Frank in the News... Frank E Petersen Jr.

We love the name Frank – it suits us - we are open, honest and direct… this means that we are not everyone’s cup of tea – but actually we are fine with that.

This post is the first in a series we are calling ‘Frank in the news’ where  we look at another frank who has hit the news recently – we have no idea what the stories will be – so hold on It could be a bumpy ride.

The Headline that prompted our interest – as reported in the LA Times  

‘Frank E. Petersen Jr. dies at 83; Flier was Marines’ first black general’

Frank E. Petersen Jr - (Source Wikipedia) 

‘Petersen was the’ Marine Corps first African American aviator and its first black general, bucking racism in nearly every step of  distinguished military career.’

He joined the military to ‘escape the constraints on blacks in his native Kansas,’ he died on 25 August 2015 at the age of 83 of lung cancer at his home in Stevensville Maryland. He had 5 children.

A Frank! look at running Focus Group with Kids

In our work with Diabetes UK we have run a number of Workshops/focus groups with kids. These are some of the things that I have learnt along the way. This is not an absolute guide but it hopefully provides some useful tips. Please note that the tips should be adjusted to be age appropriate.

1)      Create a trusting atmosphere where all the participants feel they can talk freely. With slightly older kids I talk about the ‘Chatham House rule’ where ‘comments are not attributed to speakers’ so people can talk freely. I also often suggest to the kids that we agree that ‘what is said in the room stays in the room’.

2)      Set some rules that all the kids agree to. These can include: don’t talk over each other, give every one who wants it the chance to speak, listen to what other people say and value what other people say.  Most importantly tell everyone one in the room that they cannot get a question wrong, that this is not a test.

3)      Treat every child in the room as an expert and treat them with respect, tell them why you are doing the research and its aims. Make them feel valued

Stay engaged and remain curious

Sitting in a cafe in Luton a few days ago I caught sight of a poster 'House Rules' and although it was full of lots of the sort of cliched words I usually loathe it did make me think a bit about what I would want a poster about us (Frank Communication Solutions) to say. As someone who generally loves what I do (I get to work with some really amazing, clever and talented people - what's not to like?).So below are the perhaps cliched, perhaps trite but certainly heartfelt messages that I would like on a poster for our office.

- Today is going to be a great day

- Try something you love everyday 

- 'When you hand good people possibility, they do great things' (confessions of a creative mind)

- What good shall I do today?

- If you don't like something, change it

and perhaps my favourite 'Stay engaged and remain curious about the world'

What Dietmar Dahmen said to me (and about 500 other people)

On the 10 April I attended the Sitecore Digital Trendspot ‘Digitally Ever After’, ‘The Art of Storytelling’ conference at Islington’s Design centre. Dietmar Dahmen, self proclaimed ‘Enricher of People, Brands and User Experiences’ was the afternoon keynote speaker – and the 7 things I took away with me from his presentation were:

1)      Development is not in straight lines – it jumps as new technology opens up new opportunities

2)      You should not ask ‘Why’ you should ask ‘Why not’

Brainstorming the future - The future for the new digital age - Brighton 6 March 2014

JEB, (Junior Enterprise Brighton) ,organised and ran Brainstorming the future for the new digital age at Brighton University .  JEB is entirely managed by students who engage in projects such as professional consultancy to SME's, events management and charity fundraising. And for the event they secured a great trio of speakers: Aral Balkan, Rory Sutherland and Tom Warner. 

Things I have bought back to the office from Aral's presentation are below. 
Aral Balkan
-Facebook can see when a relationship is over - they have developed an algorithm that detects behaviors of a couple that are splitting up.

Alpha Papa -Growing up Gracefully

Being a business owner can be one hell of a ride and being the proud parent of a delightful 14 year old I have started to see the similarity between him trying to make and find his way in the world and me trying to grow and develop the business. He won't thank me for comparing his coming of age with my company finding it's feet - so best not mention it if you meet him!

Each day he seems to discover a little more about the man he wants to be - and each day we discover a little more about the sort of company we want to be.

He learns about the things he cares about and how to express his passions so they enthuse and excite those around him and we do the same.

How women can take the lead..

I went along to the RSA Brighton event last night – speakers were Penny Thompson, Chief Executive Brighton and Hove City Council,  Anne Boddington, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Brighton and Caroline Lucas, Green MP, Brighton Pavilion

The event was title ‘How Women Lead’ http://www.thersa.org/high-contrast/fellowship/where-you-are/south-east/highlights/rsa-brighton-february-2014

Below I have pulled out a few things that struck a particular chord with me… and maybe they will with you too

Penny Thompson

I wanted to be the sort of manager I craved

Anti-models allowed me to fashion myself

The new normal - acceptance rather than optimism.

This article first appeared in Absolute Brighton magazine -  March 2013 

What we are seeing in the market at the moment is a general acceptance that we are living in a changed economic environment. Companies have cut their costs, reduced their staff and revised budgets to take into account a slower economy. These changes have taken their toll over the past two years but it feels that now we are all settling into a new ‘normal’. And companies, including ours, are now looking to maintain and grow their market share from this new base.

So slowly slowly companies are feeling optimistic enough to invest in their future by looking at how they can cost-effectively market themselves to current and new audiences. But there is a caution in the way that this is being done. Budgets are carefully monitored and fixed cost projects seem to be more desirable than open-ended ones. Companies are also looking at their own purchasing and procurement processes to ensure that the very systems that are meant to control costs are not restricting better value purchasing decisions.

We are also finding that clients are looking for a partnership approach – one where we support their in-house resources rather than take everything off-site. They are keen for us to inform their decisions but want their in-house teams to implement, or at least be able to implement some of the work. Their nervousness about the economy is understandably extended to nervousness about taking risks.

Are we seeing green shoots of recovery? I think we are – but at the moment we are having to dig deep to give the shoots the environment they need to grow (sorry about the extended metaphor).

To encourage business growth in Brighton we need to make sure that every small business owner has access to the support they need to ensure they are running their businesses as effectively as possible. A combination of peer-to-peer learning and really good professional support can really change the way a business ‘works’. Business owners themselves should look to develop their networks and to take the time to look at the real value of what they are delivering and who their potential audiences really are. And.. where possible keep the money in the city by using local talent whenever you.

If you'd like to find out more about how Frank! supports Brighton & Hove businesses do get in touch 

Jo@frankontheweb.com Tel 01273 670 100 www.frankontheweb.com 

What makes a great man great?

Yesterday I was privileged (and extremely chuffed) to be invited to Roger French's retirement celebration. For those of you who do not know of Roger French - he was (until lunchtime today) The Managing Director of Brighton & Hove Bus Company. And he really is a remarkable man. His retirement celebration was in Hove Town Hall - which was crammed with 200 of the great and the good from Brighton and beyond who had come to say their goodbyes. Speeches were given by Michael Beard (editor of the Argus), David Brown (Group Chief  Executive of the Go-Ahead group), Norman Baker MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport), Caroline Lower (CEO of the Martlets Hospice) and Tony Mernagh (Executive Director at Brighton and Hove Economic partnership). Each speaker identified why they thought Roger had made such a great contribution to the City and to the Brighton & Hove Bus Company. Their speeches were all extremely eloquent and certainly a fitting tribute to Roger.

At risk of sounding like Carrie Bradshaw 'It got me thinking... what is it that makes a great man great?'

In his speech, Roger talked of how he was dealt a hand of aces - a great city, a great company, great people and the right time. In a speech two nights before to his staff, he had talked about how he saw the Brighton & Hove Bus Company as a beautiful jigsaw - and that everyone in the Company was a piece of that jigsaw - and that together they made a beautiful picture.

What these two metaphors tell me - is that what made Roger so refreshing and inspiring to those he worked with and around was that along with being an exceptional MD he was also a man who understood it wasn't just about him. He understood that to do his job as well as he wanted he needed other people to do their job as well as they could too. He needed to trust, to empower, to  energise, to inspire and to motivate his management team, his staff, his suppliers and all his 'partners'. So - yes he learnt their names and he learnt about their lives. He did what he said he would as well as he could and trusted that others would do the same... and they did... And the result of all those people being the best they could was that Brighton & Hove have one of the best bus transport networks in the country. One that is held up as an exemplar, in parliament as well as in the corridors of global transport companies.

I was extremely lucky to work with Roger producing On Route - the Brighton & Hove bus passenger magazine. We had twice yearly editorial meetings and it was at these meetings that I got a tiny insight into the way Roger worked - and over time I realised that of all the people I have known in business Roger is the person I most admire. I love his honesty, his integrity, his generosity of spirit, the fact that he just loves what he does - but most of all I admire his desire to make the world he lives in a better place.

So what makes a great man great? Well I would say a great man is man who makes the people around him shine. And Roger does that in bucket loads.

Best of luck in your retirement Roger and Thank You for showing us how it can be done!

Your business as a network

In a recent change of heart, we have taken the decision at Frank! (www.frankontheweb.com) to actively introduced our clients and suppliers, to each other if they could be useful to each others' businesses. This is the first time that we have actually started actively creating a network around our business and for us it feels like a fairly big step. We have always tried to be transparent about the way that we work at Frank! and this is just a development of that transparency. We use a number of designers, copywriters, editors and consultants to support our business offer - all of whom we consider to be vital to the service we provide. We are now encouraging them to speak to each other. In a similar vein we are opening up the opportunities for our clients to get to know each other too. Many of our clients have similar attitudes to their businesses and are equally ambitious for their organisations. These are the similarities that create meaningful networks.

We have applied some basic principals to help develop your business as a network - and they seem to be working.
1) We have set up www.un-networking.co.uk which is aimed at Brighton Creatives. The initial invitees were all people that Frank! had worked with or were hoping to work with. We meet every other month at a very nice bar in the city. It means that we have a regular time and place to catch up with many of our suppliers, business links and friends.
2) We have included 'developing networks' into our 'on-going marketing support' service offer. So it is a given from the outset that we will help our clients develop or establish their own networks.
3) We are making sure that our clients and suppliers are more accessible to each other via our own website (www.frankontheweb.com).
4) We are actively promoting the work we do for our clients via our own social media platforms.
5) We talk about our clients to our other clients. If we think our clients and suppliers could benefit by meeting we mention them and put them in touch.

I am a great believer in Networking. Many of my best decisions (both business and personal) have come from chance conversations with people that have sparked ideas that I have then been able to progress and put into action. The more people you meet - the more inspired you can be. In the words of Andy Heath who set up, developed and sold a very successful software company 'It was just five little words from a passer by that changed the way we did business'.  For Andy, those five words were 'You should do that online'.

If you want to know more about the way Frank! can help you develop your networks contact me at jo@frankontheweb.com

Domestic abuse - painting a new picture

Frank! has been working with Sussex Police to raise awareness about domestic abuse. As part of the campaign we have been working with a group of local youngsters and Wet Paint Productions, to create some great Street Art around Brighton.

Here are a few photos showing what we did at the first workshop (1 of 3) and the wonderful work created by the kids

In the introductory meeting, we all brainstormed ideas and concepts associated with domestic abuse. We stuck post-it notes to a board and grouped together all the concepts the kids thought were important. We chatted about these ideas, why they mattered and how we could communicate them in the final design. 

In preparation for the project  the artists, SNUB23 and Sinna One, taught the young people the techniques you need to create cool street art. The artists then helped the youngsters turn their rough drawings into funky designs (this time not related to domestic abuse) using a temporary wall outside the Brighton Youth Centre.

At our second workshop, all the ideas about domestic abuse had been developed and the youngsters came up with key themes and rough illustrations to be included in the final designs.  On Saturday 9 February, you will see two groups of youngster at the Bond Street and London Road sites painting the final design - if you are passing do say hello! 

To find out a bit more about Sussex Police's Domestic Abuse Campaign, have a look at their website or check out Wet Paint Production's Blog

Predictions for 2013

The great thing about this time of year (mid December) is that many people are reflecting on the year that was and looking forward to the year that will be... and I am no different. Looking back 2012 has been an amazing year, a year in which the great British public actually seemed to enjoy being British for a short while at least! (The Olympics and Paralympics were my personal highlights and certainly gave me an inner glow that has yet to be extinguished).

2013 does not have the obvious potential highlights that 2012 had but I think from a marketing perspective it will be a really interesting year...and here's why...

1) We will see people making a conscious decision to unsubscribe from e-mail marketing 'campaigns' ... in their droves. Our inboxes are simply too full - it's junk mail gone mad.
2) People will quietly remove you as a Facebook friend if you just keep selling to them.
3) Companies will begin to question the numbers game - they will realise that having 60,000 people following them on twitter is only useful if they are actually people who give a damn about what is being said.
4) Companies will start looking for ways of making themselves stand out from the crowd - and realise that some of this is about doing things better, or differently from their competitors.
5) Companies will start looking to support their online marketing with localised and niche advertising campaigns. Spending less on internet marketing and re-assigning funds to innovative and enterprising marketing and advertising campaigns.
6) Companies will start looking to 'trial' different marketing campaigns to work out which combination works best for them and their product.
7) Well considered PR activity will start to become a key part of a robust marketing strategy - not just a fluffy add-on but a real value add.
8) We will all be a lot less convinced by internet 'experts' or 'specialists' and start to really look at what is being delivered.
9) The public sector will continue to struggle with procurement - there will be a realisation that just because an agency ticks boxes, they are not necessarily the best people for the job.
10)  None of these things are bad - these predictions give all of us in communications and marketing the chance to step up to the changing needs and demands of the today's economy.

One thing is for sure - 2013 is going to be hard work - but for those of us who are flexible and motivated it will be a year filled with challenges to rise to and opportunities to relish... I for one am looking forward to it.

If you want to know more about Frank! Communication Solutions and what we can do for your business. Then visit our website www.frankontheweb.com or call us on 01273 670 100 or e-mail jo@frankontheweb.com

Oh and if you want you can follow us on facebook  https://www.facebook.com Frank-Communications

The delights and frustrations of SEO

One of the challenges we have set ourselves for 2013 is to get to grips with the science that calls itself Search Engine Optimisation. What it really means of course is 'How to work Google so it works for you'. But, because we never shy away from learning how to play the game, we have been working hard with one of our own sites to really get to grips with the nuances that can move you up the rankings. We have tried things, watched the results and then either done more of the same or tried another tack. It's a  fascinating and highly addictive pastime. But we have moved the site up in every one of our identified 'keywords' and are now beginning to have a bit of fun with it all.

We are learning that web words and images are fickle beasts - and need to be tamed to make them work for us. We are learning that there is not a one-size fits all solution (though some SEO experts may well disagree). We are learning that nothing beats on-going changes and updates, a bit of imagination and having the luxury of time to learn by simply doing it.

So... what can we tell you..
1) There are some amazingly generous people out there who share their knowledge. Type into Google exactly the problem you are having and find out how other people have cured it.
2) Use links and anchors to connect documents and other webpages within your site.
3) Be completely logical with the naming of directory or navigation buttons - use words or phrases that people actually type into search engines rather than a clever summary or composite word.
4) Register your site with Google and every other search engine you like the look of.
5) Make sure you are very clear about how you want to be found, and by who you, and target them exactly. People no longer put a single word into a search engine - they are more likely to include a sentence or phrase that helps narrow down the responses they get. We know, for example, that if you put 'straight talking ideas-driven creative' into Google you will get taken straight to our site (www.frankontheweb.com). But in real terms how many people are going to use that exact phrase?

If your business is wholly reliant on online sales you absolutely must get to grips with SEO. But as with all marketing remember that the most (cost) effective search engine optimisation can be targeted specifically at your audience - understand them, the language they use and tailor your SEO strategy accordingly.

If you'd like to learn more about our SEO journey then please do get in touch. Via www.frankontheweb.com or contact me direct hello@frankontheweb.com.

Jo Weatherall
Founder of Frank! Communcation Solutions, www.Build14me.com  and www.woodingdeaninbusiness.co.uk

Working 4 us

A friend of mine runs a gardening maintenance company and was in the office a couple of weeks ago signing up to www.woodingdeaninbusiness.co.uk our (very) local listings site that raises money for the Martlets Hospice in Hove. He was showing me websites belonging to some of the people he has worked with and for and I was mightily impressed. I had always assumed he spent his days clearing gardens when they got into a bit of a state, but actually he often works with well-known and respected garden designers helping them create beautiful and often intriguing spaces.


As you do, we started talking about him having his own website and he was saying that a friend of his was having a website built but that it was very expensive. I asked him how much ‘expensive’ was. And I was actually quite shocked by his response. ‘Over £300’ he said. And this set my mind rolling. Could we build a website for someone like my garden maintenance friend for under £300? There are of course companies that do just that, and some that do it very well. If we were going to do it we would have to make sure that we did it even better, that we took the same approach to delivering a £300 website as we do to delivering a £3,000 one or even a £30,000 one. Note I use the word ‘approach’ I am not suggesting for one moment that we can deliver the same service or product at that price point but we can deliver it with the same attitude.

So the seed was set and we decided to develop a very simple web building ‘process’ one that was  easy to talk about and easy to execute. One that meant micro businesses and individuals could have their own site – in 24 hours at a starting price of £240 (plus VAT). www.build14me.com . In addition to the basic site you can choose extras; more pages, a gallery/portfolio, mobile and or tablet compatible and even a basic content management system. We will produce a website that is professional and hopefully speaks volumes about your company, product or service. We will market our new site on and offline and have plans to build this new ‘product’ into a sustainable and profitable business. For Frank! it is a new departure, but one we are excited about, that allows us to work with a whole new group of people and provide our current clients with alternative options when it comes to reviewing their current sites.


The model

Over the past few years I have seen massive changes in print buying and I see that over the next few years we will see massive changes in the way people buy their internet space. Low cost and well executed web build and maintenance will become the norm - as low cost and reasonable cost print has become the norm. We will see companies and individuals that no longer build huge, cumbersome sites. Instead they will build smaller sites aimed at niche audiences, sites that have one aim, one ambition and one story. As always, there are exciting digital times ahead.

Happy to chat about www.build14me.com - just mail me, Jo Weatherall on jo@frankontheweb.com or call 01273 670 100

Moving on from your USP

It used to be that every company had a USP. Spoken or unspoken they would have worked out their Unique Selling Proposition and would spend their marketing budget on promoting this magical and unique concept to new and existing clients. Recently I have become more and more uncomfortable with the concept - it just doesn't feel right in today's world to be banging on about what is so damn precious about you, why you are so special or why exactly people should buy from you..I think we need to turn this on it's head and give people a bit of your story so customers can connect with you on a level that is beyond a purely sales message. I like shopping in my local community run fruit and veg shop - no it doesn't have as big a range as my local supermarket and yes sometimes things are a bit more expensive but when I shop there it works for me on a number of levels. 1) All the profits from the shop go to an educational programme in West Africa 2) The staff are local volunteers who live in the community they serve 3) The staff are honest, integral and have tried most of their stock so can actually advise as the whether the strawberries have any flavour or not. I also know that to survive in our relatively small community they have to get it right and make an extra effort. I have a relationship with the shop and have become an ambassador for them They have given me a story tell.... and I tell it So rather than think about what you have to sell think about the story you want told about your company and about your products. Think about what it is that makes you What you are and develop the language so others can tell your story too!

Woodingdean in Business - C'mon you businesses

I am really pleased to annouce that www.woodingdeaninbusiness.co.uk is now recruiting businesses. We have over 20 listings to date and are hoping to grow this to over 60 in the next two weeks - do visit the site to find out if we have hit this number yet.

I had always realised that reccruitment would be a hard task but I am surprised how much effort it requires. But with a steady rather than hot head Suzanne, James and I are encouraging, cajoling and enthusing people about the site and hopefully we will soon have a site full of listings from local businesses, clubs and charities that we can launch to the folk of Woodingdean - can't wait but then the work really starts

For more information about Woodingdeaninbusiness.co.uk contact me jo@frankontheweb.com - happy to talk!

Un-Networking - Floating Your Own Boat

I was reading through a copy of Director magazine a few weeks ago and there was an interview with Carole Stone - ‘The best connected woman in Britain’ and in it she suggested the idea of a networking salon where you invite a small group of people for an informal networking breakfast lunch or evening.

And I just loved the idea, I think because it was simple and practical, something I could organise and run

around all my other work and family commitments. I spoke to Steve Bustin of Vada media and he instantly took to the idea too… So in February, after just one evening of scouring the city for a venue we held our first Un-Networking event in central Brighton. About 20 people came along and the people who came really seemed to enjoy it. Over half of them came along to our 2nd event in March along with 12 others who came for the first time. The evening is aimed at people in the ‘creative industries’ so we have designers, copywriters, photographers, artists, marketers, events organisers – and their friends.

We have kept it really relaxed – we have a few simple guidelines that we sent out with the initial invites …
• Only buy drinks for yourself – then no one’s under pressure to buy rounds that quickly get expensive.
• Only bring out your business cards if asked for one. No throwing them around like confetti.
• Be interesting – we don’t do dull. There’s so much more to life than business so find something else to talk about for once.
• Don’t leave anyone standing around on their own – be friendly, be approachable and be prepared to talk to anyone and everyone. Who knows, they may be the making of your business – or at least a good laugh to talk to.
• By all means bring people along (ask them to fill in the Doodle form below first) but make sure they know this is un-networking, not networking.
The evening won’t appeal to everyone; there is no structure, no elevated pitches and no presentation. We don’t have people on the door and we don’t mind if people turn up late. But we do all have a good time, chatting to people like us about …. well everything really (Andy White and his theory on memory foam mattresses was a real blinder).

If you like the idea of running an Un-Networking event then do ask – I’d be more than happy to tell you about ours. We will be launching a website soon www.un-networking.co.uk which will tell you a little more.

Jo@frankontheweb.com

Woodingdean in Business

So we are nearly there - James (our no.1 apprentice) is just working on the final stages and I am busy working on the content... of what? Woodingdean in Business that's what.

Earlier this year I was chatting to Robert Griffiths, Director of Fundraising at The Martlets Hospice. He was talking about how hard it was to engage with businesses in and around the City (Brighton and Hove). And whilst I gave him as many suggestions as I could I knew that I hadn't really nailed 'it'. I hadn't really worked out a sustainable and relatively low maintenance way of engaging businesses and raising funds for the Martlets.
So the Summer came and went and Autumn firmly descended.
James joined Frank! in October and as part of his Business Administration course he needed to put together a database that we could use within the company. Trotting along to the shops that afternoon I was thinking about the sort of thing that it would be useful for James to do - something that would stretch him and add real value to the company. And like the preverbial bolt of lightening I had an idea. What if.. what if.. we set up a very local business website - one where all the local businesses including the shops, the cafe's the pub, the plumbers could have a listing - for free on the site - but we ask them all for a £25 contribution to The Martlets.

In return we publicise the site to the local people - through traditional posters and postcards that will be door-dropped locally and in addition we use twitter, facebook and twitter to encourage local people to visit the site. Everyone who has a listing can (if they so choose) upgrade it and have a page of their own to promote their business and to post special offers and news items. We will put together a quarterly newsletter with local business news and mail this out to our (by then hopefully) expanding user database.

We have worked with Sharon at cre8ideas to develop a design that is incredibly simple and could be ported across to any locality with very little effort, very simple, very clear - totally to our Frank! ethos (straight talking, smart ideas, real results).

Our next challenge is to start finishing the content management system, finishing the 'words' setting up a 'just giving' page so donations go directly to the Martlets and getting all the local businesses on boar - I use the words 'start finishing' because projects like this never actuall finish.

Our dream is to take this idea and really develop it, so that hospices all over the country could engage small local businesses by using this model. We are starting with Woodingdean - and if all goes well will look to Hanover, Patcham and other areas around our city - if (and it is only an if) the model works it will engage local businesses with the Martlets and help raise much needed funds - win win? I'll let you know.

Going back to school

About 6 months ago a friends daughter was saying that she was trying to organise some work experience for a week in the Autumn term. I mentioned that if she didn't manage to find something she really wanted to do she was more than welcome to work with Frank!. Her other options gradually disappeared and I was delighted that she was able to take up my offer. Well delighted and a bit worried to be fair. What on earth would she do for the week. As it happened - a lot. I decided that the best thing to do would be to find a project - something she could get her teeth into, could learn from and ideally something that would result in some positive results.
So - the project was to review and then make recommendations on improving her school website. We interviewed staff, developed a questionnaire, interviewed parents and pupils, collated the responses, put together a powerpoint presentation and today.. we presented her findings to the Head and the team responsible for the schools' communications. The findings were really interesting - having a year 11 pupil in the office for a week was absolutely charming. The input from other pupils was insightful and amazingly perceptive.
But the thing that really got me thinking was how much everyone we spoke to wanted the school to be, and to be seen as, something they could be proud of. And, they wanted the school to be proud of them. They wanted the school to say - look at our students, look at what they can achieve, look at how we work together to give them the best opportunities we can.
I think that one of our challenges every day is to help create companies and organisations that people can like. So the thing I will take away from this process is 'give people an opportunity to like you' and you know what? Often they will.

Make sure your audience knows What's on

Having worked with the Brighton Festival Fringe for over five years and now at the beginning of a new relationship with a venue owner, I decided it was time to put together a simple (by simple I mean a single page) document 'A Frank! guide to getting your What's On to work'. It was an interesting exercise just to think around why some guides work seamlessly and other don't. It isn't rocket science ... but it is a case of thinking logically through the customer journey. Thinking about their needs and understanding that people start their 'journey' from different places.
You are most welcome to e-mail me (info@frankontheweb.com) and I'll send you the guide but in summary..
- understand the readers' agenda. What is most important to them? The event itself? The venue? the date?
- ensure that no matter where the readers' journey starts the other information they need to book/attend an event is clearly and logically shown
- ensure that the guide motivates and enthuses the reader about the event
- ensure that the guide is designed with pick up appeal, and fits with your brand look/feel and tone of voice.
- make sure that the booking information (if relevant) is repeated regularly, and that the booking process is as straightforward as possible.

Do get in touch if you think we can help you with your What's on. www.frankontheweb.com