All posts by : janinepaterson

Shame it was on Sunday mornings!

I was brought up in a little town in Buckinghamshire.

 At the age of thirteen, I landed my first “real” job at a mushroom farm (I had a paper round before this but that wasn’t what I considered a real job)

Every Sunday morning, I would wake up early, (I have since learnt to enjoy Sunday morning lie-ins), and my poor dad would drive me up to the farm to spend the morning picking mushrooms.

It wasn’t the best job, in dark, damp sheds filling box after box with the lovely white fungi, but there was a reason for this.

I wanted to earn my own money, to be able to buy the things I wanted without relying on my parents.

The mushroom farm gave me that opportunity and was my first taste of independence.

With each passing Sunday, I got a taste of what was to become: earning my own money.

But it wasn’t just about the money; it was the sense of achievement and the freedom to make my own choices.

Building on my parent’s teaching about the importance of saving, budgeting and setting goals for the things I wanted to buy.

And I have continued to do this in my professional life, first working for someone else and now in my own business, guiding my clients through the intricate web of marketing and advertising regulation.

I help them promote their products and services confidently, without worrying about legal consequences.

That’s my job!

They should know better!

Lots of businesses do this without realising it’s actually against the law!

And you know what?

It also drives away real customers.

When it comes to sending emails, many businesses break the rules, sometimes through lack of knowledge but others because they don’t care how they treat their customers.

I was talking to a client who signed up for a free webinar.

But guess what?

He got bombarded with seven marketing emails on the very first day!

Why? Because the sign-up form made him agree to get those emails, just to attend the webinar.

I’ve seen this so many times.

Having to agree to receive emails to download a client magnet or attend a free event, but you know what?

It’s not just against the law, it’s also a really bad way to start a relationship with potential customers.

It’s not honest, and it doesn’t respect their right to decide how you use their information.

If you follow the rules, which means receiving marketing is a real choice and your offer is good, you’ll attract potential customers who actually want to hear from you.

And the best part?

They’re more likely to become paying customers.

Because they’ll trust you.

One more reason to follow the rules.

Who’d have known?

I collected my daughter from uni for the last time.

Wow, 3 years gone just like that.

She was moving back home before starting the next chapter in her life.

So I had to get all her stuff …

Bicycle

Plates, bowls, cutlery

Saucepans,

Duvet, pillows and covers

Laptop and monitor

Books

Clothing

… in my Volvo V70 for one trip! 🚗

After starting with the bicycle, I packed the rest in various boxes and bags, throwing the shoes into small nooks and crevices, until it was stuffed to the gunnels.

I even managed to still have the rearview mirror in use!

When I’d finished, my daughter said: “You’d be so good at Tetris, Mum!”

Well, that’s a new skill I will have to add to my CV.

It will look great alongside my 16 years of experience advising on marketing and advertising law, ensuring my clients make the most of their marketing activities while staying within the rules.

… surely no harm done. 🤔

It can be easy to make an error when you have a million and one things on your mind.

But some of those errors can have serious repercussions.

I heard about John, an HR manager.

One day, he had to send an important email to his team.

But he made a simple mistake.

He was hurrying to get the email sent and added everyone’s email addresses in the “To” field.

If John had realised what he had done, he probably would have thought it didn’t matter, but the consequences could have been serious.

Soon after hitting “Send,” John started receiving messages from his colleagues.

They were upset because their personal email addresses were visible to everyone on the list.

John was mortified.

Reviewing what he had done, John realised that he had broken data privacy rules (in the UK, it’s called PECR)

He should have used the “Bcc” field to prevent others from seeing all the email addresses.

As this was an internal email, the consequences were just some miffed colleagues, but if this had been an external email, it could have been far worse, maybe even a fine.

This incident sparked a review of John’s company’s data privacy policies and procedures and the introduction of data training for all employees, so this would not happen again in the future.

Luckily the outcome of this data breach was not serious, but it can be easy to forget small rules when dealing with the different aspects of your business.

As the Marketing Expert, I can help make sure these small mistakes are not made.

… but it seemed straightforward!

I thought I had everything under control.

Little did I know, a seemingly harmless screw in the middle of a bathroom fixture would teach me a valuable lesson

Let me explain:

I was cleaning the family bathroom. The girls frequently used the shower over the bath, so the plughole had become tarnished and stubborn to clean.

I thought that if I could soak it for a while, that would help.

So I unscrewed it and took it downstairs to find a container to soak it in.

“What have you done!” exclaimed my husband.

“You’ve just dismantled the drain and we’ll never make it watertight again. A leak could bring the ceiling down!”

How was I to know – there was a screw so obviously you could remove it. 🤔

Fortunately, luck was on my side that day.

After meticulously cleaning the plughole, I managed to fix it back into place, ensuring it was tightly screwed in.

After putting the plug in, I turned on the tap and watched for any sign of a leak. Nothing.

I left the water in the bath for an hour – no leaks.

I then emptied the bath – no leaks.

As the ultimate test, I entrusted my daughter with a shower.

NO LEAKS! Phew.

I admit my knowledge of plumbing is small, so I should have asked my husband, who had skilfully tackled all the plumbing during our bungalow-to-house conversion.

We can’t be good at everything.

But here’s the thing – I am good at being the Marketing Expert, in fact, I’m excellent.

My clients have enough to do in running their business, so asking me when it comes to their marketing and advertising compliance makes sense.

They know asking for expert help can save time, money and a lot of stress.

Not a job for me 😂

Cold callers often have a tough time, spending long hours trying to reach an almost impossible target set for them and dealing with rejection and rudeness from people who are plagued with unwanted sales calls.

One such call turned out to be quite hilarious when my brother’s friend, who had moved into a new home, received a cold call from a conservatory company.

The friend would often humour the callers, answering their questions randomly, and on this occasion, he discussed design, insulation, and even a possible price with the salesman.

But as the conversation reached an advanced stage, he asked a question that left the salesman stumped:

“Can you fit a conservatory on a second-floor flat?”

The salesman or more likely the company that hired him had made a major mistake.

They failed to research their prospective audience and targeted the wrong person.

Had they taken the time to learn about their ideal customer, they would have known that my brother’s friend lived in a flat, not a house.

Researching your audience before picking up the phone is critical to the success of any telemarketing campaign.

Whether it’s as simple as asking basic questions or going into more depth, it helps to narrow down your audience to those who are likely to buy your products or services.

Doing so can save your company both time and money and avoid a bad impression of your brand.

So, the next time you plan a telemarketing campaign, make sure you do your homework and you’ll be halfway there.

And don’t forget, I can help make sure it’s on the right side of the law.

What a sight

I was out on my evening walk through the fields near my home a few days ago.

I was enjoying the beautiful sunset and the peace and quiet when suddenly that peace was interrupted!

There was a low muttering sound coming from the field of crops to the right.

Suddenly, there was a massive cloud of birds swirling above me.

It was a murmuration of starlings, and it was breath taking.

There were hundreds of birds all flying in unison, forming mesmerizing shapes and patterns against the orange sky.

The synchronized movements of the birds were so precise that it almost looked like they were dancing to some invisible music.

I was in awe -it was like a beautiful painting coming to life right before my eyes.

For several minutes, I just stood there, watching the starlings work together in perfect harmony.

And just like the starlings, your marketing and advertising materials must work together seamlessly to create a powerful message that resonates with your ideal customer.

In a world where the slightest misstep in advertising compliance can lead to financial penalties and reputational damage, it is more important than ever to ensure your messaging is clear, accurate, and legally compliant.

Which is where I can help.

The Marketing Law Expert, always in your corner.

But is that possible?

Unfortunately, lead generation has a bad reputation in the UK.

This is because some companies use unethical and illegal practices to generate leads, such as sending spam emails, making cold calls, and selling personal data to third parties without permission.

People often think lead gen is spammy and annoying, which can make it tough for responsible lead generation companies to stand out.

But, it can actually be a great way to grow your business – if you do it legally!

So, what does that mean?

The key thing to remember is always to be transparent about who you are and what you’re doing.

This is a big failing of some lead generation companies, not making it clear they’re acting on behalf of third-party, and one that will attract not only the attention of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) but the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) as well.

The ASA has cracked down on companies that do this, particularly in the solar funding and funeral plans sectors.

The ICO’s Direct Marketing Guidance includes information on how to collect, process, and use personal data for lead generation purposes.

The key point is to be crystal clear about who’s collecting the data and that you want to use it for lead gen. Also, be clear on the marketing channels to be used.

And if you are collecting the data to sell to companies for their marketing, this becomes all the more important. People need to know who their data will be shared with.

These rules can seem complicated, so having someone on hand to help explain them is a great resource.

That’s what I do as the Marketing Law Expert – in your corner providing legal advice and assistance when you need it.

more intelligent than you might think!

Did you know that sheep are pretty smart creatures?

They have a wide field of vision of about 300 degrees, which means they can see behind themselves without having to turn their heads.

And get this: they can even self-medicate when they’re sick! I had no idea how intelligent they were until I experienced it first-hand on holiday with my husband and golden retriever.

As we walked back from the beach, we noticed some of the sheep were following us as we made our way through the fields to the road.

We arrived at an open gateway and stopped to change our dog’s lead.

The sheep stopped as well as we were in their way.

The first two sheep watched for a moment then made a sharp right turn and continued down a slope before coming back up, giving us a wide berth.

It was pretty clever of them to use their past experiences with humans and dogs to figure out a way to get safely past us.

And this is what I, the Marketing Law Expert, offer to my clients.

15 years experience in marketing and advertising law means I can advise you when it comes to the dos and don’ts.

Great legal advice and a sounding board to keep you on track.

… are you ready to taste it?

I heard a story the other day about the difficulty people are having when confronted with the huge amount of personal data they have in their business and what they can do with it.

They have all this information about their customers, including their age, gender, location, and buying habits.

So, at first, they’re excited, knowing that using this information to make their marketing speak their customers’ language is such a powerful tool and one that many of their competitors are not doing.

But they then delve deeper and begin feeling overwhelmed and confused about the legal use of this data.

And then they hear about hefty fines from the ICO and worry that using this data will attract the wrong kind of attention

So they fail to take advantage of the benefits using personal data can bring as a result.

I see this so often.

That’s why it’s nice to have someone to turn to who can help make sense of this.

And this is what you will find if you work with me, the Marketing Law Expert – using over 15 years of experience, I assist business owners by clarifying what they can do and what they can’t.

These issues cause stress and worry, but having a specialist at your side can make a huge difference.