Double triumph for Kent company at the national independent publishing awards

Feb. 14, 2017 - PRLog -- A Kent-based book publisher, founded by a man who left school at 16 with three GCSEs, has won two awards at this year's Independent Publishing Awards.

The company received the Nielsen Digital Marketing Award for the second year running and How2Become.com Operations Director Joshua Brown was named the Ruth Killick Publicity Young Independent Publisher of the Year.

How2Become.com, which was set up by former Kent firefighter Richard McMunn, is based in Kings Hill, near Maidstone, and employs nine staff. Now a millionaire, Richard left school at 16 with three GCSEs and then joined the Royal Navy spending four years aboard HMS Invincible.

Richard then applied to be a firefighter and gradually worked his way up the ranks. After 17 years he decided he wanted a change of direction and wrote his first guide about how to become a firefighter. This soon turned into the How2Become series of career guides that were designed to help people find employment. Since then Richard has become a multiple, best-selling author.

The judges of the Nielsen Digital Marketing Award were impressed by a number of campaigns including YouTube videos and a new 'customer funnelling' strategy which led to a steep rise in sales - more than half of which were made direct to consumers from its website.

The judges said: "A lot of big corporates could learn from the way How2Become segments audiences and uses non-traditional channels. For a company of its size the marketing is a massive achievement."

Joshua Brown gave How2Become a second win when he scooped the Ruth Killick Publicity Young Independent Publisher of the Year. He drove a record year of turnover for the company and impressed the judges with his rise from temporary admin assistant to Operations Director in less than three years. At the tender age of 25 Joshua now has a vast remit including sales, marketing, title management and recruitment.

The judges said: "Joshua achieved so much in 2016 and did remarkable things in some non-traditional publishing environments. He's a real rising star."

The IPG (Independent Publisher's Guild) represents over 600 independent publishers, providing huge support for each member in this exciting, but challenging industry. The IPG Awards is held every year to acknowledge publishers in 13 different categories who have excelled within their field in the publishing industry.

How2Become.com Managing Director Richard McMunn said: "All the staff at How2Become were incredibly proud to return with both the awards we were shortlisted for. We are striving to become the UK's top careers and educational destination website and this recognition will help us towards our goal."

How2Become Ltd is an award-winning careers specialist and publishing company. For the past 11 years, How2Become has helped thousands of people in their journey towards a new career.

ENDS

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