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Chinese New Year 2020

2020 is the Year of the Rat

On the 25th of January 2020, my family and I celebrated Chinese New Year and welcomed the Year the of Rat. The Rat is the first of twelve creatures in the Chinese Zodiac of which includes the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

“Yee Sang” (Prosperity Salad Toss)

As part of our celebrations, we performed the “Yee Sang” otherwise known as the Prosperity Salad Toss to bring us good luck and prosperity during the new year.

Lion dance

The Lion dance is key to our Chinese New Year celebrations so my family and I went to watch the Lion Dance at our local shopping centre, and the drumming transported me back to my childhood in Malaysia.

Chinese calligraphy demonstration

In honour of Chinese New Year, I was invited to do a Chinese calligraphy demonstration for the Kindy class at Amare Child Care in Bassendean, Western Australia.

I showed the children how to write “Gong Xi Fa Cai” which means “Happy Chinese New Year” and “Shu” which means “Rat”.

It was a pleasure to share my culture and traditions with the children and my sincere thanks goes to Stephanie and her team for having me at Amare Child Care.

Further information

If you would like to enquire about my Chinese calligraphy demonstrations or my marketing and design services, please visit my contact page or email enquiries@cgmmarketinganddesign.com.au

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Sheng dan jie kuai le

Merry Christmas

“Sheng dan jie kuai le” means Merry Christmas in Mandarin. Currently, I only write in Chinese characters for special occasions like my mother’s birthday, Christmas and Chinese New Year card. I am aiming to practise more often, since my son is old enough to learn how to write Chinese characters.

Thank You

Many thanks for supporting me and my small business in 2019. I hope that everyone has a safe and happy festive season, and I look forward to an amazing 2020.

Contact

I will be spending quality time with my family and friends over the festive season, so please be mindful that my responses will be delayed. If you wish to contact me about any of my marketing and design services, please email enquiries@cgmmarketinganddesign.com.au

Best wishes,
Caroline

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How to write a blog

Writing and posting regular blogs to your website gives you an opportunity to share your expertise, while helping to drive traffic to your website.

If you are a small business owner that is new to blogging, or if you are unfamiliar with blogs, here are some helpful tips:

1. Create a content planner

A content planner provides an overview of what you could be writing for your website throughout the year. Start by entering key events or milestones for your business, and note down potential blog topics to support your business message. If your business is launching a new product or service, writing a blog will allow you to share key information with your audience and assist with future enquiries.

2. Choose topics that are relevant to your target audience

Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and ask yourself, what product or service are you looking for? If your business is able to solve a problem that your target audience may have, that is a good start for a blog topic. For example, if someone is looking for a graphic designer, a potential blog topic could be “Top three things to look for in a graphic designer.”

According to Julie Solomon who is a branding and marketing strategist for influencers, using words that connect with your audience has the power to increase engagement, and transform a blog post into a highly optimised and searched piece of content.

3. Build keywords into your content

To enable a search engine to find your blog, your content must have the right keywords. Search for words relating to your business on Google or Pinterest and see what results come up. If you want your blog to rank as a result of a particular word or group of words, make sure you include them throughout your blog.

4. Add headings and sub headings

Make it easy for your audience to skim through your blog by including headings and sub headings. If the headings and sub headings are relevant to your audience, they are more likely to read your blog from start to finish.

5. Use a call to action

Give your audience a clear instruction after they have finished reading your blog. If you want them to contact your business, make sure you include some contact details such as an email address or phone number.

These are just a few ideas to help you get started with writing blogs for your website.

Further information

If you need help with creating blogs for your website, contact Caroline at CGM Marketing and Design by emailing: enquiries@cgmmarketinganddesign.com.au

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How to brand your business

Starting a small business can be exciting and scary, all at the same time. To help guide you on your small business journey, here are five things to consider when it comes to branding your business.

1. What does your business offer?

As a small business owner, you need to be able to articulate what your business does, and what problems your business is trying to solve. If there are other businesses that offer the same goods and services as you do, explain how you operate and how you may differ from other competitors in the same industry.

2. Who is your business trying to help?

Define your target audience to determine how you and your business will communicate with them. Be clear about who you want to target by specifying the demographics, such as age, gender, location and occupation.

3. How is your business going to communicate with your audience?

A marketing plan for your business will provide you with a clear overview of which communication channels you will use to speak with your audience.

For example, social media can be a very effective channel to ensure regular contact with followers of your business profile.

4. What is your business going to say to your audience?

Make a good first impression with your target audience. Invest your time in what you are going to say to them about your business, and be specific about how your business can help them.

5. How will your audience remember your business?

Your brand should be simple and easy to remember. According to Brent Lollis from the Forbes Agency Council, your business name should be easy to say, easy to hear and easy to spell.

These are just a few ideas to give you some inspiration for branding your small business.

Further information

If you need help with branding your small business, contact CGM Marketing and Design. Email enquiries@cgmmarketinganddesign.com.au