New Website designed at The Marketing Hut

I am please to release a link to a new website designed at The Marketing Hut. My latest client, Richard R Simpson was recommended to come to The Marketing Hut by a previous client, Feel Fab Fitness.

www.richardrsimpson.com

Slimming World

Apologies for my lack of blogs recently, I have been a busy bee working on various Marketing and Web Projects and I also have a new project. I am soon to become a Slimming World Consultant, currently training, which is taking a bit of time, but aim to start my group 1st November.

Slimming World came to my notice in March of this year when my sister and I joined. A loss of over 3 stone later I am feeling pretty inspired. I am really looking forward to really changing peoples lives for the better. Also with my Marketing Hut hat on, I realise what a fantastic networking opportunity this will be. So as you can imagine I am pretty pleased with myself for securing this opportunity.

If anyone would like details about Slimming world please visit their website: www.slimmingworld.com or ask me!! I will soon have a Slimming world Blog, Facebook page and Website so that will give you a great opportunity to find out more as well.

If you are interested in finding out more about my web design and marketing offerings please visit my website www.marketinghut.net or give me a call 01489 890250.

Mel
Marketing Hut

New Website designed by The Marketing Hut coming Soon....

I have been working on a fab new website for a client who was recommended to me by a previous client. It is going really well and will be live next week so watch this space.

New Branding Project

I have just added a new corporate brochure to my portfolio that I have completed for a local start up business - Branding for Farrier Finance. This brochure is to be used when presenting to banks to get buy in to support their loans. The Design and Copywriting where completed with limited time and budget and I think demonstrate how I can turn around something corporate, quickly.

Do you need a website?

I was surprised when visiting my local farmers market this weekend, how many of them didn't have a website. Having a presence on the web is so important for all industries but in particular cottage industries, like those that were attending, as the markets are so infrequent, they can be forgotten.

I think there is a myth amongst many that having a website is complicated and expensive, well I am here to prove that myth incorrect. At the Marketing Hut, I take all of the stress away, giving a consultative approach to help you make the right decision on how to market yourself. With a cost-effective simple website, I can transform your small business and give it the web presence it requires to move forward.

So for any web design or marketing requirements please contact me for a free quote on 01489 890250 / 07885 779048 or email melanie@marketinghut.net.

New Testimonial

Please visit my website's testimonials page to see a New Testimonial from Feel Fab Fitness!!

2 Day!!

Has anyone else been listening to radio 2 today? I am really enjoying the shows they have, amazing to hear them mix it up a a bit.

Currently listening to Ken Bruce and Bob Harris and next there is Tony Blackburn and Trevor Nelson, all legends!

If you aren't already tuned in then I would highly recommend it!

Mel
The Marketing Hut

Distinction!!!!!

Well, after months of hard work and dedication I have been awarded a Distinction for my Adobe Dreamweaver Qualification. 

If you would like to see a sample of some of my work that I have produced over the last few months please visit my portfolio on my website: 

http://www.marketinghut.net/Portfolio/index.html

Feel Fab Fitness: Something to think about ....

Feel Fab Fitness: Something to think about ....: "Your thoughts are your own creations. If your thoughts are your own creations then your feelings are your own creations, and if your feel..."

Domain names

I heard a brief snippet on the radio yesterday about the idea of companies being able to purchase there own domain name endings, not sure whether this is a good idea or not???

Any thoughts????

SEO Pointers

Just wanted to give some pointers to everyone regarding SEO for your company websites!!

Firstly, if you haven't done so already set up a google analytics account. This will tell you how people are finding you.

Secondly incorporate keywords and phrases into your website - within the text, photos, blog, meta tags etc.

Thirdly, keep updating the website content, blogs are a great way of doing this.

Sound complicated? Well if you contact me at The Marketing Hut then I can do all this for you, at a very reasonable rate.

If you have any questions regarding my services give me a call on 01489 890250.

Feel Fab Fitness Website is now live.

I have just added the Feel Fab Fitness Website to my portfolio www.feelfabfitness.com - Take a look and let me know what you think!

The Marketing Hut Team is growing

Meet Megan- general dogs body, haha!!

Special Offer!! Buy One Get One Free!

In these difficult economic times I know that everyone is looking for a bargain, well I hope this will take your fancy.

Buy One Get One Free!!

If you utilise one of my services, I will give you another service for free *

For Example: Employ me to build you a website and I will offer you free SEO analysis for 6 months.

For a description of all my services please visit my website www.marketinghut.net


* Cheapest of the two is free (Maximum value of free service £150)

How to market the small business!

Ok, Im not going to be able to tell you the miracle to make every small business work but what I hope to do is point you in the right direction. I was speaking to a client yesterday who is a trained chef and wants to start his own catering business. He is a fantastic chef but has never been taught how to market himself and how to pick the right business idea. This made me think that there must be many potential small businesses who don't succeed because of lack of business/marketing training. I thought I would come up with a few tips to point these people in the right direction.

1. Business planning - Draw a spider diagram starting with your original idea in the middle and have this leading to all the different ways you could realise this goal. Also a SWOT analysis - outlining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business idea at an early stage will help you plan your most effective route.

2. Research Target Market - Look at competitors and who they are targeting, speak to friends and family, conduct some online market research - maybe a question to contacts on face book or linked in. Most importantly you need to find out whether there is a market for your product or service and whether it is big enough to give you a return.

3. Marketing - Once you have decided on a business offering and it is ready to go you need to let people hear about it. Go back to your target market research and think about how they will be best targeted for advertising. Consider a Website, Direct Marketing, Advertising etc and see which method of the marketing mix will work best for you.

Lastly, if you need help with any of these stages please contact The Marketing Hut on 01489 890250 and I will be able to help you with the process.

The Apprentice!!

So, Week 3 of this series Apprentice will be on tonight!

I have been sat here pondering whether the new concept is a stroke of genius or a bit rubbish and I have come to the conclusion - a bit rubbish!

Affectively all the prize is now is £250k to put towards a business that Lord Sugar will part own. Not quite as prestigious as working for Lord Sugar, and surely now the title "The Apprentice" is a little mis-leading.

Reading between the lines I have realised that maybe Lord Sugar has just had enough of these "self-indulgent" idiots coming to work for him and messing up his business. Is this just a canny way of distancing himself from the winner if they turn out to be a failure!?!?!?

Anyone, that's one of my thoughts of the day....... Enjoy tonights episode!

What makes a good Marketing Consultant?

I have been umming and arring about what people are really looking for in a Marketing Consultant, how best do I market myself to appeal to the needs of the local business community. I know if I was looking for a service my three priorities would be: good customer service, high level of skill and reasonably priced... but is this what everyone else wants?

Good Customer service I feel I can deliver on, working in a relationship building role in all of my previous jobs I know that the customer has to be treated correctly. I'm not all about sell, sell, sell, my priority is to find the best service to match the consumer, this way recommendations and repeat business are what grows the business.

High level of skill, I think I can also claim to be correct, I have a BA (hons) Business Degree, a wealth of experience in Sales and Marketing and a recent Adobe Qualification. I am a perfectionist, so always looking to improve on what I have done.

Reasonably priced, having the luxury of working from home with very little costs I am able to be very competitive on price. I want people to be able to afford my services.

So, if anyone else can challenge me to matching their criteria of a good Marketing consultant then bring it on, I'm sure I will be able to!!

Web Design offering!!

Website Design is a new offering from The Marketing Hut. Melanie has completed a qualification in Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 and is able to produce up to date websites conforming to W3C standards using CSS and HTML.

So, if you have an old website that needs an update to bring it into the 21st Century or you have a new venture that you would like to start marketing then The Marketing Hut is able to offer a consultation to discuss your requirements and from that produce a stylish website, which will fit the needs of your consumers.

All new websites include an interview, reviewing your audience and how their needs will affect the functionality of your website. Here is a snippet of the questions that will be asked at the consultation to give you an idea of the depth The Marketing Hut goes into to get it right for you.

What are the immediate goals for the site?

What is the key information that visitors should gain from the site?

List some adjectives that describe the impression your site visitors will have when they visit the site.

List some characteristics of your target audience. What sort of visitors do you expect to attract to your site? 


If you require a new website or just need assistnce with an existing one please give The Marketing Hut a call to discuss your requirements on 01489 890250.

So many bank holidays!

Is there anyone else out there that has been seriously inconvenienced because of all these bank holidays so close together???

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the time with my daughter, family and friends but work has really had to take a back seat. After 2 weeks off school over Easter, my daughter has now missed 2 mondays as well, so I have only worked 4 days in the last month. Also when I have tried to cram in a bit of work there is no technical support as everyone is off!!

I am now looking forward to a spell of hard work: launching my website, getting in some new business and knuckling down to some marketing and web design!!

Back to Work!

Well I have had a lovely couple of weeks off to enjoy the sunshine and festivities with my lovely daughter but now it is crunch time. I am ready to launch. Website will be up and running by next week after I have ironed out a few quirks and I will be able to start promoting myself to the masses.

If you are interested in sub-contracting any element of your marketing plan then please get in touch, I would love to invite you to my new office to discuss your requirements and how I can help.

A summary of what I can offer you:



Web Design: Able to create a website from scratch or update an existing website to enable you to market your business online effectively.

Website Co-ordination: The right images and text on your website is paramount to making you stand out, I am able to give you the right image on the web.

Branding: Identifying the correct brand image is necessary to give people the correct perception of the product or services on offer. I have experience of turning a business's image around by tweaking the branding without costly implications.

SEO: I have the ability to improve efficiency of your website through pro-active optimisation, I am also able to track progress using google analytics.

Email/Direct Mail Campaigns: From copywriting the content to selecting the correct target audience, I have a wealth of experience in producing effective DM campaigns.

Copywriting/Blogging: Writing eye-catching press releases, blogs or twitter updates is becoming a well sought after skills, which I feel I possess; the trick is to make it interesting to the reader rather than a sales pitch.

Event Co-ordination: From holding a stand at a big exhibition to running your own event, I have the experience to make the whole day run smoothly.

So give me a call on 01489 890250.

interestung video

What does the perfect office need?

So today is the day to clear out the cabin in the garden and create "The Marketing Hut". But what do I need? I have desk, computers, printer, a couple of sofas and some curtains but what will make it "My Office"?

It is so important when you work from home to have a comfortable environment, until now I have been sitting at the dining room table with my laptop, bad for my back and not very inspiring. So as well as the practical elements I require for my office I need to make sure it creates the right working environment for my creative juices to flourish.

Any ideas??

Back on track!!

Well, after an un-scheduled week off I am back.... New kitchen caused no end of bother, lack of electricity when I needed to be working being one of them. All good now though, just can't stop cooking!

I have had a fruitful morning though, finishing off the website I have designed for a local client who breed race horses. Looking good if I do say so myself...

Now I am trying to find a decent Content Management System I can adapt it to and host the website, bit boring but only have to do do this research once hopefully.

So any suggestions will be much appreciated.

So it seems Twitter is more powerful than I realised...

I was truly surprised to discover that within an hour of posting a negative comment about Moben Kitchens yesterday, they started following me on Twitter. It makes you realise the power of the Internet, co-incidentally soon after that I received a call from the Customer Services Manager telling me there was a fitter available to come straight away. It does make you wonder!!

or maybe I am being unfair and they do have a conscience after all!!

Time to rant, what has happened to good customer service?

Well... to cut a long story short, I decided to order a Moben kitchen, after 3 years of agonising over what company to go with. It was booked in to be fitted Monday (14th) and as discussed with Moben I had the kitchen gutted, replastered, rewired etc last week.

So it gets to Monday morning, 9.15, I start to wonder where they are so call customer services. After 10 minutes on hold I get through to someone who says that it has been re-scheduled for Wednesday and I should have been told. I assured her I hadn't been told and asked her to re-assure me that it would still be done by friday, she said she would call the fitter and call me straight back.

By 4pm on Monday I am still waiting, I call back and speak to someone else who says that they cant get hold of fitter but puts me on hold and "apparently" has a very dis-jointed call with the fitter as he has bad signal but they felt they could get it done in 3 days. Not ideal but I thought the problem had been resolved.

I returned home yesterday to discover an answer phone message from another person at Moben saying that the fitting had been re-scheduled to Monday, hope that is ok????????

As it was too late to call last night I called this morning, spoke to a lovely lady who understood the problem and would get the manager to call me urgently, that was an hour ago!!!

I understand that things go wrong but really it is up to the customer service staff to bend over backwards for the customer to make their experience as painless as possible. Needless to say I will be asking for compensation etc from Moben due to these hiccups, Microwave meals are getting a bit tiresome. But my main point of concern is the lack of care, I do hope not all large companies aren't going this way!!!

Are we all too grown up for charity antics!

It got me thinking this morning as I dropped my daughter off at Pre-School wearing her Pyjama's and paying £2 for Comic Relief that the business world don't seem to be participating as much as they used to in charity fundraising.

It seems to me that when the economy is a bit difficult we forget about charity and having fun and it is work, work, work! Seeing my daughters teachers dressed as a rabbit and a clown put things in to perspective. Why aren't we all doing this.

Going on Linked in, Facebook and Twitter today I saw no mention of charity fundraising, how better than to get your company noticed than through doing a good deed. So I have decided, I will be doing something silly to raise money this year, not sure what yet but I will let my 2 year old be my inspiration, I hope you do to!!

Work Life Balance

I have been thinking a lot recently about work life balance. How do you do it? If I put everything into my business then my home life will suffer and vice versa. I think I have come up with the Solution. If you do something you love then it doesn't feel like work, it becomes part of life.

I have found myself recently sitting down of an evening after putting my daughter to bed and I will quite happily open up my laptop and do some work, whether it is studying for my qualification, writing a blog post or searching Linked in, I am happy to do it.

So the answer (according to me) is make your work your life and then you don't need to find a balance, it'll just fit!

My first blog!!!

Hi there,

Haven't done this for a while, whilst I was regularly updating the blog at my previous company this is the first time I get to write about me and my new adventure.

So to cut a long story short after over 5 years working in the Marketing Recruitment industry I decided to embrace my passion of marketing and move solely into becoming a Marketing Consultant.

The past 4 months have been spent doing a Dreamweaver qualification, which should have taken 6 months but I managed it in 3, with straight A's, get me!! Also I have been building my own brand "The Marketing Hut", the name came quite simply. I have a hut in my garden, which I am slowly turning into an office, so the slogan "The full Marketing Mix under one roof..." twinned with a hut logo seemed to fit the bill.

Being a full-time single mum I needed to find a job that I love, am passionate about, fits around my daughter and pays the bills and I think I may have just found it.