Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

Hi Karl,

I hope everything is well with you. When we last spoke I said I’d think of some ways that I can help, and I thought i’d outline them in this blog post.

These are just a few ideas that if executed could help 🙂

1 – Currently you have the stories from you, and your brother on the site. Video testimonials from users of the platform, and stories of those who have also been through your journey could add extra weight in your efforts to get more people involved. Unfortunately we operate with a crowd mentality meaning that until the many are doing it, we won’t. The videos can then also be repurposed for marketing, and pitch material as you go to other care homes.

2 – Utilise Black.net and run quarterly events for pearl network on there. By utilising the existing Black.net platform to run events designed to inform the community, and spread the word, it could potentially save on any ad spend and tap into the market I believe will be most in need of the information. The ‘sandwich generation’ . Offering Black.net users a “discount” to the event e.g. charity ball event run by Pearl network could also help with the offering. The value in this is that it utilises your strengths, and experience.

3 – Financially incentivise users to contribute to the platform. For this to work, a small percentage of the fee received from care homes would need to be redirected to those that you wish to contribute to the site. After a period of time, the financial incentive could be removed, at which point you then have a bank of information (stories, pictures, and emails). This largely depends on the direction, and agreement with the care homes.

4 – Create a short cheap course on ‘helping family with alzheimers’. Within the course you may have; tips on dealing with the disease it from family stand point, signs of alzheimers, handling transition points, where can go for help (list of resources), and address any common questions or concerns from experts. The content can come in a range of videos, and pdfs. The cost would be a low price point such as £9.99, but could have upgraded packages that include jigsaws from your site, event tickets, and even a support network/community. If you need support I have a friend that works in e-learning space.

Bonus – growing your pool of lead/customers/audience

Within the direct marketing space there is a promotion referred to as a lead magnet. This is a resource that is offered in exchange for an email address. The value of this is that if any social media is down you can contact individuals directly, and it also enables you to make them offers for products or communicate your progress. I’ve created a draft lead magnet here. One of the challenges i’ve identified is with the community staying up to date on the latest information. Having their emails, and contacting them frequently could result in Pearl Network becoming an authority on cultural awareness matters.

Website testing

FYI – I tried to view pearl.net and the memory cafes page was not working on mobile.

Also, my offer to help you with the Birmingham Post initiative still stands.

If you’d like me to discuss any of the ideas further, please feel free to give me a call.

Good luck Karl & hope you have a great week