Welcome to the Toddle About Blog

The Power of Personal: A Marketing Lesson from My Letterbox

Wednesday May 7, 2025 17:51

In a world of AI and inbox overload, one handwritten envelope stopped me in my tracks. Here's what a mystery letter taught me about the power of personal marketing – and how you can use it to stand out in the baby & toddler world.

Unlock the Hidden Power of Awards for Business Growth 🏆

Tuesday October 29, 2024 10:38

When you think of business awards, you might picture a trophy or a one-night celebration. But what if awards could be a key to unlocking year-round marketing benefits, credibility boosts, and valuable networking opportunities? In our latest Business Growth Workshop, we teamed up with Emma Hewitt, an experienced Business Awards Advisor, who shared a roadmap to leveraging awards as a business growth tool.

Add ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to Your Listing

Thursday May 30, 2024 07:37

We're super-excited to announce that you can now start collecting reviews on your listing directly via Toddle About! This is a fantastic opportunity for you - if you take a little bit of action. Now more than ever, people will check out reviews before they buy anything. Which is why your Toddle About listing displays reviews and a star rating - to help you get more customers. But you need to ask for them.

Marketing Lessons from the M6

Wednesday March 20, 2024 15:08

Marketing can be hard. It can be complex. But some principles of marketing are incredibly simple, and there's one key marketing principle which is often misunderstood or, worse, ignored. I was powerfully reminded of this principle whilst driving home from a wedding in Blackpool this weekend. It was on the M6, driving South (my least favourite stretch of motorway). I saw a brilliant marketing campaign. Brilliant, but soooooo simple. And it reminded me powerfully of one of the fundamental principles of successful marketing that is so often ignored by business owners. This principle builds trust with an audience, but it doesn’t require testimonials, fancy graphics or a marketing degree. In fact ANY business can and should be using this strategy to make sure their marketing budget is well spent.

Free Trials: Friend or Foe? Why they might be the secret weapon your business needs

Wednesday March 6, 2024 09:06

Getting good returns from your marketing can be tough: convincing someone to part with their hard-earned cash is a constant battle. We're all bombarded with marketing messages, so how do you cut through the noise and convince your prospects to take a chance on you? One powerful, yet often misunderstood, tool is offering trials. I genuinely believe that, done correctly, trials can give your business the turbo boost it needs. My latest article dives deep into trials, challenging the reasons businesses don’t use them, uncovering the surprising benefits trials can offer, and providing actionable advice you can use to ensure you implement trials effectively yourself. Read on to discover how trials can be your secret weapon for success!

How NOT to Use AI in Your Marketing

Thursday February 22, 2024 10:51

We need to talk about AI. It’s no longer just a buzzword, but a practical tool in our everyday lives – but so many business owners are using it poorly. And it is hurting their marketing efforts and their brand as a result. And that presents you with an opportunity to stand out from the crowd. In this article, I'll dive into the most common pitfall that business owners fall into when using AI in their marketing - and I'll also give you my tips for using it effectively so that you can generate more, *high quality* marketing content than ever before.

Creating the Map to Your Treasure: Defining Your Input Goals

Sunday November 19, 2023 14:54

Last time, we talked about how to get real clarity on your goals for 2024. If you haven’t yet gone through that exercise, please do yourself a favour and go back to the article and do it now. It will be worth it! It’s like designing a map to the treasure – and here, the treasure is your success! OK, so I’m assuming you’re now crystal clear on your goals for next year, right? That means you know your three or four key metrics, and you've broken them down to daily, weekly, or monthly goals. These are your ‘Output’ Goals. That’s because they represent the fruits of your labour - much like the perfect cake you bake, we’re looking at the end result here. But you can’t achieve these by just wishing upon a star. The next step is figuring out what to DO to achieve them. These will be your activities – also known as your Input Goals. It’s like knowing how much flour, sugar and chocolate you need for that cake – the essential ingredients. Today, I'm going to simplify this (we can get fancy another time). Our goal is to identify the key input figures that, if hit regularly, will make your goals a reality next year.

(Not So) Revolutionary Tactics for Business Success

Friday October 27, 2023 13:35

A couple of weeks ago, I met with my new coach for the first time. I haven’t had a proper, real coach before, and I was ready for them to blow me away with secret tips and revolutionary tactics that were going to transform my life. I do genuinely believe that what we went through will absolutely transform my business and my life for the better. But it wasn’t anything secret. Far from it. In fact, it's so obvious that you'll be tempted to switch off because 'you know that already'. But it's not what you KNOW that matters - it's what you DO. And about 75% of business owners are not doing this... despite knowing they should. Let me share what we did... and give you 3 simple steps to follow so you can turn your knowledge into action.

Zen and The Art of Networking (AKA Making Friends)

Thursday October 5, 2023 15:47

I used to be nervous about attending networking events. I would rehearse my 60 second pitch. I tried to work the room and get as many business cards as possible. It seems so obvious now... but I rarely got any ‘results’ from this approach. And my solution is so blooming obvious, it's almost laughable.

Why Sales Deadlines Work and How You Can Implement Them

Wednesday September 20, 2023 15:45

We've all been there — staring at a ticking clock, heart pounding, as we scramble to meet a deadline. It's stressful, but also exhilarating. That adrenaline rush is not just a random response; it's our body's way of pushing us to act. It's the same rush you feel when you snag the last item on sale, book the last available seat, or get to your meeting just in time. That feeling of "just made it" is incredibly satisfying, and it's a feeling you can offer your customers through well-crafted sales deadlines.

Facing the Storm: The Buffalo Approach to Marketing in a Crisis

Thursday August 31, 2023 09:56

Let's not kid ourselves—times are challenging right now. Consumers are tightening their belts, and businesses, including yours, are selling to a dwindling pool of prospects. But you don’t need to panic - this isn't a harbinger of doom. In every economic downturn, some businesses don't just survive; they thrive. How? It boils down to making some clever choices—choices that make you the buffalo among cows in a storm. Stick with me, because in this article we're diving deep into the dangers and opportunities of marketing in a cost-of-living crisis.

How to Create an Army of Raving Fans

Thursday August 24, 2023 13:03

This weekend, I found myself amidst laughter, music, and a sea of animal costumes, attending the Just So Festival. This was our 9th year attending. As families danced, sang, and explored this imaginative outdoor family adventure, I was struck by the fact that so many of the families were serial attendees. As we chatted with others, it turned out that plenty of them had been going for as many years (or more!) as us. And there were thousands of people there. In the midst of a ‘cost of living crisis’, this is no mean feat – especially when a weekend camping ticket for a family of five will set you back over £500. And it got me to thinking… how had they achieved such customer loyalty?

Are you holding yourself back?

Thursday August 17, 2023 14:17

Fear of Failure. Imposter Syndrome. Often, as business owners, WE are the ones who are holding ourselves back. This is confession time for me... because I'm ready to conquer my demons. Will you join me?

The Advert That Actually Worked

Thursday August 10, 2023 09:06

The other day, I was casually flipping through the latest edition of 'InPublishing' magazine, when something unusual and note-worthy happened. Nestled between articles on industry trends and insights was an advert that didn't just catch my attention—it held it. Then – crucially – I got out my phone and emailed the company. I had taken action because of an advert. The holy – and incredibly elusive – grail of marketing had happened to me! And it made me think – WHY had that advert worked on me, when so many others had failed?

The Marketing Lesson from the Archaic Phone Book

Thursday August 3, 2023 09:56

Something rather unexpected popped through my letterbox this week... It was a BT Phone Book! You remember those? It was like seeing an old friend from the 90s. Honestly, I had to double-check the calendar to confirm I hadn’t somehow time travelled. Flipping through the business listings of the Phone Book, I felt a twinge of sadness. It was like seeing hard-earned money fluttering away, thinking of all those businesses investing their marketing budget in something so archaic. But then I realised I was making a pretty stupid assumption… and there was a lesson here for me. And for you, if you're open to it.

How to turn £200 into £7,000

Tuesday June 6, 2023 09:41

A few years ago, one of our advertisers wrote to me to tell me that, regretfully, they were going to have to cancel their advert. They just weren’t getting enough responses and bookings to justify their investment. I was upset because I knew, with certainty, that Toddle About was the right place for her to advertise. This article is all about how an advert re-design turned things around for her - and how you can transform the results you are seeing from your adverts in the same way.

Supercharge Your Adverts: Techniques That Get Readers to Take Action

Thursday May 25, 2023 13:37

Uncover the secrets to crafting compelling Calls to Action (CTAs) for your family-focused business with our latest article. Dive into why a clear CTA is essential, how to build relationships and trust with your prospects, and learn to turbo-charge your CTAs with a sense of urgency. This article is packed with actionable insights to help you supercharge your adverts.

6 Steps to Creating the Perfect Headline for Your Print Advert

Friday February 24, 2023 18:00

David Ogilvy - the ‘Father of Advertising’ - tells us (and most experts agree) that whilst 8 out 10 people will read an advert’s headline, only 2 out of 10 will read the rest of the advert. This means that your headline must grab your ideal customer’s attention and make them want to read more. And yet, flick through any magazine or paper, and it never takes long before you see an advert with a poor or non-existent headline. Don’t make that same mistake! We've identified 6 Steps to creating the perfect advert headline - in this article, we'll share them with you. We hope you find it useful!

How to survive - and thrive - through this recession

Sunday November 27, 2022 11:43

There’s no doubt about it – in the current economic climate, things are getting tough for many businesses. Consumers are already tightening their belts, which means you and your competitors are trying to sell to a shrinking number of prospects. And, whilst things will get better eventually, we’re going to be in this storm for a little while yet. Sadly, this means some businesses will end up closing their doors. But this isn’t a message of doom and gloom. You see, some businesses will find a way to thrive in this storm – this happens in every recession, in every economic downturn. And all the businesses that survive it will be leaner and stronger because of it. So how do you navigate your business through the storm? Read on to find out

And the winner is...

Monday February 14, 2022 11:57

Watch as Tim picks the winner of our competition to win a Full Page advert in the April - June 2022 edition of the Toddle About magazine.