Maslins October 2009 Newsletter

All publicity is good publicity...and how to get it

Increasing the awareness of your business should virtually always be one of your main goals. Improving your brand often leads to more customers, and can also lead to the ability to increase prices as your (now well known) brand makes your products/services more desirable than your competitors.

It's not the most high tech method available, but for local awareness, having you/your business appear in the local newspaper is still a great way of getting your message out there.

There are two main ways of getting your business mentioned in the local paper. The first, and most obvious, is an advert. You can write whatever you want and it's pretty much guaranteed to appear. Unfortunately adverts cost money, and readers know full well they are biased.

The second, is to get an article about your business in the main body of the paper. This is harder than simply paying for an advert, but it's not as difficult as you may think.

An article has the benefit of additional credibility. An advert is inevitably going to be biased, as everyone knows it's written by you in an attempt to bring in sales. However, many people (naively) believe that all articles in the paper are written by a journalist, who is of course independent and has nothing to gain by endorsing your business. Therefore readers are more likely to take the time to read through it, and any positive message will have significantly more impact.

In order to have an article about your business included in the local rag, it needs to be far more than an advertisement of what you do/sell. It needs to tell a story. Below are some suggestions to help make your article newsworthy:

• Make it interesting and informative. The ideal article will be current, educational, and local. Don't simply rehash your brochure as journalists will see straight through it.
• The media loves human interest stories. People like to read about people, the crazy things they've done, the amazing things they've achieved.
• Give it a snappy headline. Journalists will get dozens of press releases landing on their desk/in their inbox. Make sure yours stands out with a title that will grab the editors eye.
• Do a top ten. A web developer could do "ten things every website must have", or a cocktail bar "ten drinks you've never tried but should".
• Do a customer survey, with contraversial questions about what you do, and draft an article based on the results.
• Highlight your customers. Have they used your product or service for something bizarre? Not only does this tick the human interst box, it also shows how widely what you offer can be used.
• Prove the stereotypes wrong. If you're sixty and run a trendy clothes shop, you're a female plumber, or an accountant who's not old and stuffy(!) then mention it.

Aside from whether the article is newsworthy, it also needs to be impeccably written. Using a spell checker is sadly not enough. If you're not confident about your ability to write a short catchy article free from grammatical errors, then a good copywriter will be worth their weight in gold. They should certainly ensure it is written in good English, but also that it is punchy, to the point, and that each sentence makes you want to read the next. Most copywriters will also have strong connections with the right journalists. We know a couple of local exceptional copywriters, so send us an e-mail or give us a call if you'd like us to put you in touch.

Like everyone else, newspaper editors want an easy life. So if you can get a newsworthy article that's well written and stick it under their nose, you've done all the hard work for them, and leave them little reason not to use it!

Tax tip of the month

Working from home

Most small business owners do at least some of their work from home. Even if you have a separate office/shop, you still possibly do your books at home, check e-mails, or sort mail. Do you make a suitable claim for business expenses based on this?

It's worth bearing in mind that even if you work elsewhere and do a fairly token amount of work from home, you can still claim expenses. Even without having any receipts for expenditure whatsoever you can claim £3/week (£156/year) as a business expense. This may not sound like a lot, but it typically equates to extra cash in your pocket of £44 for a basic rate taxpayer, or £64 for a higher rate taxpayer, for no effort on your part.

If, however, you spend a more significant amount of time working at home, it's left to the taxpayer (with the assistance of their knowledgeable, experienced, handsome adviser) to calculate a reasonable proportion of the costs of running their home. These costs can include things like mortage interest (NB any capital payments must be excluded), council tax, gas, electricity, water, telephone, broadband and home insurance. For many small businesses the expense claim can validly run into several thousand pounds, meaning a significant reduction in your year end tax bill.

Deciding what is a reasonable proportion can be a tricky task. HMRC suggestions revolve around the number of rooms, and the time used for business. So, for example, if you had a flat with 5 rooms, 1 of which was a spare bedroom and also an office, it might be suitable to claim 10% of the total house costs. This would be on the basis you use 20% of the floorspace for work 50% of the time (the rest it is simply a spare room).

Care must be taken when choosing a percentage. Firstly, if you come out with an unreasonably high total figure to claim, it could encourage HMRC to raise an enquiry, which doesn't help anybody. Secondly, if you declare a room as used 100% for business, it can cause a capital gains tax charge to arise when you sell your house. This is on the basis your house is part home (typically exempt) and part business premises (typically chargeable).

If you run your business via a Limited Company, it can also be accepted that you (Joe Bloggs) charge your company (Joe Bloggs Limited) rent, which can be based upon the equivalent local serviced office expense...which if you've ever looked into the cost of this, can be pretty hefty! Do bear in mind however, that the rental income for yourself in this instance is likely to be taxable, but of course you can in turn be offset the expenditure relating to the part of your house you let out to your company.

If you would like to discuss this further then please don't hesitate to contact us.

Deadlines

Paper personal tax returns due in by 31 October - If you/your accountant are not keen on the idea of online filing, you need to file your tax return by the end of this month. HMRC don't accept "lost in the post" as a valid excuse, so make sure you send it in (at the latest) a few days before the deadline, and ideally send it recorded delivery.

If you've got your tax return sitting in front of you and you have no idea what to do with it, or perhaps you're most of the way there but have a few little queries, then please give us a call on 01892 888 010 to see how we can help.

PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) due 22 October or 19 October for non-electronic payment methods - If you have a PSA in place, payment for the tax year ended 5 April 2009 is due on 22 October if paying electronically, or by 19 October if paying by other means.

Local Event

Sunday Brunch at Trinity Theatre (in aid of The Bridge Trust) - If you're already suffering withdrawal symptoms from Local and Live, head down to the Trinity Theatre on either Sunday 4th or 11th October. Doors open at 10:30, with last food served at 11:30 and the music from a variety of artists carrying you through until 1pm. What better way to spend a Sunday morning!

Tickets cost a measly £9.50, much of which goes to The Bridge Trust. Click here for further details of what's on offer.