Reviewed by: Ronel Lehmann
Author: Simon Newsham
Publisher: Createspace
ISBN: 9781456452803
Price: £9.50

We must not forget that it is only two decades since the rules governing solicitors and barristers were relaxed allowing for the profession to properly begin marketing themselves. The way that we do business has changed beyond all recognition with the advent of the internet and now numerous self-help books and guides are appearing.

We are continually told and warned 'ignore social media at your peril'.

Earlier this year a new organisation was nominated for the Estates Gazette Business Launch of the Year for being the first UK agency to execute a commercial property deal via Facebook.

Research from Luke Johnson, the entrepreneur, found 'most bosses are over the age of 40 and don’t use social media much'. He continues: 'More than three-quarters of the leaders of the 100 biggest US corporations do not have a Facebook page and only two chief executives use Twitter. But among twenty-something entrepreneurs running online companies, 100% are fully involved in the scene.'

Simon Newsham’s book Trade Secrets for Marketing Your Business Online is a good read. It is written simply and covers most of the marketing options available to getting your business online and ahead in a competitor marketplace. The language employed does try to be jargon-free, avoiding too many technical statements and should give the reader some early confidence in developing a strategy which might prove effective.

However, with all self-help books, it does require some existing basic knowledge and I feel sure that some clients might struggle with the concept of harnessing the full power of the internet to boost their profits, let alone implementing such a requirement, without external help.

For me, the most important thing that is missing from these technical trade secrets is the creative marketing ideas and strategic thinking with which to make a real difference. Growing a business and a good reputation is a long journey. There may be some quick tips and fixes along the way, numerous experiences and secrets which all organisations utilise, but there will undoubtedly be many others which readers will develop on their own and might not wish to publicly share with their competitors and other readers.

Learning to prioritise your activities and to be able to properly benchmark the effort, costs and results is as important and employing all the tools of marketing, for your business online.

Ronel Lehmann is chief executive of Lehmann Communications/DAA Media

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