Usually our posts and features focus on our readers, our advertisers or our beautiful county, but this one is for us. We’ve been publishing Vale Life since 2007 and, over the years, have met some amazing people – particularly those who have independent businesses. We’ve seen a few come and go during that time and it’s always sad when a business has to close. Some chose the wrong location, for some it wasn’t quite the right offering. Some chose not to promote their businesses and some did, but poorly (either the wrong message or the wrong media). This is where we can certainly help.
Prior to starting Vale Life, Mark and I had a background in branding, PR and marketing. We’ve worked with thousands of sole traders, small businesses and companies over the years in virtually every sector you can imagine, so we kind of know what works and what doesn’t. In short, without giving our ages away, we have around eighty years’ experience which businesses can benefit from (in our defence, we have worked from a very young age though).
Times change, the message remains the same…
All through the past forty years, we’ve moved with the trends and adapted to ‘new ways’ but the fundamentals of advertising and marketing haven’t changed. This is where many businesses fall down.
The latest new thing will change everything – it rarely does. What matters is tone, message, delivery and engagement. If you understand what your potential customers want or need, it’s not difficult to position your brand or your message to ensure you’re in their line of sight. But, for many business owners, they simply either don’t have the skills to market their businesses or indeed the time. We’re good at it, so use our knowledge.
Not just a magazine…
When we started Vale Life in the summer of 2007 social media was in its infancy. People didn’t really know how it would change their lives – for better and for worse. The magazine has always had a loyal print readership and still does. Many readers simply don’t do social media, they still like the feel of a magazine in their hands – just to sit and browse with a cuppa, so they like Vale Life as a magazine.
We ‘ve always invested in our websites – we wanted readers online to have the same experience our magazine readers do and it’s become as successful. We have expandeed our social reach too. Did you know we have direct access to over 200,000 followers through our channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)? That means advertisers do too.
We work for you, it matters to us that you’re successful.
We’re ambassadors for the Vale of Glamorgan and the businesses that we promote. But we are picky. We do turn businesses away. Sometimes we just can’t, with good conscience, endorse them by having them in the magazine, on the website, or across our social channels. It really matters that we help you. Nothing gives us more pleasure than positive feedback from advertisers – to know we helped make a difference.
So if you’d like to promote your business in The Vale of Glamorgan and beyond, then do please get in touch. You can call me on 07766 106731 or email at jennifer@valelife.co.uk. I’d really love the opportunity to work with you.
Thank you.
To all the businesses we’ve worked with over the years, we thank you for your support and wish you the very best. It’s been, quite frankly, nuts. But we’ll bounce back and new opportunities will present themselves. We remain, as ever, positive.
Onwards and upwards.
Jennifer xx
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Contact Jennifer on 07766 106701 or email jennifer@goodlifepublishing.co.uk
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