Hew has at all times been helpful, supportive to all and patient with everyone and very clear.

Its great to hear postive things about my efforts.  I do tend to juggle lots of balls in the air with a full time commitment to Surveylab and having Fullscope seemingly getting busier on the side.  It does make the headaches worthwhile!

Read this and other happy clients on the Testimonials page.

Village Ceramics is a craft studio in Cheam Village, Surrey providing classes in ceramics, children’s activities and kids parties.

The previous incarnation was dogged with hand-coded sidebars and adhoc code meaning that the maintenance and updating of the website was taking longer and longer.  It is now in a position to be the platform Charlotte wants – to move forward with new content, a revision of services and be used to capture customer contact details. With a bit of training, it can be handed over to Charlotte and Jay to start hammering the content and attracting new visitors.

Please visit Village Ceramics today.

Adding to the points below, I would give  a health warning that if you have a blog, do it properly or don’t do it... let it slide and nothing will turn visitors off like  +year old posts.

Here are some of my own points:

• Schedule an hour a week or fortnight to prepare some copy
• Make sure the posts have a point or reason – give people a reason to read/revisit/promote what you are saying
• Ideas for blog posts shouldn’t be a chore.   In the context of your own business what works?
• Regular little hints/tips/insights into your services
• Topical national news (legisalation, newspaper items)
• Local news (car parking, traffic problems)
• Case studies
• Your own experiences or anecdotes
• Recent sucesses/achievements/contracts
• Testimonials
• Marketing promotions, special deals
• Seasonal activity
• Office news (sponsored marathon anyone?)
• Interview business owners, to get their insight into why they do what they do
• Any changes/udpates to website
• Answer questions to get from customers every day
• …and much more besides
• Get in the mindset of picking out blog items from your day to day work.
• And don’t be afraid to put personality and your own character into the blog (and some lightness/humour… Dilbert cartoon anyone?)  Small businesses especially rely on building strong ongoing relationships with customers.  Positive Word of mouth of your business and website is indirectly free, but doesnt just happen.

Bottom line… the effort you put in is what you get out.  Websites and blogs don’t make themselves, they take work… but work that mustn’t be long, drawn out and dull.  If its dull to you, then your visitors will think the same.

Enough ramble from me, here’s Brian’s copy!

While you may not think your business needs a blog, there are a number of reasons why it should. With the availability of both free and inexpensive blogging platforms, your business can set up a blog in a matter of minutes and begin promoting your brand and connecting with customers. If you still aren’t convinced, here are five reasons why your business should have a blog.

1. It Builds Traffic

There will always be a correlation between traffic and sales. The more traffic you have coming to your website, the more likely it is you’ll make a sale. With that said, having a blog you update frequently will allow you to direct targeted traffic to your business website, thereby increasing the chances you’ll make a sale.

By linking your blog to other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, you’ll also be building traffic and connecting with your customer base. Whenever you publish a new blog post, make sure to post a link to it on your social media accounts to attract more prospective buyers and build your brand.

2. It Increases your Credibility

People are more likely to purchase products or services from businesses they feel like they already “know,” and having a blog that you regularly update can help foster a community and allow your readers to feel like they know you, even if you’ve never met face to face.

Every time you interact with your readers, by encouraging comments and responding to comments left, you are building your relationship with potential customers. By building those relationships, you are effectively creating a face for your brand, thereby increasing the likelihood of more sales. A blog is a simple way to do this, and allows customers to consistently reach out to you and stay updated on new developments, products or services offered by your business.

3. It Allows for Better Customer Service

By creating a blog for your business, it allows your customers to contact you. They don’t have to be put on hold, or wait for office hours to call you. All of the info about your company should be found on your blog, so customers who have any questions or want to find out more about your business can easily do so.

Additionally, a blog is one of the best ways to update customers on new products or services being offered. You can also respond to customer inquiries quickly and more efficiently, and you can gain valuable feedback from your readership while using that feedback to make improvements and build a better business, as well as business relationships, with your client base.

4. It Establishes you as An Expert

A blog helps establish you as an expert in your field, and if you regularly update it with relevant content, you reinforce the idea that you know what you are talking about. Making sure you update your blog frequently with content that is valuable to readers also helps establish you as their go-to person when it comes to your particular niche, be it consulting, editing or any other type of business.
By blogging regularly, you are building a visible presence on the web and also fostering relationships with potential customers while establishing your expertise for your particular niche.

5. It Gives you a Voice

Every business needs a voice, and a blog is a simple way to do that. These days, anyone can post anything online about a company, be it good or bad. By starting a blog for your business, you can help manage your reputation and give your business the voice and authority it needs to thrive.

The marketplace for any business is normally competitive, so by starting a blog that you update regularly, you are giving your company a voice on the internet. Customers can read your posts and establish in their minds that you are a credible authority, and you can interact with them frequently while establishing your reputation on the web.

While there are many reasons your business should have a blog, these are the most compelling reasons. If you haven’t started a blog for your business yet, you definitely should – it’s a cost effective, easy way to interact with your existing customer base, gaining new customers and establishing your expertise.

Laura was determined to use her full brand (despite my hints) to perhaps use the text only and there was a great deal of information required for the small A5 size.

Took a few revisions but the results are now on the way to the printers… lets hope it helps get her brand out there and more business heading her way!

Then last night on trundled Mr Legend Henry.  The rest is history… 227+!

Pic lifted shamelessly from the BBC Sport website

From an initial ‘pitch’ about WordPress earlier in the year, the initial brief, was limited.  Ability to post jobs and news, within the existing brand colours but especially to give the site a ‘busy’ active and energetic feel.  Well the front page is certainly busy but its now with Supreme team to start posting and using the site.  I’ll be monitoring the site over the next few weeks, answering client questions perhaps tweaking items here and there.  I’ll be asking for any visitor feedback too – its their target audience who will have the final say about its overall success.

Please visit Supreme Recruitment.

With a limited brief, the brand reflects their business of high quality parts production for formula 1 teams. Wesbite and business cards are the next steps.

http://searchengineland.com/why-so-many-blogs-fail-and-what-to-do-about-it-93897