And whining isn’t attractive in grown-ups.

With that in mind, I’ve started a routine for myself to carve out time and (more importantly perhaps) the energy, to help me to create regular content for this blog.

Short version: I’m allocating 1 hour a day to content marketing. I’m doing it in the morning, straight after some meditation, and I allocate about an hour of my day. More crucially, perhaps, I’m accepting no excuses from my employee (that would be me), that I’m too busy, too tired, or too uninspired to spend that time on content marketing.

If you prefer the long version, keep reading.

Meditation

Yes, I know. How very hippy.

I’m not doing a whole heap of meditating – I allocate 2 ten minute blocks a day (morning and afternoon), to create some quiet time in my brain. Sometimes all I manage to achieve is not falling asleep, other times I realise after 10 minutes that all I’ve done is listen my inner monologue. Occasionally, however, I do get a sense of relaxation and quiet space.

Whether I’m doing it right or not, and whether it’s technically meditation or not, it certainly refreshes me and gives me  some clear head space time for the hour or so afterwards. And that’s the time I’m putting aside for content creation. An hour an day, every day, using my meditated brain.

I meditate on my breath, because I once read a book about it, and that’s what works for me. Lots of people I know swear by meditation apps, and I have some friends who spend years doing (and loving) Transcendental Meditation.

It doesn’t really matter what approach you take, but it’s worth giving it try. At the very least, you’re allocating some guilt-free quiet time to yourself each day. Your business will thank you.

Mindfulness

Yup, getting more firmly on the hippy train.

I’m trying to practice  mindfulness in all aspects of my life – although I have to admit to days (and even weeks), when I forget that this is what I’m trying to do. Obviously, I’ve got some work to do, but the only way to get better is to keep practicing.

The huge positives with practicing mindfulness is that you feel present in your own life (even if only for short bursts). When it’s going well, I fully work in the time I allocate as work time, and I fully unwind in the time I allocate as down time.

In relation to my content marketing plan, I try to be fully present when I’m working on a blog post, or graphics for my business, and to be as efficient as I can. Once I’ve ticked off that task for the day, I can then move on in my head.

Routine

It’s taken me a decade or two to work this out, but it turns out I’m most productive first thing in the morning.

I try to sit down and do those things that I know I’d rather put off, first thing in the morning. I have lots more energy and enthusiasm in the hours before lunch, and so find it easier to ignore the little voices telling me to put it off till later.

Client work will always get done, and I never miss a deadline. And so I reserve the right to work late into the night on those projects, if that’s how my day pans out. By ticking off the ‘don’t wanna’ tasks first thing in the day, it also helps to quieten down the guilt-gremlin that loves to chatter away when I succeed in talking myself out of doing something I’d rather not be doing.

My suggestion would be to work out the time of day that you are most productive. It might be a few hours after you wake up, it might be the dark hours when everyone else is asleep. The point is, reserve some of that best time for your business.

Time allocation

I’ve flirted with using the Pomodoro technique, off and on for a while now. In essence, you allocated 25 minute slots to your tasks, with a 5 minute break after each slot.

There is more to it, but I’ve decided not to get too bogged down in slavishly following the technique itself, while still managing to embrace the spirit.

The trick, I’m finding, is to do something away from the computer during the 5 minute break (i.e. not checking Facebook). It gives my eyes a break, but more importantly perhaps, becomes a proper break. I usually do some stretching, make a cup of tea or – excitingly – do some laundry (I know, I know, it’s hard not to envy this lifestyle).

My content marketing plan uses up 2 of those slots a day, so basically about an hour.

Do you have a plan or routine in place to help you with your content marketing? More importantly – does it work?

The post 4 steps to help with your content marketing routine appeared first on Two10 Solutions.

I figured another article about networking or content marketing or SEO & Google should probably not be the focus here.

I run a creative business, so I wanted to come up with some marketing ideas that have a bit more zing. Some of them I already do, and others I have decided to implement myself, as a result of my own research, cause they just sound so good!

A strategic partnership with a charity

Working with a charity provides more benefits than just building up good karma points. Using your skills or talents to help a charitable cause connects you with new people, and done properly, will provide mutual benefit for both businesses (because yes, charities are still businesses).

If you’re a fledging serviced-based entrepreneur, doing discounted or pro-bono work for charities can help you to develop your portfolio. However, giving away your newfound skills isn’t necessarily as easy as it sounds. A charity may run on a tight budget, but they still need to partner up with competent service providers. Treat it as you would any new opportunity and don’t promise anything that you can’t deliver.

If you’re more established, your business could have an annual allocation of charitable work – set number of project hours, or an allocation of your stock to give away. There may be benefits in partnering with just 1 charity, or you could spread your allocation across a number of smaller ones. Think strategically about which approach may work best for your type of business.

You could do seasonal or long-term campaigns, with a certain percentage of sales going to the charity of your choice. It’s in your interest, and the interest of the charity to spread the word about the campaign. They’ll effectively help run your marketing campaign. Your business gets more attention, in the process converting more sales, and as a result money is raised for the charity. Win-win, right there!

What about us? Well, yes, thanks for asking, we do have a cause we like to support! We currently work with DCH Animal Adoptions, and in 2012 created a coffee table book of rescue animals – we did all the photography, writing and design. This year, we are working on their calendar, and it’s not very far away from print.

Think outside the box with branded material

Over the years I’ve worked with a number of agencies, and they excel at creative branded marketing material – especially over the Christmas period. Companies I’ve worked for have received branded wrapping paper (subtle branding obviously, no-one wants to wrap their presents in paper covered in someone’s logo), scrabble letters spelling out my name, beautifully designed desk calendars.

My point is, that branded products can be a fabulous way to share your business. To make it memorable rather than tacky, you need to be a bit creative in your approach.

If part of your service is providing digital files to a client, why not deliver them on a branded USB stick. Chances are they’ll reuse it, or have it lying around in a visible place, serving as a reminder of your business. I’ve done this to deliver files to clients, and it always gets a great response.

When you go to networking events or other client meetings, along with your business card, you could give away a small gift. Be creative around this and come up with ideas that are relevant to your target industry. Giving someone you’ve just met a pen  is probably a bit of a naff idea. But what if you had something that was more of a conversation starter?  Branded teabags anyone?

Position yourself as an expert

Blogging, guest blogging, social media. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we are all well aware by now that engaging in these activities are pretty much the bare minimum in marketing for small business.

What about  other avenues that are a bit more ‘traditional’? How about finding ways to get your business featured in print media, or other journalistic contexts?

Source Bottle connects journalists with ‘Sources’ (that would be you!). Every day calls-outs appear on the website – and in your inbox if you sign up. If you’re a fitness trainer, for example, there may be a call-out from a journalist writing a story about your industry. It’s a golden opportunity for you to showcase your expertise and get some free publicity.

Another angle is investing in the services of a PR company. They will help you with drafting press releases, introduce you to media contacts, and sniff out media and publicity opportunities for your business. You may only want to explore this route if you’re not the shrinking violet type. PR people will try to get you not only in print, but also on radio and even on TV. That could be kind of awesome though, right?

Get your samples into goodie bags

If you’ve followed through on the idea to get some branded material created, or have some samples of the product you sell, how else can you get them out there? Apart from personally putting them in someone else’s hands.

Source bottle (again!)

You need to be logged in to see what’s on offer, but I did a quick check today and here are a few quick links:

• Cool items for gift bags
• Feature your product in the “Out & About” products guide seen by 50,000+ mums
• Reach 200 Melbourne Cup socialisers 30+ years of age

That’s just a really quick selection from their site, there are loads of opportunities there!

Goodie bags at networking events

Are you going to any networking events? Or do you have a regular group that meets. There’s nothing to say that you can’t be the one to organise a goodie bag for an event you’re attending. It might take a bit more work to organise, but you would reap some extra benefits too. By reaching out to other small businesses to contribute, you’ll be making and cementing your contacts. You’ll also see what others are providing – extra ideas for your own marketing fodder.

By including other businesses, you’ll have a bigger reach. Part of the deal can be that enough samples are provided to create a specific number of goodie bags, that you all then distribute through your own networks.

As with any marketing, make sure it’s relevant to your business and industry. There’s no point targeting the wrong market – it’ll just be a waste  of your precious marketing budget and resources.

The post 4 creative marketing ideas for small business appeared first on Two10 Solutions.

For many people, coming up with their new business idea is the easy bit. Finding the perfect business name can be a little more tricky.

Use some creative thinking, and apply some of these techniques, and you should end up with a nice big pool of names to pick and choose from. Domain name availability will probably have the biggest impact on your decision,  but at least by doing this exercise you should end up with a number of workable alternatives.

Brainstorm all of the words!

This exercise doesn’t need to take long, but just make sure it’s focused. Set aside some time, grab some paper and pens (or your laptop) and  clear some mental space.

Take that blank piece of paper, and write down the product or service you will be offering at the top of the page. Then, start writing down all the words and ideas you associate with your product or service. Don’t stop to think, or to edit, just keep getting those words down.

Working example:

I want to start up a business as a holistic nutrionist. On my piece of paper, I write the following words:

Nutrition, holistic, health, wellbeing, food, delicious food, healthy food, etc…..

When you run out of ideas, grab a thesaurus (or go online, let’s be realistic here) and keep adding to the list. Let your creative brain just dump out everything it can, later you’ll go back to sift through the rubble.

Continuing our example, after some time with the thesaurus, I added the following words to my list:

Diet, nourishment, rations, snack, victuals, sustenance, alternative, therapy, healthful, wellness, physical wellbeing, prime, robust,  clean bill, euphoria, vigor etc…

Write yourself a mission statement

Don’t start getting self conscious now! No-one ever has to see these words and sentences (unless you choose to share them).

So, next step: write a mission statement. Not too much thinking, just write down a few sentences about how you visualise your business and what you want to achieve.

Working example:

As a nutritionist, my mission would be to provide healthy diet and lifestyle alternatives for my clients. I want to clearly demonstrate the benefits of choosing the right food for a healthy and happier outlook on life. I want to be seen as knowledgeable, caring and competent.

Read over your mission statement, and add the relevant keywords that jump out onto your list. (That list must be getting pretty big by now!)

Go back to your thesaurus again, and keep adding to the new words. Remember, keep an eye out for words that are striking, maybe a bit different (but not so different that they obscure your message), or that hit you in the gut as having some sort of potential.

This stage of the exercise is all about giving free rein to your creative instincts, so if a word jumps out and grabs you, grab it back and chuck it in your list.

Creative word combinations to find the perfect business name

Time for a break. Take a breath. Chances are you’ve got a mini-mountain of business-related keywords staring back at you. What’s next?

Go make yourself a cup of tea or coffee. Let your brain do some percolating below the surface. However, if ideas do start jumping into your mind, jot them down – no use letting them go to waste!

Sitting back down with your long list of words, start looking to see if you can combine any of them together. Keep an eye out for common sayings, alliteration (words beginning with the same letter or sound), words that rhyme, or words that contradict each other.

Now’s a good time to let your logical brain back in on the action. Don’t get too carried away with the rhymes or the poetics if they don’t actually reflect back to your core business. Keep going back to your product or service written at the top of the page. Also refer back to the mission statement you wrote – it may be clunky, but it will probably be honest.

Some examples from my pretend session:

Happy, Healthful & Holistic,  Prime Wellness, Caring Nutrition, Clean Outlook

These aren’t necessarily the perfect name yet, but there are definitely some with potential. Remember, I only did the exercise as a theoretical one, your results will be even better!

What not to do when choosing a business name

Try not to make your business name difficult to spell or pronounce. Avoid using negative sounding words.

You don’t necessarily need to find a name that encompasses EVERYTHING you do or offer – your business is going to grow and evolve, so don’t get too bogged down in a name that’s too literal.

Try not to pick  a very generic name – inject your personality into the process.

When you come up with a winner (or 2, or 3!) don’t commit straight away. The first thing you really need to do is check if the domain is available. This step may see you returning back to the drawing board over and over.

Tips on choosing your domain name

If you are looking for a region specific domain (.com.au or .co.uk) and that is available but the .com version is not, you need to think about your position in your specific market. If you know that you are only going to be targeting your region, then there’s a good chance that you don’t need to worry about your ‘competitor’ in the US.

With our nutritionist example, the target market is going to be local to her, so a competitor in the US is not likely to impact too much on her marketing strategies. If your business is going to be run more online, then not owning all domain names could be a problem.

If the name you pick is good across all domain name regions, snap them all up! It’s easy enough to redirect the extras to your main site, and at least you can’t be held hostage in the future if someone buys the domain and you want it.

The post Brainstorm the Perfect Business Name appeared first on Two10 Solutions.

Making the decision to set up small business, or even to become a sole trader, is a huge step in your life. Most small business owners will have had to generate funds by borrowing from friends and family, saving extensively for a while, or by taking out a start-up loan. So you’ll want to make sure your venture is successful and generates a nice profit so that you can clear your debts and move things onward and upwards.

Here are my top tips to help with small business marketing to your potential customers:

1. Identify your customer base

2. Look professional

3. Attend exhibitions

4. Communicate with your customers

5. Measure everything

The post 5 B2C Ideas For Small Business Marketing appeared first on Two10 Solutions.

Just think. All that lovely content that belongs to you. If only there were an easy way to make it work a bit harder. Right?

Introducing Slideshare

There’s a not-so-secret internet place called Slideshare, where PowerPoint presentations go to hang out. In an trendy buzz-word kind of way, it has been referred to around the place as the “You Tube of PowerPoint”. Now, doesn’t that phrase alone just pique your interest?

Maybe you’ve heard of it before, but discounted it as a place where slide decks go to retire. And yes, there is an awful lot of context-less material floating around. But there is also a whole heap of potential lurking just under the surface. And that potential is what we’re going to explore.

Repurpose your content

That’s right. Turn your blog post, or your Tweets, or your Facebook updates into a slideshow. It’s that easy (OK, it’s not that easy). You will need to think about the design, about your message, about what you’re trying to say. But you’re starting with something you already have, and so a big chunk of the work is done.

Once it’s uploaded onto Slideshare, your content gets a second lease of life and becomes a new part of your small business marketing strategy.

What are the advantages?

• The Slideshare community is a new audience for your area of expertise
• You can embed and share your presentations via your blog, website or social media
• You can create a presentation to build brand awareness – explain what you do in a clear, unambiguous way
• Embed calls to action on the slides
• Visual content is increasingly becoming a key part of SEO strategies
• In a increasingly competitive SEO marketplace, this is a relatively new and untapped resource to mine

We think that final point is the most exciting one. How often do you get to jump on a bandwagon nice and early?

We also have a SlideShare page which you could follow, as we will start loading our content up there as we make it available.

The post Can Slideshare help your small business marketing strategy? appeared first on Two10 Solutions.