Penned by Jen

 I've recently ditched my website in favour of a portfolio , blog, Etsy shop and social media accounts . It was a bold move for a marketer, it's nice to show people a shiny website but actually I wasn't winning business through it - my portfolio online is far more useful and this blog showcases my writing. So I've recently written this article about whether to use an expensive CMS. It's something all marketers need to consider when creating a website. But first and foremost you need to think: 'Do I need it?' 'What purpose does it serve?' Maybe an alternative marketing solution is better for you, especially if you're a small business.  Happy to chat about this if you're interested?

Steve Hennessy, CEO of Stepping Out Theatre Company – the UK’s leading mental health theatre company – opened the evening by welcoming our Ukrainian friends and saying: “We will work with you to ensure your dream of a new Playwrights’ Theatre for Kyiv comes about, and that journey begins tonight.” Stepping Out members then read the play ‘Bad Roads’ by Natalya Vorozhbit live online and raised over £800 in the process to go to Ukrainian charities helping the war effort and theatre artists in Kyiv. Natalya, founder member of the Playwrights’ Theatre, and a successful writer based in Kyiv, has had productions staged by the Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court. ‘Bad Roads’ was recently made into a film. This play was written five years ago but is even more poignant and relevant today as it charts the early phases of a war that has now spread to the whole of Ukraine. Stepping Out members were privileged to read this play and did so with passion and commitment; many found it a very mov

I wanted to share with you the amazing benefits of doing some pro bono work. I recently was horrified by what I was hearing in the news, so I decided I wanted to do something to help. Having given away clothes and toys I wanted to do more. So I joined the Clevedon Ukrainian Support Group and quickly became their comms person. Comms is vital in a crisis - good comms - so I stepped in and designed their website as well as helping with the flyer and social media group, which now has over 500 members. I didn't stop there! I then started working with a theatre charity who are putting on Zoom plays by Ukrainian writers as well as other plays and have hired me to do their marketing for the Edinburgh festival. And there's more! I came across a contact on LinkedIn doing play therapy in Poland for traumatised families so I'm writing her blog and helping with marketing.  All I can say is that by doing pro bono work you can hone your skills, gain experience, find new clients and also h