What’s your name & what do you do?

My name is Sara Arkle and I’m the face behind Arkle Marketing. We specialise in online marketing and copywriting. My mission is to empower businesses to create wonderful and accessible content which drives results.

As always it’s the big question first, what was the first single or album you ever bought?

My first single was Aimee Mann and it was a Joni Mitchell cover Yellow Taxi which at the time I didn’t actually know was a Joni Mitchell cover!

As for my first album ….it was PJ & Duncan Pysche!

So tell me a bit about your background & what jobs did you work before setting up your own company

After I finished university I actually stayed on to do a sabbatical year and work at the students union as a health and wellbeing officer which was actually my first really clear look behind the scenes of how to market to people and put together campaigns.

After that finished I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do and I ended up getting a job through a friend working for a HGV company which gave me the opportunity to work alongside international companies and create showcase exhibitions. Then I ended up working in higher education where I did everything from websites and prospectus writing and leading my own team and it was during this time I really started to develop a love for user experience.

What made you decide to become self employed?

We moved, from Plymouth to North Wales and as a result I left my job in digital editing and decided that I would try going it alone. However it didn’t really work out due to a combination of factors revolving around time management, childcare issues and the fact that when I first moved to North Wales there wasn’t anything like The Wrexham Enterprise Hub to provide me the support I needed.

After it didn’t work out I went to go work in the council for a few years and then I had another child and that changed my perspective and I realised that I really did want to give it another go of being self employed and be able to work flexibly for myself and the family.

How did you come to be involved with The Wrexham Enterprise Hub?

My office in the council buildings look right out into Queens Square so I saw the hub being built and I saw that suddenly there was cool furniture being put in & people gathering in groups, working on laptops, it looked like The Google of Wrexham!

The hub was one of the main reasons I started up again because it was clear that it was the kind of environment where my business would be able to flourish and I joined the Startup Club which provided me with loads of support. On a serious note the fact that you had catering was actually invaluable and made it so much more accessible because it meant I could commit to the same time every week without worrying about making dinner and rushing over.

When I began the Startup Club programme I was just thinking about setting up again and by the end I was fully trading and had even picked up a few clients from my group.

What do you find are the most common misconceptions businesses have about marketing?

I think a lot of people are quite cynical when it comes to the word marketing and they believe that it’s all about numbers, whereas I come at it from a more organic point of view which stems from listening to what people want.

I like to think that the client is a person riding a bike who has just had their stabilisers taken off and I’m the person holding on to the back of the bike.

How do you apply that process to each client?

So I have a client questionnaire which isn’t just a tool to make my job easier but it’s a really effective way to focus what they’re looking to get out of their campaigns in a really clear and concise way.

You’ve recently started running workshops for our Startup Club, why was that something you wanted to do?

Well when I joined Startup Club I hated the idea of doing presentations and personally my self esteem was pretty low. Then after being in the hub and seeing how other entrepreneurs conducted themselves and ran their own sessions, I found it really inspirational and found myself wanting to give back and share my knowledge.

As a result of this I am actually in the process of setting up a series of online courses to help people progress with their marketing skills.

Final question. Hollywood is making the Sara Arkle biopic, who plays you?

It would have to be somebody funny and inarticulate! I think it would have to be Bonnie Wright and I really relate to Ginny Weasley’s journey of going from being timid to a central character who even ends up with the leading man!

 

You can keep up to date with everything Sara is doing on any of the following

Website: http://www.arklemarketing.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArkleMarketing/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArkleMarketing

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arklemarketing/