Time for my own marketing...

They say that to identify a builder’s house, look for one where little maintenance has been done for a while. If you speak to my friend who is a decorator, he hasn’t decorated his house since he moved in over 10 years ago. Doctor’s (apparently) are least likely to seek any medical treatment or tests.

Therefore, I guess it makes sense that marketing consultancies probably don’t spend much time in marketing their own business once they are up and running as they are too busy marketing their clients business. *Hand up meekly in the air* Yes, guilty as charged.

I think the last time I updated my website was over a month and a half ago, my blog is generally – and I use this term generally very loosely - updated weekly, but I have done no new mailshots or cold calling for over three months now. Yes, I have been busy with the work which I have had on, but now, as campaigns and projects start coming to a conclusion, I’m looking at my May and June budgets and thinking I need to get some new work in. What do I advise clients? Yes, you’ve guessed it, regular marketing and branding.

I think I need to take some of my own advice.

I have been noticing recently that the copywriting business is getting very competitive and I’m regularly being undercut, not by a few pounds – but by a VAST amount. I regularly bid for work on a copywriting site where clients advertise projects they are working on and ask for bids – not huge jobs, just some small copywriting projects like writing a leaflet, website copy, brochure copy etc. Now, I thought I was reasonably competitive as I work for myself, I don’t have huge agency overheads such as staff or premises. However, some of the copywriters out there are bidding – and winning – work for less than the minimum wage. I bid last week for a project writing the copy for a website, 20 pages in total, a couple of days work researching the subject, writing, making amends from feedback from the client. A couple of hundred quid minimum for that amount of work and time spent on it. The winning bid? It was won for a grand total of £50.

All I can say is good luck to the client on that one and you have my details on file....

So, like Messers Brown, Cameron and Clegg, I’m on a self promotion drive. Going to work on my website, get some direct mailers sorted out and yes, #Dum, dum Dahhhhh# - I’m going to go back to the delights of business networking which, some of you may remember, was a whole new life ‘experience’ back when I first started up on my own.

First off though, I have to find some First Aid cover for the regatta I’m organising in two weeks time at my rowing club. I knew it was going to be a nightmare when we found out that Southampton FC had their last match of the season on the same day and there would be no parking for the other clubs trailers. Now we have sourced other parking, St Johns Ambulance, who normally do my First Aid cover are all covering the football match – not a bad gig if you are a first aider and football fan...
Anyone know any First Aiders who would like to cover a regatta?! Honestly, organising a wedding is nothing compared to a regatta....

It is nice to be busy all the time and I’m not moaning – honest – but if anyone thinks being your own boss is easy, it’s not. I have a lovely new golf bag which is sat in the hall and it is aching to be used, but both myself and my golfing buddy Vicki, from Tiger Ink Printing, have been too busy to play. Each week, we pencil in an early tee time, normally a Friday, so we can be back at work latest by 10am...and each week we cancel. How Tiger Woods managed such a full and active social diary for many years and managed to play a few rounds of golf in between is nothing short of a miracle.

I’ve got a couple of large quotes to work on this week – a new website, some market research and branding and some more PR, which, if they come good would be some good work for a couple of months, but can’t rely on anything so best sign off for another week and get cracking on finding some more new work!

Enjoy the sunshine, I think if this keeps up I’m going to test my WiFi connection in the garden...