Marketing tips

Every now and then someone tells me they haven't got time for marketing. 

Each of them runs their own tourism business. And I find it a very odd thing to say.

If you run a business, presumably you need visitors in order to make a living? 

How are they going to find you if you don't spend any time marketing?

Marketing is as much part of running a business as sending invoices/banking money or cleaning. It's essential. 

Even if you decide to only promote your business through online travel age…

It now looks likely that the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire aims to introduce the overnight levy from March 2027 onwards. After a meeting with Visit North Yorkshire, we were asked to submit any questions or concerns for them to collate and pass on to the Mayor.

I asked businesses across North Yorkshire to add their thoughts, and then combined them into this document. It's a little haphazard as I wasn't well at the time and under extreme time pressure but gives an indication of the strength o…

Imagine you’re going for a walk in an unknown place. The directions say to follow a compass bearing of 90 degrees. You take a path across a field that’s a degree or two off that. It doesn’t seem to make much difference.

You keep walking.

That tiny difference starts to make a bigger difference. At first you’re just a degree or two off course, but over a long distance you veer more and more off the route. Perhaps you even get lost, and struggle to get back on the right track. 

That’s what happe…

We all do it. We start a business, and make a website or post on social media, and gradually add ideas and information. Perhaps you come to one of my marketing workshops and I give you an idea, which you add. And over time you get busier and busier. And you gradually drift into other marketing activities, with different messages. And you start to leave out the essential, foundational details. 

I was reminded of this yesterday when I spoke to a dog trainer. When I first met him a few years ago h…

If you're busy with visitors right now, and bookings/coming weeks are looking good, you might not feel inclined to post much on social media. 

But being busy is a great marketing tool.

Do a social media post or mailing mentioning how busy you are.

Maybe mention when you think your next gap might be. 

Tell people you're turning down bookings.

Show that visitors are happy and coming in good numbers.

Use a little FOMO to keep up the flow, but mainly - to encourage people to plan and book a vi…

Say it again. And again.

One of the most common things that business owners say to me is, I don't want to bombard people or I don't want to be too salesy.

Ironically these comments usually come from people who are as far from aggressive sales people as you can possibly imagine. And when I ask how often they post on social media or send out mailings, the answer is never (absolutely never) enough to qualify as even regular communication!

Do you know how many times you have to say something to m…

Facebook and Instagram perform differently. 

You may have already heard me say I'm not a fan of linking insta and facebook accounts together. 

They're different tools, with different strengths. When I see a stack of hashtags at the end of a facebook post it makes me cringe. When I see the same post within seconds on both insta and facebook I just think what a wasted opportunity. A few small tweaks can make a big difference to the impact of those posts, and if you tailor each post to the platfo…

She was so kind, she saved me the shopping trolley with the good wheels.

How do you feel when you read that? 

I read this somewhere this week and it keeps repeating in my head. I instantly knew what they meant and it made me smile. 

There are so many small irritations and frustrations in life (1st world problems...) that are relatively easy to solve.

Most of them are things we all recognise, common issues.

It feels like a real triumph or special kindnesses when they're resolved. 

When you …

John's fish and chip order reminded me of something really important we all need to do when promoting our businesses. 

We have some lovely elderly neighbours. They’re a lively and intelligent couple, weathy and worldly, and have had many interesting experiences in their long lives.

So I was surprised when we recently discovered they’ve never had fish and chips from our excellent local shop, or from anywhere else!

We arranged for them to come round to our house for a drink, then my husband wen…

Earlier this week I did something very small that resulted in 100 people sharing a facebook post, a good level of other engagement and high number of views. 

It was essentially a potentially dull but essential public-service announcement type of post about the dangers of swimming in rivers and ponds during the hot weather. Many people and organisations are trying to get this message out after the tragic deaths of over 15 teenagers in a short period of time. 

Official bodies with far more follo…