Marketing lesson: never miss an opportunity

Day two of our blog competition guest posts - today we have the runner up, Joanne Dewberry of Charlie Moo's, Networking Mummies. The original guidelines for entry are here, read all the featured entries, you could also read about how we chose the winner, or what we learned from running the blogging competition. I thought this would be really easy to answer … and I’d be able to write an awesome post on how amazing I am haha!! Not quite! My biggest marketing lesson hummmm …… Never miss an opportunity!! Always see a way to work your business into a situation. Everyone knows how much I love twitter for finding great #journorequests there is usually an opportunity for you to promote your business. I sometimes reply to journalists looking for case studies for parenting magazine and ask everso nicely if they will mention Charlie Moo’s. If they say no, I send this image …

Photo by Andrea Pittam

Although Megan is only a baby in it! She is clearly holding a Charlie Moo’s bag and if the image is large enough in magazines/newspapers you can sometimes make out the the name and webaddress. There is also the possibility that they may google Joanne Dewberry and Fabric Bags and viola there we are! I recently sat reading a Trade Party Suppliers Magazine and was annoyed by a comment made about children’s party ware. So I emailed the editor and left my feedback plus a few lines about myself and Charlie Moo’s. The next day the editor emailed me, after checking out my website. I recently did a phone interview with her and now am appearing in the next edition talking about more eco-friendly children’s parties and they are compiling and A-Z of greener retailers. No clever PR tricks or paid advertising, just a bit of research and out of the box thinking. You know your business better than anyone your USP and what makes you great! Never miss an opportunity! Just to remind you – I’m mummy to 3 lovely children, partner to one bolding man and owner of 3 small businesses. Charlie Moo’s – specialising in handmade fabric party bags and Charlie Moo branded products Networking Mummies – support networking for mums in business www.joannedewberry.co.uk – business mentoring and support (Visit Joanne's original post here, where you can read the various comments that her post generated. Do you agree with Joanne? Comment below!)