It's the Little Things (they all add up)

Sometimes the little successes can go unremarked, unrewarded, even unnoticed. So, when we do see something we've done has worked (even a little better than we hoped), it's nice to be able to bask in the warm glow of success for a few moments.

One of our clients is exhibiting at a trade show, among some big players in his industry, and it was our job to tell people about this, to help promote the event a little, and to help his business capitalise on the attention the event will get.

So it was gratifying to see, when searching for some information about the event, that said client's website popped up in second spot on page one, with only the event's official site above it. Below our client in the listings are, as I write this, major industry publishers (on and offline) and, well, all the manufacturers, large and small, who are exhibiting at the show.   

It's a little thing, because the show may or may not bring some significant business for our client, and the Google listing may or may not bring lots of website traffic, but to be mixing it with the big boys and coming out on top - well, I thought it was worth a little celebration, at least.

Roy

Cinnamon Edge Marketing and Training in Jersey

Life is about changes and challenges, and we at Cinnamon Edge are not ones to evade a challenge or avoid change. That’s why Jersey girl Jacqui, and I (Roy), will be bringing our marketing, training and writing company Cinnamon Edge to Jersey in July.

While it’s a homecoming for Jacqui it’s certainly a departure for me and our business, which until this summer has been based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

In fact, we're so deeply esconced in Suffolk that Jacqui serves on the executive committee of Bury St Edmunds Chamber of Commerce, while I also run another small business - Flatpack Assembly Suffolk - that I plan to sell before we leave England’s shores.

Although Cinnamon Edge itself won’t be affected too much by the move – most of our existing clients would hardly notice the difference if we didn't tell them – we are still looking for new clients in Jersey and elsewhere, and we plan to diversify into other areas, too.

For the moment, those other areas are hush-hush, but you can expect us to start making a splash in Jersey as soon we we arrive.

Well, just as soon as we’ve taken a stroll and a paddle on our favourite beach, that is.

Roy

Want a Free Website?

We've seen a big improvement recently in the website building packages available for free from hosting companies. There are some great design templates out there and some people are making lovely looking websites with them - and all for free...

Free, that is, unless you take into account a few costs

1. Free site building software usually comes with paid hosting (not free), or has a very limited capacity ('bandwidth' and 'disc space'), unless you pay for more
2. Free site building software always has limitations that affect your ability to make your site pay (therefore costing you money and not free)
3. Free site building software always advertises the fact that it's free, which affects the impression you give to your visitors, making them less likely to pay you premium prices (again, not free)
4. Free site building software might help you make a much prettier website than you could otherwise, but pretty websites are hardly ever the most effective - except perhaps at selling more websites. And if you sell websites you won't want to be promoting free ones!
5. Free site building software presupposes that you know what you want your website to achieve (not as obvious as you might think), that you understand how websites actually work to make you money, AND that you have the time and skill to apply all that.

On the other hand, paying for a professional website from experts like, say, Cinnamon Edge, means

1. You can choose which hosting you want (or let us deal with that), and upgrade or change it at any time without losing your website
2. You have unlimited options when it comes to making your site work for you and pay you back many times over. There are countless ways a website can work
3. You don't advertise anyone else's business except your own, unless you want to, which means your site is professional and focused on boosting your business
4. You get a website that works, not one that just looks pretty. Business is not about winning accolades for design, unless you're a designer. Otherwise, growing a business is about doing more business, serving more customers and making more money.
5. Using a professional marketing company (rather than a design company) to build you a website means we help you clarify what you want to achieve, and build a website that delivers and helps you grow your business, so you don't have to. 

So, do you still want a free website (that costs you an enormous amount of time and goodness knows how much lost business)? Or would you rather have a professional website built by a professional marketing company that will give you and your company a professional edge?

There's really only one sensible answer to that.

Roy

PS. Our professionally designed and built websites are probably not the cheapest you can buy, either, but if you were daft enough to buy on price alone, you'd probably opt for 'free', wouldn't you?

And you know you don't want to do that.

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SEO (Suffolk) is Not Dead

I've spent a bit of time this week rebuilding the website promoting our Search Engine Optimisation services - SEO Suffolk.

Using a new theme I've done away with the header image and simplified the structure, although I will be adding more to it over time.

Now, some would say I'm wasting my time and that SEO has had its day, but our clients would probably beg to differ. Not least the client we'll call David, who decided he could do without us and saw his website slide down the rankings and his visitors all but disappear. He called us back in to help rescue the situation.

One of the things we did to help was to train his staff so they could take over some of the more time-consuming routine tasks that ultimately make all the difference, which saved him some money. That training is something we can offer you or your staff, too, if employing us seems like too much of a commitment. Then again, maybe you don't want what happened to David to happen to you.

But however you choose to do it, and although it isn't the be all and end all of online marketing, SEO is still worth doing as long as you can make it cost-effective.

Pop across to www.SEOSuffolk.co.uk and have a look. When you do make sure to claim your free (PDF) book by Jacqui, called Search Engine Optimisation.

You see - we'll even teach you for free!

Roy