Welcome to the Coastal Media Blog

This is the first in a series of blogs all about marketing, created especially for small Norfolk businesses. Over the coming months, the Coastal team (and the occasional guest) will share practical tips, inspiration, and updates to help you grow your business, all written with our local business community in mind. 

And that’s not all - there’s a lot going on at Coastal Media between now and the end of the year.

September is a busy month

First up, this Friday sees the launch of our new monthly e-mail bulletin Navigator. It’s your round-up of Norfolk small business news, marketing advice, event updates, and details of funding or support you might be able to tap into.

It’s free, it’s useful, and it’s written with local business owners in mind. If you’d like it delivered straight to your inbox every month, register by scrolling to the bottom of our Community page.

On 8th September, we’re back at the Cliftonville Hotel in Cromer for our regular small business meet-up. 

This month, we’re joined by Alex Howarth, founder of the Norwich Yoga Festival. Not only does Alex run Norwich Yoga Festival, she’s also a yoga teacher, teacher trainer, web designer, and runs an online entrepreneur community. She does all of that, and yet she remains one of the calmest, most grounded people we know.

Her workshop, Boundaries & Business, will help us protect our energy, find balance, and create space for our wellbeing….because thriving businesses need thriving business owners.

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• Workshop: 10:00 – 11:30

• Networking: 11:30 – 13:00

You’re welcome to come to the workshop, the networking, or both. Just be aware places are now very limited, so drop a note to hello@coastalmedia.biz if you would like to come along.

Later in the month, on 22nd September, we’ll be running our one-day Marketing for Small Norfolk Businesses Workshop at the Cliftonville.

We launched the short version of our marketing course back in July and had great feedback. In the past, we’ve offered 10-week and four-week courses, and while the small businesses who joined found them invaluable, we know not everyone can commit to that much time. That’s why we’ve created this one-day option. It's designed to be as accessible and cost-effective as possible while still giving you the core skills you need.

The day is focused on the fundamentals of marketing and how to apply them to your business. By the end, you’ll have a clear picture of the basics, plus a draft marketing plan you can refine and build on with the skills you’ve learned. We keep the groups small with a maximum of six participants so you’ll have plenty of opportunity for discussion, feedback, and personalised advice. It’s a friendly, supportive environment, and lunch (along with plenty of tea and coffee) is included.

The course costs £175, and we’d love to see you there but again be aware that places are extremely limited. Head to the Training page of our website to find out more.

A new space for small Norfolk businesses

We’ve also moved into a dedicated training and meeting space at Letheringsett Watermill near Holt. It’s a peaceful spot where small business owners can step away from the day-to-day and focus on training or strategy sessions. Our monthly meet-ups and larger workshops will still be at the Cliftonville, but the new space gives us more flexibility -  watch this space for details.

A fresh new look for us 

Over the next few months, you may notice a new look for Coastal Media. We’ve worked with the brilliant River Orrey to create a new visual identity, which we gave a soft launch at the Norwich Yoga Festival in August. We’ll be sharing more on branding and why it matters in an upcoming blog.

If you’d like to know more about any of our events, courses, or training sessions, or just want to have a chat about marketing, get in touch.