Just a quick post today to let you know about a project I got involved in recently (well, last night to be precise). Across the UK are a string of Facebook groups called ‘Gossip Girls’ groups, which bring together the women in each area to discuss everything from builder recommendations to how to deal with an issue within their community. I’ve been a member of the Wokingham Gossip Girls for a while, which is run by Rachel Bradley. Rachel has helped several other groups start up in the area, and has just finished kindly helping me launch the Bracknell Gossip Girls (feel free to join if you live in the local area).
The benefit of groups like this for a freelancer, and I think for a lot of mums too, is that they have a really supportive, friendly community feeling – something that a lot of areas are sadly lacking. If you’re freelance, it’s nice to know you can pop in there and either search the discussion or post “I am in desperate need of rentable office space/a plumber/vast quantities of wine” and receive recommendations from your local fairy godmothers.
Think of it as a lady-filled Twitter especially for your area.
The other benefit of the Gossip Girls group, is that you can promote your own business on the 1st of each month (and ONLY the 1st of each month to avoid spam). On the last day of the month, you can also promote any sales you might be having.
So to sum up, it’s a great way to get to know others in the area, get recommendations, keep up with local news AND promote your own services.
If you want to start up your own group in your local area, drop me an email and I’ll point you in the right direction. It takes literally minutes to set up, although you will have to admin it.
Are you part of a Gossip Girl group near you?