Marketing Articles

My heart raced, my mouth went dry. There, before my eyes, staring lifeless at me from the ground that I was digging, was a skull! I jumped back only to be faced with my workmen giggling nervously at a prank that they had pulled off to perfection! Suddenly, not being sure of whether I had appreciated the joke or not, their laughter was replaced by nervous smiles as they anxiously awaited my reaction.

To their relief I burst into laughter, feeling somewhat relived that the skull that I had unearthed was in fact a joke one and not the remains of a real human being. They all began to laugh again, grateful that I had a sense of humour too.

Why do I mention this incident?

In my opinion, humour plays an important part of developing good leadership skills as it helps to portray you as a human being, rather than merely being a boss.

What Is A Good Leader?

Below are 5 Tips that I feel are key to achieving good leadership skills:

1. Lead By Example

In order to earn respect from your team you will need to set a good example. This includes being punctual, being polite to others and ensuring that your own work ethic and standards are evident for others to see and to follow.

2. Care For Your Team

Take time to find out about your team’s health, family members and their interests in order for them to feel that you relate to them as individuals as well as being work colleagues. Try to find out their aspirations and goals and help to inspire them to achieve those goals by motivating them and providing coaching and training to help them to develop their skills further.

3. Be Visible

Good leadership skills and qualities involve taking time to speak to your team every day and offering praise for work carried out well. You will also need to be approachable and be a good listener as a happy workforce is a productive workforce.

4. Empower your Team

Good leadership qualities include showing confidence in the ability of the people that work for you. Take time to delegate effectively and empower your staff to be able to take on extra responsibilities that will result in you having more free time to concentrate on developing new business ideas.

5. Connect With Your Team

Try to connect with your team by showing your more “human” side. This can be achieved by enjoying social nights out such as attending a quiz night in a local pub for example. The more your team get to know you as a person, the more they will come to respect and trust you. This will result in them wanting to work harder for you which will create better results for your business.

It is important to remember that nobody is born a leader. We are all born the same, namely ignorant and afraid. It is how we choose to develop ourselves that will determine who becomes a good leader.
However, as well as acquiring the necessary leadership skills, it is important to still share a sense of humour within the workplace as this helps to create a happy, relaxed and productive workforce.

I cannot believe how much marketing has changed since I started my first bricks and mortar business more than twenty years ago. Back then, cheap marketing consisted of posting flyers through people’s doors and by word and mouth recommendations. However the way to increase sales for small businesses today is by connecting with your customers via social media sites. You can “tweet”, “shout out” or even “check in”, all of which would have been a foreign language in days gone by…But how do you make sure that your efforts pay off?

Below are some tips on how to ensure success and get more sales for your business using social networking sites.

Facebook

In order to promote your business on Facebook you will need to set up a facebook business account and profile and invite friends to your page. If you already have a personal Facebook page you can insert your website details within the “about you” section on your personal page. This will then offer a perfect way of leading your followers on to your business page.

You will then need to choose a name for your business page that will reflect your business, ensuring not to use too many generic keywords like” make money from home”. You can use the description, company overview and mission boxes to provide powerful text about your business, including relevant keywords. You will also have the opportunity to provide details about yourself within the “biography” section.

The “about you” section has a maximum of 250 characters with only the first 77 being visible to your customers so make sure that you provide your URL website details within the first 20 characters.

Other tips on ensuring success on Facebook include indexing your photographs with good keywords and to link your Facebook business page to all of your other sites including your blogs, website and other social media sites.

Facebook offers a very powerful way of marketing your business for free, especially for those with bricks and mortar businesses, as it offers a great way to increase revenue by providing details of any last minute offers or promotions that you may have e.g. a restaurant owner could offer a free glass of wine to the first 20 people to book a table that evening.
Whether you own a bricks and mortar business or an online business, the more interesting and compelling you make your content, the more people will connect with you and provide you with the all important “likes” which can prove very powerful to boost sales for your business.

Twitter

Twitter, is like a big global chat room whereby people, including celebrities, can choose who they want to chat to. You can either have a global audience or you can select a designated region.

You will need to first of all choose a twitter username which is restricted to 15 characters. Again you will need to choose a recognisable name for your business.

A tweet is restricted to 140 characters and tweets should consist of a combination of humour, compelling information and a call to action for your business.

Your success on twitter, as with all other social media sites, relies on providing consistent and good content, ideally within 5-7 tweets a day to engagre with your followers. You will need to ensure that you do not constantly try to hard sell within your tweets as people generally come on to twitter to socialise and not to buy anything.

When you do refer to your business within a tweet there is a facility to use a hash tag to highlight any keywords that you may want to use. This is particularly useful for any “shout outs” whereby you share with others information regarding any pending activities.

To ensure that you connect with your followers it is recommended that you retweet other people’s content and that you always reply to any comments that they have made regarding your tweets. This information can be viewed within the “connect” section.

Engaging with your followers on twitter will help you to build up trust with them which will then lead to them wanting to know more about you and your business and will ultimately result in you being able to make more money for your business.

Foursquare

Foursquare is a very powerful means of small business marketing, especially bricks and mortar businesses.

Foursquare is a mobile app that when you “check in” will pinpoint and detail where your “friends” are at any given time. For example if you are in a restaurant in London, other foursquare users can view on their mobile app the location that you are at. Users then download and share photographs on to Facebook or twitter e.g. a picture of an apple tart that they are eating in that restaurant and will share tips (which act like a review) about that particular business.

Small businesses often provide special promotions on foursquare in order to attract new customers as they know how powerful foursquare can be. The person who checks into a business the most achieves the prestigious position of “mayor” which attracts even more benefits. There are also numerous badges that can be achieved such as “newbie” for someone who has checked into 5 places,” adventurer” for 10 places “explorer” for 25 places and “superstar” for 50 places.

Some users use a “shout” on foursquare to gather information like whether there are any happy hours on a certain night.

Within the manager tools there is an opportunity to provide details of your website, twitter and Facebook details.

Foursquare is a popular as it offers a fun way (almost like a game), of connecting with others. It also offers local business owners a great way of promoting their business and to build their list in a less aggressive way of marketing.

Even online businesses can benefit from checking into foursquare each day as it can prove a softer way to let your followers know what you do for a living.

Pinterest

Pinterest is relatively new and is a fun way to promote your business.

Users create boards that are put into different categories e.g. social and fun or business ideas.

You can then repin an existing pin (image) on to your board or you can download a pin of your own. You then have the facility to type in some text (including your website details), relating to the pin which will then be displayed for others to view and comment on. This is a fun way to promote your business for free and to increase income at the same time.

Pinterest also allows you to sell products within your boards as well as providing good content that can be used on your Facebook and twitter accounts.

All in all, social media offers a powerful way to increase sales for your business. However in order to be successful you will need to be consistent by providing good, varied content daily,you will need to keep all of your URLs the same wherever possible and also ensure that you engage with others by always replying to comments made by your followers . Following this advice will help to ensure success and to increase profits for your business.

This article has received 3 Ducks – Gerald Duck

Everyone thought I was mad. Even my Grandmother looked up at me from her deathbed and said ”Don’t do it!” the day that I announced that I was going to leave my well paid job as a gas service engineer to start my own business.

For years I had dreamed of starting my own business and now I had taken action (and a massive loan from the bank) and opened up a convenience store and post office. I figured that people always need to eat and therefore opening a shop selling food was a guarantee for success.

Did I enjoy overnight success? NO.

The reality was that I ended up working 18 hours a day, seven days a week for 9 months, sacrificing valuable time with my young family in the process, before finally things started to improve. I went on to open another two stores and won many national competitions including an all expenses paid trip to New York sponsored by Sir Richard Branson.

I thought that I had finally cracked it. Life was good, or so I thought. Then a Superstore opened up nearby and my landlord also opened up a convenience store next door to me. Suddenly my sales dropped.

How did I survive?

I looked for new ways to make money in my stores. I added new lines and introduced more promotions and slowly my customers returned to my store and life was good again.

I then decided to embark on a new adventure-namely building my dream home. I bought a field that had planning permission and split it into five plots .I sold four of the plots almost immediately and kept a plot for myself. The revenue that I made from selling the other plots paid for the infrastructure and towards the cost of building my dream home.

As I was fortunate enough to have good staff to run my stores for me whilst I project managed the building of my house, I was able to process my paperwork from my home office. I began to enjoy not having to travel daily back and forth to my businesses and this got me thinking about working from home permanently.

Not being one to drag my feet I sold my retail stores and started my own construction and development company that I ran from home. My business specialised in buying and selling land and project managing building dream homes for others. This became a successful business very quickly and again life was good. However just at that time the recession came and the demand for wanting to buy land and build houses decreased dramatically. This was a big shock and a massive worry for me as I still had outstanding business loans to pay, staff to provide work for as well as a family to feed. I needed to act fast. I desperately needed to find a way to make more money.

I quickly diversified my business to concentrate more on smaller building works like extensions, loft conversions and conservatories. This took a little time as I needed to rebrand the company to focus more on building works. However once I had tried and tested and found the best marketing methods my company went from strength to strength.

That was until three customers in succession took advantage of my good nature and did not pay for the work that I had carried out for them, due to them running out of money. This was a very stressful time as it resulted in lengthy, costly legal proceedings to recover monies due to me which caused massive cash flow problems within my business.

This is a major downfall for many bricks and mortar businesses especially as you have to outlay lots of capital for materials and labour before you receive payment from the customer. Many businesses have then sadly gone into administration when customers have then failed to pay for the goods and services provided.

Fortunately I was able to survive but it made be re evaluate what I wanted from life.

I knew for sure that I definitely wanted to still run a business. It was what I had done successfully for over twenty years, but I began to look into other opportunities. I still wanted to run a business from home, which in effect was what I was already doing with my construction company, but without the responsibility that the bricks and mortar business provided, namely having staff to find work for and customers delaying in paying for their goods.

That’s when I began to look into opportunities for online businesses. As an established successful businessman I quickly realised that this type of business could provide me with the perfect balance that I needed in my life.

I would still be my own boss, I could still work from home but with this type of business there was a huge global audience to market to and better still they would pay for their goods in advance and the only staff I needed to recruit was my wife.

Julie, my wife had never been that active in running my bricks and mortar businesses but she was very excited about embarking on an online business together especially as this meant that she could work from home around the needs of our young children…Something that she could not have done with our bricks and mortar businesses as the working hours were dictated by customer and supplier needs.

So have I finally found the best successful business ? I will not lie, even online businesses have their trying times, especially with Google constantly changing the rules and with trying to keep up with the latest technology and marketing , but I have to say that, hand on heart ,my online business has provided my wife and I with the best work/ life balance possible. It allows us to attend every school concert and sports day and every other special family event that we would otherwise have had to miss, if we were working for someone else. It has even enabled us to be able to have a gorgeous cockapoo puppy.

However, as with any business opportunity it is very important to research and find the best online businesses available. You will need to find a product that will be easy to market and sell and if you choose to become an affiliate you will need to ensure that you choose a company that will offer the highest rewards for your effort.

You do not need to have any exceptional qualities to create a successful business. I certainly had no business experience when I started out in business, but what I had was dream and a determination to provide the best that I could for myself and my family.

Even though I earned a good salary when I worked as a gas engineer, I l knew that the lifestyle that I could create for my family was governed by the capped salary that I could earn. I knew that if I wanted to fulfil my dreams and ambitions that I needed to take action and to take risks to earn more money.

I am so glad that I took action and that I did not quit when I encountered difficulties and hardships.

Any mistakes that I made along the way were merely treated as temporary hurdles on the road to success.

After all most successful people have encountered difficulties along the way including successful entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson and Simon Cowell…So I regard myself as being in good company with mistakes that I have made.

The setbacks that I did encounter have actually helped me enormously within my online business and have enabled me to share with others the best ways to start a business. People now actually appreciate my good nature with advice that I offer them to change their lives for the better, rather than taking advantage of it, as happened with my bricks and mortar business.

To close, even though my journey from gas engineer to successful business owner has been rocky I would not change a thing, as it has ultimately led to me creating the life of my dreams.

The UK Small Business Directory has been redesigned to be less cluttered, easier to navigate and be more mobile friendly.

3rd party adverts have been reduced considerably and upgraded listings have been given more priority over free listings.

Social networking integration has been improved, with all businesses now having the option of adding their Twitter, Facebook and Google+ details to their business listings.

Prices for upgraded directory listings remain at 2010 rates with silver listings at £50 and Gold listings at £100.

Reduced rate SEO Services are also provided by the UK Small Business Directory SEO division V1 SEO

A partner program is also on the horizon which will enable anyone to earn commission on any recommendations they provide that convert to upgraded listings.

There will also be a number of free upgraded directory listings given out each month to people who post on the UK Small Business Directory Facebook Page, UK Small Business Directory Google+ Page or people who Tweet about or follows UKSBD on Twitter

Let us know what you think about the New Mobile Version of UK Small Business Directory and the comment we think is the most constructive, helpfull or nicest will receive a special upgraded listing.

Having your own website is the popular thing among brides to be today. No one wants to be without one. The problem with having your website is that it can easily eat away at your wedding budget. Some hosts charge outrageous fees and this can put a pinch on you that you were not prepared for. The focus has shifted to finding the free wedding website host and there are more of them than you might think.

You become the programmer and the site is your own design. If this is what has you in a titter then read on. This article will give you some great tips on how to create your own personal free wedding website and how to do it quickly.

The biggest thing you will have to contend with is choosing the domain name. Most couples opt to use a name that goes along with the theme of the wedding. Once you have chosen the domain name and registered it you can get down to the actual designing. A lot of free wedding planner websites use templates; these are fine if you want less control.

The less you use of the ready made wedding planner website templates the more control you have over what goes on your pages. The wedding website can be a great help to you. You can upload photos of major events, from choosing the rings to the rehearsal dinner. You can create pages that have maps and directions to the venue. This will cut down on the number of phone calls on the big day.

You can create a page that has all of the RSVP’s listed on it as they come in all you do is update it. This also saves you time, eliminating the need to answers these inquiries. You can also get advice on wedding invitations form friends and family near and far by posting your choices online and letting the people vote on them. It is the simplest way of sending your wedding invitations to all your guests and get the response from them with additional information like number of adults, children, food habits, drinker, smoker etc. With these details and the positive response you can get an idea about the guest count thereby plan the catering and other works accordingly. At last you can send a thank you note to your guests with just a single click with the wedding planner app.

These are all things you can do at iWedPlanner.com. This is a free wedding planner website that not only allows you to create your own wedding page and gives you ideas for planning a great wedding it is also the place to get the wedding app for iPad, iPhone and Android. These apps for mobile devices allow you to access your website and much, much more. Learn more about the value of using wedding planning apps for iPhone and iWedPlanner by following the link below.

If you are starting out in business and want to create sales on a shoestring budget, online social networking sites are the cheapest way to start selling your products.

There are many different social media sites available that offer the chance to market for free. The top social networking sites include:

FaceBook

FaceBook was started by Mark Zuckenberg and some of his college roommates and was originally limited to fellow Harvard students only. It then extended to include other universities and high school students before finally being available to anyone aged 13 or over.

Face book now has more than 845 million active users…That is a huge potential audience to market to for FREE.

The important thing to remember when using any social media sites is to build up a relationship with your followers before trying to promote your products or business. That way you will build up that all important trust with them that will then lead to them wanting to know more about what you do and will eventually result in sales.

Firstly you will need to set up a face book account and your profile. Then add at least 50 friends and join two face book groups. You will need to continue to add friends and join new groups on a regular basis and contribute quality content that will help you to connect with others. One way to do this is by commenting on your friend’s postings, photographs and activities. You will also have the opportunity to link to your blogs and websites at the same time which will help to promote your business or brand.

Social media is all about being social and building up relationships.

Twitter

Twitter was created by Jack Dorsey and is a free social networking and micro blogging service that allows users to send and read messages known as tweets.

You can send tweets to your subscribers known as followers. The message is in the form of a text and has a restriction of 140 characters.
Make sure that you keep your tweets interesting and informative in order to create interest so that people will want to find out more about you.

Again it is important not to try to hard sell at the beginning as people will want to get to know and trust you before they will commit to buying products from you.

Blogging

A blog (which is made up from the words weblog) is a very powerful way to promote your business or product for free. A social media blog is a website that has regular entries or commentaries. Some can be personal in the form of diary entries whereas others can be on a particular subject like owning your own business etc.

One important aspect of a blog is making sure to provide the reader with the opportunity to leave comments in an interactive format.

You will need to set up your first blog, complete your profile and insert your domain URL. In an ideal world you would add content every day to your blog but in more realistic terms you will need to provide good quality content at least twice a week.

Squidoo

Squidoo is a website that allows users (known as lens masters) to create pages (known as lenses) on a given subject. Squidoo is in the top 500 most visited websites in the world and therefore is another powerful way to market your business for free.

Lenses are like a blog post except they are on a single subject. They will also allow you to earn revenue from referral links to sites like Amazon and E bay.

There are lenses on 22 different topics. Squidoo also has a unique payment scheme that donates

5% to charity 50% to lens masters and 45% to squidoo.

You can create unlimited lenses and you will need to add at least one lens per month.

Forum Marketing

Forum marketing is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to establish yourself on line.

Again it is a way of making those all important connections on line. Even though you cannot promote your business or direct sell any of your products on the forums, if you offer constructive and useful advice, then people will perceive you to be an expert on a subject and will hopefully want to find out more about you.

To get the best from forum marketing you will need to join at least three forums and be consistent in writing new threads or replying to current threads.

Linked in

Linkedin can be a very powerful way of promoting yourself on line. It is a good site to join as members generally have money to spend with average earnings being $100 dollars a year. Creating a good profile is a must in order to promote yourself to potential purchasers or to attract joint ventures to your business.

Linked in generally only allows you to invite a friend if you know their e mail. However if you type in LION (linked in open networker) after your name and e mail address then others can invite you to network with them
You will need to join 10-15 groups in your niche. Even though linked in isn’t as powerful as face book, it nevertheless is a useful one to join as it can attract a more targeted audience, especially if you are selling a higher cost item.

To close, If you own a business social networking can offer a powerful way of promoting yourself and your business for free through building relationships and trust with potential customers.

However with this line of marketing it is crucial to be consistent and to post entries daily to create interest and momentum.

Many online opportunities offer products that are already a strong brand. Marketing these products will be easier as these opportunities will provide in depth coaching on the best tried and tested methods of selling products to the masses even when you have a shoestring budget. Some will also offer high commissions to you for selling these products.

Whatever business you choose to start it is important to have a strong sales strategy which will need to include marketing using the top social networking sites as online social networking is one of the most effective ways to create sales for your business.

This article has received 3 Ducks – Gerald Duck

Many people sadly have negative perceptions about network marketing businesses. Some, wrongly pre-judge without knowing what network marketing actually is, often wrongly connecting them with unethical companies and schemes of the past such as pyramid schemes.

However, the truth is that a network marketing business is a legitimate business model that involves a company selling products or services through a network of independent distributors rather than using wholesalers and retail stores.

A successful network marketing individual needs to have high quality products that are in big demand and sell them for a fair price.

So what makes this form of business different from any other online business?

The main difference is that this online business opportunity offers a better way to make money on line as there are no limits to how much money you can be paid or earn within what is referred to as a compensation plan.

The compensation plan (or leverage as it is also referred to as) is money that you get paid for sales made by others as well as yourself. Not only can you earn a residual income from sales that you keep making yourself over and over again, but you can also make money from people who have bought items from you. These people are referred to in network marketing as your “down line”. They buy a product from you and they then go on to sell the same products online which you will be paid a commission for. If they then sell the products to other people who also go on to sell to others, they will then become your “Second down line” and you will also earn a commission from their sales. Not bad for doing nothing!

Indeed some of the most recognised companies such as Avon actually use the same system to sell their products. However as with any other online business opportunity, it is important to choose the best network marketing opportunity available as the compensation plans vary greatly from one opportunity to another varying from a few dollars/pounds per sale to thousands.

Therefore in this type of business the more people that you recruit into your business to sell on your behalf, the less you will have to work and the more income you will create for yourself. Whereas if you were working for an employer ,you would only be paid a one off wage increase for any promotion. You would not go onto make money for sales made by your staff. Therefore network marketing really is a great way to make money on a long term basis.

Whether there is a global economic downturn or strong economic growth, people will always be looking for a supplemental income.

Network marketing businesses offer individuals the opportunity to make extra money, with many going on to create a successful home business that can be run from home.
When Money Magazine conducted a poll 64% of men and 68% of women surveyed said that they would choose more time off rather than have more money. Network marketing offers both, namely extra income and more freedom of time.
After all, how many businesses offer the opportunity to not only make an income from your own sales but also from the sales of others?

You are about to embark on a new adventure to work from home and you are very excited at the prospect but in order to ensure the success of any work from home opportunities it is crucial to carefully plan your home office.

Whatever home based employment you are considering, whether it is to work from home for your current employer, starting an online business or merely to earn some extra cash, you will needl to take several factors into account to ensure that it is a success.

Location

Always make sure that you take time to find the best location for your work from home office. Avoid any distractions by setting up your office in the quietest part of the home like a spare bedroom or even a garden shed. Many companies now specialise in installing home offices in your garden complete with double glazing and secure locking doors. Try to ensure that you have a nice view of your surrounding as opposed to a gloomy outlook.

If you are going to carry out any structural alterations to your property to accommodate your work from home office it is advisable to check with your local planning office to determine whether you will need planning permission.

Make a checklist to determine how many power points are needed for your office equipment. It is surprising how many you will need when you take into account your computer, printer, phone, scanner, mobile charger, fax machine and answer phone.

Avoid extension leads as they could lead to overload and become a fire risk.

An all in one modern power box and cable saver that conceals all cables and wires is a better option.

Choose the best furniture

Try to purchase a large desk in order to have plenty of workspace and to avoid clutter and a comfortable chair to avoid any backache.

Being comfortable in your work place will help you to be more productive and achieve better results.
Shop around for the best deals for your office equipment. Many online companies now offer excellent deals which will help to reduce your start up costs.

Also try to refrain from having a television in the room as this can become a distraction and reduce productivity.

Wherever practical try to stick to regular working hours in order to enjoy a healthy work/life balance. There will be times when you may have to work an occasional evening or an early morning but try not to make these occasions the norm. Staying focused and disciplined are crucial to the success of any home based jobs.

Check your mortgage/rent and insurance details

Before considering any work at home business be careful that you check your mortgage provider or tenancy agreements as some do not allow you to run a business from home.

Also you will need to check whether you will need separate insurance for your computer and office equipment.

Keep your neighbours informed

It may be wise to discuss any plans that you have for any home based work with your neighbours especially if your work will involve clients or staff calling to your property and needing to use parking space. It is far better to reassure them before embarking on any homeworking opportunities than them being annoyed at a later stage that they have not been consulted.

Claim money back

When you start your working from home business you may be able to claim a tax relief for any areas of the house that are used exclusively for your business. You may also be able to claim VAT back for any purchases that you have made for your business like I.T equipment or office furniture.
To close choosing the best location and setting for your home office is important for any home workers whether in a business capacity or if you are merely looking for any ways to make extra money from home… so be sure to choose wisely.

You are about to embark on a new adventure to work from home and you are very excited at the prospect but in order to ensure the success of any work from home opportunities it is crucial to carefully plan your home office.
Whatever home based employment you are considering, whether it is to work from home for your current employer, starting an online business or merely to earn some extra cash, you will needl to take several factors into account to ensure that it is a success.
Location
Always make sure that you take time to find the best location for your work from home office. Avoid any distractions by setting up your office in the quietest part of the home like a spare bedroom or even a garden shed. Many companies now specialise in installing home offices in your garden complete with double glazing and secure locking doors. Try to ensure that you have a nice view of your surrounding as opposed to a gloomy outlook.
If you are going to carry out any structural alterations to your property to accommodate your work from home office it is advisable to check with your local planning office to determine whether you will need planning permission.
Make a checklist to determine how many power points are needed for your office equipment. It is surprising how many you will need when you take into account your computer, printer, phone, scanner, mobile charger, fax machine and answer phone.
Avoid extension leads as they could lead to overload and become a fire risk.
An all in one modern power box and cable saver that conceals all cables and wires is a better option.
Choose the best furniture
Try to purchase a large desk in order to have plenty of workspace and to avoid clutter and a comfortable chair to avoid any backache.
Being comfortable in your work place will help you to be more productive and achieve better results.
Shop around for the best deals for your office equipment. Many online companies now offer excellent deals which will help to reduce your start up costs.
Also try to refrain from having a television in the room as this can become a distraction and reduce productivity.
Wherever practical try to stick to regular working hours in order to enjoy a healthy work/life balance. There will be times when you may have to work an occasional evening or an early morning but try not to make these occasions the norm. Staying focused and disciplined are crucial to the success of any home based jobs.
Check your mortgage/rent and insurance details
Before considering any work at home business be careful that you check your mortgage provider or tenancy agreements as some do not allow you to run a business from home.
Also you will need to check whether you will need separate insurance for your computer and office equipment.
Keep your neighbours informed
It may be wise to discuss any plans that you have for any home based work with your neighbours especially if your work will involve clients or staff calling to your property and needing to use parking space. It is far better to reassure them before embarking on any homeworking opportunities than them being annoyed at a later stage that they have not been consulted.

Claim money back
When you start your working from home business you may be able to claim a tax relief for any areas of the house that are used exclusively for your business. You may also be able to claim VAT back for any purchases that you have made for your business like I.T equipment or office furniture.
To close choosing the best location and setting for your home office is important for any home workers whether in a business capacity or if you are merely looking for any ways to make extra money from home… so be sure to choose wisely.

You are about to embark on a new adventure to work from home and you are very excited at the prospect but in order to ensure the success of any work from home opportunities it is crucial to carefully plan your home office.
Whatever home based employment you are considering, whether it is to work from home for your current employer, starting an online business or merely to earn some extra cash, you will needl to take several factors into account to ensure that it is a success.
Location
Always make sure that you take time to find the best location for your work from home office. Avoid any distractions by setting up your office in the quietest part of the home like a spare bedroom or even a garden shed. Many companies now specialise in installing home offices in your garden complete with double glazing and secure locking doors. Try to ensure that you have a nice view of your surrounding as opposed to a gloomy outlook.
If you are going to carry out any structural alterations to your property to accommodate your work from home office it is advisable to check with your local planning office to determine whether you will need planning permission.
Make a checklist to determine how many power points are needed for your office equipment. It is surprising how many you will need when you take into account your computer, printer, phone, scanner, mobile charger, fax machine and answer phone.
Avoid extension leads as they could lead to overload and become a fire risk.
An all in one modern power box and cable saver that conceals all cables and wires is a better option.
Choose the best furniture
Try to purchase a large desk in order to have plenty of workspace and to avoid clutter and a comfortable chair to avoid any backache.
Being comfortable in your work place will help you to be more productive and achieve better results.
Shop around for the best deals for your office equipment. Many online companies now offer excellent deals which will help to reduce your start up costs.
Also try to refrain from having a television in the room as this can become a distraction and reduce productivity.
Wherever practical try to stick to regular working hours in order to enjoy a healthy work/life balance. There will be times when you may have to work an occasional evening or an early morning but try not to make these occasions the norm. Staying focused and disciplined are crucial to the success of any home based jobs.
Check your mortgage/rent and insurance details
Before considering any work at home business be careful that you check your mortgage provider or tenancy agreements as some do not allow you to run a business from home.
Also you will need to check whether you will need separate insurance for your computer and office equipment.
Keep your neighbours informed
It may be wise to discuss any plans that you have for any home based work with your neighbours especially if your work will involve clients or staff calling to your property and needing to use parking space. It is far better to reassure them before embarking on any homeworking opportunities than them being annoyed at a later stage that they have not been consulted.

Claim money back
When you start your working from home business you may be able to claim a tax relief for any areas of the house that are used exclusively for your business. You may also be able to claim VAT back for any purchases that you have made for your business like I.T equipment or office furniture.
To close choosing the best location and setting for your home office is important for any home workers whether in a business capacity or if you are merely looking for any ways to make extra money from home… so be sure to choose wisely.

Your website needs a video but you can’t afford to pay for a professional production. Perhaps you could shoot your own video. But are you sure you will save money? By the time you’ve costed in your time and the time of your colleagues you may well end up spending more than you would have done had you used a video production company. But if you are determined to do it yourself (and there may be many good reasons why you need to) then here are a few helpful tips.

Planning

Start by asking yourself some questions: Why do you need a video? What do you want it to achieve? What problem is it trying to solve? Will the audience need to see it (like an induction or training video) or must it grab their attention and keep them watching? How long should it be? Then you need to map out the content, a simple story board might be helpful but just headings will probably do. The important thing is to think through the whole project before you start. If you are asking colleagues to appear in the video will they look natural? Very few people can talk to a camera without looking stiff and ‘wooden’. And if they are going to try to read from a cue sheet next to the camera (or even an Autocue), they will need to be very talented indeed to pull it off. A much safer approach is to ask questions, off camera, without giving your subjects any notice. That way they won’t have time to become nervous and when people talk ‘ad lib’ they are usually much more believable than when they have ‘learned their lines’. The camera is a very effective lie detector. Remember those awful party political broadcasts? And politicians are good at lying!

Video camera

Not long ago there was a big difference between a professional video camera and a domestic one. The technical quality of the consumer camera was vastly inferior to the professional version, which only a trained professional would have the skill and knowledge to use. That is probably still true of the the high end pro cameras like the Arri Alexa and the Red but there are dozens of pro and semi-pro cameras which are sufficiently “user friendly” for any competent amateur to master. And even the true consumer cameras deliver picture quality which is more than adequate for many corporate purposes, especially if YouTube is the intended means of distribution.

Then there is the DSLR stills camera. This can produce excellent picture quality with the “feature film” look created by its small depth of focus. But there are often problems: no proper sound, short recording times, all manner of artefacts that have been sorted out in “real” video cameras. However, the DSLR might be an option, particularly if sync sound is not required.

So what are the minimum requirements for the camera you will use?

1 It should be capable of operating in manual mode for focus, white balance and exposure. The auto function will be fine in most situations but you need to be able to override it if necessary.

2. It must have a good colour viewfinder (either flip out or eyepiece ) so you can properly monitor what you are recording.

3. It must have at least one external mic. socket, unless you are using a separate audio recorder.

4. Whether it is a tapeless camera (using SD cards or similar) or a tape format make sure it is compatible with whatever editing system you are going to use.

All semi-professional video cameras come with a zoom lens. This is useful for framing the shot but beware the temptation to zoom while shooting. A professional cameraman will rarely zoom during a shot (except for a particular effect) and nothing singles out the amateur more than the giddy in-out motion of an over used zoom. The same applies to pans. Panning with a moving object is fine (if done smoothly) but panning across a landscape requires skill if it is to be pleasing. Better to stick to a series of well framed static shots with the camera mounted on a tripod. Hand held shots should be confined to wide angle (fully zoomed out) use when filming people who are moving about or when it is impossible to get a tripod into the right position. Don’t try to hand-hold a camera when zoomed in unless you have a very steady grip or can brace the camera against something. The steady-shot feature of modern cameras is useful but not invincible.

Sound

If your corporate video includes someone talking and you want to hear what they’re saying, you will need a separate microphone. Most built in camera mics are good for sound effects and someone talking within 18 inches of the lens but for anything else one or more plug in microphones will be needed. The simplest type is a clip on tie mic. but a reporters’ hand mic might be appropriate or even a highly directional boom mike (the type with the hairy coat) but these need very careful placement to get the best results. The camera you are using should have two XLR mic. inputs (this is standard on most prosumer cameras of the type you will probably need to hire) so you will be able to use up to two microphones without requiring a mixer. These can be hired along with the camera and the type you hire will depend on what you are going to film. For most purposes the auto level setting will work well but the camera’s audio levels may first need to be adjusted for the output of the mic. you are using. You should also check that each channel is set to record in mono (not 1 – 2, which puts the sound from channel 1 onto 2 as well). All these settings will be found in the camera’s menu and once set up and tested should not give any trouble. It is important to monitor the sound through headphones but simple iPhone type earpieces will do. A common error is not to switch the audio input from internal (the built in mic.) to external. You carefully plug in an external mic but use the camera mic by mistake!

Lighting

Cameras are so sensitive now it is usually quality of light, not quantity you should be concerned about. Probably the best advice is  to use available light.  A white reflector  (a piece of polystyrene, or large white card) can be very useful to fill in shadows. If your subject is sitting near a window you may need to fill in the dark side of their face with the reflector. Often ceiling lighting can result in dark eye sockets and a reflector held below and just out of view can make a big difference. Do check the lighting in the viewfinder and make sure the colour balance looks right, too. Auto colour balance will usually be ok but it can be thrown by a stray light source. Similarly, auto exposure might be ok, especially if you are moving about a lot, but beware of bright objects upsetting the exposure – check the viewfinder. (If the viewfinder is adjustable for brightness and contrast make sure those are set to normal first.)

Editing

There are many excellent editing systems available for home computers today, (Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premier are good examples), with features and a picture quality level unthinkable a few years ago. To master their full potential will require hours of practice but beware: just because an editing system can achieve amazing effects doesn’t mean you should use them in your production. The neatest way to get from one shot to another is a cut, with a simple dissolve as an alternative if the cut jars for some reason. Resist using special effects and transitions unless they particularly suit the subject matter. Too many effects and your program may end up looking amateurish. The same applies to titling and captions. Your editing system will probably offer you dozens of fonts, colours, animations, etc. but a simple non-serif font in white will probably work best.

I hope this has given a few pointers to help make your production a success. If you decide it’s not for you there are plenty of video production companies in your area who can help you out.

Author: Chris Pettit – writing on behalf of Just Film video production company.

This article has received 4 Ducks – Gerald Duck