The purpose of the 'Our Pubs section of the OurBrum site is to increase trade for the best pubs in our City by ensuring people find the pub that best suits their lifestyle preferences.

I know how hard it is these days for publicans to stimulate enough trade to make a viable profit from their pub business. A lot of our traditional pubs have fallen into disuse and this situation continues. In an effort to ensure that we retain as many and the best of the pubs we still have I have I decided to provide a 'shop window' allowing Birmingham's pubs to show to the wider community what they have to offer. Hopefully by publicizing specific events and upcoming entertainment features it can attract customers from all parts of Brum as well as visitors to the City.

You already know what makes your pub an attraction to it's customers. It may just be a relaxed and friendly environment. You may have 'guest beers', karaoke evenings, child friendly play areas, cocktails, mini bus transport arrangements, live bands, comedians, quiz nights, singles nights, lunch time specials, happy hour or hours (Hick!), a beer garden, live sports coverage, electronic games attractions, free juke box, who knows what else!

With the OurBrum.co.uk site you have a focused notice board dedicated to getting these features before the eyes of a wider audience than those who pass your front doors. It's very possible that your pub is already listed under the area in which it resides so take a look if you haven't already. We also hope to build in many cost effective options for you to promote the best features of your establishment like a dedicated page featuring interior shots or the history of your pub.  We will also have an upcoming events section were you can secure an entry for main attraction events you have planned.  

Here are some frequently asked questions

How strongly can my pub feature on the OurBrum site?
Each fortnight we aim to produce a feature highlighting three Birmingham pubs - One of these pubs will be featured for it's historic value to the community it has served and may therefore feature submissions from it's patrons, pictures from it's past and features of the building and it's interior.

The other two pubs featured will be singled out for the events and attractions they have on offer today. One will be a larger landmark establishment probably having a function room whilst the other could be a small community type pub featuring a traditional bar and intimate lounge.

The feature is designed to attract spontaneous patronage of your establishment. So the choice of these pubs comes down to how much is happening in a given pub in the immediate two week period following insertion. Innovative features will probably help ensure inclusion.

What can be done to help me present my establishment in the best light?
As authors of the OurBrum site we will work with you to format the feature that will grace our site and do justice to your business. We have  produced a questionnaire for you to fill in as a starting point to identifying the unique benefits that attract people to your establishment. As photographers with extensive experience in publishing we are also able to provide additional photography at competitive rates that can be used to provide a fuller picture to those who will see your pub featured.

We already have a web site how can this work for us?   
If you already have a site that does justice to your endeavors to build a successful business then why not have us link it into the OurBrum - OurPubs listing and features pages. We can do this, and maintain the link for you for a nominal charge of £6 per month*.  You could also provide us with special feature pages that you have created to add to your presence on the OurBrum site. These would incur an initial charge of £25* for inclusion and £6 per month to maintain, and is subject to our approval of content and it's overall appearance.

What is the first thing I should do to get my pub noticed?   
Firstly, provide us with a description of your pub for inclusion on the listings page next to the thumbnail exterior image. This description should be e-mailed to landlords@ourbrum.co.uk with your pub code included in the subject. It should be no more than 60 words and should make clear the profile of the customers you would expect to attract [containing a line such as "The White Swan is a friendly family eatery that welcomes children" or "The Sportsman is a lively pub with a sporting theme popular with students"]. OK, so your bar may be a bit smoky with a domino table and three old codgers up the corner awaiting the arrival of the grim reaper ('cuz it's his round). Be imaginative, but tell it how it is. There's nothing worse for your reputation than a dissatisfied or disillusioned customer.

Once the description is up, how can I get featured?   
That's easy, get a Mild tap installed, some proper cask bitter on sale, serve a full pint, ban mobiles, have a Karaoke every Tuesday, a disco every Thursday, free peanuts when you walk in, fit a new loo seat, show pop videos on a large screen in one room all day. Oh... and provide proper bar towels so my sleeves don't have to do the job for you. Only joking, that's just my wish list, I could go on... and on...!

Seriously though. You let us know what you have going on in your pub on a fortnightly basis by e-mail. We will then update the events portion of the features page associated with your venue. We will review these features on a regular basis and shortlist pubs that we feel are providing a varied and dynamic program. We also want to hear from publicans who feel they have a case for being featured - this too can be done via e-mail so get writing. We will then invite around six pubs to put together a venue profile with us that encapsulates their pubs features. We need about a month to compile these so if you know you have a good program of events for October you need to let us know in mid August.

Who will see these features?   
It's early days for OurBrum.co.uk but we feel that a site by Brummies for Brummies with a whole range of interest areas based around day- to- day life and grass roots entertainment issues should prove popular. It was decided at the outset that the Pubs and special interest clubs that are still today a focal point for our community must play a prominent role in the development of a virtual community of Brummies on the www. 

The personal associations that people form through their interaction in these places is as valuable today as ever it was. In fact it is very easy today to feel totally isolated so part of the OurBrum's goal is to get people meeting together face to face as regularly as possible. One of the primary places to do that is still 'the local'. So OurBrum will provide the information for people to find places where they feel comfortable and were they can mix with other like minded Brummies.

Many thanks for your time... now get involved... and let's give our fellow Brummies what they want.

OurBrum.co.uk is an independent endeavor of Inverse Image, whose photographers have provided cost effective commercial photography services to Birmingham's business community since 1975. If you hear of photographic commission opportunities please pass on our details.

Inverse Image - 0121 603 4479 - 07813 672116 - enquiry@inverseimage.com - http://www.inverseimage.com