I can’t get away from Christmas this week and I’m cracking up. I first noticed it on the way to work passing the Hilton Hotel, advertising their rooms, probably for Christmas 2008.
Then there was the email from my bosses boss, asking about shift cover. At least on that front I was ahead of the game and booked my Christmas week off in June.
Online there’s the blog posts coming in thick and fast, warning us all that if we affiliates and merchants don’t start building our pages now we’re all going to live a miserable poor life. ‘Pass the tinsel‘? Please, pass the bucket … and spade. It’s still Summer.
But worst of all, the party invites are now being sent out. As I said, I booked my work days off in June and with an impending September fortnight trip to see my sister in Hong Kong, I have no spare days to take.
Now I’m already annoyed with Christmas and enviously looking on as I can’t attend the boat trip down the Thames or the jolly in the Midlands.
So while you all start getting your black ties in a twist, I’m going to chill and enjoy this August Bank Holiday weekend.
Must be long days over at Affiliate Window towers as in the last week I’ve had two account managers call me Barry each time I send a reply to an email.
I get the reply “Hi Barry,” after the initial mail correctly states “Hi Ray.”
For the record, my name is “Ray” but I often use “Raymond” in print. My email username and forum username is “Befuddle” and you can catch me on MSN as “theaky”.
When I get an email beginning “Dear Raymond” I just know its automated and I often read them last of all. So I don’t mind Barry too much, as it has that personal touch.
A friend of mine once sent me the first series DVD of Black Books. As soon as I started watching the first episode, I knew why. I laughed out loud so much.
It was an episode where Bernard who runs a book shop had to do his self assessment and submit his accounts. So he visits his accountant and empties his pockets of scribbled on bus tickets and fag boxes onto his desk. Within minutes though his accountant is on the run from the police so Bernard finds himself in the position of having to do his own books.
He then proceeds to do everything possible to avoid this, from pairing up his socks to inviting a couple of Jehovah’s witnesses inside to have a chat.
I can see the similarities in me. Obviously, my mate did too. It’s me every single year. Last year (or should I say this year) I submitted and paid my tax bill on 31st January. That’s the last day possible before you get fined.
I’ve had two letters from my accountant since April asking things of me. I’m a very busy man though and I’ve had much more urgent things to deal with first.
- Give to charity all ill-fitting old clothes
- Clean under the bed
- Attend gym classes
- Organise sock drawer so socks are on the left, shorts on the right
- Book a holiday four hours before the flight
- Go on another holiday three days after returning from previous holiday
- Finish the mild section of a Soduku book
- Read cookery books
- Read and order from takeaway menus
- Add photos from several years ago to Facebook
The list goes on. I’ve got to the point now where I’ve run out of mindless things to do that I have no choice. I have to dig out those statements and get on with it.
Four months have passed since the first letter from my accountant. Four months! There’s not even been a World Cup or European football to distract me.
I’ve also not even been able to use the weather as an excuse. It’s not been hot or dry enough to be outside.
And even now, I’m writing this blog post as another means of delaying the inevitable.
I may need to go to church and start praying. Where are those Jehovah’s witnesses when you need them?
Merchants with discount codes expiring 31st August may be missing a trick. A quick glance at my Shop Codes site shows 42 merchants codes are expiring on the last day of the month but only one the day before.
Don’t you know if you’re more creative with your expiry dates you’ll receive more exposure? Many code sites, including my own promote highest the codes that are expiring soon. These are often popular as customers love to bag a bargain before it disappears.
My statistics show that I sometimes generate more sales for a merchant where the code is about to expire. The reasoning is simple, those merchants are promoted above the fold on the home page and across the site. I typically will put a merchant in this slot up to three days before the promotion is to end.
So, if you want say free three days promotion over-and-above what you’re getting already then just stop making your code expire the last day of the month.
My newer site Voucher Diary will concentrate on expiring codes so it will pay even more to stand out and not have a code expire on the same day as 40 other merchants do. I’m not currently updating that site much but as it’s returning on page one on Google SERPs I’m under pressure to start populating it quickly.
The dates below list the number of merchants with codes expiring on that date.
- 14/08 (2)
- 15/08 (5)
- 16/08 (1)
- 17/08 (1)
- 19/08 (1)
- 20/08 (3)
- 21/08 (1)
- 22/08 (1)
- 23/08 (1)
- 24/08 (1)
- 25/08 (1)
- 28/08 (1)
- 29/08 (3)
- 30/08 (1)
- 31/08 (42)
Now, who wants to have their code expire 27th August instead?
Please note that I wouldn’t want you to take this to the extreme and do what Waterstone’s do and that is have a code that is valid from 2pm for only 24 hours. I don’t work to those time frames yet.
