Your Social Media Training Partner

The Build your own Website workshop has been created for businesses who want to create their own website/presence. Using a standard Content Management System (CMS), you will be able to create, edit and manage your own site with scope to add additional features to increase the functionality. We will be using WordPress as our CMS and will be following a standard website structure.

WordPress is free to use software that around 75 million websites use. This will allow you to build your own site that will scale with you and your business, and allow you to customise to add additional functionality and style.

During this practical workshop, you will learn how to –

• Configure WordPress correctly
• Install plugins (add functionality)
• Create new pages
• Create blog posts
• Optimise content for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• Register your site in webmaster tools

Because of the nature of the software used, please ensure that you have a laptop with you (not a tablet/smartphone) and your power charger/supply. You do not need to have any prior website design/technical experience to complete this workshop.

The WordPress software requires an active hosting plan, to support this workshop, you will receive 40 days free hosting to give you ample time to complete the 1-day workshop and any additional development training you would like to look at. After this time, you may choose to pay for the hosting with the chosen provider, cancel, or move to another provider. Alternatively, you can provide your own hosting (please ensure it is compatible with WordPress and this is installed prior to the workshop).

This is part of the Arch Business & ERDF fully-funded programme available to businesses in based in Northumberland. If you’d like to learn more about this programme or this course specifically, please reach out to us.

The Blogging for Business course is a progression day for learners from either the Digital Hype fully-funded course or the combined Going for Growth qualification. This course is fully funded for eligible learners.

Have you ever wished that you had all the answers to your business questions in one place?

Well that’s what a Popup Business Cafe is.

We’re working with our friends from Hambleton District Council and the local business community who have invited us to bring our Popup magic to the Evolution Business Centre. We will have a room full of trusted experts who have volunteered to answer your questions.

We will have local expertise waiting to give practical answers to your questions on a range of business topics. Totally informal, turn up when you like, leave when you like, come back again when you feel like it. It’s a cafe, not a conference.

Oh, and did we mention that the advice is free?

So, come along and chat with an expert and get some genuinely free business advice. Ask questions of people who know about:

Websites, Marketing, Digital Marketing, Raising Finance, Tax & Accountancy, and Business Start-up and Growth.

Just so you know, if the event is busy we will operate a booking system to give you 20 minutes with an expert. When you arrive, please let us know who you would like to talk to and think about the questions you really want answers to so you can make the most of your time

Here’s details of who has volunteered to have their brains picked by you:

Faye Levi of Faye Levi Marketing. Ask Faye about Marketing, from strategy to tactics!

Caroline Todd of Hot Toddi. Ask Toddi anything about Social Media.

James Lane of Hypestar. Ask James about Websites, Search Engine Optimisation. James is a Google guru – what he doesn’t know about Googe is not worth knowing!

Andrew Wattsford of Business Starts. Andrew is a business adviser, ask him about starting or growing your business.

Storytelling is the common theme that runs through almost everything we do online. Inspiring our audience to invest themselves into our brand’s narrative is a key way to increase our brand exposure, increase awareness and increase conversions.

This one-day workshop is a practical approach to creating a blog, getting it set up for success and generating exciting, stimulating ideas that will interest your readers. Approaching both the logistical sides of blogging as well as the creative, you’ll learn how to get started, what to write and how to frame your posts to make the most of your visiting readers.

This is a business course, so focusses on improving conversions (sales etc.) to have a demonstrable impact on the growth of your business.

By attending this practical workshop, you will be –

• Creating your blog (setting up a free blog site)
• Reviewing branding & customisation (adding your logo etc.)
• Generating ideas (what should you be blogging about)
• Choosing the right headlines (What grabs attention for readers)
• Scheduling (how often should you be posting)
• Designing your own artwork (Canva/Photos)
• Making sure Google can find you (SEO)
• Getting the word out (Using social to promote your blog)
• Conversions (Making your blog work for your business)

Storytelling is the common theme that runs through almost everything we do online. Inspiring our audience to invest themselves into our brand’s narrative is a key way to increase our brand exposure, increase awareness and increase conversions.

This one-day workshop is a practical approach to creating a blog, getting it set up for success and generating exciting, stimulating ideas that will interest your readers. Approaching both the logistical sides of blogging as well as the creative, you’ll learn how to get started, what to write and how to frame your posts to make the most of your visiting readers.

This is a business course, so focusses on improving conversions (sales etc.) to have a demonstrable impact on the growth of your business.

By attending this practical workshop, you will be –

• Creating your blog (setting up a free blog site)
• Reviewing branding & customisation (adding your logo etc.)
• Generating ideas (what should you be blogging about)
• Choosing the right headlines (What grabs attention for readers)
• Scheduling (how often should you be posting)
• Designing your own artwork (Canva/Photos)
• Making sure Google can find you (SEO)
• Getting the word out (Using social to promote your blog)
• Conversions (Making your blog work for your business)

To secure your place on this exclusive Sparkly event, we ask for a minimum donation of £50 via the Just Giving link. As soon as we see that pledge, we will confirm your place.

Want to know more about SEO? Google for Business? How to Take Sparkling photos with your phone? How to be the Most Confident You & Personal Branding and How Marketing is not Sales? Join us!

Early in January 2017, Nicola Jayne Little pledged to raise £2000 for Willow Burn Hospice. To support this goal, Nicola asked subject matter experts and leading trainers to come together and donate their time to create this inaugural charity training event!

As it’s the first one, we’ve decided to keep it simple. You will have the opportunity to choose one workshop in the morning and one in the afternoon, join the networking games and picnic lunch and have a 15 minute, 1-2-1 session, with anyone of our experts’ from 3 – 4.30pm.

We’re confirming all of the trainers and speakers for you as we speak but the line-up will be as follows:

All the training costs are being donated by the trainers and you will be asked to bring something for our shared picnic lunch so all catering costs can be saved and donated to Willow Burn.

Want to give more?

Donate £60 and you can pop something into the goody bag that each delegate will receive.

Donate £70, we’ll make sure your business sponsors our newsletter too.

Donate £80 + and we’ll shout your name out from the rooftops on all our social media channels for the 4 weeks leading up to the event!

This practical, hands-on, one-day workshop guides you through how to ensure that self-hosted WordPress website is setup for success. This popular Content Management System (CMS) is open source and is free to download and use to build your website or blog (or both).

Additional functionality can be added (plugins) to make your website do almost anything you want it to, from selling your products online, take bookings for your Bed & Breakfast, to simply chronicling your experiences as a Northumberland business.

With all these features available, you need to make sure that you have the right setup on your website, that you have everything configured correctly, and that you’re geared up for online success

By attending this practical workshop, you will –

• Know how to change the look and feel of your website with theme management
• Configure effective SEO software
• Link your website with Google
• Optimise your website for speed, so it loads faster