposed new EU legislation known as Rome 1 has been condemned by the likes of the British Retail Consortium. The rules would mean that if, say, a Spanish consumer bought goods online from your UK e-commerce site and was dissatisfied, they could take legal action against you under Spanish law in a Spanish court.
3) The answer is b) - eBay is said to be battling with the problem of shill bidding, according to an article in The Times, in a week where it also announced its profits for 2006. |
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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. |
