TLD Awesome Newsletters

Ever wonder where some of the phrases we use in language come from? Take "kettle of fish". It's quite a strange concept really. Who even thought of the first kettle of fish - let alone the next ones which were "different".

I went to Singapore and managed to achieve the holy grail of feeling on top of things (if not the world). I cleared my email inbox. I call it my "Opportunity Inbox" now! This achievement is rare, and is known affectionately as "InboxZero". Here's how I did it!

We always say "Great businesses should look the part". Still, there are successful businesses who are actually embarrassed by their marketing activity and design (or should be!) - But, the fact remains - if you are proud of your brand, you attract more opportunities.

People are afraid of a lot of things in their marketing, including failure, success, and revealing too much (about themselves, not just nudity).

At TLD - we're making the internet more awesome. You haven't seen these yet, and we are excited to show you some of our latest site launches.

Ah love! It's the time of year when you will be inundated by messages from different businesses about that source of joy and pain we all know and love - love. Well, we want to get in there and share the love freely - so here are some warm and fuzzy feelings.

We made it! A whole year since we moved to Soho (ho ho ho) and lots has happened, as those who have been on our mailing list will testify. We have had our ups and downs but one thing is for certain - we are enjoying Soho life, and wrapping up for the year.

A lot of people experience fear when it comes to online marketing - especially social media, newsletters and blogs. It can seem like standing on the edge of a cliff, and not knowing if you can really jump off and not knowing what squishy mess you may land on or if you will even survive. We help people jump off that cliff and even enjoy the ride - gliding effortlessly along, with us holding your hand - with free guides, 1-2-1 training and a unique handholding design service to help clients get ready to proudly face the world in their superhero costumes.

This issue is dedicated to "geeks" everywhere. We initially came up with the concept of "Geek Appreciation Day" (July 11th, every year, starting yesterday) because we designers really REALLY appreciate the coders here who work - tirelessly - to make our designs work in browsers and our websites "come to life" - they are patient and understand our high expectations of pixel perfection

Even here at TLD we sometimes find things a bit overwhelming. It's our job to keep up-to-date with what's going on in the world of design, social media and marketing - in fact it's one of the reasons we use owls in our branding! So if you are feeling left behind - the pressure is on us all.

Time is an important factor when it comes to marketing. With all the new stuff happening online in social media and blogging, businesses everywhere have to change and adapt - and quickly. So we are dedicating this newsletter to the theme of TIME!

A shocking statistic
Did you know, at Top Left Design 53% of our work is actually making changes and updates to existing websites? This is not only on websites we have built but we are even able to keep websites that other people have built updated. We like doing this work, and want to do it more. It's all within our ethos - making things better!

We have moved offices! It's very exciting and we are now in Soho, London - absorbing the "edgy" creative vibe and sampling the delicious food on offer all around. It's only been a few weeks - we made it in before the holiday break - and our new offices are much bigger which means the whole team is together in the same room!

We hope you are all getting into the spirit of Halloween. And as it's "OCTOBER" (which comes from the root "OCT" meaning the number 8 - we are celebrating the number 8!). We are doing this by showcasing 8 new websites we have launched since last newsletter, our team of 8 members of staff (OMG) and the introduction of a new character to our TLD animal collection (you may have already noticed the owl, the snail, the bunny, the unicorn, the monkey and the bee) - please welcome - Henry the Octopus! He currently resides at the footer of this newsletter, as he is quite shy.

You may think this is ironic as this August has been anything BUT quiet with recent events. But despite the commotion, we have been beavering away here at Top Left Design on a number of new website projects for clients. In addition to that, August is our birthday month (5 years! Check out the party below!) and we are planning a new website workshop in September!

What do we mean - "Don't be an egg"? We know this is distracting you and if you don't get an answer ASAP you may not be able to cope with reading the rest of this newsletter. Although the picture above probably gives a pretty big clue. Well - let's explain anyway.

Those nutters at Top Left Design never shut up about blogging, do they? Blog this, that, guess what I blogged last night, we should about that, and all the rest... Don't worry, we haven't gone mad. We're just crazy about blogging, and we're here to explain why you should be too!

Love is all around us - and this month we are just loving all of our fabulous clients. We have even gone as far as "hugging" some of you. If you haven't been hugged yet, never fear, we are coming for you next! Want us to move your hug to the top of the pile?

Rather than send cards, we decided to “save a tree” and send you this instead. We also wanted to see if you can recognise all the team faces in the tree - can you tell who is who?

Read on to find out about cliff jumping, film premieres and our latest TLD special offer! If you are into your social media like we are then this is one special offer not to be missed!

Yes, yes, we know what you're thinking - "Those crazy peeps at TLD only just sent a newsletter out in April! Do they ever shut up?"... We'd have to retort - we are a friendly company - and if you ask us, it's never too soon to say "hi" Read on for some juicy TLD gossip, World Cup tips, and examples of our recent projects!

Weather-wise, it's been unpredictable - sunny/rainy/sunny/rainy, but it IS spring - the clocks have changed, Easter holidays have passed, and we are firmly in "Q2". Oh yeah, and there was a volcano eruption.

Wow - It seems a lot of people are REALLY looking forward to the break and the start of a brand new year! (We have heard the phrase "saying goodbye to 2009" mentioned in a slightly exasperated voice.)

Halloween is this weekend, do you know what you are going to do what you are going to BE? We are not just fishing for ideas (or invites), we have decided to make good use of the by-now-famous online survey tool, Survey Monkey, to ask you these and other useful questions. There are only 8 questions, multiple choice, and if you participate, you will be eligible to win a MYSTERY PRIZE (website or design related, so it's a GOOD ONE!!). We will be doing our prize draw to discover the winner from the responses on the 10th November 2009!

It's already started - we can now see daylight on either side of the working day. If you enjoy the working day whether it's light or dark and you have passion and enthusiasm for moving your business forward, then we would love to talk to you to see how we can help - we have managed so far to do this for many in ways you wouldn't expect from ordinary website design companies - contacts, tips, networking opportunities, and info about what's new and happening in the world of online communication.