Alix Bell Associates

23/10/2026

Small business. Small marketing budget. Does that rule out mail? 📬

Not automatically.

These JICMAIL figures show the proportion of local tradespeople’s door drops prompting a commercial action rose from 6.5% to 10.7% between Q4 2022 and Q2 2024.

That’s action, rather than guaranteed sales, but it’s worth a look before dismissing leaflets as “something nobody reads”.

The key is giving the right households a clear reason to respond.

Sending more won’t rescue a message that says very little. Even if the leaflet is lovely. 😉

Have you used leaflets or mail to bring in business? How did it go?

Image: JICMAIL.

23/10/2026

Business owners! Want to grow your network AND improve your sales?

Then come and join us at Mid Sussex Momentum!

Build genuine business relationships, make new connections and pick up some practical sales tips from our guest speaker, Guy Fisher.

Networking is great, but turning those conversations into business is even better!

📅 Tuesday 27th October
⏰ 10am–12pm
📍 Burgess Hill Town Football Club

Only a few spaces left!

Come along, make connections and give your business a bit of momentum!

Book your place before they’re gone! PM me for details!

19/10/2026

What's costing your business more...investing in growth or avoiding it?

It's a question I've been thinking about recently as we all spend money on things that seem relatively inexpensive. £50 here, £100 there, another subscription, another piece of software, another business expense.

Individually, they don't seem much, but suggest investing in a direct mail campaign and suddenly the conversation turns to cost.

And I get it - Print, postage, data, design and campaign management all come with a price tag, it's money going out before you know what's coming back, but here's what interests me, are we measuring the cost of the campaign, or the potential value of the customers it could bring?

Because a £1,000 campaign that generates £10,000 in profitable business is a very different proposition from a £200 campaign that achieves nothing.

Of course, there are no guarantees. And not every business should be using direct mail, that's why I believe in testing, targeting, measuring and following up rather than simply sending something out and hoping for the best.

The question shouldn't just be “How much will it cost?”, it should also be “What would it need to achieve to make the investment worthwhile?”

Cost matters, but so does the cost of missed opportunities. Are we sometimes so focused on what something costs that we forget to consider what it could be worth?

15/10/2026

Congratulations! You've just been promoted to Marketing Manager! Why? Because you wrote a social media post that went viral, you can put together a decent email and you know a little bit about SEO.

Actual marketing experience...none, but hey, the MD thinks you've got a natural talent for it, so congratulations… marketing is now your responsibility!

Suddenly you're expected to generate leads, increase sales, understand your audience, build campaigns and prove that your marketing is working.

And you're thinking… where on earth do I start?

Sound familiar?

That's exactly why I created Practice What You Print. Come and join the community and learn how to grow your business with support from like minded people.

Been handed the marketing role because you know your way around social media, can write a decent email and understand a bit about SEO? The MD thinks you've got marketing covered.

But now you're responsible for generating leads, increasing sales and growing the business… and things aren't quite going to plan.

Sound familiar?

You're not alone. And you don't need to figure it all out yourself.

Come and join us at Practice What You Print!

It's a growing business community where we talk about what actually works in marketing, sales, print, direct mail and networking.

No fluff. No complicated jargon. Just practical advice, ideas and conversations with people who want to grow their businesses.

FREE to join – Learn, ask questions and join the conversation.

£35 a month – Unlock templates, practical tools, campaign ideas, additional content and access to sales, marketing and networking guidance.

And the best bit? We're building a community that goes beyond borders, with members joining us from around the world.

Whether you've been thrown into marketing or you're running the whole business yourself, there's a place for you.

Let's build a business community that helps each other grow, wherever we are in the world.

Come and see what we're building at Practice What You Print.

👇 Join us on Skool!

06/10/2026

Are you a small business owner that wants to grow their business... this post is for you!

While everyone else is fighting for attention on social media and battling overflowing inboxes…Your business could be landing directly in your customer’s hands.

But direct mail isn’t just about sending a few leaflets and hoping for the best.

It’s knowing who to target, what to send, what to say, when to send it and what happens next.

That’s exactly what I teach inside Practice What You Print.

Learn how to use direct mail yourself, in your own time, at your own pace.

And you can get started for FREE.

If print and mail aren’t part of your marketing mix, maybe it’s time to find out what you’re missing.

Search for Skool, then search for Practice What You Print - sign up for free and learn how you can grow your business, for FREE, with direct mail!

See you there!

04/10/2026

If you use print or direct mail in your business, or you’d like to but don’t know where to start, give Practice What You Print a follow.

Practical advice, ideas and resources to help SMEs get more from print and mail.

Head back to Skool and learn how to plan with purpose, print with purpose and grow with purpose!

Go give the page a follow 👇

Helping businesses use, understand and sell print & direct mail better with practical training, ideas, templates and industry insight.

30/09/2026

What a room! 28 businesses connecting, sharing ideas and learning together at Mid Sussex Momentum.

Thank you to Lydia from Remarkabull Marketing for a brilliant, practical session on marketing beyond social media.

Next up at Burgess Hill Town Football Club:

October: Guy Fisher - sales
Less guesswork, more clarity and a structured approach your whole team can use.

November: Abigail Barnes - procrastination
That thing you keep putting off? It could be costing you time, money, energy, relationships and opportunities. Let’s understand what’s getting in the way.

Only 25 spaces at each event. Message me for booking details!

Connect. Learn. Grow.

28/09/2026

Spending all your marketing time on social media? Come and explore what else you could be doing.

Lydia from Remarkabull Marketing is speaking at Mid Sussex Momentum tomorrow, 29 September, about marketing beyond social media. There’ll be time to meet other local business owners too.

Book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993825162734?aff=oddtdtcreator

Next month we’re talking sales!

See you tomorrow!

Connect. Learn. Grow.

Helping Sussex businesses grow through expert education, practical strategies and purposeful networking.

23/09/2026

Really looking forward to sharing the Practice What You Print story tomorrow.

Hope to see you there.

Really excited to be exhibiting at the Crowborough Business Fair tomorrow.

A room full of brilliant local businesses showcasing what they do, making connections and supporting one another.

We talk a lot about shopping local, but supporting local businesses goes far beyond the High Street.

So if you’re nearby, come along, have a look around, meet the businesses behind the brands and say hello.

Support local. Connect local. Grow local.

I’ll be there with Practice What You Print come and find me.

12/09/2026

Another piece of Direct Mail, another small business using it well and another customer stopping, taking notice and then telling other people about it.

This postcard didn’t just get opened. It created a reaction strong enough for someone to photograph it, write a LinkedIn post about it and tell their network about the brand.

That’s the bit people miss when they measure Direct Mail purely by immediate response.

Good print gets noticed, great print gets talked about and no, you don’t need to handwrite every postcard yourself.

You need to understand why this one worked… it’s personal, unexpected, relevant and very different from another email fighting for attention.

This is exactly the sort of thing we’ll be pulling apart inside Practice What You Print