#19 Travel Bargains

Just thought I would write this short blog post as I haven’t done one in a while and I’m off travelling Thursday so now seems like a good time!

A lot of people choose to go travelling and like me a lot of people haven’t got a clue where to get their stuff from, so here are a few bargains that I have picked up along the way.



Millets Value Sunny 65L Rucksack – The cornerstone of any backpackers travels. When looking on eBay, 65L rucksacks were still going for £45 second hand (from known makes, Karrimor, Low Alpine etc). By chance I was looking on the Millets site after being in the store and found these retailing at only £15! A massive saving! They come in blue or pink, depending what tickles your fancy and as yet I have had no problems. It has ample space and a separate waterproof compartment that can be sealed.

Post Office Platinum Credit Card – When travelling abroad the last thing you want is your bank spending some of your holiday money too! With the help of Martin Lewis, I applied for this credit card. It’s ideal for using abroad as there is absolutely no commission on purchases, so you only pay for what you spend. The other great thing about this card was that there was (as at 20.07.2010) 0% on card purchases for 3 months, that means that anything you buy on the card you won’t get charged extra for, so perfect for any trip abroad. Just don’t ask for cash back or use an ATM with it as you will revert to the non promotional rate which is somewhere in the 30’s! The application is done easily online and the requirements aren’t as high as many lenders so you are more likely to be approved.

Nationwide Flex Account – Obviously not everything can be paid for on the credit card, so by setting up and account with Nationwide, you can save a bit more money too. Nationwide are one of the only high street banks to currently offer 0% commission on withdrawing money overseas. This again means that if you are travelling for a long period of time, you don’t have to carry a large amount of cash with you. It also means that once again, the banks aren’t spending your cash for you! Application is very simple and easily done in a branch. Be advised do this at least a month in advance as most items (card, PIN number, internet/telephone banking set up) rely on sending you paper confirmation by post, which can take time.

Travel Insurance at Money Supermarket – I shopped about a bit for travel insurance and each person will obviously have differing needs with regards to insurance. Although companies such as direct line constantly tell you to ‘cut out the middle man’ to save money, this type of disintermediation may not always prove so. Sites like MS are described as aggregators and research proves that being top of the list gives you more business; therefore companies may offer their normal rate on their site, but a reduced, exclusive, rate on MS in order to make the most of advertising on that site. This is done by credit card lenders as well so be sure to check. This is due mainly to the significantly higher amounts of traffic these sites receive, and in a market as saturated as insurance; to compete you need to be in the same space as everyone else. I found my deal on MS and checked the company site to make sure, and was proved correct with the same policy being nearly £10 more expensive on their site. Worth checking!

So that’s it, a few bargains that will ultimately give me more money to spend on my travels and should make sure that my bank manager isn’t getting too bigger bonus this year! I will add any more as and when I think of them, but other suggestions are always welcome! And let me know if this works for you.

Happy Holidays :)

#18 Help me with my USA experience... please!

Right guys yet again I could do with some suggestions. As of the 22nd of July I will be taking some time out for travelling in the USA, more specifically California and Nevada. What I am looking for is some help with interesting things to do, must sees, places to stay etc.


The plan so far is this (feel free to suggest places along the way):

• Fly into LA – stay in Santa Monica
• Explore LA
• Move on to San Diego
• Stay in San Diego for one or two days
• Move on towards Vegas (help needed here on stop offs along the way)
• Stay in Vegas (accommodation already sorted)
• Go and see the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Death Valley
• Next up to the Yosemite National Park too have a look at that
• Then into San Francisco
• Following that back down to LA, making sure we stop in Santa Barbara

So that is basically the route, and we have all that to cover in 3 and half weeks, which should be more than enough time. But what I am looking for are suggestions of places to go around there, places to avoid. Good clubs, pubs, food, hostels, sights. Routes to take, shortcuts etc.

Basically we are looking to do a bit of surfing, some sightseeing, but mostly chilling out and having a few beers but a good laugh too.

I am in need of your help! All comments welcome! :)

#17 Your Help Is Needed...

As the title suggests I am looking for some help! I currently work for a website, concordextra.com, which offers discounts on all top brands in just about anything including health and beauty, fragrances, fishing, gardening, DIY, food etc.

Anyway, I need to generate a bit of interest in the site and one idea that has come to mind is a competition to win a goody bag from Concord Extra. The idea I have is that of holiday essentials, inspired by the checklists available on sites such as holiday-checklist.co.uk. The goody bag would include all you usual toiletries as well as suncream, towels, paracetamol and plasters etc.

Basically, what I need to know is whether a) you think this is a good idea and b) if you have any other suggestions as to what I can add to the goody bag, or even a better prize.

If you could help I would be appreciative if you could leave your comment below, if not, thanks for reading this and feel free to enter the competition! :)

#16 Amsterdam - The Brief

So, as a lot, or few of you may have noticed, I have been counting down the days this week until the weekend. This will not be any ordinary weekend, but a weekend that holds so much potential, as a select few of us will be making the voyage to the cultural hotspot that is Amsterdam. This event is sure to go down in history as 'being held this weekend'!

The plan for the weekend began when a friend of mine stumbled upon a promotional offer from P&O cruises; a 'Buy One Get One Free' offer. This meant that two people could travel return to Amsterdam for £38 each, including accommodation. To put this into perspective, to get a taxi home on a weekend after a night on the town costs me £19! So this was of course a done deal.

As usual, managing to tie everyone down to a particular weekend was difficult, resulting in the first casualty of the event (not literally of course, he was an accountant and due to the trip coinciding with the end of the financial year, he couldn't get time off). But we agreed on a weekend eventually, March 20th. If you believe the guy in the street outside the shopping centre in Swansea, this date will also be the date that the world comes to an end, and with 7 lads beered up in a city with a distorted moral compass, this could well be true!

So the plan for the weekend as it unfolds:

• Meet in Manchester where our mate (now officially known as Romeo One) will pick us up, all of us will be armed with coke bottles filled with a special cocktail we like to call 'whiskey and coke', in order to give the middle finger to the extortionate drinks prices on board the Pride of Hull (the ferry)
• Rendezvous with our other mate (For the purposes of this trip will now be known as Bravo One) in Hull at the station, and proceed to check in at the docks
• Begin consumption of beverages in the cheapest pub possible, avoiding upsetting the natives!
• Board the vessel (God bless all who sail in her), then nominate a 'stag' for the rest of the journey. NB. With us all being arguably single men, the reason for the nomination is so that we can then use the so called 'stag' as not only an ambassador for the group, but also to commandeer free drinks, and also to initiate conversation with the ladies
• Arrive at Rotterdam, then board a coach destined to Amsterdam
• Arrive at Amsterdam
• Let all hell break loose
• Board the coach back to Rotterdam (fingers crossed)
• Re-Board the Pride of Hull
• Arrive back in Hull the following morning with one of the worst hangovers known to man

As you can see we will have a packed itinerary. Essentially this should be a straight-forward open and shut case. However with the presence of so many variables; such as alcohol, hookers, friends who have woken up in a different country after a night out with us before, more alcohol, sea sickness, sickness, drug induced comas, hookers, more alcohol..... (you get the picture), it will be interesting to see if we can keep to our strict schedule.

All that remains to be said is God help us all. Look out for the de-brief next week, and possibly some tweets while we are there!

Tips and advice are always welcome!

#15 Thinking about getting back into farming

After seeing this video today I thought about going back into farming! David Mitchell argues a great case!! Let me know what you think!

#14 Split Testing so Far

I have already had experience in split testing with direct email campaigns from my brief time as a campaign manager at Bank of America Corporation, however the lists were much larger back then and were purchased, so therefore far more receptive to marketing emails and data was easier to analyse and draw conclusions from due to larger samples.

The reality is, for many SME's that their database of contacts is one that has been built upon leads from trade shows, along with business cards from networking events. Thus being less receptive to marketing emails, smaller samples and harder data to analyse.

The first problem I encountered when executing direct email campaigns at my current SME was the open rate. Although the bounces were few, the open rate was still poor. I did some research into this and decided to test subject lines. I found that by including the company name in the subject line, the open rate increased significantly over an email without the company name in the subject line. So a great start there!

The next problem I faced was that of click throughs. Initially I assumed this was to do with the amount of images in the email itself, as in my previous role the image to text ratio significantly affected the success of the email. So I then tested this, one email made up of mostly text against one of mostly images. No success to be had, the results proved inconclusive. So what now?

My next thought was that the fact that it was a sales email was putting recipients off. However my answer to this came when we distributed our first eBook, even though we made it very clear that this was free and involved no effort on their part, the click through was not as expected.

After researching this problem, I found a couple of suggestions that might help. One was to include as many links as possible in the email, however on review of this I decided that would only confuse a reader and spoil the aesthetic of the email itself. My next idea, and one which I am eager to test next was using a teaser email, so including half a paragraph, with some dotted lines and a 'read more' hyperlink included. The reason I am eager to test this is that when testing a similar concept at BoA, it was a resounding failure, so therefore it would be interesting to see the results for an SME in a different industry.

What is clear though is that I am getting closer to establishing the perfect formula for direct email campaigns for SME's! Which of course is great news!

Look out for further updates on my results in future blog entries.

#13 The Marketing Challenge

This year I have set myself a challenge to try and transform the organisation I work for. A hard task you may say, but I'm not one to shy away from these things.

Basically I need to facilitate the move of the organisation away from that of a direct sales organisation, trying to force our products down prospects necks, to that of the friendly expert organisation. The trusted friend that is a font of information and experience, and when the time is right, you will ask it for the help you need.

Well, that's the plan anyway!

Being 22 and with my whole career ahead of me, this mammoth task is going to make me look like the mutts nuts of marketing in any interview I come up against.

The almost genius marketing strategy that I have put in place is as follows:

• Improve the website, there is a confusion of what the company actually does and what it can provide
• Improve the usabililty of the site by including video content
  
• Provide useful and appropriate information through eBooks and blog entries that is specifically of use to prospective customers
• Create an opportunity for anyone to test our knowledge at any time
• Create a members area where richer and more useful content is shared with all those willing to sacrifice their details in order to see it
• Showcase the services and how they add value to clients we already work with
• Employ a CRM programme to increase current clients usage of our services, thus increasing revenue
  

Of course when starting from scratch, this task looks particularly large, but if I successfully complete this, then the chances are this will be both beneficial to the organisation and my career as a marketer.

Alongside these tasks, I will also be taking part in these activities:

• Split testing on direct email campaigns to attempt to work out the perfect formula for the company in terms of both subject line (for opens) and copy (for click throughs)
• Cleansing the database
• Developing a clear contact strategy from approaching prospects to make initial contact, to attempting to convert them by sending an offer
• Writing eBooks
• Making copious amounts of tea
• Using CopyDoodles to increase response rates
  

So wish me luck, as 2010 will be a hell of a year for my career if I get this spot on! Of course any advice or ideas are always welcome, and of course any questions too!

#12 Funny Facebook Quotes

Just to give you all a bit of context on this post...

I usually check Facebook daily and as being a graduate the news feed is almost always full of status' reading 'Jenny is feeling terrible today after a mental night last night' or 'John thinks that chilling on the beach is the best thing ever'. All of which remind you that sitting at a desk in sunny South Wales is not nearly exciting enough to warrant a Facebook update.

But every once in a while you see a post that makes you smile, and I don't mean 'Terry woke up this morning with one shoe', I mean one like the one below, simple humour that brings a smile to your face every time you think about it.

Take my mate Kams post, written in the native language of Sri Lanka, clearly meant for friends who also speak the lingo. However my mate Si thought he would add his own humourous comment...


Makes me laugh every time I see it! Let me know if you have any of your own or if you like this one.

#11 Corporate Bullsh*t

This post was inspired after discussing with friends some of the terminology used in companies that we have all worked in. We will all be aware of some of the phrases used within organisations up and down the country, if not worldwide. We all know exactly what they mean, and we cringe as we here senior managers shamelessly band these terms and phrases about the office. So here is my list of some of the worst that I have compiled along with an example, feel free to add any I have missed!

P.s. Some explanations have been included for the less common ones.

‘Make sure we get our house in order’
‘Get all of our ducks in a row’
‘Singing from the same hymn sheet’
‘We will take this offline’
‘Push back’ (saying no)
‘Put some time in my calendar’
‘Going forward’
‘Low hanging fruit’ (quick wins)
‘Roadmap’
‘Reaching out’
‘Touching base’
‘Town Hall’ (A meeting where one person presents then fields questions)
‘Fireside’ (A meeting with an individual, usually a senior manager, where more informal questions are fielded)
‘FYI’ (said as the abbreviation)
‘SPPY’ (Same point previous year)

Example:

FYI

Paul conducted a fireside which I attended regarding the issue moving forward, we decided it best to take it offline making sure we had sufficient time in our calendars after identifying our results compared to the SPPY. We would like to ensure that all our ducks are in a row and that our house is in order, so that we can all be singing from the same hymn sheet. Paul requested that a road map should be drawn up with all low hanging fruit clearly identified so that we can push back if necessary. Feel free to reach out and touch base with me on this if issue if you need to.

#10 Best knock knock joke ever

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Jesus
Jesus who?
Jesus Christ! Open the door!

#9 Favourite Christmas Song

Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone

Enough said I think! If you would like to argue with this, feel free to do so, but I will not be swayed on this!!

#8 Things I Miss About Uni

This a list of things that I miss most about uni life. Feel free to add any more if you can think of them:

1. High school started before 8am, but now anything before noon is considered “early”.
2. You have more beer than food in your fridge.
3. Weekends start on Thursday.
4. 6am is when you go to sleep, not when you wake up.
5. Instead of falling asleep in class, you stay in bed.
6. You know how late McDonald’s, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Kfc open.
7. You think it’s the weekend on a Wednesday and you don’t know what month it is.
8. Your underwear/sock supply dictates your laundry schedule.
9. You check Facebook more than once a day.
10. You talk about beer pong like it’s a sport.
11. Finding random people in your house is perfectly normal, and you even sympathize with them… sometimes when you wake up you have no idea where you are.
12. Your primary outlook on everyday life is Jeremy Kyle and Cash in the attic.
13. You open a beer at 10 am and your flatmate asks you if there’s more.
14. The standard of meals per day falls to two, sometimes just one.
15. Your bin is overflowing and your bank account isn’t.
16. You wear the same jeans for 13 days without washing them.
17. Your breakfast consists of a coke or cereal bar on the way to class… anything with caffeine will do.
18. You live in a house with three sofas, none of which match.
19. You try to study but seem to procrastinate by eating, going to study breaks, talking to people, etc…
20. You talk to your roommate on instant messenger when you’re both home.
21. You ask people what YOU did last night.
22. Certain things are now deemed “Facebook worthy.” When friends take pictures of you, you wonder how long it will take them to post them.
23. You see people you know you’ve met but can never remember their names or how you know them.
24. Your idea of a square meal is a Weatherspoons Sunday roast with a pint.
25. You’ve travelled on a train with bags of dirty clothes.
26. You go home to do your laundry because you’re too poor to pay the £1.20… or too lazy to go to a change machine.
27. You pay £50 for a book you don’t read once, return it four months later, and get £10.
28. You throw out bowls and plates because you don’t feel like washing them.
29. Your beer pong table is nicer than all your other tables.
30. It takes preparation… and 3 people… to take out your rubbish.
31. Going to the library is a social event.
32. You start joining clubs because of the free food.
33. Visits home depend on how much money you have for the train fair.
34. You skip one class to write an essay for another.
35. You have no idea where your tuition money is going
36. Getting post becomes an ego booster/breaker.
37. You never realised so many people are smarter than you.
38. You never realised so many people are dumber than you.
39. You craft ways to make any game into a drinking/stripping game.
40. You meet the type of people you thought only existed in movies.
41. Printers break down only when you desperately need them.
42. Anything can be cooked in a microwave.
43. Going to Tesco at midnight is completely normal.
44. You call restaurants that deliver more than you call your own family.
45. You’ve paid bills over £5… in coins.
46. You can’t imagine life without your laptop/mobile/ i-pod.
47. Hoodies and trackies become the norm – jeans are considered “dressy” at certain occasions… like school.
48. A cancelled class is almost as exciting as Christmas.
49. Taking a nap in the library is perfectly acceptable.
50. Your lecturers speak English… as a second language.
51. Your lecturers swear in class and no one cares.
52. You take condiment packets and napkins from fast food restaurants – hey, they’re free.
53. You bring back socks from the laundry room that may or may not be yours.
54. The lifts take forever but you’ll wait 10 minutes just so you don’t have to climb stairs.
55. You press the automatic door opener instead of simply grabbing the handle when you approach a door.
56. Christmas lights seem to be acceptable all year round.
57. Class size doubles on exam days, or before class tests
58. You are no longer thankful that fire alarms are here to protect you.
59. You begin to include ketchup on your list of acceptable vegetables.
60. You stay on campus for hours in between classes when it’s too cold to walk home.
61. There’s always a “question guy” in at least one of your classes, and you really wish someone would just tell him/her to shut the f*ck up.
62. You no longer find it uncool to take naps. In fact, you quite enjoy them.
63. You find your list of acceptable napping places expanding daily to increasingly uncomfortable locations.
64. You fill out credit card applications for the free food.
65. You’ve eaten cereal out of a cup… with a fork.
66. Dressing up for Halloween becomes cool again.
67. You know at least one person who has dropped his/her mobile into a toilet.
68. You become increasingly annoyed with the “old” people in class – well done to them for going back to college but they generally ask really, really annoying questions.
69. You admire people’s alcohol bottle shrines.
70. You set your clock 5-10 minutes ahead so you can potentially make it to class on time.
71. You text faster than you type.
72. You only find out a class is cancelled after you get there and sit for about ten minutes.
73. You run out of black ink and, instead of buying a new ink cartridge, decide blue is a nice substitute… adds a little flair.

#7 Favourite Chuck Norris Facts

I thought I would compile a list of my favourite Chuck Norris facts (mainly due to boredom), feel free to add more if you like!

• Chuck Norris doesn't sleep, he waits!
• Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of surprise
• Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird
• Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
• Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
• When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.
• Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.
• Chuck Norris CAN believe it's not butter.
• Along with his black belt, Chuck Norris often chooses to wear brown shoes. No one has DARED call him on it. Ever.
• Chuck Norris doesn't wear a watch, HE decides what time it is!
  
• If at first you don't succeed, you're not Chuck Norris.
• Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you.
• Chuck Norris can judge a book by its cover.

#6 Book Review: The Face of Death

The Face of Death: Cody McFadyen

ISBN 978-0-340-84010-8

This book is the second in the series from McFadyen, featuring the leading character Smoky Barrett.

After reading what I believe to be the first book, Shadow Man (although I could be wrong!!), I could not wait to read the next thrilling installment from McFadyen, and I can confidently say I was not let down. This book is a real page-turner, and for a guy who doesn't like to read too much this really kept me going.

The story centres on a young girl who is discovered by the police in her foster parents house, ready to end her life with a pistol and demanding that she will unless she talks to Smoky. The girl claims her life is being ruined by a mystery 'stranger' and all events leading up to this day have been recorded in her diary.

McFadyen keeps the reader in suspense from then on by switching between Smoky reading the diary and the present events following the opening of the investigation. The continuous back and forth between past and present keeps the reader poised and craving to for Smoky to read more so that she can uncover the truth before it's too late.

Also, unlike the first book, I didn't manage to be able to guess who the murderer is until the very end, which I particularly liked. If you haven't read the first one then the book spends the first few chapters introducing the characters once more, and a brief background.

As usual, McFadyen is incredibly descriptive when it comes to both the murder scenes and the prolongued sex scenes, which when reading this while eating your lunch at work, can prove to be a little intense!!!

All in all, a great sequel to the first book. If you like murder mysteries then you will love this, it keeps you gripped from begginning to end. I now can't wait to read the next book and see if McFadyen can keep it up!

If you have read it, let me know your thoughts too

#5 The serious cat

This guy has helped me through some serious times in work! I hope it helps you!

#4 Rejection letter

This one goes out to all the graduates, who like me have recieved a rejection letter from a potential employer. This is what I reply with:

Dear ......,

Thank you for your letter rejecting my application for employment with your firm.

I have received rejections from an unusually large number of well qualified organizations. With such a varied and promising spectrum of rejections from which to select, it is impossible for me to consider them all. After careful deliberation, then, and because a number of firms have found me more unsuitable, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your rejection.

Despite your company’s outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet with my requirements at this time. As a result, I will be starting employment with your firm on the first of the month.

Circumstances change and one can never know when new demands for rejection arise. Accordingly, I will keep your letter on file in case my requirements for rejection change.

Please do not regard this letter as a criticism of your qualifications in attempting to refuse me employment. I wish you the best of luck in rejecting future candidates.

Sincerely,

Huw Williams

Feel free to use this as your own, it may make you feel somewhat better!!!

#3 Current take on mobile marketing

The iPhone is easily the best phone on the market, but most official stats indicate that the iPhone is only making up around 9% of the UK market, leaving the other 91% open to more traditional mobile content.

This 9% is obviously going to grow, but what is important to remember is that this current 'app' market is pretty saturated already, and with Nokia's Ovi and Windows coming to join the party, it is only going to get harder to compete.

At the moment the success of direct email campaigns as an acquisition tool is declining, due to advancements in spam filtering and the general awareness of people to differing subject lines. And with social media becoming more widespread and with opinions of people like myself clogging channels, it is becoming harder to reach individuals directly, aside from personal selling. Even cold calling is declining, as not only do people unsubscribe through their land line providers, but there are now less people with actual land lines due to advances in mobile internet. So therefore one of the only means still readily available to organisations is mobile.

Let's face it, everyone reads a text before they delete it!!!

With email, the issue once the email has reached an inbox, is whether it will then be deleted. With a text however, the guarantee is that a recipient will at skim the text before deleting it. And with the success of Twitter becoming ever more apparent, there is proof that people not only read 140 chracter messages, but that the message can generate a huge amount of interest.

Therefore in my opinion, it seems that smartphones have quite simply stolen a lot of the media spotlight. This has taken away the emphasis on the very real and cost-effective vehicle that is text marketing.

#2 Independent review of Zombieland

If I'm totally honest, I thought this film looked less than average in the trailer, and to my surprise I was proved correct!

The film is an American take on Sean of the Dead. Although funny in a few places, overall this was always going to be a poor mans version.

Aside from that, entertaining at least, with a cameo from Bill Murray.

I would probably rate this 6/10.

#1 Who am I?

As I'm sure many of you both read and write blogs, often wondering who is this person and are they indeed credible.

Well to answer both of those my name is Huw Williams and I am indeed credible. I am currently a Marketing Launch Manager for a mobile content provider. Fresh out of university and without a care in the world, until I realised the world wasn't too keen on employing me! So here I am, working in South Wales and loving it. For the company I work for I am solely responsible for the marketing, especially involving all things social media. Therefore in order to become at one with social media, it is imperative that I try this for myself!

I am the youngest of three, my parents are both older. Unfotunately my mother left before I was born. Not many people know this but I'm actually mixed race, my father prefers the 100m, and my mother is Pakistani!

If there are any prospective employers reading this, then I would like to say that my skills include marketing, through all channels but especially new media, and in reading future posts you should start to get an idea of what I'm into. If not, then you are seriously bored if you are reading this!