Earlier this week (Tuesday 19th March), HMRC announced they were extending the deadline by which some small businesses must adopt the new Real Time Information system for PAYE.

However, this is only for small businesses with less than 50 employees who pay their staff weekly (or more regularly) but process their payroll monthly!

 

Under the proposed legislative changes, all businesses were expected to start submitting their PAYE information electronically to HMRC every time they paid their staff from 6th April 2013 onwards, but some feared this would be too much of a burden for the smallest of enterprises.

 

"Click here to read the full blog from Sage One"

 

 

Sage One is a cloud-based accounts and payroll service from Sage, a Simple Ways To Grow partner.

1. Plan ahead – make notes of the topics you want to cover this year, and work out if they need to correspond with any particular events or bank holidays. Set yourself deadlines for copy writing with reminders on your calendar. 2. Design – make sure your design is up to date in terms of matching your branding, and offering relevant and current quick links. Use a reputable and well experienced email marketing company for your template design so it looks good in all readers and platforms. 3. Welcome new subscribers – setup a welcome email to thank your new subscriber, tell them what/when they can expect from you, and offer links or articles they might find useful. 4. Landing pages – create a landing page on your website specifically for each campaign if possible. Combined with Campaign Reporting and Google Analytics, you can then gain valuable information on how many views the page gets and the journey of the recipient from there on. 5. Personalisation – if you are capturing certain information from your customers then make use of it! 6. Keep building and promoting your list – using social media and your blog, keep mentioning where/how to subscribe to your updates. 7. 3 second subject line – as email marketing legend goes, you have on average 3-5 seconds to catch someone’s attention with your subject line, so choose wisely! 8. Be social – add Facebook, Twitter social share and Forward to a Friend buttons to your email campaigns, to encourage them to be shared and so that more people see your email. 9. Test first – never say you do not have time to test. If you are busy then ask colleagues to help. Use NewZapp’s Spell Checker on your campaign before you send colleagues a test copy, and then ask them to proof read your content and try any links you’ve included. 10. Animated images – as you can’t use Flash or videos in email, use animated gifs instead! 11. Call to action – make sure your calls to action are clear; if necessary repeat the link further down the email to catch your subscriber’s attention. 12. Segment your data - not just by interest but also previous customers vs leads, or even by targeting customers who have purchased a certain product and might be interested in your latest offer. 13. Alt text – make sure all your images have Alt Text set on them. This text will display on screen if images are not displayed. 14. Make it easy to subscribe – keep the form short and test this before you promote the link. 15. Use the johnson box wisely - this is the area above your template where you can add copy such as an introduction to your company, a summary of your campaign contents, or an explanation of why they are receiving this email. 16. Be consistent - this goes not just for content but for the date and time you usually send out campaigns so your subscribers know when to expect it. 17. It doesn’t need to always be a newsletter – maybe send a campaign focused on one product or service that you provide, or the promotion of a special offer. 18. Monitor your reports – using the Reporting tools, look at which links were most popular and which weren’t. Work on this in your next campaign. 19. Re-engage your inactive subscribers - by sending them a campaign pointing out that they don’t appear to have opened your last email; use this information to your advantage and offer a discount if they make a purchase! 20. Stuck for inspiration? Look at our blog post titled Great examples of Email Marketing Practice. Written by Mark Taylor of NewZapp - email marketing experts and a Simple Ways To Grow partner. For more information on NewZapp visit: www.newzapp.co.uk

Our Bureau services are comprehensive and powerful; taking advantage of these services will ensure you deliver the right message to the correct individual at an economic cost.

Learn more about your customers and prospects and unlock the true potential of your data! Identify trends to assist you with prospect data targeting.

Consumer Data:

• Age

• Occupation

• Store drive times

• Income

• Property types and values

• And over 100 more!!

Business Data:

• Job titles

• Company size

• Line of business / industry

• Premises type

• Spend & budget information

Soon to come to Simple Ways To Grow our data partner DBS Data is introducing Zest for Simple Ways To Grow customers.  With Zest you will be able to check your existing customer data and work out who your best customers are.  You should then be able to find similar customers using our marketing packages

Simple Ways to Grow partner, Docmail, has introduced a new postcard range so you can run a campaign to send postcards to customers at affordable prices that come with printing materials, handling and mailing included. Postcards are suitable for businesses of all sizes and from a range of sectors.

Make the most of the postcards for creative marketing, information campaigns and pretty much any other direct communication materials.

Postcards can be sent directly from the web using PDF's or Word Documents, in A5 (half A4) or A6 (half A5) sizes

. They are also available via an API, so you can send real mailed postcards directly from your own software or website! Find out more about Simple Ways to Grow partners Click Here

Thanks to our publishing partners Enterprise Nation for this article.

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Ben Barden is a blogging expert and Head of Development for printed.com. Here he offers the types of topics that lend themselves well to a business blog that will keep customers informed and engaged.

“Blogging allows you to publish your own articles with ease. Writing a blog for your business can also be a great opportunity to connect with customers, industry professionals, staff, or casual visitors.

Running a decent blog requires time and dedication. The key to getting started is to think of some topics you could write about. Here are a few to get you thinking:

• When/how/why did your business launch? You don’t have to write an essay on your 100 year history – just the highlights will do. Some readers will be curious about how your business came into existence, along with where it’s headed next. This is a good intro post.

• What makes your business stand out? Why should people care what you do or what you have to say? If you haven’t thought of this before, it can be quite difficult to write – but once you’ve done it, you’ll have a clearer sense of purpose – and you’ll set expectations for customers.

• Who works for your business? What are they like? For larger teams – this could evolve into a series of “Meet the team” style posts.

• What are your products and services? Sticking to one product or service per post can give you a lot of topics.

• Have you recently attended any events or conventions? This is your opportunity to share experiences at events in your industry, along with photos and perhaps your own review of the event. If you can find a suitable event that relates to your business, this is a great way to connect with people and also provide suitable fodder for a blog post or two.

• Special promotions: Although you may not have any of these when you start blogging, you can include them as and when they occur. Don’t expect to come up with a long list of ideas in one sitting – it can take time to put together but will be worth the investment.

Find out more about Simple Ways to Grow partners Click Here

Thanks to our publishing partners Enterprise Nation for this article.

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Simple Ways to Grow print partner, Printed.com, suggests five questions to ask yourself when planning and designing print work, from direct mailings and pop-up banners, to business cards and leaflets:

What should I focus on?

It’s important to promote the benefits of your company not just the features; the modern consumer chooses a service or product based on what it can do or produce for them, not simply where it’s from or how it is made.

How should I word it?

Targeting is a key contributing factor to the success of your printed material. Focus on making the copy relevant to your specific audience and you’ll see great response as prospects are more likely to feel your business understands their needs. Try to use power words also like New, Results, You and Proven.

What action do I want the reader to take?

To make sure your print produces results, you will need to establish what response you want from your advert, and tailor it from there. Give the reader a clear call-to-action to guide them into what it is you would like them to do, such as check out a new range or apply for a quote.

Am I being consistent?

Of course a business needs to try new approaches and target new audiences, but make sure you present your company in line with other public communications, such as your website or major advertising. Using slang and showing images of young people drinking will confuse your audience if your website has a very formal look and feel.

How do I track effectiveness?

There are several ways to monitor the effectiveness of your print. Whether you’re placing a classified ad in a paper, or printing posters and leaflets, it’s worth creating a dedicated landing page and URL on your website or perhaps use a tracked 0844 phone number to track response. If you can, use a promotional code to incentivise and record conversions.

Consider these key areas and you’ll give your print communications a very good chance of standing out and bringing you the results your business needs.

Find out more about Simple Ways to Grow partners click Here

 

Thanks to our publishing partners Enterprise Nation for this article.

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It’s Mo-vember at you may well be growing something on your top lip in aid of charity. But what about growing your business? We look at some simple ways to grow your customer base and sales from your existing customers. Some useful tips to help grow your business Social Media If you are not using social media then you are missing a trick. It’s cheap, quick and fun way to get you and your company noticed. Set up a Twitter account. Follow others and they will likely follow you. Look to see who your followers are following and follow them too. Especially look to see who is following your competitors and who they are following. You can follow us @simplewasy2grow.

Direct Marketing

It works. And it’s not just us saying that. About 11% of all advertising is spent on direct marketing.

First you need data. Gather names and addresses at every opportunity and ensure that you make it clear you are going to use the names for marketing.

Then just write to them introducing yourself and your company. Do a few at a time – you want to be able to cope with the responses. But also don’t expect a flood right away. Test different messages. Ask for feedback and amend to improve as you go. Use both mail and email. Email works well on its own with existing customers. With new customers it’s always best to mail first and then follow up with an email.

An example is finding new customers for a vet practice and shop. Get a list of people who like pets and live in your area. Write them an offer on a postcard, say money off with this flyer, or just reminding then about the necessary jabs in the run up to the holidays. Follow up with an email with the same offer and linking to your website. If they make an appointment for the jabs then send a reminder by email a few days before.

Ask everyone who comes into your shop to write down their name and address (email and post) so that they can receive your newsletter. Ensure that you check the addresses you gather so that you don’t mail someone twice. It’s that easy.

They’ll be more tips in the coming weeks.

Simple Ways to Grow partner, NewZapp, was launched in 1998 and over the past decade has been helping small businesses connect and communicate with customers through e-newsletter campaigns.

Whether your business is in Hotel and Tourism, retail, training or finance, you can browse a library Here   of how e-newsletters have worked for small business owners across the UK and how straightforward it is to set up and manage a NewZapp campaign.

One of the profiled businesses is sunwear specialist, The Beach Factory. Director of the company, Anne Speak, says:

“A NewZapp newsletter is a great way of advising regular customers of new products which have arrived in the warehouse. We recently sent a newsletter to customers who had bought a particular type of swimwear for their children last year offering them a sneak preview of the new collection. The click-through rate was really positive and customers made purchases which they might not have made until later in the season, taking advantage of the 10% discount offered in the newsletter.”

"A timely NewZapp newsletter encourages them to make their purchases before they are on their way to the airport when it is too late!”

Visit the NewZapp resource hub Here  to download how-to guides and instruction on how to design your newsletter so it generates maximum effect with existing and prospective customers.

Find out more about Simple Ways to Grow partners Here

Your_Partners Thanks to our publishing partners Enterprise Nation for this article.

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Research from provider of business websites, ePages, shows small businesses which are active online grow four times faster than those without such an active presence. Via a well presented and polished website, you can reach more potential customers who buy at a time and from a place to suit them.

Despite the benefits surprisingly of the 4.8 million businesses in the UK, half of all businesses still have no online presence.

This is being addressed by Simple Ways to Grow which, through ePages, offers an easy-to-use Business Website Creator and advanced eShop solution, enabling businesses to sell products and services online, to a global market. Both products are easy to set up and don’t require previous technical knowledge or design skills.

So what’s holding you back. It’s time to get going and growing online today! Click here

To find out more about the ePages website creator and To view a video on the benefits of an ePages shop for your business. here

Find out more about Simple Ways to Grow partners click here

Thanks to our publishing partners Enterprise Nation for this article.

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