School’s Out: Tips for Self-employed Parents

One of the best parts of being a self-employed parent is having greater flexibility for family time. One of the hardest is scheduling childcare, particularly when workloads can vary drastically from week to week.

This can make the school summer holidays tricky time for the self-employed. Those eight am networking meetings that are so handy when the school breakfast club is running are out the window during holidays. As is pretty much any daytime work more challenging than a few emails or social media posts.

But don’t worry, we’ve brought four North Wales businesswomen who are their own bosses as well as mums together to share their tips for being self-employed in the school holidays:

Nicola Moore, Director of marketing and communications company MarketMoore, said:

“I’ve found that I don’t need to work as much as I think if I get organised and plan my time – this is key! It’s amazing how much you can achieve if you put your mind to it.  I switch off my emails and social media to limit the distractions and only check these once I have finished my list.  By following this plan, it allows me to spend time with my daughter every day.

“I also make sure that I contact all of my clients well in advance to let them know of my plans.  I’ve found that as long as you are open and honest and have set realistic expectations then they are more than happy to work with you on timescales.  After all, they too take time off over the summer holidays.

“It’s important to remind ourselves why we chose self-employment in the first place and for me one of the main reasons was so that I can spend more time with my daughter – whilst she still wants to know me and before I become the highly embarrassing mum. So don’t feel guilty; enjoy it and have a great summer making memories!”

Sheena Corry, Owner at The Forge, Corwen, added:

“Summer holidays are our busiest time of year at The Forge as we welcome families from all over the country to our glamping site. This obviously also coincides with the school holidays for my two daughters, aged six and four. As my husband and I are both integral to the running of our business and because we live on site, balancing childcare arrangements can be tricky, to say the least!

“Luckily our children are very sociable and don’t mind mucking in with changing sheets and getting involved with meeting and greeting our guests. They are also more than happy to show our younger glampers around the site, sharing all the secret den spots and best locations to find different wildlife.

“But of course, there is a lot of work that is not really conducive to having two little ones running around – our bush craft experiences for example introduce fire lighting and knife skills! There is also a lot of office work behind the scenes to keep the bookings coming in and I also work three days a week in HR for a global management consultancy.

“To try to find a balance we put the girls into holiday club two days a week and call upon the grandparents for a day or so a week to help out. I think it’s fair to say that it is a balancing act that we are constantly adjusting as we go – no two weeks are ever the same, especially when you get thrown unexpected curve balls like a rogue tummy bug, a car breaking down or glamping guests who run out of logs, just as you’ve managed to get the kids to sleep!”

Anna Burke, Director at Animated Technologies, said:

“I have two boys aged four and two and I work three days a week in the office. It’s a juggling act and I find it difficult to switch from mum mode to work mode.

“If I didn’t have my phone I would be really stuck. My main tips are:

• always make sure your phone is charged so when you do get 30 minutes ‘spare’ then you can flag what needs to be flagged to deal with later.
• make sure you have Wi-Fi or data on your phone for uploading to social media.
• when the kids get a natural low in the afternoon it’s usually cartoon or film time. Sit down with them and catch up on stuff on your phone.

Laura Edwards, Director, Datgan PR, added:

“I take advantage of my children’s much-needed lazy mornings or afternoons. They’re tired after a long term and just want to lounge in their pyjamas and watch a bit of telly. So let them. Take the time to schedule some meetings, send some emails or catch up with some admin. I either let them have a lazy morning and take them out for the afternoon or tire them out in the morning somewhere and then do a couple of hours on the computer after getting back.

“I use evenings to apply for tenders, write blogs, catch up on emails. On days where multitasking is essential there are things you can do while you’re at the park with them like scheduling meetings from your phone, but compartmentalising works well for me. A day for the kids is a day for the kids, and I block book a day or afternoon of meetings for when the kids have a party or play date.

“My most important tip is just don’t worry. Use your smartphone, read your emails, stay up to date on social media and just add anything that needs looking into further onto a master to do list. The list may seem dauntingly long, but August is a quiet business month anyway, so you’ll soon zip through that list come September. Enjoy it. They’re only young once.”

How to Write a Press Release

A press release is a presentation of facts designed to convince the media to cover your story. A traditional public relations method, it’s still very effective in building your profile and establishing you as a trusted authority in your field. If people have been reading about you in their local newspaper or your trade publication or website they will be more impressed by you and familiar with you than if they’ve only seen your advert.

But how do you go about it? In last month’s blog I explain what you should think about before you start to write. If you’ve done that and now know who you are writing for and what your angle is, then let’s get cracking.

Headline and intro

Pinpoint what the story you want to get across is and think about how you would explain it to a friend. You need to answer the what, who, when, how and why of your story. You need to put the crux of the whole story into one punchy, brief nutshell of a first sentence.

If you are struggling with the punchy bit, or encapsulating the gist of the story, I recommend writing the whole release then going back to craft your introduction and headline.

Expansion

The next few paragraphs develop the story by expanding the information, adding more details until the what, who, when, how and why is answered. Get all the crucial facts as high up the release as you can. This means that if your story needs to be cut down it can be done easily without losing any integral parts.

Quotes

Use lively and positive quotes from yourself or someone else relevant to the story to add colour. This is a golden opportunity for you to get extra information into the story as the journalist cannot change the quotes. So don’t waste them retelling something you have already mentioned.

Details

Journalists like details so include information such as where the people featured in the release live, their ages, and anything else of interest. When talking about your company don’t forget to briefly say where it is based and explain what it does.

Rules

Write ‘press release’ and the date at the top with an eye-catching, engaging title just beneath. You should write about 400 words and put ENDS at the end of the release. If your release is longer than a page put M/F (for more follows) at the bottom of the first page. Any photo captions, photo call invitations, and, above all, contact details go below ‘ends’ in a ‘notes to editors’ section.

Photography

If your story is publicising an event, include a photo call to photographers in the notes to editors with the time, date and location. Include a mobile contact in case the photographer can’t attend at that time and might want to set something up. For the same reason have your own photographer on stand-by in case the photographer doesn’t make it.

If you have a photograph that you own the copyright for that would accompany the release well, do send it. A good photograph will increase the chance of the story securing a prominent position in a publication or website.

Before you send

It is important when writing a press release not to assume any prior or specialist knowledge in the reader. If you’re commenting on a news story or local or industry development you must recap what this is in case the reader hasn’t heard of it. You must also avoid technical terms in favour of layman’s language. As a final check read the release through and pretend you know nothing about your subject or get someone else to read it for you. When reading you shouldn’t find any questions that aren’t explained, any incomplete facts, or any spelling or grammar errors.

If you’re happy you’ve done all this, you’re ready to send! My blog Dos and Don’ts When Sending a Press Release might help with the next step.

Datgan’s press releases are mostly published verbatim, so it might be quicker and easier for you to outsource.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Things to Think About Before Writing a Press Release

I’ve already shared my Dos and Don’ts When Sending a Press Release, now I’m going to let you in on even more insider knowledge in the first of a series of blogs on this rather hefty topic. This blog covers things to think about before writing a press release, a companion guide to June’s blog: How to Write a Press Release.

What and who?

Before you start writing, think about what the story you want to get across is, and who your target readers are.

While all positive publicity is good, seeing a press release through its writing, placement and monitoring takes time – so think about who your target market is and prioritise. Write for your target market first and if you have more time you can always target other markets later.

For some publications, for example Saga, the magazine for the over 50s, the demographic of its readership is obvious. For others this information may be available on its website or by asking for a media pack.

Read the publications you’ve identified

Read the titles you want to be featured in to learn their house styles and individual reporters’ interests and contact details. Research national and trade titles online. Take note of deadlines.

What’s your story?

Don’t just write a press release because business is slow and you want some general coverage. Decide in advance on your story.

How strong the story needs to be depends on the publication. For a local newspaper if you live or work in their catchment area and you are doing something interesting, that is usually enough. A business opening, tick. A successful apprenticeship scheme, tick. Staff doing a parachute jump, tick.

For a regional or national business section or trade publication it needs to be bigger – taking on a significant number of new staff, reaching an important milestone, doing something innovative, offering useful advice to other businesses, commenting as an expert on a topical and relevant issue.

What’s your angle?

Find your angle. In a simple story, there will be one obvious angle. If you have a lot of information to get across or there are a few things happening, think about what is most newsworthy and start with that.

A picture tells a thousand words

It’s always good to supply a high-quality photo to accompany your press release, as it increases the chances of your piece securing a prominent place in your target publication.

If your story is about something that has already happened, send a good photo of the event with your release. If the release is not time sensitive, pay a photographer or get a creative on your staff to take an interesting, good quality photo to accompany it.

If you do all this groundwork you’ll be ready to get stuck in to writing, so please come back in June for How to Write a Press Release.

How to Create Content Even When You’ve No Ideas

To get the most out of your website and your social media marketing, you need to be sharing valuable and engaging content regularly. But how do you come up with content when the ideas just aren’t flowing? Here are four top tips:

Write about what you know

One of the hurdles of marketing your business to get over can be the inner critic telling you that no one is interested, or that you’re teaching grandma to suck eggs. But not everyone has your skills, experience and knowledge, and even if some do they will value your take on a subject they’re also interested in. So share and shine!

Planning ahead really helps

Time is in short supply, but setting some aside to plan your next month’s content can be so useful. It forces you to find something to say when you thought you had nothing. If you prepare as much as you can in advance and schedule accompanying social media posts, you can be raising your profile even while you’re run off your feet elsewhere. Like a squirrel storing nuts, when the Christmas season is in full flow you’ll be glad you wrote that blog on decorating on a budget in August.

The calendar is your friend

There are seasonal events and awareness campaigns that you can join in with as an opportunity to share some of your content. Not every event will be relevant to your business but there will be plenty that are. For instance a vet may share tips on soothing your pet on Bonfire Night, a decorator or florist can write a blog for Tree Dressing Day, an office may want to share why they’re taking part in Movember, and any self-employed parent can share advice on juggling the summer holidays with business. This is a really useful website for helping you plan your content, but don’t forget the seasonal events that everyone knows about, like Easter and August bank holiday.

Collaborate

When you really don’t have an idea or really don’t have time, why not offer one of your partners or associates a guest slot on your blog and ask for one in return? Doing this will expand your audience and strengthen your networks, as well as directing new traffic to your site.

And there we have it, four top tips for creating content…now get writing!

Datgan can provide you with weekly, fortnightly or monthly content depending on your needs. Get in touch to find out more.

 

 

Top Six Tips for Talking to Journalists

As a business owner you may have a piece of news you want to share with the media – from an event to winning an award, to sponsoring a school trip. If you’re nervous about approaching the press, here are my top five tips to help you:

1. Journalists are just real people

Never feel intimidated by talking to journalists. Despite what you may have heard, they’re just real people! Their job is to write stories, so they will be happy enough to talk to you. However, bear in mind:

2. Journalists are busy, overworked people

So be respectful of their deadlines and pick a good time to call – unless you have a real scoop for them. If their newspaper comes out daily in the morning, then first thing in the morning is furthest away from their deadline. If their newspaper is published every Thursday, then steer clear of Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings.

Also have a clear idea of what you want to say before you call and make sure you have all the information you need to hand.

3. Take their advice and guidance

Essentially if you’re trying to get coverage for your business through the editorial pages rather than paying for the advertising pages, you need to have a news angle. If the journalist is telling you that what you’re trying to push is an advert and not a story, but they’re kind enough to say that something else you mentioned would make a story – then go with it. They are the professionals, if they say there really is no story then it’s time to call in Datgan, not to get shirty. Which brings me to…

4. Be polite

Newspapers are private businesses not public services and journalists are professionals, not public servants. Obvious, right? You’d think so, but you’d be surprised how many business owners phoned me up during my career as a reporter making rude demands for coverage. Treat the journalist like you’d treat any other business contact. Maybe even read a few of their pieces first and tell them which one you particularly enjoyed. A good relationship with a reporter can be invaluable to your business.

5. Don’t be too relaxed

It’s fantastic if you develop a good relationship with the reporter, but remember some key principles. Use positive language, don’t be drawn into commenting on anything controversial, and if you don’t want something attributed to you, then you must state that it is off the record before you say it.

6. Follow up

If you’ve had a successful interview with a journalist, or sent them a press release they expressed an interest in, keep an eye out for its publication. If it’s not in after a week, ring to politely ask why. It may be there has been a busy news period, staff illness, any number of reasons. Keep in touch politely until the piece is featured, and it doesn’t hurt to phone or email the reporter afterwards to say thanks for the piece.

There we have it, six top tips for talking to journalists. If you still don’t think pitching to the media is for you, Datgan can do it for you. Clients always say I am approachable and easy to talk to, so what are you waiting for?

Five Reasons Why Your Business Needs PR

If you’re a small business or start-up you may think that PR is only for big companies. If you do believe PR might be useful to you, you may think it’s too expensive.

But you know who your customers and target customers are, and you know you have to get word out to them. But how? This is where I argue that PR gives you a much better value return on your money than advertising.

With advertising you can blow your budget in one fell swoop. If you’re advertising an event or a one-off offer you might get the result you want, but it may not have any lasting effects.

With PR, your budget can be spent on a mix of PR tools including press releases, community events, social media and digital marketing tailored especially to best reach your target market.

Think about it as a consumer: if you’re thinking of buying something expensive, an advert might bring a product to your attention, but a favourable review or article is what helps you to make up your mind.

PR gets you genuine press or online coverage which holds more sway than an advert. Articles, blogs and reviews are seen as a third party endorsement, while everyone knows an advert has been paid for – if they even look at it.

Each bit of good PR is keeping your name on people’s lips and building up your reputation.

Here are just five reasons why you need PR:

1. Blowing your own trumpet.

If you don’t, no one else will.

Single mum gone from living on benefits to giving your family a great life through your business with hard work and a great idea? Share that! Helping young people with an apprenticeship scheme? Tell everyone! Stocking only Fair Trade products? Show off that you care!

 

2. Taking control of your own story.

Tell people what you want to tell and how you want to tell it. The very act of thinking about your story and your PR strategy ensures you plan ahead. This means you’re well placed to make the most of all opportunities. If there’s a positive story to tell, tell it.

 

3. Raising your profile/Building brand awareness

Letting people know you’re there and keeping up a regular flow of communication keeps your name out there and over time builds trust, good relationships and good reputations.

 

4. Establishing yourself as an expert

Appearing in print media regularly, writing blogs and guest blogs, offering to answer readers’ questions in a local newspaper or online chat all help to position you as a leader in your field, and to customers as someone whose products/services are of a high standard.

 

5. Reputation/crisis management

Sometimes you need PR to handle a negative situation, be it a bad online review to a fire at your factory. Having someone on your side who can handle the media, knows what to say and what not to say can be invaluable.

 

Ready to take the plunge? Call Laura Edwards on 01352 754011 07958 716489 or email laura@datgan.co.uk to discuss a PR plan to suit your budget.

Have you planned your Christmas PR strategy?

If you’ve been to a supermarket recently you may well have huffed and puffed at the prominent displays of Christmas chocolate tins and cracker selections. “It’s only blooming October!” you may have grumpily mumbled under your breath at hearing Last Christmas piped through the speakers.

But retailers have to start planning for Christmas if they want to see a jump in their like-for-like sales in the run up to the big day.

Christmas also offers a golden opportunity for PR. As a former journalist, I know how quiet it can be for reporters in the Christmas period. Just like August, it is often a time where everyone is taking their foot off the pedal work-wise and enjoying time with their families. In other words, not a lot is happening.

Perfect timing for a PR person to come along with some lovely stories to help fill those pages!

If you’ve made your Christmas business plans and have any events to promote or cover, now is the time to plan your Christmas PR strategy.

Even if you think you’ve got nothing happening, Christmas is a great chance to write an article based around what you do. For instance, if you’re in counselling you could create an article giving advice on getting on with your relatives over Christmas. A children’s entertainer could offer tips and tricks on keeping the children amused.

Datgan is just bursting with ideas so please, let’s work together now to get your Christmas campaign ready. That way, when December comes you’ll be free to get on with what you need to do while we secure you some fantastic seasonal media coverage.