Five Things to Consider before Networking for the First Time

If you want to be a successful freelancer, then finding more like-minded people to join your network is essential. One way to achieve this is to go to one of many networking events set up round the country every month.

Business Meeting by thetaxhaven on Flickr CC
Business Meeting by thetaxhaven on Flickr CC

I went to a Big Circle event in Worcester which was fairly local to me. Your local Chamber of Commerce runs events, there is also breakfast networking and other organisations set up to facilitate networking including some that are women only and others that only allow one of each profession into the group. Some people feel that they are the best way to get referrals while others find them difficult to do, especially if you are a quieter type of person.

I am fairly outgoing. I have been known to do some cold calling on the telephone and I enjoy meeting and talking to people. Even so I was a little unsure of myself as this was not something I had done before. However I really wanted to make the effort to get away from my keyboard for a while and give myself the opportunity to meet some new clients.

I found the Big Circle event to be friendly and small. It was billed as having 300+ people booked in to attend, but there were only about 20 exhibitors. There were however lots of people milling about. The event lasted for a morning: between 9.30 and 1.30 which allowed people to get there in time and to get back to the office if they need to. The refreshment stand was quite expensive considering I only wanted a hot water because I drink decaf tea and take my own teabags – they still charged me £1! I decided not to ask about any of the snacks!

I met some great people at the Expo. I would like to say hi to Natalie of Nutcracker Design, Rosie of Revmarketing, Richard and Ian at Charles Design and Adrian of Clarify Copywriting. I also met a friend there who had gone quite independently. I enjoyed my time and gave out some of my (new) cards (thanks, Beanprint!).

So if you are thinking of going to your first networking event, here are five things that you should bear in mind:

1. Know where you are going. Obvious, right? I’ve gone past the stadium a few times, but I’ve never gone in before. I ended up going round the wrong way before I found my way in and I was already late because I didn’t…

2. Allow plenty of time to get there. This is not always easy when you have a family to get out the door as well. Then you get on the M5 and it is crawling at 20 mph due to roadworks! I was not on time yesterday, but I didn’t give up and made sure that I did eventually arrive at the exhibition.

3. It actually doesn’t matter if you’re late. I missed a speaker and it took me a little while to organise myself, but as I arrived, people were leaving and others were arriving. People were working to their own timetables and that’s the nature of business. At least I had arrived and I was giving myself that chance to network.

4. You don’t need to do everything straight away. I decided not to take part in the speed networking and I missed the speakers. I arrived too late to hear one speaker, and I was enjoying talking to one of the exhibitors during the start of another one. It would be interesting and next time I might factor in one of the speakers. I might also decide to speed network, but I met some interesting people and still got to chat.

5. Remember your business cards. I had some new cards made because my last set did not have my website on. I have also changed since I last had some cards done. I enjoyed swapping cards and it’s a great way to pass on your details.

I would recommend taking the plunge and starting to network as a way of increasing your freelance business. Freelancing can be lonely and it is great to get out of the office and talk to like-minded people and make new contacts. I will definitely attend one of these events again. It could get addictive.

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How to Save Your Website

Have you ever done this?

Found a bright shiny website with whistles and bells, looking pretty and inviting.

So you decide to stay and look round. Then you discover that although it looks like it will be informative, the website content lacks something…you cast around for the word…what is it again? Oh yes, I know. It lacks INFORMATION!

Welcome by Claudio Matsuoka on Flickr CC
Welcome by Claudio Matsuoka on Flickr CC

The content is lacklustre and the information is badly written, poorly punctuated and there’s a few spelling mistakes for good measure. There are some keywords, but they seem to have been sprinkled liberally rather than used sparingly and in context. Perhaps the owner of the website has written it for themselves, or perhaps they have relied on a web developer to write it for them. After all everyone can write, can’t they? We all learn to write at school. It’s just a matter of stringing a few sentences together and bunging it up on a website.

What’s the result of this cobbled-together content?

Visitors don’t stay around. If you’re selling something, then they may not bother to see what it is. They may proceed to buy, but then they were going to anyway and if they’ve seen it cheaper on another website then they won’t bother. There’s no interest to keep them here, nothing to learn and no real information that they can use.

What lessons can you take from this as a business owner?

  • Bright shiny websites are all very well, but it’s the content that keep people around
  • Everyone might have learned to write at school, but only certain people have kept in practice
  • SEO is an art which is learned. Just adding keywords here and there will not do the job of carefully crafted content which has been optimised for SEO
  • The website has ten seconds to attract a visitor’s attention. Give them something interesting to read and keep them for longer

Talking to a copywriter can help save your website. Organise your information, create interesting content on relevant subjects and your website will instantly improve. Copywriters can create landing pages to entice visitors further, sales pages to help pitch your products and informative articles which can help to sell for you.

If your bright and shiny website also has sparkly and exciting content to match, then your website visitors are going to come back again and again.

Sarah Charmley is a freelance copywriter who specialises in making web content bright and shiny too. Contact her using the form for a personalised quote to save your website. 

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