Find out more about Women’s Marketing Forum

What is the Women's Marketing Forum?

The WMF is a community of self-employed women who learn about and share practical information on how to get more clients, more easily, and create a more successful business. The community website is a platform where fellow self-employed women can join forces in creating win/win relationships by sharing their knowledge, expertise and experiences in business.
Our mission is to facilitate and encourage friendly, practical help and support between women business owners in promoting themselves and their businesses. We strive to ensure that the community website is practical and easy-to-use, representing a friendly and supportive environment with the aim of creating win/win relationships for everyone involved.

The WMF has been designed as a community specifically for self-employed women in all fields of business, in the UK, US and around the world. This includes in particular solo entrepreneurs and freelancers, as well as owners of micro and small businesses, including those working from home. Our members include consultants, virtual assistants, coaches, designers, online business owners, shop owners, freelancers, and many more businesses besides…
Membership is also open to specialists in all areas of marketing and business growth who help fellow women business owners become more successful.

Why should I join?

There are plenty of reasons to become a member. Here are our top ten:

1. Benefit from practical, relevant advice – all in one place
Forget searching the internet for hours just to find out how to best market your business. Now you have just one place to turn to – all the answers are here. We filter out the clutter for you, and tell you exactly what you need to know.

2. Tips and advice from qualified experts in their fields
Get practical tips and info on marketing and business growth from qualified experts from our ever-expanding range of expert guides. Alongside the ‘low-down’ on key marketing concepts and ideas, you’ll benefit from top tips on putting practical marketing knowledge to good use in your business.

3. Promote your business for free
In sharing your experiences and expertise with the community on your member blog and the discussion boards, you are also automatically promoting yourself and your business in the process. (Think of it as positive marketing karma, if you will!). The more active and visible you are within the members-only community, the more your business will benefit.

4. Overwhelmed by marketing and not sure where to start?
Our essential 'Marketing Quick-Start’ tools will get you up and runnng quickly
Whether you're new to marketing, or your marketing simply needs an overhaul, our complimentary, self-access marketing resources (only available to members) will get you and your business moving in the right direction - onwards and upwards!

5. A whole host of free goodies and resources for members only
Get complimentary, practical tips and training from marketing and business experts in our growing list of audio classes, videos, ebooks and step-by-step guides. Need to know about social media, how to get traffic to your website, or simply where to start marketing your business effectively? As a member you’ll have access the information you need from the comfort of your home or office, whenever you need it.

6. Get your burning questions answered
It’s frustrating when you want practical answers to specific questions relating to your business. Get the answers you need right here, not only by requesting help on the discussion boards, and also in practical Q&A and hotseat sessions with experts ‘in the know’. Benefit from real-life, practical information and advice on what is going to really work in marketing your business.

7. Friendly networking with like-minded women business owners
Let’s be honest, sometimes it’s a good thing to leave the men out of it for once, and discuss things ‘woman to woman'. (Guys, we love you, but we like our 'girl time', too, including when it comes to business.) Whether we like it or not, we do face different challenges in business to men, and the openness of a women-only community can be a very supportive and helpful environment.

8. Raise your profile on the web and get noticed online
As a member, you will automatically get a detailed profile page to promote your business online, both to your fellow members and to the rest of the world. Add as much information to your profile as you like. As well as allowing everyone to get to know you and your business better, your profile is a valuable link back to your website to help boost your online traffic.

9. Reduce isolation and frustration
Sometimes ‘running your own show’ can feel pretty lonely and frustrating. As a member, you’ll quickly make new friends, contacts and colleagues and discover that you’re really not alone! When you are a WMF member you always have a friendly and supportive place to turn for advice.

10. Networking without the travel or dressing up.
In-person networking events are great, but sometimes doesn't it just feel like a whole lot of hassle? As a member you can network any time of day or night – making new contacts & building new partnerships and collaborations – from the comfort of your home or office. No ‘power dressing' or driving required.

About Women’s Marketing Forum – how the site came about

Women’s Marketing Forum is a community of self-employed women, collaborating together to create win/win relationships, and sharing knowledge, information and hard-won wisdom freely with one another.

It was founded by Louisa Bird, who divides her time between the English Hampshire countryside and the buzzing German capital of Berlin.

Louisa’s commitment to the self-employed lifestyle – and growing interest in marketing – led to the desire to create a friendly and open place for women business owners to share and discuss what really works in promoting and building a business.

This can be particularly important when you're…
… looking for freedom and flexibility in your working life
… running a business from home and
… balancing running a business with other responsibilities.

The original version of the WMF was launched in Autumn 2005 as a paid-for, members-only community to provide self-employed women with an easy and convenient way to access practical marketing knowledge and expertise.

Here's what members have said about the Women's Marketing Forum:

The thing I like best about the WMF is that it is a supportive site where I can get genuine, professional advice without having to feel a bit silly for not knowing it all already! I welcome the feedback and advice on my sales material prior to sending ... I would recommend the WMF because of the availability of professional advice and support, and the fact that, because it is all women, it is not likely to be hijacked by postings from men who think they know it all.

    Josephine Mack, New Level Recruitment, www.newlevelrecruitment.com

We women are renowned for our powers of communicating, networking and supporting others. The WMF provides the opportunity for us to take those skills and put them to the best use I can think of - to help one another create greater business success

    Samantha New-Fielding, Newphoria, Surrey, UK, www.newphoria.co.uk

Despite being a one woman band, working from a home based office, I can still feel part of something much bigger that I can turn to for support and as a sounding board. I like the thought of being linked up somehow to other women who, like me are out there doing there best to achieve business success and achieve fulfilment the way they see it. The most valuable feature of membership to me personally is the fact that I feel supported and not alone. Thank you.

    Megan Henshall, Life and Business Coach, www.megan-henshall-coaching.co.uk

Back to the present, and the mission is still the same – to provide a community where women small business owners can have easy access to knowledge and tools to help them get more clients, more easily – but now we're delighted to bring you a much-improved website, and MEMBERSHIP IS ABSOLUTELY FREE!

We built this new website as a result of feedback from members of the original site, and we've worked very hard to ensure this site is practical, easy-to-use...and basically everything that you could want it to be.

So if you're new to the WMF, we very much hope you'll feel at home here and will join the many self-employed women who have benefited from membership.

It's easy to join us ... simply click here and follow the simple instructions.

Knowledge is power; and increasing and sharing your knowledge of how best to market a business can only be to your benefit.

We look forward to welcoming you as our latest new member!