The writer said: “The feature will be handled very sensitively, and we’ll be able to read the copy back to whoever we interview before it goes to press.”

If you fit the criteria yourself or know someone who does please e-mail dating@muddymatches.co.uk and we will put you in touch with the features writer.

It’s taking us a while to look through the entries, but we will send a thank you to everyone soon.

If you are about to send an email through, please make sure you include your full name, age, address, phone number and a bit about yourself too. Also, please make sure you include headshots and at least one full length photograph.

For more details please see the below.

Six years later, however, we feel that it is time to freshen up the site and, since we were all in our 20s then, to hopefully better represent the broad age range of people who use Muddy Matches…and this is where you come in!

On Saturday 7th July 2012, we are planning another countryside photo shoot in Northamptonshire and are looking for fun and outgoing muddy people of all ages to take part.  We are not looking for Britain’s next top model, just nice normal-looking people who aren’t afraid of a camera – we’ll all be making wallies of ourselves posing for pictures and you’ll need to enter into the spirit of things!

Everyone selected will be paid £150 plus travel and we’re sure you’ll have a lot of fun at the shoot so, if you are interested in taking part, please read on for more details and instructions on how to apply.  Also, please do tell any of your muddy friends who are up for a laugh and interested in earning a few quid – you don’t need to be registered on Muddy Matches to take part.

About the photo shoot

The photo shoot will be held in Podington, Northamptonshire, on Emma and Lucy’s family farm.  Two countryside photographers have been booked and we’ll be organising various types of shots based on different rural activities such as faming, horse-riding, fishing and walking.

Owing to the unpredictable British weather, we have selected one main date, and a possible back-up date just in case we need to postpone it.  We’ll do everything we can to ensure that we stick to the main date and will only consider moving the shoot to the back-up date if severe weather conditions are predicted the week before.

Main date:    Saturday 7th July 2012 (we’re gunning for this one!)
Back-up date:    Saturday 4th August 2012 (only if severe weather conditions predicted on 7th July)

Who we’re looking for

As mentioned above, we are not necessarily looking for people with modelling experience, just cheerful muddy people who will enter into the spirit of the photo shoot.

Other things we need to consider are:

1    Age – we need people of all ages (18-65) to take part
2    Gender – we’ll need a roughly even number of men and women across the ages
3    Dates – ideally you should be able to make both the main date (7th July) and the back-up date (4th August), but you’ll definitely need to be free on the main date
4    Commitment – if you agree to come, we’ll need your commitment to turn up on the day and be on time otherwise this could really muck up points 1 and 2
5    Clothing – we want an accurate portrayal of the countryside so ideally you would bring along your own country clobber – general clothes, as well as activity specific footwear, clothing and accessories e.g. wellies, walking boots, waders, riding boots etc.

What you’d get

-    £150 cash for 8 hours’ work, plus mileage at £0.35/mile
-    Lunch, plus snacks and drinks throughout the day
-    A social day out with other muddy people – whilst everyone’s there to work, it is also a lot of fun!

How to apply

If you would be interested in taking part, please email Emma at emma@muddymatches.co.uk with the following:

-    Full name
-    Age
-    Location
-    Contact details (address, email and mobile number)
-    A little bit of information about yourself, including any rural activities you take part in
-    A minimum of 5 photos of yourself, one of which should be a full body shot

Remember, we’re not looking for supermodels, just real country people!

If you have a Muddy Matches profile, this might fulfil most of our application requirements – check that it does and then you could just send us your Profile ID and some contact details.

If you have any questions, please email emma@muddymatches.co.uk, or ring 01933 311500.

When Lucy said that we were going to a conference my first thought was to pre-load with caffeine in preparation for endless PowerPoint presentations, but Women in Rural Enterprise doesn’t do things that way! Even upon entry we could sense the buzz in the room.

Meet the women of WiRE

After a swift cuppa and a fantastic introduction from the WiRE network leaders we settled in to listen to social media expert Eileen Brown from Amastra.

To kick off Eileen asked us how much we knew about social media, which revealed a really mixed bag, from those who’d never used Facebook or Twitter to those who were updating their presence daily.

Having sworn us to silence Eileen told us the secrets that she’d never put on her own online profile and revealed the frightening truth that anything posted online will leave a trace, regardless of whether you hit the delete button or not!

We came away from Eileen’s talk fired up and with a lot less ink in our pens from taking notes.

Next up was the energetic Isla Wilson from RubyStar Associates, who will be remembered not just for making sales fun, but for raising the biggest laugh of the day with her balloon metaphor.

Reassured that the dove shaped balloons were fully biodegradable we gathered in a big group to release them into the air as a representation of our sales anxieties. On the count of three the doves found their way straight into the nearest tree, accompanied by raucous laughter.

Rounding up the day was Miranda Ballard from Muddy Boots Food who could have made a talk about mud itself seem interesting with her astute business mind and quick wit that would put a stand-up comedian to shame.

Quoting innocent Miranda reassured everyone that when it comes to business “if you’re 70% sure about an idea then go for it. Because if you wait till you’re 100% confident in business… you’ll never make a decision, you’ll never get anywhere.”

Name dropping

Louise Van Adriche and Amanda Dawson

At lunch we got chatting to Louise Van Adrichem from Cicla and Amanda Dawson from The Tretham Estate. “What’s Cicla?” Lucy and I exclaimed before checking out the gorgeous female only cycling gear on Louise’s flyer and it wasn’t long before we were all wowed by Amanda’s extensive knowledge of all things marketing, which she puts to good use at Trentham Estate.

Sarah Hughes

We also caught up with Sarah Hughes from Eat My Flowers, who told us about her recent press coverage in the Telegraph’s Weekend section and made us incredibly hungry showing us cupcakes topped with her beautiful edible flowers.

Last, but not least we compared notes with Marnie Dobson from Chestnut Meats who specialises in goat’s meat and we were delighted to hear that her friend had recently got engaged to a man she met on Muddy Matches. To find out more about the benefits of eating goat’s meat check out our blog post ‘Getting Your Goat’.

Lucy from MM and Marnie Dobson

We had a fantastic day, met lots of interesting women and it all goes to prove how important rural businesses are to the economy. To find out more about WiRE or to get involved with one of their networking events please visit the WiRE’s website.

About the ‘Who’s Going?’ Feature

Visit the Who’s Going? page to take a look at Who’s Going to our upcoming Featured Events, and tell other members if you are planning to go yourself.  A great way to start chatting to people you might not have come across on the site yet, this feature is a real ice-breaker as you will automatically have something in common with the other people who have also said they are going to an event.  By using the ‘see more’ button on each event, you will be able to search for people who have said they are going to the event and start chatting.  Should you hit it off with anyone, you could even arrange to meet up for a safe and fun date at the event!

Our First ‘Who’s Going?’ Event

The first event that is going to be featured on our ‘Who’s Going?’ page will be the CLA Game Fair, which is being held at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire from 20th – 22nd July 2012.  We are long-time supporters of this event and each year hundreds of thousands of people come from all corners of the UK, Ireland, and sometimes even further afield, to celebrate the best of what our countryside has to offer.  With that many country-minded people in one place over the course of 3 days, it should be a veritable minefield of potential muddy dates and we are here to help you explore that opportunity.  Hop on over to the Who’s Going? page and see who has already said they are going to this event, tick the box to say that you might be going too and get chatting.  Give it a go, and who knows what great conversations and potential introductions might come of it?!

How We Know the CLA Game Fair Makes a Great Date!

In 2009, Gareth and Kelly, who had been chatting on Muddy Matches for a while, decided to meet up for the first time at the Game Fair.

Gareth and Kelly had their first date at the Game Fair

As they had found each other on the website, they decided to meet up opposite the Muddy Matches stand and then happily spent the day together. Two years later they were still together and kindly agreed to speak to The Daily Telegraph about their experience on Muddy Matches and at the Game Fair. Click here to read their story.

Here are a few of our members who also appear to enjoy getting out and about in their running shoes!  If you would like to find out more about any of the members below then click on the image to be taken to their profile.

The following article appeared in the Marriages and Engagements section of The Times on Saturday 24th March 2012.  To read it, please click on the image to enlarge it.  To read more of our countryside dating site success stories, click here.

Muddy Matches (www.muddymatches.co.uk) is a countryside online dating site operating from the rural village of Farndish on the Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire border.

Launched in 2007, the company has gone from strength to strength and a fantastic opportunity has now arisen for a bright, enthusiastic and self-driven Social Media and PR Executive to join our small but expanding team.

About the Role

Working closely alongside the existing team, you will be assisting with the planning, development and implementation of Social Media and PR strategies for 2012 and beyond.  A proactive self-starter, you will be responsible for implementing day-to-day social media activity, for creating engaging and inspiring content and for maximising opportunities in print and digital media coverage, with the aim of positively communicating about the company, building traffic and increasing sales.

Your main duties will include:

- Writing daily keyword-rich posts in the company’s news and dating blogs
- Writing and proof-reading copy for the website, ensuring all current content is up-to-date and developing new SEO-focused content such as keyword-specific landing pages
- Assisting with the creation of newsletters and targeted customer emails
- Identifying opportunities for content that will generate interest, links and press or word-of-mouth coverage for the company
- Putting together new videos and podcasts and uploading them onto the company website and external websites such as YouTube
- Coordinating with the rest of the team to ensure that the online tone of voice is consistent
- Managing the company’s current social media accounts (including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+) and taking steps to increase fans/followers, visibility and engagement levels on all social platforms
- Dealing with or forwarding online customer service enquiries and responding to all online comments in a positive and timely manner
- Researching and developing future ideas for social media campaigns and initiatives across various platforms
- Exploring the benefits of other channels and establishing new pages/channels
- Identifying useful people to connect with on social media, such as key bloggers and website owners
- Establishing contact and building relationships with journalists, editors, researchers and programme makers
- Updating and maintaining our press and media contact database
- Proactively researching and implementing interesting story and PR ideas, including surveys, case studies, competitions, giveaways, promotions and events
- Writing regular press releases and distributing them to the media and online
- Collating and analysing all media coverage and updating the website press page and the company press portfolio
- Monitoring online conversations around our brand, our competitors, our industry and current trends through the use of a social media monitoring tools
- Working to agreed KPIs for driving traffic to the site and increasing conversions and sales
- Reporting back to directors in monthly meetings on all of the above and giving your recommendations for changes or improvements

Whilst the above list gives an idea of the kinds of tasks for which you will be responsible, it is by no means exhaustive and the right candidate will add to their job description when they introduce their own ideas for growing the business.  As a small company, it will also be important that you ‘muck in’ with things that are not necessarily part of your job description as and when it is required of you.

Job type:  Permanent, full-time
Location:  Office-based (Farndish, Northamptonshire)
Salary:  £16,000 – £19,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience

About You

This position would suit a graduate who is looking for a challenging role where they are able to grow and develop within an expanding company.  To be suitable, you will need to come from a Social Media/Marketing/PR/Journalism background and be a competent Web user with a good knowledge of online and offline media and social media/networking trends.  You will be a strong team player with excellent written and spoken English and the motivation to write passionately, considering the company’s messages and ethos in all creativity.  A highly organised, motivated and driven self-starter, you will comfortable managing numerous projects at the same time and will not be afraid of getting your hands dirty with some administrative tasks.  The ideal candidate will be personable and trustworthy with a positive, can-do attitude, who is happy working closely with people and good at building long-term relationships, both online and offline.  Quick to pick up and apply knowledge, you must also demonstrate a thorough understanding of the countryside and the countryside community, regardless of whether or not that is your background.

Essential:

-    Bachelors degree in PR, Marketing, Journalism, English or similar, or a minimum of 3 years in the work place in PR, Social Media, Marketing, Journalism or similar
-    Excellent written and spoken English
-    A self-motivated and proactive attitude – someone who is happy working on their own
-    An active user of social media across many different platforms with a solid understanding of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+

Desirable:

-    A knowledge of social media in business (beyond a personal profile) and an understanding of how brands engage consumers online
-    Experience of copywriting, particularly keyword-optimised copy for websites
-    Blogging experience, particularly with WordPress
-    Experience making videos and podcasts
-    And understanding of SEO and the different techniques used
-    Experience using social media monitoring tools, Web analytics and performance reporting tools
-    Experience of industry and technology research and tracking, including competition analysis

How To Apply

To help us ensure we select the right candidates for interview please send us:

- your CV
- a covering letter including details of how ‘muddy’ you are and why you are the right person for the job
- a document naming three companies whose social media or PR strategy you admire, giving reasons why
- a document in which you choose a topic for an entry on the new Muddy Matches Dating Advice blog and write 400-500 words on this subject

Applications should be sent by email to Lucy Reeves at jobs@muddymatches.co.uk.  You will need to have sent all four of the requested items to be considered for this role.

You will receive an automated response to confirm receipt of your email and we will be contacting applicants at the beginning of April regarding interviews.

Application deadline: Friday 30th March 2012 – POSITION FILLED

Click on each image to be taken to the person’s profile and find out more!

Traditionally we have held this epic bash annually in the spring time and would regularly attract hundreds of mud lovers from across the UK and Ireland for this good old-fashioned knees up.  Sadly, economic times of late have meant that we have had to cut back the number of events we do and so we won’t be holding one this spring.  However, we have had so many enquiries about when the next ball is that we have decided to continue holding them, but every 18 months rather than every year.

For those of you who haven’t been to this event before, it is not like other balls where you have to book a table with your friends and can easily go along and spend the whole night talking to people you already know.  The Mud Lovers Ball is all about meeting new people and, whilst you are welcome to book with friends, many people come on their own and the whole evening is organised to ensure that you can meet other people with ease.

For photos and feedback from previous balls, please click on the following links: 2011 ball, 2010 ball and 2009 ball.

Save the date – you don’t want to miss out!