Ideas

Cough, cough, sneeze. Repeat. Last week, I had bronchitis. I spent most of the time coughing and sneezing. Luckily, I'm feeling better this week. But here's the thing: I haven't exercised properly since I got sick. I used …

If you think about it, marketing is just sales done at scale. In a sales conversation, the job of a salesperson is to start by determining the needs and wants of the prospect. Assuming they can deliver …

There's an oft-quoted saying (allegedly by Albert Einstein) that says, "compounding interest is the most powerful force in the universe.” Whether he actually said that or not, I'm not sure. But if there is a most powerful force in marketing, …

As humans, we have mental blocks about some things. One such thing is that we've evolved to fear the unknown. After all, the unknown presents risk. What if that cave is full of mountain lions or if the …

If you ask me, world-class marketing is founded on three core principles. The principles are easy to understand, but doing them well requires thought and effort (like all important things). Luckily, it's something you can spend the rest …

When you run a coworking space, there are a million decisions to make. Every little detail becomes a choice. Should you install more phone booths or more desks? Should you focus on attracting freelancers or corporate clients? Should …

Do you have a hard time articulating why people should sign up for your space vs. the competition? If you do (and even if you don't) I recommend adding a simple question into your onboarding process. Ask new members this …

My mother sells traditional Irish Aran Sweaters through her online store. Real merino wool, the whole deal. She used to have a brick and mortar store but turned it into an online store when she moved …

When you first started your coworking space, you had a vision. Your vision must have been strong enough to compel you to get here today. I would argue that inside your original vision is the core …

There's a massive restaurant chain in the US called Waffle House that is known for staying open 24/7. If you live there, it's likely you have heard of them. Over the years, Waffle House has built …

Coming up with content marketing strategies that actually attract new members is hard. There is the usual stuff, like doing member interviews, creating thought leadership, and sharing resources. But chances are you're seeing mixed results from those at best. So …

Someone asked me the other day how to compete with WeWork using SEO when WeWork has a budget of (presumably) $20k/month. My answer below applies both to search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC) because …

Competing with a billion dollar company when your profits are in the thousands can be a frightening idea. Who would have the audacity to think they could compete with such a force? We all want to work in a …

How much should you be spending on your marketing? The simple answer is: spend less on acquiring each new member than you will generate in profit over the lifetime of their membership. You knew that. But in case …

Advertising can be a highly lucrative way to attract new members. It can also be extremely expensive if you're doing it wrong. The first challenge is to get your ads shown in the right places, at the …

If you’re thinking about doing some Google AdWords or Facebook advertising, there are three general things to know before going into it: Don’t do it yourself - hire a professional Know your Customer Lifetime Value Know …

My number one goal is to help coworking spaces to stand out in competitive markets. Some people don’t see it yet, but the coworking industry will mature dramatically over the next 5 to 10 years. To give …

In my last email, I spoke about the concept of “marketing” to your current members to increase your retention rates. It might sound like a strange concept to market to your members, but think about it: …

According to Harvard Business Review, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. I’m willing to bet that the coworking industry is on the mid-to-high side …

There is a coffee shop near me that sells Nutella lattes. They are OH, so delicious. I go out of my way to spend something like $6 whenever I feel like a treat. Nobody else sells anything close …

A common mistake I see people making is trying to use their blog as their core SEO strategy. They write articles stuffed with keywords, hoping it will help drive new members to their space and increase …

Social media is arguably one of the easiest ways to market your coworking space online. Notice how I said “market” and not “sell”? This is where a lot of people go wrong. Especially business centres and shared …

There's a secret to writing great website copy. I'll tell you how to do it, and it's not some kind of magic trick. Chances are, you wrote your website copy a long time ago with the …

Today, I was going to start talking about the differences between Spaces and Regus’ positioning statements, but that’s a bit dry and I don’t want you falling asleep. Let’s take a step back and focus on …

I was talking with a prospective coworking space owner today about picking a target market for their new space. One example that came up was WeWork and Regus. WeWork primarily targets start-ups and freelancers, aside from …

The other day, we talked about making your website copy “you-centric”. Today, I want to cover something that is arguably even more important than you-centric copy. It could even be the most important part of your …

A few people have commented to me saying that they don’t want to pick a single target market for their coworking space. They don’t want to take a public stance on who they are targeting, and they don’t …

I’m in the process of researching the best coworking websites on the internet. Side note: do you have a great website, or does one come to mind when I ask? Let me know in a reply! Anyway, what …

Here's a thought for you. If prospective members can't tell the difference between your space and others like it nearby, their choice of workspace will come down to something silly like price, location, interior design, or …

We’ve talked so far about picking an ideal segment of the market and how that affects the rest of your marketing. In this article, we’ll get even more specific about understanding and communicating to the needs …

I was at the dog park today walking my cute-but-crazy puppy, Luna. Luna loves to go to the dog park. She jumps on people (a bad habit indeed), wrestles with other dogs, runs around, you name …

Continuing from my last email, the good news is, I’m not going to force you to pick just one target market to the exclusion of all else. It’s simply not realistic for everyone to do that, …

Marketing always begins with the customer. So let's go back to the basics and start again from there. If you could only focus on attracting one segment of the potential market for your coworking space, who …