Welcome to the grassy corner of the Allotment where our blogs are grown. Read about how to grow an ideas pipeline, how to make a business more creative, what the power growth questions, how to get over creative block and a whole field of other ideas…

Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Coronation marketing (shoehorns assemble)

We’re reaching peak Coronation-themed marketing as the UK rolls into the Coronation weekend. We take a quick look at a few brands who have shoehorned the royal theme onto their products, so put down your flag and read on (fervent Royalists, avert your gaze now).

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Get creative with your business comms

There’s no getting away from it, newsletters or regular email communications are a fantastic way to keep your audience engaged, and moving closer to purchase or re-purchase. This blog will help you sprinkle some creative thinking on your comms creation to really stand them out from the crowd(ed inbox).

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

How to design the right offboarding process

Is this the bit of doing business that no one ever wants to talk about?

I Googled ‘How to offboard clients’ and the first thing that cheeky little search engine said to me was ‘Did you mean how to onboard clients?’.

A great offboarding process delivers so much benefit back into your business, and makes it more likely that customer will buy again.

Here’s a quick run down of some of the things to consider when you are designing your offboarding process.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Building creative habits for better business ideas

Building a business with ideas takes creativity, and that means putting ideas at the very heart of everything. So as a business owner, building creative habits into your daily or weekly routine is the first step. Here’s 6 to get you started.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

5 creativity-boosting stocking fillers

The Top 5 Creative Stocking fillers… look no further than this hand-picked list of Christmas stocking fillers to boost creative thinking, help with idea generation and inspiration!

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Know your value, grow your business

What are the three most valuable things you do for your clients?

I ask this question a lot. Because the answer can be a powerful part of your brand story and provide you with marketing messages that really engage the people who you want to buy from you, and help you grow your business.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Target audience research:10 free ways to get to know your customer

Market research can feel out of reach for many small businesses, but with a little bit of know-how, business owners can undertake a lot of this research for free to help you attract the right customers with the right products and services, and help grow your business.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

How to work ON your business not IN it

Strategies, and plans are all well and good, but so many small business owners struggle with making to to actually work on the stuff that moves their business forward.

So if you want some creative, practical ways to make time to grow your business, look for further.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

How to ask your clients for referrals to grow your business

Getting client referrals is a great way to grow your business. Saying thank you for those referrals in a creative, memorable way is just as important. In this blog, I give you 15 (and a bit) ideas to help you say thank you for client referrals, so your clients can’t wait to refer you again. And again.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Grow your ideas pipeline for a creative business

Are your ideas pipelines working to their full potential? Are they delivering consistent ideas into your business? How are you getting ideas regularly into your business?

Ideas are the lifeblood of business and great ideas grow businesses. And if you are on board with that, then you should be building multiple pipelines of ideas to feed your business growth – different paths that allow ideas to come from multiple sources into your business

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Fresh Eyes: powerful questions to ask in your business

Fresh eyes - that amazing ability to look at something very familiar (like your own business) and see it as if for the first time - is a tough trick to pull off. But as a business skill, it’s a really useful one to develop.

Because fresh eyes give you a different perspective, and a different perspective on your business can bring fresh insights and new ideas: the very lifeblood of business growth.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

How to make a business more creative

April 21st 2022 is International Creativity and Innovation day, which has given us the excuse to share our thoughts on how to make your business more creative. From the myriad of business benefits to getting the most from your team, we share the reasons why this should be top of your business agenda and five ways to get ideas into the heart of your business.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

How to be more creative in my business thinking

How can I think more creatively? How can I be more creative with my business thinking? How to I get consistently good ideas for my business? Three questions, with one answer: creative workouts. In this blog, we explain what a creative workout is, why it is business critical for small business owners and how you can get your hands on 30 Days of Creative Workouts ebook.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Why testimonials are good for business

Why are testimonials so good for business? Small businesses need all the marketing and content opportunities they can, and a great testimonial can provide powerful persuasion - it is the ultimate non-selling sell. Find out how to get great testimonials, how to ask and where to use testimonials for maximum impact.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Making smart decisions in your business

As small business owners we are used to finding solutions to challenges we didn’t even know existed. being armed with a strategic plan is great, but how do you make smart strategic decisions in your business? How do you evaluation potential solutions to issues that were never on your plan in the first place? And how do you know the idea you select is the smartest one for your business? Read our blog for a very simple tool to help.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

How to write a business strategy (ready, steady, Post-It)

Wondering how to create a business strategy? Not sure how to create a business plan? Before you start your planning for 2022, read our blog that takes you through the five growth stones that will provide a simple, robust foundation for business growth.

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Jodie Newman Jodie Newman

Growth Question #2: How do I stand out?

One of the most powerful growth questions you can ask is: How can I stand out? Understanding your difference as a business and putting your ‘stand out’ into your brand story will engage audiences, help them understand why they should chose you and attract more of the right customers to your business. This blog shows you how to work through this growth question.

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