How Nixon McInnes Sold Me A Ticket

I’m always looking out for good examples of marketing which I can share and steal for my clients. Here’s one from today. Last week, Will McInnes started hinting on Twitter about his company doing a new event.

The Reciprocity Principle and How to Use It in Marketing

You’ll be familiar with the reciprocity principle in marketing if you’ve ever received a free sample, a gift from a charity, or been accosted by Scientologists / Hare Krishnas / Jehovah’s Witnesses. All of these people want to give you something, whether it’s a free pen, a flower or a copy of their magazine.

When you want to give something away for free

I was cruising on Twitter the other day and came across a mini rant by Andy Budd from Brighton company Clearleft. Andy started by imploring people not to give their work away for free.

The rules of making money with Freemium

We’re looking at when you should give stuff away for free in order to encourage people to buy from you. We’ve looked at the free taste/sample, and investigated the reciprocity principle and “first bag is free” ideas, and now I want to talk about freemium.

Getting customers through the door

One of the things I’m always advising my retail clients on is the importance of getting people through the door in the first place. This is one of the most important parts of any retail business. In fact, it’s one of the most important parts of any business, even if your door is a virtual door.

Are you a sponge?

Many of the business owners I advise are sponges – and I encourage you all to mop up less.

How to give away shares in your business

You might want to give someone shares in your business because they’re going to invest money. You might want to give someone equity because you want them to work in your business, or to motivate someone who already works there. Getting an equity investment is a great way to get money into your business, because it helps cash flow.

How Can I Make My Company Eligible For EIS?

I’ve been doing quite a lot of work recently for clients who want to get some investment into their companies, and the question of EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) has come up with a couple of people, so I thought I’d share some practical advice with you.