I’m EE!
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ENGAGE ...FOR SUCCESS
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Marketing Without Spending Money: Facebook
Marketing Without Spending Money: Facebook Make Twitter Work For You For Free!
How To Set Up A Budget Maximise Your Next Design Project
Logo Showcase And Business Profile Express Your Brief Through Vision Boards
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How To Set Up A Budget
2 Invoicing OCTOBER 2014
Onwards and upwards….. Well it’s officially the start of silly season with the drizzly rain and all those Christmas decorations creeping into the shops but don’t worry there is good news! I attended the QES results last week (2nd October). It’s a quarterly survey organised by the Chamber of Commerce for business owners like me and you. I’m pleased to share with you that 44% of Birmingham business owners have reported an increase in their sales (whoop). I can also say that Birmingham’s GVA showed an output increase of over 1 billion pounds! (double whoop). However according to the same businesses we are experiencing a shortage of skilled staff and although 60% of businesses had tried to recruit many reported difficulties for their sector. So what can we do to help? Maybe we could start passing over more responsibility to our staff? It’s been suggested this skills gap could be reduced by building confidence and offering support so that our team members go out to work feeling valued and energised every day. This positivity can only have a beneficial impact, can’t it? We want to hear what your doing and what ideas you have. Join in the conversation @KJDesignLtd. Thanks for reading and feel free to tweet us with any questions!
Kim ENGAGE...For success magazine is published by:
Kimberley-Jane Design Ltd 36/37 George St Birmingham, B3 1QA Tel: 0121 448 4776 Publisher & Editor Kimberley Leary kj@kimberley-janedesign.co.uk
Marketing Nicola Davis nicola@kimberley-janedesign.co.uk
Design and Typesetting Rachana Sansoa rachana@kimberley-janedesign.co.uk
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Introduction
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How To Set Up A Budget
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Business Insights - Content Marketing
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The Best Invoicing Apps
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Website Showcase
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Marketing Without Spending Money: Facebook 10 Website Maintenance 11
How To Set Up A Budget Creating a budget is important for any project. It may not be one of the most exciting parts of business, but it is essential to keeping your finances in order and knowing how much you can spend on new projects. The end result should show you where your money is coming from, how much is there and where it is all going.
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Gather every financial statement you can. Including bank statements, investment accounts, recent utility bills and any information regarding a source of income or expense.
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Record all of your sources of income. Record this total income as a monthly amount.
Create a list of monthly expenses. Essentially a list of everything you spend money on.
Break expenses into two categories: fixed and variable. Fixed expenses: stay pretty much the same every month, for example, mortgage or rent payments. Variable expenses: change every month, for example consumable gifts or income from clients.
Total your monthly income and monthly expenses. You should have more coming in each month than going out. If so, then you can look to spend money on new projects or begin saving money for future projects. If your expenses outweigh your income then you should find ways to cut back.
Review..
A strong...
your budget monthly to make sure you are staying on track! Look at your budget each month and see if your expenses and income for that month match up with your budget. This way you will stay on top of your finances and be able to see where you are losing money.
budget can help you to make projections about your finances and how your business will grow. It will also help you in periods of financial change and should bring you peace of mind, knowing your finances are in order.
Top tips:
There are various
Always use accurate and detailed descriptions on your budget, so when you look back at it you know what each purchase and payment was and why it is on the budget. Try to plan for all expenses, although remember that there will always be one off expenses that you cannot plan for, don’t panic, just record them all for future reference!
ways to complete your budget, by hand, using a computer or using financial software like Microsoft Money or Quicken. If you are less familiar with finances, then a computer programme may be helpful, although writing a budget by hand should produce just as good an outcome.
HOW CONTENT MARKETING AFFECTS
SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS CONTENT DATE
THERE ARE
27, 000, 000 PIECES OF CONTENT SHARED EVERYDAY
Marketers, on average spend over a quarter of their marketing budget on content marketing
62% Long tail searches are up to 60% since 2004. Easiest way to rank for long tail keyworkds is through content marketing.
62% of companies outsource their content marketing
86%
97%
86% of B2C marketers use content marketing
Companies with active blogs receive 97% more leads
CONTENT MARKETING ENGAGEMENT FACTS
50%
50% of consumers say content marketing has a postive impact on purchasing decisions
61%
61% of consumers feel better about a compay that has a blog
90% of Consumers ďŹ nd detailed content useful 1
The average page that ranks on the ďŹ rst page of Google has between 2032 words to 2494 words.
Content that is greater than 1,500 words on average receives 68.1% more tweets and 22.6% more Facebook likes.
Interesting content is one of the top 3 reasons people follow brands on social media
Invoicing App: Freshbooks Price: Free
What does it do?
Is it any good?
Freshbooks is described as a ‘complete cloud accounting solution’. It not only lets you create invoices, you can also use it for billing and expenses. You can cut and paste invoice straight from your iPhone to any device necessary and with their PayPal integration it makes payment simple! You can convert the invoices to PDF format and add pictures of expenses to remind yourself of what to add.
You can view the app before signing up and have a go at creating an invoice to check it is what you are looking for, a great addition! The graphics are simple and it is easy to use, always necessary for a business app being used on the go. It’s only free if you have 3 clients or less, any more and you will have to pay. But this is great for a small company or someone self-employed who doesn’t want to pay too much for a great invoicing service.
App: Zoho Price: Free
What does it do?
Is it any good?
Zoho is another easy to use invoicing app, it needs only a little information your email to set it up, then you can add your business information, client information and when you are away. You can pick from templates and start creating invoices straight away! It also lets you take credit card payments, something other do not allow.
It uses cloud, which is useful for users on the go to be able to view their invoices back at the office. You can also automate your invoices so they send at certain times, making the process even easier! And as I have explained payment is simple and give you a range of choices. This app is great for those who are busy all week long and may sometimes forget to send out invoices on time, it takes the stress out of creating and sending invoices!
App: Invoice 2 go Price: Pay 9.99 or subscribe on Invoice 2 go Plus for free
What does it do?
Is it any good?
Invoice2go has other counterparts, such as calender2go and maps2go that you can tie the app in with, therefore linking meetings with invoices and helping you to remember who paid what and when. It is easy to setup and gives you templates to choose from, just like Zoho. You can customize the tax rates to suit you circumstances and chance the rates used in the invoice to suit your business. You can also separate out parts as labour costs, which other apps do not let you do.
The paid app is better for those who do not use chat ecloud service or work on their own, but if you have multiple users and will be syncing your invoices and date then the subscription version is better. It is free and works just as well! This app is great for invoicing and with its other counterparts it lets you link everything on your phone and keep your business in check in each and every way!
Tweet us your favourite apps @KJDesignLtd
App: Billable Price: free
What does it do?
Is it any good?
Billable is a little different to the other apps Iwe have reviewed, it is not an invoicing app as such, but an online service that produces a blank invoice. It is the most simple system, the invoice cannot be customized only have information added. You can save this as a PDF and send it to whomever you want without having to add your details to their site or sign up to anything.
This is great for saving time and for those who may not have or want apps on their phone. It is not the prettiest example and it does not have the added features other do, but it is simple, quick to use and generates an invoice, no more, no less. It is hassle free, sign up free and easy to send or sync wherever you want.
SHOWCASING OUR LA
ATEST WEB PROJECT
Reach more customers. Grow your business. Make an impact.
Ways of using Social media for marketing without spending money: Social media offers you an easy way of gai ni ng fol l owers and growi ng your audi ence. You can pay for adverts or you can save your money and spend time building your network for free. Thi s can reach just as many people as a paid advert, but it does take tim e. Here are a few simple steps to take to grow your audience without spending money!
Top Stories Facebook has a slower turn around, with top stories able to be seen later in the day. But its focus is less with business, news and information sharing and more fun and entertainment. Try to post photos, links to your site and exciting and engaging news posts. Remember Facebook is a fun, friendly site and fun, friendly (yet informative) posts are more likely to be read, liked and shared.
Top tips - Always add a link to your Facebook page on your website and correspondence - Reply to any comments or questions posted on your page with useful and friendly responses - Offer discounts to those that like your page if they share your page or mention you in a post. This should help their friends see your page and grow your audience. Most importantly: Always encourage others to follow you, comment or like! at Kimberley-Jane Design
Brand awareness Make sure your posts are in keeping with the feel of your company and relevant to your work. Try to find out what the majority of your followers and customers are interested in and post about that as well, knowing your audience is important!
Make money! Facebook can make you money without you spending anything, but it will take time. You will have to post regularly and continue enticing followers to share, mention or like you and your page. Hopefully by doing this you will gain their attention and the attention of their followers, growing your audience and hopefully leading to more sales. You can pay for adverts and quickly gain many more users attention, but you should still update and post your Facebook regularly even when using paid adverts. Many users will turn away from a page with little or out of date information on it, even if they have found the site through an ad (whatever reward you may be offering). By keeping your page up to date and full of information and posts, you are more likely to gain users attention and turn visits to your page into sales.
Is It
Time for a spring clean ?
Website Maintenance
As with a house, websites need a bit of maintenance now and then to stop them looking shabby and unkempt. Now more and more businesses have an online presence, the competition between sites is tough and if your website is not kept up to date and looking smart, many searchers will be put off.
Regular new content By updating your website regularly, posting new blog posts weekly or monthly for example, you create something new for your followers to look at, creating a new reason for them to look back at your website and rediscover what you offer.
Regular Social media posts By posting blog posts and company updates on social media you create a regular stream of content online, helping your potential customer base grow and improving your SEO.
Up to date information Checking your contact detail and current business is up to date is very important! If a potential customer cannot reach you, they will most probably look elsewhere. Also, by showing the work you are currently undertaking on your website you show how well you are doing and reassure anyone looking at your site that your business is still going strong.
Check everything works It is important to check all your links still work, both internal and external and that any new pages have been linked to correctly. Just like out of date contact information, this can confuse or annoy customers and put them off using your services.
We have website maintenance Packages on offer here at Kimberley Jane Design have a look and see. If you feel your website needs updating or maintaining then get in contact!
Published and written by:
Print | Web | Design For all enquiries: Call - 0121 448 4776 Email - enquiries@kimberley-janedesign.co.uk Web - www.kimberley-janedesign.co.uk