We are one!

We are one!

by | Sep 22, 2020 | Marketing, PR & Comms

We are one!

Today, We Are Comma turns one! What a year it has been; great highs and occasional disappointments. Starting a business is never easy but add in a global pandemic and there have been a number of challenges to overcome. We have learnt a lot in the last 12 months. So, we thought we would have a look back and share our experience.

Seek advice

When we started We Are Comma, we knew we had ample skills and experience to provide services which other organisations needed. We have a combined more than 30 years working in marketing, design, public relations and communications. So, in many ways we were ahead of many other businesses when they start. But there is more to running a business than simply being a good professional in your field. Very quickly we had to learn how to run a business. As employees, we had whole teams specialising in business administration to rely on; we didn’t need to know about the invoicing procedure or debt collection. Previously, when our team expanded HR colleagues provided advice on finding and hiring the best candidates etc. Suddenly, all these ‘back office’ services and systems were gone and we had to figure it out for ourselves. One of our first lessons was to ask other professionals for advice. Within our first week, we met with our accountant – who was recommended to us which is always the best way to find anyone to provide a service. Our accountant is experienced, knowledgeable and – importantly for us – very patient. He has spent a long time answering our questions about the best way to structure our business, what processes and procedures we need to have in place and so on. And to manage the day to day business admin, we each took responsibility for the various ‘back office’ functions.

Choose clients carefully

When you start a business there is a temptation to grab whatever work you can; anything to have some money coming in. Obviously having money coming in is very important but so is working with the right organisations. Our experience has been that the jobs which we thought would be a quick buck are not always so. More important is to work with clients that value your work and share a similar ethos to you. We work with organisations and businesses that change lives and drive social good. We help them influence more people to bring about more good in the world. However, we have also learnt another lesson through this: beware of getting carried away. As the purpose of the organisations we work for resonates with us, we can easily find ourselves doing lots of additional work as a good will gesture. But we do have to remember that there are only so many hours in the day. And our time is much more precious now that we are wearing so many hats.

Work life balance

From the start we all said we wanted to use the opportunity to start our own business to also ensure we have the work life balance that we want. We had great visions of being able to take every Friday afternoon off to pick the kids up from school and take them out for a treat or be able to meet friends for drinks etc. The reality is very different. Yes, we have more flexibility which given the Covid-19 pandemic has been greatly needed but actually we more often have to try and be strict with ourselves so that we are not working more than we did before. When you are building a business, it’s easy to think “just another hour on this” or find yourself spending the weekends trying to manage your own marketing because during the week you’re managing client’s marketing. But this has been another benefit of working as a collective – we can support each other but also challenge one another, if we notice any one of us seems to have got their work life balance off kilter.

That’s our top three lessons from starting We Are Comma. If you’ve started your own business what lessons did you learn? If you’d like to start your own business what do you think would be the biggest challenge?

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

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How to continue marketing during coronavirus pandemic

How to continue marketing during coronavirus pandemic

by | Apr 17, 2020 | Marketing, PR & Comms, Working practice

How to continue marketing during coronavirus pandemic

The lock down has affected all our lives. Many businesses and charities are worried about the viability of their future. It can be tempting to just try and ‘hunker down’ until all this blows over but that will simply make things worse. This is the time to stay in the forefront of customers, funders and commissioners’ minds. But how do you do this when you might not be able to be in your usual workplace, with clients and products or services etc. Here’s We are Comma’s five top tips to marketing through the coronavirus pandemic. The lock down has affected all our lives. Many businesses and charities are worried about the viability of their future. It can be tempting to just try and ‘hunker down’ until all this blows over but that will simply make things worse. This is the time to stay in the forefront of customers, funders and commissioners’ minds. But how do you do this when you might not be able to be in your usual workplace, with clients and products or services etc. Here’s We are Comma’s five top tips to marketing through the coronavirus pandemic.

1. Look for new opportunities

Yes, everything is different but instead of thinking of that in negative terms, why not look for new opportunities? Some museums have been promoting their online offering to help with home-schooling. Local libraries – such as one of our clients Blackfen Community Library – have moved their usual activities online. Blackfen Community Library is continuing its rhyme time sessions online through YouTube and social media. The BBC have reported that some businesses have been crowdfunding to help them survive.

2. Try something new

Once you have identified new opportunities, try something new. Of course, it is important to make sure anything you do fits with your brand but don’t miss this opportunity to give something new a try. Concerns around those living with domestic abuse have been high during lockdown, indeed, just a week or so into being asked to stay at home Refuge said they had received a 25% increase in calls and online contact. In an inspired piece of marketing, Refuge has been promoting donations by asking people to ‘buy a gift’ for a woman (and/or child(ren)) escaping domestic abuse. These gifts are in the style of a ‘buy a donkey’ gift from Oxfam. Using online advertising has meant the charity is able to target promotion to those who have shown sympathy to this issue through their online activities. The BBC has recently reported on a new campaign to help charities plug an expected £4bn income shortfall after organised fundraising sports events such as the London Marathon have been cancelled. The 2.6 Challenge inspires people to create their own athletic activities based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and donate money.

 

An example of a social media campaign post from Refuge during the Covid-19 pandemic .

3. Stay online

This is a great time to invest in your online communities. This is not just about putting out more and more content but really engaging with your audiences online. Dig into your social media analytics, find out more about your typical and ideal customer. Enjoy geeking out!  Make sure you’re part of Facebook groups and get involved. Follow relevant influencers on Instagram or LinkedIn then make sure you comment and share interesting ideas. And don’t overthink it. Just get online and get connecting. Even what could have been a disaster is working out well online at the moment, as the Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma, US, has shown when their head of security took over the twitter feed after the museum had to close due to Covid-19.

4. Make sure your Business Continuity Plan is up to date

Hopefully you already have a business continuity plan in place. If you don’t, check out our post on what a business continuity plan is and how to write one. You’ll also find tips on making sure it is up to date and you have plans in place in case Covid-19 affects your organisation directly through illness or even sadly death.

5. Keep in touch

Whatever you do during lock down, keep in touch with your customers, with your partners, with those who fund you and those who commission you. Make sure they know what you’re up to and what your plans are for the future etc. Don’t be afraid to shout about the good things you’re doing. People want – and need – to hear positive news at the moment. One of our clients – Valicity Care Services – shared the ways they are supporting their local communities during this pandemic. Write blog posts, keep your social media up to date and send email newsletters. Just make sure when all this is over, your audiences know you are still operating and what to work with them.

 

What new ways of marketing have you boldly tried recently? What rewards have you reaped?

Use the form below to get in touch, leave a comment or email us at .

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Tips for writing better emails

Tips for writing better emails

by | Sep 25, 2019 | Marketing, PR & Comms

Tips for writing better emails

With an estimated 247 billion* emails sent daily and the average UK worker receiving at least 121** of those, improving the chance of being read is paramount. Even if those emails are required to be read, ensuring that they follow best practise can help create exactly the right impression.

Below are nine tips to help yours make the cut rather than the basket.

  • Send emails Tuesday morning (10–11 am).
  • Personalised subject line – shorter the better (many viewed on phone) – between 6–10 words.
  • Be absolutely clear and keep it short – we scan emails for detail quickly.
  • Don’t use the word “just” – it downplays the importance of the task.
  • Avoid the use of emoji’s in business emails – questions about (work) competence.
  • Email étiqueté depends on the country – eg South America like pleasantries first/Germany prefer simple and to the point. Silence or not replying is taken as a sign of respect in South East Asia.
  • If email is really short put it in the subject line and add EOM (End of Message) at the end.
  • If you don’t require a reply add NNTR (No need to reply).

The BBC recently made a short video outlining these (and other) key points.

https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/how-to-write-better-emails/p07n0xn4

*Jeremy Taylor, 20 Email Marketing Statistics for UK Businesses, constantcontact.com

**campaignmonitor.com, The Shocking Truth About How Many Emails Are Sent,  March 2019

 

Three reasons why literacy is important for your organisation

Three reasons why literacy is important for your organisation

by | Sep 5, 2019 | Copywriting, Marketing, PR & Comms

Where to turn

Today, Sunday 8 September, is International Literacy Day. The issue of literacy is a key component of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Adopted by world leaders in September 2015, the goals promote universal access to quality education and learning opportunities throughout people’s lives.

We are fortunate in this country to have free, universal education and most people leave school able to read and write. So it’s easy to think that we can all write to promote the organisations we work for. But no doubt you can think of an example of poor writing in a professional context. An apostrophe in the wrong place, a key word that’s missing or a spelling mistake. All these things make an organisation seem unprofessional and leave us wondering if they’re competent. This is why it is important to make sure your writing is professional. First impressions count.

After first impressions have been made then the next thing is to get across your message. Clear writing makes sure your readers know what you’re offering and how you can help them. While you know your organisation inside out and can probably think of a dozen ways you improve your clients’ lives, you need to take a step back when it comes to promotion. Potential clients won’t remember all 12 ways you could help them – so what’s the most important one thing for them to take away? Don’t forget your clients may not be au fait with the industry language, they may not know the hundreds of acronyms which make your working life easier, so keep language simple. You need to get your message across clearly so clients can understand how you can help them.

Once your have covered the first two points you will be on your way to winning new clients, donors or volunteers. But to really close the deal you will need to persuade them to join you and convince them of the benefit of working with you. These two really are the holy grail of good business writing. They take time to be cultivated and refined. But of course, if you don’t have time to cultivate and refine, or you want to make sure your message is simple and your writing is professional then that’s how Comma can help.