Complaints - A Cause for Concern or Simply Inevitable?

We have automated messaging set up on most of our Twitter accounts, so that new followers get a brief DM about Cinnamon Edge and an invitation to call us. We use Social Oomph which is a free service and it seems that recently some of our long-term followers have been getting the message at random, and sometimes twice.

We've had one complaint about it (out of several thousand followers across all our accounts) but I investigated anyway and saw that the messages have been sent to some people who shouldn't have received them. As a result, I turned off the automated 'Welcome DM' on that account.

Then I stopped to think. The only reasons for us as a marketing company to stop communicating are if it either costs more than it returns directly, or if it indirectly harms the business by damaging our reputation in some way. Of course, a complaint on Twitter is fairly public, so it has to be taken seriously, but one complainant in about five thousand followers is hardly statistically significant.

I can imagine, I think, what top copywriter Jon McCulloch might say about this - if nobody's complaining you're not trying hard enough. He doesn't do Twitter but he does advocate emailing your list every day and asserts once again in today's email that no one who's followed his advice about that has failed to make more sales and profit. Some people hate daily emails, it's true, and will unsubscribe, but more people become customers than would otherwise do so and if you're in business you presumably want to sell something...

Keep communicating. As it happens, I don't think we get a measurable return from our welcome DM so it will be no great loss if we stop it altogether, but not just because one person complained about getting the same message twice in three days (and three times in six months).

Meanwhile, we plan to step up our email marketing. I'll let you know how that goes!

Roy

Keep Calm and Stop Spinning

Do you ever get that feeling that whatever you do you should probably be doing something else? That there aren't enough hours in the day and however hard you try, nothing gets done? That you're going round in circles and getting nowhere?

It's usually down to stress, and it's a killer for you and your business. And it usually has less to do with how much you have to do than with how little success you're having from doing it. If you feel you're stressed about a lack of customers, or the customers who are late paying you (again), you're actually stressed about a lack of income. And the way out of that isn't found by running round in circles or getting angry with the late payers or reluctant buyers (although you should have a system to pursue late payers).

No, the answer to a lack of customers is better marketing, starting with assessing what you're doing now.

But what if you're too stressed to see that clearly, too?

Well, the answer to that is to have someone objective and relatively uninterested do it for you. Someone who will listen calmly, see clearly and advise objectively. And preferably someone that can get done what you're not getting done however hard you try, which is where we came in.

And it's where Cinnamon Edge's marketing expertise comes in. If you can stop spinning just long enough to pick up the phone or shoot us an email, call 01284 767193 or email info@cinnamonedge.co.uk.

Or you can find us on Twitter @CinnamonEdge or Facebook www.facebook.com/CinnamonEdge. Choose whichever is easiest and least stressful for you, because we're here to take that stress away, not add to it.

Roy

Our New Publishing Website

A quick note today to tell you about the new website for Cinnamon Edge Publishing.

We'll probably keep the publications page on the main website as well, but all our writing, editing, reviewing and publishing services will be decribed on the new site, as well as a list of publications with links to the relevant pages (on Amazon, Bookboon or wherever).

Not all the books we publish are written by us, so maybe your book can be added to our list, too!

Roy

Bargain-Price Business Book Blitz

Jacqui has been busy updating the Cinnamon Edge website to list all the books we've published in the last few weeks. That includes all our business books, on Kindle and Bookboon, and two volumes of my poetry - plus our first by Alain Godard, about how to use online dating.

Our Kindle books have multiple 5-star reviews and Bookboon were very pleased with the two they commissioned from us. We've had very good sales on Amazon.com and in the UK and we've even sold a few in Germany and France.

All the books are available via the special page on our site, at http://www.cinnamonedge.co.uk/publications and you'll be able to read the reviews when you view the Amazon listings.

If nothing else you should download the two free Bookboon books!

Roy

Saturday - A Good Day for Business

Local businesses will get a timely boost on Saturday when we give away seven of the eight books we've published this year! The other one will cost you less than a pound - but only for one day, Saturday 11 Feb. Here's our news release explaining everything:

Although our part of the country has fared better than most regions during the recession, there are still a lot of anxious business owners who will be grateful for some free help to alleviate their business worries.

That’s why local marketing firm Cinnamon Edge has pulled out all the stops and published not one, but eight business books online in the last few weeks – and why they’re making most of them available for free this Saturday.

The books cover business topics ranging from basic search engine optimisation for your website, to email marketing, how to start a small practice from scratch and even how to run workshops and seminars. All the books have been written by Cinnamon Edge partners Jacqui Carrel and Roy Everitt.

“The books are available from our website now,” says Roy, “and they’re not expensive anyway, but we decided we can reach more people by making them free for a day.”

Only the seminar and workshops one won’t be free – but it will cost less than a pound!

Six of the books are available via Amazon for Kindle (and you don’t even need a Kindle to read them, just a free app that you download easily for your computer or tablet). The other two books are PDFs published by Bookboon, who specialise in free ebooks for businesses and professionals. These can be read on any computer.

You can find links and descriptions for all the books on a special page on Cinnamon Edge’s website, at http://www.CinnamonEdge.co.uk/publications

Remember, they’ll only be free for a day!

Roy adds, “I hope people will take full advantage of the chance to download our books while they can.”

With experts telling us the economy is likely to be sluggish for some time, anything that can help a business do better while saving them money has to be a good idea.

 We're hoping the local press will pick up on our offer and spread the word, but feel free to pass it on yourself - there's a Tweet button on the right of this page!

Roy

Really Simple SEO for Business Owners

Our latest book has just been published on Amazon and this one carries my name, so I'm very happy to announce the launch today of Really Simple SEO for Business Owners.

 

In the book you will learn about the techniques I used to get SEO Suffolk onto page one for at least four major keywords in less than a week. Those are the same methods we've used to help Flatpack Assembly Suffolk to multiple listings on page one and it's a major factor in helping The Foot Care Centre Kings Lynn and the College of Foot Care Professionals to dominate the search results in their markets.

You might be wondering how that could be "really simple", but you won't know until you read the seven powerful steps in the book!

Really Simple SEO for Business Owners is a short book that costs less than £2 and you don't even need a Kindle to read it - download the free app and read it on your PC or iPad.

After the launch yesterday of How to Become a Foot Care Professional we were thrilled to see it's already a best seller in its category. We're obviously doing something right, which is why you should think of us if you're planning a book of your own. We can help you write, edit, format and publish it. In fact, we could even do all of that for you. Visit the Cinnamon Edge website to see more about our witing and publishing services .


Roy

SEO-Suffolk.co.uk

Rather than desecrate the Cinnamon Edge blog with the little poem I used at the Stowmarket Chamber meeting this morning to introduce our dedicated SEO service for Suffolk, I thought I'd better post it under my own name...

It's called SEO-Suffolk.co.uk

There once was a business near here
that wanted its site to appear
on Google's first page,
it was taking an age:
"It will never appear" was the fear...

To Cinnamon Edge for a chat.
(You don't pay a penny for that.)
Some testing, some tweaking,
brought what they were seeking:
Google's top page - just like that!

Remember the website - you heard it today:
SEO-Suffolk dot co dot uk

I was also very pleased to be able to tell everyone that the website is on page one of Google in less than a week!

Roy

Happy New Year - Take 2!

So, did you jump out of bed on 2nd or 3rd of January and launch the new year with a spring in your step and a song in your heart? Is your business now humming with activity and the balance sheet swelling with new customers' money?

Did you set your automated marketing system to 'maximum' and start to reap the benefits within days?

Are you snowed under with work and filling your coffers while your customers are bursting to pay you more?

Thought not.

The new year is supposed to be a time for fresh starts and refocused efforts. Unfortunately, customers have hangovers, too. They didn't jump out of their beds on the 2nd January eager to find new things to buy and desperate to give you their money. Apart from the excitement of the January Sales (which probably started in December), spending money is not high on most people's "to do" lists at this time of year.

But a sluggish market is no excuse for not trying. In fact, it's a signal that you need to try harder - history shows us time and again that companies who continue marketing in a slump are more likely to survive and even thrive. So, if you don't have a marketing plan in place or you haven't quite found the impetus to get started yet in 2012...

... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Time to get up and get going!

Naturally, Cinnamon Edge are eager to help with your marketing so your business can thrive in 2012. In fact, we're all fired up and ready to go!


Roy

Moving Quickly On...

Hello again

We've just moved house (at rather short notice, hence the headline) which means, since we work from home, that we've also moved office.

Our new address is:

2 Chichester Close
Bury St Edmunds
IP33 2LZ

And our new phone number: 01284 767193.


After such a quick move there was a lot of sorting out and decluttering to do. We have to thank Mark Byford and Gary Spencer of Crack on!! who supplied the van and heavy lifting on the day (seven trips!) and so it was easy to decide where all our surplus stuff would go. Mark has already been back twice with the Crack on!! van to collect for their new warehouse/shop in Thetford. 

But we (that's Cinnamon Edge) are back into the swing of things, we've almost stopped tripping over boxes, and we're ready to help you with your business' marketing just as soon as you want to call the new number!

That's 01284 767 193.

Roy

We've Always Been in the 'Offline Niche'

Hello again.

If you have a business of any kind at all the chances are you have been contacted a lot recently by ‘marketing consultants’ or 'online marketing experts’ offering to help you update your marketing, save on your advertising and market your business more effectively online.

These people are mainly Internet marketers looking to employ their skills and knowledge to help you and your business – and most of them are totally genuine.

However, an awful lot of Internet marketers are moving to what has become known as the ‘offline niche’ (that’s businesses like yours) because making money online is not quite as easy as they were led to believe. It’s certainly not as easy as it used to be. They've been led to believe that life is easier in the offline world and they've probably bought information products telling them exactly how easy it is...

Not that that’s your problem, of course – until you start being pestered by ‘offline marketers’ you’ve never heard of and barraged with emails and phone calls you didn’t want.

As I say, most of these people are totally genuine. Some of them could actually help your business. A few of them have real-world experience, too.

But most of them are primarily Internet marketers and most of the help they can give your business comes with the assumption that Internet marketing, websites and emails are the best thing for your business – before they even know what your business is about.

At Cinnamon Edge, however, we’ve always been in the ‘offline niche’ – or ‘business marketing and promotion’ as we prefer to call it. We’ve always worked with ‘offline’ businesses (businesses not unlike yours) and we’ve always asked questions first before we offered any suggestions or advice, let alone offered our services.

That’s why, if your business needs better marketing or promotion, or you just want to find out if it could, Cinnamon Edge is the place to come first.

Yes, we do build websites, do search engine optimisation (SEO), write web copy and conduct email marketing campaigns and write newsletters, articles and online news releases, build links, create videos and optimise your Google Places page. We’ll even run your social media campaigns for you – but ONLY if any of those are actually going to help your business.

We also write press ads and printed articles, brochure copy and press releases – in fact, whatever your business needs to do or needs to do better.  

But first, we find out exactly what you do need – just as we always have.

Roy

PS. There ARE people out there who can help you - especially if the ones who have had real world experience or the kind of training that teaches them everything that really could help your business.

Very soon I'll tell you how you can tell the difference between them and the rest!

Meanwhile, you're safe with marketing help from Cinnamon Edge.

PPS. We also run training courses and workshops, as well as in house training.

Flatpack Furniture Assembly in Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk

Hello again.

A new business has just started up in Bury St Edmunds to offer a service that many people have been asking for - always a good basis for a business - and that's putting together flat pack furniture, equipment and even garden buildings (sheds, greenhouses, etc).

Some people find the assembly instructions for flat packed products incomplete, confusing or intimidating while others just don't have the time, confidence or inclination to assemble flatpack items like wardrobes, chests of draws or garden sheds.

That means there should be a real demand for a service that takes away all these worries and time pressures.

The professional assembly services offered by Flatpack Assembly Suffolk also mean a guaranteed result, usually in less time and with no skinned knuckles, strained muscles or worse. For a modest hourly rate you can have your flat packed item fully assembled for you in your own home or garden.

The end result for all their customers is a flatpack item that now looks exactly like it did in the showroom or the catalogue. The company also offers their services to businesses in the Bury St Edmunds area.

Cinnamon Edge have helped Flatpack Assembly Suffolk with their online marketing for the Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk area they serve. So far, we've put together two websites (a temporary site and now the 'real' one), a Facebook Page and a Twitter account, a Google Places page and several directory listings, with more to come.

The word is spreading and Flatpack Assembly Suffolk already has multiple listings on the first three pages of Google.

More important to the company, though, will be multiple bookings for flatpack assembly services in Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk!

Roy

Why Running a Business Without Marketing is Like Riding Without Lights

You might know I'm quite a keen cyclist as well as a marketing consultant and trainer for local businesses, and it occured to me this morning  that running a business without effective marketing is like riding a bike without lights:

You know you’re there and your fellow cyclists might know you're there – but there’s a real risk you’ll get mown down by a driver who ‘just didn’t see you’.
 
Hopefully, your business' lack of visibility won’t be so disastrous, but it could still be fatal if your potential customers just don't see you.

This means you don’t just need to be visible: you need to be highly visible, day-glo visible, even fluorescent clothes with flashing lights visible. Lycra is optional.

Then at least everyone, including your potential customers, can see you. Whether they’ll appreciate your fashion sense or not, at least they won’t be able to say they didn’t know you were there!

Roy 

PS. Give your business the florescent lycra with flashing lights visibility it needs with Cinnamon Edge.

Here's What That Looks Like

I talked a bit about 'online domination' a while back. You might have followed links to Cinnamon Edge to see what online domination looks like, but in case you didn't, here it is:

Look closely and you'll see how we managed to dominate Google's first page for 'search engine domination workshop' - very handy to show the delegates at our Search Engine Domination Workshop a day later!

Roy

Are Cinnamon Edge as Hot as All That?

A news release published on the Cinnamon Edge Blog last week certainly praised their Content Creation Workshop, and enthusiasm and excitement in the post-event 'high' was palpable.

But how unbiased can a news release be? Obviously, the company who promoted and ran the event are going to say it went well, so maybe it's time for some honest reviews from people who've attended, not just the charity event (this one was for St Nicholas Hospice Care), where there's likely to be some 'feel-good' involved, but also other workshops, talks and training given by Cinnamon Edge.

Well, now you can see those reviews, too. Cinnamon Edge have posted a host of reviews of recent and not so recent events, on their website for everyone to see.

So, if you're considering attending a Cinnamon Edge event (or a 'Fifty Quid Challenge' one for the hospice) or you want to hire Cinnamon Edge for your in-house marketing training, go across to their website and read what other people have to say about their work so far. 


Roy

Find Anything with Everything

Have you ever lost a file on your computer or had a document you were working on disappear the next time you tried to open it? I have, and I was close to tearing my hair out!

Well, here's a quick link to a useful tool that helps you find missing files on your computer by name, in seconds.

I was alerted to this one when I couldn't find some documents that I'd opened directly from an email but neglected to rename and save properly to a known destination. Although the documents should have been there somewhere, I couldn't find them, even using advanced search on Windows Explorer.

I downloaded and ran this program in no more than a minute or two, entered the file name and up popped the missing Word doc in the blink of an eye.

The tool is called 'Everything' and it's available as a free download from Void Tools at http://www.voidtools.com

I have it on my desktop and I have had cause to use it since that first time, so I suggest you download it now, before you lose this blog post!

Please tweet this post and share it on Facebook, as well - your friends will love you even more than they do now :-)

'Everything' has saved me many hours of work and even what's left of my hair!

Roy

It ALL Comes Down to Leadership

There are a lot of disgruntled people around today: disappointed with their results, disappointed with their leaders and fearful for the future.

Some of them blame the cuts, some blame the delivery of services and some blame the messenger.

Others have vowed to fight on, while a few have probably decided to call it a day.

You, however, are still here, fighting for what you believe in and struggling with all your might to keep the promises you made when you started out.

That's what leadership comes down to.

And that's the way of it in business (and politics, for that matter): factors outside your control affect you just as personally as the things within it; other people's actions get blamed on you and your business is affected by the performance of your competitors.

That's why it's important to be au fait with latest developments and up to date with the options available to your business, starting with the things that have the maximum positive effect for the minimum initial outlay.

That means starting with search engine marketing: the art of using Google, Bing, Yahoo and the rest to give you access to the biggest market for your products and services for the lowest cost yet - in fact, mostly free!

So it's not too late - you can still vote YES for your business, and you can do it today by choosing to join us in Bury St Edmunds on May 11th for our one day workshop on Search Engine Marketing.

At this small workshop you will get, not just the broad brush 'this should work' approach thata you might hear from experts and pundits elsewhere. Instead, you'll get specific and detailed advice to help YOUR business serve YOUR customers in YOUR market against YOUR competition.

In other words, it's your day to vote YES for your business.

See more details and book your place at http://semworkshop.eventbrite.com and learn more about all Cinnamon Edge's business workshops on the Cinnamon Edge website.

Call us today on 01284 753 912 to ask about special deals for sole traders and discounts for multiple tickets - we especially recommend you combine this event with our Search Engine Domination Workshop on June 9th.

We'll be in touch to ask you for your specific questions and challenges so we can give you the best possible deal on the day and the best possible results for your business.

Join us in voting YES for your business!

Roy

Decision Time!

Whether or not you bother to vote today, and whichever way you cast your vote(s), I hope you'll always vote FOR your business.

If you do, you know that voting YES for your business means investing time, effort and cash, in varying proportions. Usually, the more time you put in the less cash you need to invest.

And usually, the more time someone else gives to your business the more cash it costs you.

We like to break the mould sometimes, which is why a whole day of our time, worth umpteen thousands of pounds to your business, will cost you less than £150.

All we ask is that you invest a day, too, and join us at our all-day workshop to learn everything you need to know about search engine marketing. Pound for pound (and hour for hour) SEM is the best investment you can make in your business.

That's why we think this is the easiest voting decision you will make today. The vote FOR your business.

Go to http://semworkshop.eventbrite.com for more information and to vote YES or call us at 01284 753912 to discuss our special deals and discounts for multiple events.

Best wishes, and remember to vote YES for your business today!

Roy

New Google Places Workshop - 2nd Chance!

See what Ruth Brady, Bury St Edmunds Chamber of Commerce manager, had to say about our Google Places Changes Workshop:

"Jacqui and Roy achieved the impossible at the Google Changes workshop. They helped me understand and be more confident of using the power of Google. Another great marketing tool for our organisation! More please!" - Ruth Brady, Bury St Edmunds Chamber of Commerce, Bury St Edmunds

Here's what a couple of other delegates had to say:

"Interesting, practical, useful and relevant. Time well spent and good value for money. Just what I expected from Jacqui and Roy." - Roger Young, Guildhall Financial Services, Bury St Edmunds

"Cinnamon Edge gave a great basic understanding of Google Places. For anyone who is scared of putting the company on Google, this is a must visit event." - Tim Newton, Atkinson Bolton, Newmarket

So, how would you like the multi-billion pound resources of Google to be working for your business - even if you don't have a website?

BOOK YOUR PLACE at The New Google Places Workshop at http://newgoogleplaces.eventbrite.com/.

(If you're a sole trader, look at the PS at the end of this post!)

How about if the mighty Google gave you a page of your own and a treasured top spot on page one of their results, and

• put your business on the map
• displayed all your contact details and a full description of your business
• showed off your latest offers
• showcased your products, your staff or your premises - or all three with up to ten images
• allowed you to share up to five videos
• displayed your opening hours, payment terms and product range
• told people about the area you cover or the distance you will travel
• showed people your shop front to help them find you
• even allowed customers to find you using mobile devices like an iPhone or Blackberry

...all at no cost to you and entirely under your control?

When we held our Google Places Workshop on 11th February, several people said they they couldn't make it on that day. Which is great news for you because it means we'll be running it a second time - and adding even more brand-new updated content, tricks and tips - and a sneaky look at what's next for Google Places.

You can book your place for 31st March at http://newgoogleplaces.eventbrite.com/

Roy Everitt and Jacqui Carrel

Experts at marketing and online marketing in Bury St Edmunds.

Launching The Fifty Quid Challenge

Hello again

The Towergate Accumulator Challenge, in aid of St Nicholas Hospice Care, launches this Thursday, 10th June, and your business can benefit, starting right away.

You can learn more about St Nicholas Hospice Care and how you can help them AND help your business at the same time, on the new blog at http://thefiftyquidchallenge.blogspot.com/.

There you'll see a video that includes Jacqui squaring up to one of our worthy opponents in the challenge - to raise as much money as possible, starting with a £50 investment.

To be brief, we jumped at the opportunity to take part by doing what we do best - promoting your business - and our contribution is to be centred around a dedicated website we've created at http://www.thefiftyquidchallenge.co.uk/

But go to the blog first to see an explanation of what you can gain by supporting our campaign, dubbed The Fifty Quid Challenge. Then open your wallet or your cheque book and watch as everyone benefits.

We'd like to win the challenge but it's the taking part that counts, and the more wholeheartedly we all take part the more people St Nicholas Hospice Care can help.

Roy

Moving Home

No, I won't be calling my Solicitors in Bury St Edmunds, because for now it's just this blog that's moving home, to a new address on Blogger, at http://royeverittdotcom.blogspot.com.

Just before I lock the doors, though, I wanted to tell you about another new website we've created for Bury St Edmunds online marketing customers. The new site is for dentists in Bury St Edmunds and it's at http://www.dentistburystedmunds.co.uk.

You'll see it includes a YouTube video, and that's something else we're able to help our online marketing clients with.

Videos can sell your product or service, brand your company, tell your story or explain how to use your product safely. You can also entertain, inform and educate, and whatever you do can increase traffic to your website and boost your search engine rankings.

Visit our main website, email me at roy@royeveritt.com, message me here or write to us at:

Cinnamon Edge
9 Westgate Street
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1QR

Speak soon!

Roy