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Hi Andy

First things first, I thought you had an MLS listing, (which would show up in your profile and give a link to your site in your signature. I've had a look but can't find one, or a deleted one (in case you haven't clicked our auto are you still their email).

As a quick fix, I've added your weblink to your signature. Feel free to list again and I'll upgrade you (as a long time forum veteran!),  just let me know when you have (PM me).

But we are in serious times, so think overhead and cash. Don't waste money now on anything that isn't working. If PPC isn't working right now, then stop it, save money, regroup and replan.

If the website isn't really working right now and you're getting little traffic, then concentrate on new avenues. Everyone is at home, everyone is living on social media. Take advantage, you have a captive audience. People still have birthdays, anniversaries, celebrate events. If anything you are perfectly poised to capitalise on this. 

You are currently furloughed, so have buckets of time. Make the most of it.

Look at your social media presence, look at your branding, look at the type of posts you are putting out. 

If it was me, I'd give my FB page a makeover. Don't just share images of tankards and a link to your website, that's lazy selling that generates nothing. Tell me why I need to buy a tankard. Tell me this is the perfect gift for someone I love but can't see. Tell me I can have a personal message engraved. Tell me why your service is above and beyond and better than Amazon.

Look at your posting frequency, live on Facebook, make it your shop front. You did a good post for Mothers day, then did 2 lazy posts on 2 and 3 March, then a joke post on 22 March.

I'd be making my page look the best I possibly could, I would be working out a posting schedule, I'd be looking for FB groups to join, looking for ways to get my message out there. I'd be putting posts out which are engaging, positive.

Maybe send your local hospital a big plaque with a thanks from all of us, or even Tescos. Then shout as loud as you can without being too obvious! There are thousands of marketing ideas if you sit back and think about it. This would be a good place for a bit of PPC, a £10 boost here or there will give you a reach of thousands. If your page looks the part and your message is good, then that's a lot of possible eyeballs who need to buy presents.

I've seen my social media traffic explode. I've completely readapted and (for my Trusted Trader business) have become an information service, pushing out official information, breaking down FAQs into easily digestible information, offering guidance on interpreting official policy. My twitter following has doubled in the last 7 days.

I've yet to start with MLS, step 1 get active again in the forum. So we are all learning, all adapting.

Be proactive, you are in an industry that can keep trading products online, and have a captive audience who are desperate for ideas in how to make an event, milestone or important day special. 

Now is your time. To be honest, if you don't make money now,  you never will. Sod the website, that's vanity and for simply sending people to buy stuff. Make sure the check out process is as slick as you can make it, otherwise don't waste time on it. Go to where the traffic is, social media.

Be proactive, be positive, react quickly and start owning the pewter space. Your mission is to make me think, blimey I need to buy some Pewter and Andy is that man 

This could be an interesting thread.

It started as some new virus in China, a fuss about nothing. I confess to being in the same camp as it's just seasonal flu and a huge overreaction. I only really changed my mind last week.

At the beginning of March, I was planning some business events for June. How quickly things change!

Now the NEC is being set up as a field hospital, I've become an impromptu school teacher and everyone is moaning that the birdsong is so loud 

lol 8 years! Bloody 'ell

Right, as I'm doing some housekeeping after finding my login details, I think the time has finally come to close the thread.

Honour guard, attention! Sound the bugle.... 

This thread is hereby officially closed 

It's interesting to see the response around the world.

I literally despair at the antics of the Orange narcissist, which I'm afraid America is now going to pay a very high price. Every country is approaching it differently, depending on the severity and available resources and strength of the economy.

It looks like you're from India Steve, which if the media is to be believed is now in full lockdown, so hopefully, you can limit the human and economic damage.

But I worry about third world countries, refugee camps and failed states. They stand little chance and are in serious danger and crisis. 

Larger economies are offering stimulus packages to keep the financial wheels moving and to try and mitigate as much mass unemployment as possible. But there is no rule book, and outside of a world war, this has to be the most serious human and economic crisis the globe has witnessed.

Things will recover, this will end. My worry is the amount of debt the large economies are taking on and the impact of that for years to come. We've just come out of years of austerity as the government tried to reduce National Debt. I suspect that may look like childs play in the years to come  

Welcome aboard Ash.

Good to see you diversifying and offering online content, but I do echo Rebecca and wonder why they are free?

People always pay for quality.

I have been absent from the forum for far too long, so B- and must try harder.

Hope everyone is well, hope business is going good, and I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and New Year.

Can't believe we're about to land in 2020!?! After the last few years of doom, gloom and political chaos, let's hope we have a roaring 20's and lots of positivity 

Huge thank you to Rebecca as always for helping moderate the forum, and I hope to be more active next year 

Saw this yesterday and made me smile (or cry)

Agree completely, but came in at the opposite end to you, with a bizarre 2 year tour, that started with HQNI mortared the day I got there then we had the awful Omagh bombing. But after a false start, ended up with the peace process and dismantling of checkpoints almost overnight.

There will always be an undercurrent in NI, particularly during the marching season, but I don't think any sane government North or South will allow a return to a hard border. At least while it is still fresh in peoples minds. I worry more about complacency in 10 - 20 years time.

Still, when Warwickshire votes for independence, I'll be joining the Shakespeare Militia

I think one of the problems is the small size of the majority. If it was 70/30 or greater then end of story, the people have spoken and it is a major majority. But it was so close, with so little thought put into what would happen if the vote went against the government, that has caused this ongoing chaos.

Whatever the outcome, half the country will be opposed to it, from all walks of life and political beliefs. Modern democracy is about shouting out simplistic sound bite key messages, then pumping a fortune into amplifying those messages across the media. The average person will absorb those messages and will vote for the ones that resonate with them. Take back control, spend the money on hospitals, stop immigration. This is where the leave campaign did well, it had the best marketing campaign. But no one really understood the realities or the bigger picture, how could we unless we are political analysts? We naively assume our political class are giving us the best advice and working for us. But instead our current system has exposed blatant game playing, partisanship and self interest at the expense of all of us.

Because the referendum campaigns were cross party, it was always been doomed to failure. I don't think it would matter if Labour had run the negotiations, then end result would be the same, stalemate and chaos.

The current government is a disaster. I'm no fan of Labour but the current Tory party is embarrassing and doing the country no favours.

I think we need a fresh approach, with a proper coalition government to try and bring the country back together and put a genuine plan together. We don't need another referendum, but we do need a clear plan of action, one that brings in industry leaders, and strategists from all political parties with enough time to formulate a proper plan agreed by all, before presenting it to the EU. We've negotiated the wrong way round. 

With a united parliament, and positive messages from industry, we would then be in a strong position to start our EU negotiations.  Any compromises can be debated openly one by one.

Has to be better than a deal done behind closed doors, with endless negative speculation, then a huge document dumped on MP's who have no idea what the plan was and are then expected to vote and agree on it.

Shameful period in our history

<rant over/>

It sounds very obvious. You run a business, so take every opportunity you can to promote yourself. Yet so many people don't?

You don't have to be a full on sales pitch at every interaction, but if you are using things like social media, then ensure your profile includes a link to what you do. Use a separate business persona if you want to keep your business life separate from your private life, but make sure your business persona promotes your business!

Here is my business persona Facebook profile. If you hover a mouse over my name on Facebook, this is what is displayed.

Not really giving many personal secrets away, but importantly I've got my primary Facebook business pages linked in my profile. I make it easy for people to find my business pages.

Now compare this with a recent list of business owners who have kindly left a recommendation for My Local Services on our Facebook page. Guess which ones I was able to thank and give a shout out to, and guess which ones I have no idea what their business is about?

Telling the world you are self employed is as much use as a chocolate tea pot when it comes to marketing yourself.

So take some time and review your Facebook or other social media or online personas. Is it obvious what you do and can people easily find your business? It's simple free marketing that takes minutes to set up, and if it generates just one client, then it's been a good return