Tag Archives: Uk Bloggers

How to Effectively Work from Home

April 17, 2018 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , 12 Comments

Working from home is a great opportunity. If you have the privilege of working from home, I say grab it with 2 hands. It is good to be able to work from home or anywhere you find yourself. But it can be very tricky when it comes to finances. Working from home can also have both a positive and negative affect on your mental health.

It’s very important to set up a good space to work in that will allow you to work effectively and feel comfortable. The following tips are helpful for anyone that works from home whether you are launching your own fashion label, studying an online RN to BSN program, or are employed by a company.  

 

working from home picture

 

Image Credit

 

 

Here are five tips to help you squeeze the most from working from home.

 

Setting up the work space

The first step, in setting up your office is to declutter the space.  A distraction free environment will allow you to focus on work. So set up your owkr space and get rid of any clutter or distraction. 

 

Furniture

There’s a very strong chance you’ll need a desk, even if you are working from a laptop. You will want to spread out and be able to focus on your work.  The most basic office furniture checklist comprises a desk, a supportive chair, a bright lamp, and some type of file storage system.

What you sit in is extremely important, as you’ll likely be sitting in this chair upwards of eight hours a day.  For this reason you’ll want a chair with decent ergonomic support and plenty of padding as you don’t want to be suffering with a bad back due to your desk and chair set-up.

 

Work when you should

It’s all too tempting for you to lose focus on your work when working from home. Especially with the many social media platforms. You have to have the discipline to work when you should, or you will spend the time doing nothing productive. 

 

Have a routine

Working from home can be both a blessing and a curse; on the one hand your commute is now limited to going from your bedroom to your home office, which has huge benefits in terms of convenience, but it can create a less focused emotional state if you’re used to a morning ritual of getting dressed in business attire (rather than sweatpants or your dressing gown) and being around colleagues in a similar state of ‘working’.  

 

The most important thing in terms of having a routine, is that it provides structure and keeps you focused – set yourself a lunch hour between a set time each day, or adopt the approach that many successful people take which is to get dressed for work, as if you were going to the office, rather than sitting around in your underwear.

Do you work from home? What do you think of these tips? Please sound off in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading.

*Collaborative post.

6 Ways to Build Brand Awareness for Your Small Business

October 11, 2017 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , , 28 Comments

Have you ever thought of ways to build brand awareness for your small business? Regardless of whether you own a brick and mortar business or an online based business, you need to promote your brand.

When your target audience recognizes your brand and acknowledges your brand as the go to for their specific need then you have been able to create brand awareness.  Brand awareness is what will make your business name stand out from the rest.

If you’ve been struggling to get your brand recognized by your target audience, you will find these 6 ways to build your brand awareness tips useful.

 

Build brand awareness with a unique personality

This to me is the first thing that you need to get straight. Most small business owners think that if they “copy” their competitors they will be able to leverage on the existing market. The truth is that people get tired of seeing the same thing over and over.

What will make your business stand out is when you do something unique and when you have a distinct personality that people can relate with. Decide on how you want your target audience to remember you. Once you’re clear on this, all the activities that you do to channel your brand awareness will be very powerful.

 

Put your story out there

Sharing your story and brand message is an effective way to put your brand out there. People relate with stories easily and at an emotional level. The aim behind sharing your story is to create a connection with your target audience.

You can tell the story about how you started your business or your client experiences. The best place to share your story is on social media or to guest post in industry related blogs.

 

build brand awareness image

 

You can also put your name and your story out there by taking it everywhere you go. A good way to do this is to have your brand name/message printed on T-shirts. The great thing about this strategy is that there are now companies like Printsome, who offer quality bulk T-shirt printing services. This is fab way to raise brand awareness.

 

Set up a referral programme

Referral programme is an effective way to use word-of-mouth to spread the awareness of your brand. It works by creating an incentive for your clients for referring your product or service to their friends. When their friends/readers pay for the product or service you offer, they are immediately given a gift which may be in form of a discount.

 

Engaging in local partnership

Partnering with a parallel or complimentary local business is another good way to increase your brand awareness. You can leverage on the existing brand awareness of a local business to build your own brand awareness. Find out how your product can be used as a way to compliment another local business. For example, if all you sell is lipstick you can partner with a local business that specializes in selling eyeliners to create a combined package that people can buy.

 

Influencer marketing

Influencers with a large and engaged follower base can help increase your brand awareness. You can reach out to influencers to help you put in a good word for your business and the products or services that you offer.

When it comes to making use of influencers, make sure that they have good engagement rate and that they are targeting almost the same audience you are appealing to. I offer blogger outreach services alongside blogging, so do check out my portfolio page for more information.

 

Invest in ads

To get the word out quickly, investing in ads is the best option. With a little investment you can have your brand name out there. You need to make sure that the copy on the ad is compelling enough to get your target audience’s attention.

Facebook ads are quite effective as almost everyone is on Facebook. The Facebook ad targeting is so sophisticated that you can easily laser in to your ideal clients. I would be writing a post on my experience with Facebook ads in a few weeks, so do watch this space.

 

How do you build brand awareness for your business?

 

*Collaborative post.

 

 

Reasons to Quit Smoking

September 22, 2017 By in Lifestyle Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 30 Comments

Many smokers start smoking from their teenage years, mainly due to peer pressure and got hooked. I know many smokers today, who started smoking in high school just because everyone else was smoking and they wanted to feel cool. Many years down the line, they realise the damage they are doing to their health, and try to quit smoking but find themselves struggling.

I recently came across this infographic by Aquavape, all about people’s top flavours, the percentage of people who switched from smoking cigarettes to vaping, and how many people believe it is healthier. This infographic came about as a result of a survey recently carried out by Aquavape, and I found the results very interesting.

Like I mentioned in my previous vaping posts, smoking e cigs/ e cigarettes is healthier than smoking tobacco cigarettes and it is a great way to quit smoking altogether.

Quit Smoking Image

 

I first heard about Vaping some years ago, and I had the opportunity to review some e cigs/e cigarettes. I found the idea of vaping very interesting and useful for those struggling to quit tobacco smoking. Most smokers know the damage smoking tobacco cigarettes does to their body, but they are unable to stop for various reasons. This is where e cigarettes come in. They are a great way to help with the nicotine cravings and carry a fraction of the risk of tobacco cigarettes. So smoking e-cigarettes is a great way to quit smoking eventually, and it is even backed by the NHS Stoptober Quit Smoking Campaign for the first time this year, which is fantastic news for millions of people.

 

Reasons to Quit Smoking

 

To Improve your health

Smoking tobacco cigarettes can do a lot damage to your lungs. This damage can lead to life threatening diseases such as pneumonia, emphysema and lung cancer. The best time to stop is now. So if you are struggling to quit smoking, you should research vaping/e cigs to see if that is your best alternative.

 

To save money

Tobacco smoking can be very expensive. You could save around £250 a day if you were smoking a packet a day. That is money you can put to good use.

 

To protect your loved ones

Quitting smoking can help protect your loved ones from harmful secondhand smoke. This would reduce their risk of developing asthma, meningitis, cancer and other secondhand smoke related diseases.

 

To smell good

If you smoke or you know anyone that does, you would know all about the concentrated smell of cigarettes that just does not go away. It stays on their clothes, bags, shoes, anything and everything. This may sound vain but it bothers me a lot. If you are a regular reader of Fashion and Style Police, you would know all about how I like to smell good. I even a whole post on how to get rid of body odour. So you know how important good smells are to me. I guess this is also another good thing about vaping, since e cigs come in various nice smelling flavours.

 

Are you trying to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes? How are you finding it? Have you tried e cigarettes?

 

*Collaborative Post

 

 

 

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