Yours truly in Northumberland Street, with Marketwise Strategies MD Jacquie Potts

Everyone likes to be in the newspaper occasionally (as long as it’s for positive reasons, of course), so I rather enjoyed my recent appearances in the Northern Echo, The Journal, and on the Entrepreneurs’ Forum website^{[broken link removed]}.

The focus of the story was the global media intelligence company Cision placing Soult’s Retail View at #2 in its list of the UK’s top ten retail blogs – previously reported by me here – and hanging off that the idea of creativity outside the office feeding in to what you can achieve in the workplace.

In case you missed it before, here’s the full story:

SOULT MAKES HIS NAME IN UK RETAIL BLOGOSPHERE

A NEWCASTLE market researcher has been declared the number two retail blogger in the UK – being only narrowly beaten to the number one slot by leading industry magazine Retail Week.

Graham Soult, who is a senior research executive at specialist market research company Marketwise Strategies on the city’s Westgate Road, was named the 2nd best blogger on all-things retail by global media intelligence company Cision.

Cision’s list was compiled by “combining visitor, search and social metrics with inhouse expertise” to “identify the most read, most discussed and most influential names in the UK retail blogosphere”.

His blog – Soult’s Retail View – is an analysis of the UK’s retail industry and retail history, often with a North-East flavour.

Graham Soult, an Architecture graduate who also runs two web portals called the Home Interiors Directory and the Garden and Landscape Directory in his spare time, said: “I started the blog because I have always been fascinated by the way retail is such an important part of every town, city and community.

“I write the blog as a hobby but it certainly helps me in my daily work as a market researcher because there’s a retail element to quite a lot of the market research projects we do, such as launching new products and interviewing representatives of top retail companies.

“I only started the blog last July and have taught myself how to create websites, blog and Tweet. All those skills have proved really useful as Marketwise Strategies builds its own online presence, and also help me to better understand the needs of our clients in the digital sector.”

Marketwise Strategies is currently revamping its website, to put in place more sophisticated online communications to maximise its web presence.

Marketwise Strategies managing director Jacquie Potts said: “We’re absolutely thrilled that Graham’s blog has been recognised and I firmly believe that encouraging your staff to be creative outside of work helps them to be creative inside work.

“Graham has shown entrepreneurial flair by launching his own websites and brings fantastic retail, online marketing and web knowledge to the business. I just hope with all his success that he doesn’t become a millionaire too soon!”

For further information about Marketwise Strategies, please visit our website at http://www.marketwisestrategies.com/.

I’ll have to start formulating my next media appearance, though nothing is likely to beat my new colleague, Sarah Bagby, appearing on the cover of last Thursday’s Evening Chronicle alongside the ’410 Jobs Inside Tonight’ headline! Certainly, though – as retailers know all too well – it’s amazing what a good PR company can achieve: raising the profile of your business, and helping to build and communicate a distinctive personality for your brand.

Cision's 'Top UK Blogs - Retail' page

Given that I’ve only been blogging since July, I was surprised and a little humbled to see that the global media intelligence company Cision has today included Soult’s Retail View at #2 in its list of the UK’s top ten retail blogs.

Apparently, Cision’s list is compiled by “combining visitor, search and social metrics with in-house expertise”, to “identify the most read, most discussed and most influential names in the UK Retail blogosphere”. Admittedly, there aren’t that many UK retail blogs to choose from, but it’s always nice for any blogger to know that people out there are actually reading and (hopefully!) enjoying what they write.

On that note, I just want to thank everyone who has commented on or otherwise contributed to this blog over the last few months – it’s been good fun, and I’m looking forward to carrying on through 2010 and beyond.

This is more likely than not my final post before the festive season, so before I close I’d just like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas – and look forward to welcoming you back to the UK’s #2 retail blog in 2010!