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YouTubeHelping tennis player Tom Mellor appear at The Albert Hall
October 23, 2014 by
From time to time I am pleased to undertake pro bono work to support local organisations and individuals.
Therefore I was delighted to respond to a request from Cheltenham tennis player Tom Mellor and his father Philip.
Tom, who was born with Velo-Cardio-Facial-Syndrome, won gold and silver medals at the 2014 this year’s INAS World Tennis Championships. INAS is the organisation for para-athletes with an intellectual disability.
Tom had a chance of playing an exhibition game on behalf of Special Olympics GB immediately before the first match at the ATP Champions Tour at the Albert Hall in December 2014. However Special Olympics GB needed to provide proof of just how talented a player Tom is. Tom’s Dad Philip asked if I could shoot some footage of Tom playing, to use for this purpose.
You can see the promotional footage below. I’m pleased to report that the video has helped Tom secure a 15 minute exhibition match with his partner Fabrice Higgins at the opening of the ATP Champions Tour on 3rd December.
Lording it up at Lord’s with Michael Vaughan
July 22, 2014 by
I’ve been working with West Midlands based Gala Events for five years and recently I produced my eighth film for them.
This latest event was a Lord’s Long Room Lunch and it featured cricketers Michael Vaughan, Tim Bresnan and Steve Harmison. After a tour of the grounds, guests were entertained with a Q&A with the cricketers hosted by former cricketer and England selecter Geoff Miller.
Alan George of Gala Events says “We’ve used several videographers before and they haven’t come near to Expertise on Tap’s quality. Their attention to detail and their eye to get a variety of different aspects of our events, really show the atmosphere and help to sell next year’s event.”
If you’d like me to film your event do get in touch for a chat.
How to avoid your email marketing looking like spam
June 30, 2014 by
Have you noticed how spammers and scammers use personal names rather than brand names in the “from” section of their emails?
Here’s a recent example.
The reason why they do this is hopefully obvious. It’s so that the email looks like it’s from a real person.
My tip to avoid looking like a spammer.
Use your business name as the “from” name.
If you use your own name, and not everyone on your list knows who you are, this may affect your open rate. I receive a lot of email marketing emails done like this. Another option is to use your business name followed by your own name. Eg. From: [Expertise on Tap – Julian Wellings]
Email marketing – how NOT to manage your unsubscribe process
May 8, 2014 by
I’ve blogged before about why your unsubscribe process should be as simple as possible – ideally a one click process.
The screen shot below from Avid is a good example of how not to do it. Instead of a one click unsubscribe, where you click a link in the newsletter and it’s sorted, with Avid you’re taken to a web page with a myriad of choices. In fact it’s not an unsubscribe page at all – it’s a subscribe page.
Only on looking closely do you find a tiny unsubscribe link at the foot of the page. When you click this, it won’t process until you enter your email address. Again, with a one click process you should not have to enter your email address.
To summarise:
- Keep your unsubscribe process simple.
- If you want subscribers to be able to manage their preferences or interests, if you use an email service provider such as Mailchimp or Campaign Monitor it’s possible to add a link to enable this. Make sure the preferences are kept to a minimum.
Example of Avid unsubscribe process.
On location with the pop pirates: Radio Caroline at 50
April 22, 2014 by
Easter Sunday 1964 saw the launch of legendary radio station Radio Caroline. Moored off the Essex coast it brought pop radio to the UK in a way that had never been done before. The station and others like it, revolutionised music radio in the UK.
As a lifelong fan of offshore radio I was determined not to miss out on the 50th anniversary celebrations. I made the long trip from Cheltenham to Walton-on-the-Naze to capture the 50th anniversary celebrations, organised by former Ross Revenge captain Tony “Captain Campbell” Haggis.
On location with football pundits Matt Le Tissier and Steve Claridge
April 22, 2014 by
I’ve been working with West Midlands based Gala Events for five years and recently I produced my seventh film for them.
This latest event was the annual Birmingham Gold Cup Lunch and it featured live Irish band Celtic Clan, Sky Sports tipster Kevan Minter along with football pundits Matt Le Tissier and Steve Claridge , both of whom gave anecdote rich after lunch speeches. The event was ably compered by West Midlands radio legend Tom Ross.
Alan George of Gala Events says “We’ve used several videographers before and they haven’t come near to Expertise on Tap’s quality. Their attention to detail and their eye to get a variety of different aspects of our events, really show the atmosphere and help to sell next year’s event.”
If you’d like me to film your event do get in touch for a chat.
On location with the Football Characters
December 6, 2013 by
Last week I had a really interesting video assignment. I was asked to film an “Evening with the Football Characters” at Edgbaston Cricket Ground by West Midlands based Gala Events. This is the sixth film I have produced for Gala.
The “Football Characters” on this occasion were Hull City manager Steve Bruce, Sam Allardyce of West Ham United and Neil Warnock former Leeds United manager and currently appearing on TalkSport and BT Sport.
Alan George of Gala Events says “We’ve used several videographers before and they haven’t come near to Expertise on Tap’s quality. Their attention to detail and their eye to get a variety of different aspects of our events, really show the atmosphere and help to sell next year’s event.”
If you’d like me to film your event do get in touch for a chat!
How BBC Radio 2 recognised the power of email to engage with listeners
October 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
BBC Radio 2 has recently launched Radio 2 Mail, a weekly e-newsletter with the strapline “Sharing what we love about Radio 2”
These days the BBC has many ways of engaging with it’s audience ranging from phone ins, texts into programmes, and of course Twitter and Facebook. So, I found it refreshing that Radio 2 has recognised the power of email newsletters as an additional way of engaging with listeners.
And they’ve executed it really well.
The copy on their Radio 2 Mail web page is full of benefit statements and emotive keywords. For example:
Handpicked by our very own presenters.
Each week, a different presenter will round up their favourite moments on Radio 2.
They might even let you in on a few behind-the-scenes secrets!
The welcome email you receive after subscribing is warm and inviting, with a link to a video featuring four of the presenters. See below…
How could you use an email newsletter in your business to engage with your prospective clients and build brand awareness? I can help. Ask me how.
Example of Radio 2 Mail welcome email
Why this e-shot from Apple is perfect. In every way.
September 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Apple have just sent me the email below promoting the new iPhones. Apple’s email marketing always stands out from the crowd, but this one is special.
Here’s why.
The opening paragraph is brief yet sells lots of benefits. Apple is all about making it easy for the consumer, and that’s what they’re doing here. “We’ll ship it for free”. “We’ll set it up just how you want it”.
The two product sections have lots of white space and are uncluttered. The product shots don’t even have a front view. My assumption is iPhone brand awareness is so high that they don’t need to even show the front. The side shot perfectly encapsulates the range of colours available.
The “Buy Now” buttons are small and understated. It’s just not Apple’s style to use massive BUY NOW!!! calls to action.
