Why use a Copywriter?

So you can use scissors, that's good, but would you really try to perform surgery on your dog's over grown back claws because you don't walk him so much on the road? I hope not. If you would, you can stop reading now. I don't think this guy is for you.

BJ Hampson's job is to take what you want to say about your business, and say it better. By hiring him to write your companies copy, you're ensuring that your business is marketed in the best way possible. Excellent copywriting for your advertising, website and marketing tools will mean more customers, more sales, more business, and guess what that means people? more money. 

It's a false economy to take time out from your own busy schedule as a self confessed expert in copywriting to write your own copy because you got an A in English.

As the famous saying goes: “Time is money and money doesn't grow on trees" or is it "Money is the lesser of both evils" "Money makes the world go round" "Don't pay for a hooker up front with your money" aaarrrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ben help me out here pal.

www.bjhampson.com

HD Brows© at The Eyebrow Hotel

Your face is beautiful. But they pride themselves on accentuating your natural looks even further. They're all about simple elegance, and luxurious treatment at The Eyebrow Hotel in Manchester. From the moment you walk through the door you are welcomed with a smile and a drink, to the moment you leave, having just booked in to return soon, because you're amazed at what they've done to your face. When you've had your HD Brows© done at The Eyebrow Hotel, you'll realise just how important a facial feature the eyebrows really are.

Big thanks to Clair Read for the illustration.

Check in at www.theeyebrowhotel.co.uk

Getting Distracted by Feedback

A business is not a democratic country. 

Not every decision needs to be made by the collective. 

People love giving you their ideas and opinions on what they think works, either from something they've seen on a Google search or some amazing product development and user experience generated from a brainstorming session they've had in the pub off their boxes with their mates.

Please try not to let everything come to a vote. 

Instead hire smart and capable people to come up with an idea and execute it correctly for you and not have to balance the opinions and feedback of everyone else, all the time.

You will have a ton of people constantly sharing their feedback and opinions of your business with you. It's easy to get wrapped up in it and want to tweak things immediately. 

Keep in mind that people will give you feedback based off their own knowledge and experience which isn't always right.

It's the job of the smart and capable people to come up with the ideas to make your company money without losing sight of your vision.

Metallic Foil Business Cards

Metallic foil is a great and creative way to make your business cards stand out amongst the crowd. Here I've had my clients business cards printed with a silver metallic block foil to add an opulent feel whilst giving them an elegant and stylish special touch. This creates what I call the magpie effect with potential customers being instantly attracted to them.

Shot up North Awards

Tim & Jay enter Gladstone Gentleman's Grooming photograph into Shot Up North Awards. Wish us luck by sharing this around.

High Speed Photography

In a blink of the eye, a lot can happen. A lot of astonishing things happen in a split of a second that are just about moving too quickly for us to see. 

High speed photography is the art of photographing a rapidly occurring event. Depending on the event to be photographed, methods range from use of ultra-short time flash exposures to producing lots of exposures in a split-second. 

Seemingly frozen in time, a lot of photographers have their own special methods of doing high speed photography. 

This is ours...

I got hold of Jay Cain photographers jacket and camera strap whilst he laid himself down on the track just seconds before the greyhounds were released from the traps. Jay got the shot and I at high speed picked him up and flung him and myself over the fence as the dogs flew by.

We were then asked to leave at high speed.

Cheating Google Places Reviews

Try and cheat Google Places Reviews if you want clever clogs, but do you really think your not going to get found out by the real clever people at Google. 

Reviews are there to help people in the search process so Google takes them kind of really seriously. 

Google can identify where reviews have come from, as in if you sign in from the same computer and login to different gmail accounts you've created to compose your ever so corporate worded reviews, so treat the system as it was intended. 

Deliver a great product or service and have customers who experience this comment on your Google places listing and watch your Google ranking increase. 

If you try and cheat the system and get found out prepare to face the wrath of Google through rank degrading and that wouldn't be so clever now would it.

Picture above is what my face would look like if Google Rank Degrading happened to me.

England Football Fans World Cup Wall Chart

Creatives were tasked with creating a wall chart to enable England football fans to keep track of all the World Cup action in South Africa. The Drum invited people to choose their favourite, to be printed and sent out with the magazine in time for the kick off.

The one that received the most votes and complimentary comments their comments section below was printed by Montgomery Litho and distributed with the 11 June issue of The Drum - just in time for the footballing fun to start in South Africa on that very day.

Did this beautiful little sucker whilst workng for Fresh Creative Group.

First Impressions

We often hear of the importance of first impressions in both our professional and personal lives. In business, the first impression we make on potential clients and other professionals can affect how much business we get. If we fail to dazzle in the first meeting, you might as well get your coat because trust me just like a girl on a night out they defo ain't going home with you.

Also, we tend to forget that first impressions often begin with a business card. Let’s be honest: in most business and networking situations, we lead with our cards, It's a nice ice breaker and within 3 seconds they can already gauge what you're all about.

To convey trustworthiness, I've designed these hand made black foiled plastic business card for my client to reflect reliability and longevity whilst keeping the information compact with the foil blocking dies to make an impression of cool and cutting edge.

A solid reputation does wonders for business, but unless you plan to print customer testimonials on your card, you have to be imaginative.

No matter what field we’re in, we need to gain our client’s trust so that we can effectively guide them through every single project we do with them. If the client doesn’t trust that we are wise and know what the frig we’re doing from the start, they will likely be resistant, which will no doubt lead to problems and an uncomfortable relationship for the future.

House of Fraser loves Gladstone Grooming

My boys at Gladstone Gentleman's Grooming have recently been asked to provide their experience at House of Fraser in Manchester. The idea was originally proposed by House of Fraser representative and good Gladstone friend Kevin Steed, shown in the picture above.

They will be re-creating the Gladstone experience in the Menswear section at House of Fraser, providing their traditional luxury hair and shave services to House of Fraser customers and of course their our own clients, as always! So keep your eyes peeled, more information to follow on their blog.

So proud of you fellas.

www.gladstonegrooming.co.uk