copywriting

  • Business, Marketing

    The personal brand paradox: How much of yourself should you really share?

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    If I tell you that I had a colonoscopy, does it make you more likely to buy my Brand Messaging Guide?

    If I explain, in excruciating detail, my holiday breakfast order preferences, will that land me more speaking gigs?

    Probably not.

    But knowing me better – my background, my experiences, my slightly odd sense of humour – does make you more likely to want to work with me. Somehow, the fact that I wrote my first paid piece of copy on my phone while trying to get Erica to sleep, or that I once wanted to be Prime Minister, or that I’m raising an autistic son… these snippets make me stick in your mind. They’re all a part of my personal brand.

    This morning, I spent three minutes of a ten-minute business presentation talking about my family, my background, and various other personal bits and bobs. And when someone asked why, I told them straight:

    “You can work out what products or services I sell from a four-minute conversation with me and a glance at my website. But good business relationships are built on getting to know the person, the passion, behind the business.”

    So where’s the line? Between giving valuable context in your personal brand and oversharing? Between being authentically you and being that person on LinkedIn who somehow turns their breakfast smoothie into a lesson about venture capital funding?

    Let’s figure it out together…

    Why personal brands matter in business

    Before we get started, if you’re competing solely on price or features, you can probably skip this article and go back to your calculator. But if you’re trying to build a brand that resonates? That creates loyal customers who actually care about your success? Then you should probably stick with me.

    The last time I gave that networking presentation, a soon-to-be client leaned over and whispered to the person sitting next to her, “I HAVE to get this woman to write my website copy.” Not because I’d dazzled her with my extensive portfolio (though it is pretty dazzling), but because something in my story connected with her.

    The same principle applies to your e-commerce personal brand. Sure, you could just list your product features and competitive pricing. But there are more effective tools. 

    Take Otbor Toys, for example. 

    When they came to me, they were struggling with credibility, and with getting people to pay premium prices for their products. 

    They made wooden heirloom toys, handmade in Bulgaria, with traditional Bulgarian techniques and local woods. And honestly, they’re gorgeous. If you saw them in a boutique, then you wouldn’t question the price. But there were trust issues from an Eastern European country, and nothing on the website made the case for the premium price tag. 

    Snippet from Otbor Toys website where we worked on building their personal brand

    The founders had thought running away from their Bulgarian roots was the answer. But instead, we dove into the story, educated the audience about Bulgaria’s history of incredible craftsmanship, and shared how the founders’ children inspired the collections. 

    We added in personal details, and they saw fewer abandoned carts. 

    (you find out more about my work with them here)

    People don’t just buy products anymore – they buy stories, values, and yes, a strong personal brand.

    The three circles of effective sharing

    Think of your personal brand elements like a target (and no, this isn’t another one of those “start with why” lectures – I promise).

    The Inner Circle: stories that sell

    These are the experiences that directly relate to your business. Like how you created your sustainable fashion brand because fast fashion literally made you sick. Or how your own struggles with breastfeeding led you to develop a better pump (shoutout to my friends at Jevon Baby).

    These stories aren’t just nice to have – they’re gold. They show your audience why you actually care about solving their problems.

    The Middle Circle: relatable reality

    This is your day-to-day stuff that makes you human. Like my Gran’s insistence on putting ages in birthday cards, or my millennial refusal to use “2” instead of “to” or “too” in texts (never happening, sorry not sorry).

    For e-commerce founders, this might be sharing your morning routine with your own products, or the chaos of your latest product photoshoot. It’s the stuff that makes your customers think “Oh yeah, they get it.”

    The Outer Circle: the TMI zone

    This is where we building a personal brand ventures into “colonoscopy detail” territory. Or those LinkedIn posts that decide it’s appropriate to turn a breakup into a lesson about resilience in the supply chain. You know the ones.

    Looking for brands that balance this well? Check out Plum Deluxe’s about page (yup, another client). They tell founder Andy’s story about his relationship with his mother and how it inspired his company. But they don’t milk it or overshare. (And they don’t make the whole page about him, there’s stuff in there about their ideal customer, too).

    The real reason developing a personal brand matters

    If you’ve joined my email list, you probably read this line in my welcome sequence:

    “The personal/professional divide only serves to disempower those with caring responsibilities or other concerns.”

    And I stand by it. (Otherwise, I’d have taken it out of my welcome sequence, obvs.)

    Here’s why a strong personal brand matters for e-commerce founders:

    • The ability to separate your work life and home life completely is a luxury most of us don’t have
    • Your experiences and challenges often directly inform your product development
    • Building genuine connections with customers creates brand loyalty that discounts just can’t buy

    But there’s something even more powerful at play here.

    There is magic in connection.

    Finding your sweet spot

    So how do you know what to share? Here’s my quick gut-check guide:

    1. Does it help your audience understand why you’re qualified to solve their problem? Like how my background in youth work makes me excellent at understanding and connecting with different audiences. What experiences make you the perfect person to create and sell your products?
    2. Does it build genuine connection without overshadowing your message? Sharing that I grew up on the poverty line helps people understand my drive to work with brands that help people. What parts of your story explain your brand’s mission?
    3. Does it add value to your customer’s experience of your brand? My slightly sarcastic asides (you might have noticed a few) let potential clients know what working with me will be like. How can your personality enhance your customer experience?

    Putting it into practice

    Here are some ways you can start weaving your personal brand into your e-commerce business authentically:

    Start small:

    • Share snippets of your founder journey in your email newsletters
    • Let your product descriptions tell the story of why you created them
    • Add personality to your packaging inserts
    • Have a social strategy that’s about building connection with your audience, not just selling to them. 

    But avoid:

    • Turning every life event into a forced business lesson
    • Sharing personal stuff just because you feel pressured to be “authentic” – you should share at a level that makes you feel comfortable
    • Letting your personal story overshadow your products
    • Getting too caught up in what other founders are sharing

    The key? Be intentionally you.

    When I share about my background in youth work or my experiences as a parent, it’s because these things directly inform how I help my clients. When you share about your journey, your struggles, your wins – make sure they add value to your customer’s understanding of your brand and products.

    Think of it like a first date – you want to be open enough to build connection, but not so open that you’re sharing your entire medical history before the starters have arrived.

    Need some help?

    No matter what the massive LinkedIn bros say, people buy people.

    Are you giving them reasons to buy you?

    (Ok, well not *buy* you… but you know what I mean.)

    If you’re trying to define what your personal brand really is, and how much of “you” it makes sense to put in it, then talk to me about a Brand Messaging Guide. 

    If you’ve built a personal element into your brand and you’re worrying about maintaining that authentic connection as you scale, then talk to me about a Brand Voice Guide. 

    Either way, book a call here and we’ll work out the next step for your brand. 

    Carry on reading

  • Case Study

    Building customer trust from day one – an eCommerce success story

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    mother kissing her cute baby
    Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

    The TLDR

    Jevon Baby, a startup launching a medical-grade, wearable breast pump, needed to stand out in a competitive market where trust is everything. Through strategic brand messaging and empathy-driven website copy, they launched with a clear voice that resonates with their ideal customers, so they could carve out market share.

    The Client

    Jevon Baby is a Singapore-based startup revolutionising the global breast pump market with their medical-grade, wearable (and super-silent) pump. They want parents to feel empowered and supported, and to offer them solutions that mean they can live their lives AND give their babies the best.

    The Challenge

    Jevon Baby faced challenges common to a lot of eCommerce startups:

    • Standing out in a saturated market where most competitors focused on technical features
    • Building immediate trust in a space where consumers want a LOT of reassurance (and will often go on recommendations)
    • Giving browsers enough information to make their decision, without overwhelming them with technical language
    • Putting genuine customer connection at the heart of their brand, rather than hard-sell and discounts
    • Creating content that would feel consistent across all customer touchpoints

    The Solution

    I worked with the JevonBaby team to develop a brand messaging strategy that met those challenges, and helped them connect with their ideal avatar from day one. The Guide I produced also gave them a framework for consistent communication across all channels as they launched and beyond. (And then I worked with their web development team to create website copy based on this strategy).

    Deep research into customer pain points and potential objections to purchase

    I spent time gathering information on what was really annoying and frustrating mums about the current breast pump solutions. And I landed on this image of a mother missing out on life as she sat attached to a hospital-grade, mains-powered pump that was plugged into the wall or hiding in the bathroom in between meetings because the wearable pump was too loud and conspicuous.

    This turned into (among other things) the tagline – “Life, without limitations”, positioning the JevonBaby pump as the answer to a real felt pain.

    Story-driven messaging that emphasises emotional benefits over technical features

    When you’re a challenger brand, you can’t rely on pages of 5-star Google Reviews or an army of UGC creators shouting about your product. So you have to do something different. In the case of JevonBaby, the difference was moving away from technical features and “innovative solutions”, and making their audience feel heard and understood.

    A lot of breast pump brands go all in on the authority vibe – they use technical medical language and a “you can trust us because we’re smart and more qualified that you” vibe. It’s a parental, professional brand voice that works well for them. But I wanted to do something different with JevonBaby. I wanted a modern vibe, and a friend at the bar brand voice, appealing to those parents who didn’t want to change their personalities just because they’d become parents. They wanted to be adventurous, to work, to go out to dinner, to travel. And they didn’t want to be held back by their breast pump.

    They’d look at JevonBaby and feel empowered. An emotional pull, rather than trying to overwhelm people with a list of technical features.

    You can check out their website here: Jevonbaby.com

    The Impact

    The Brand Messaging Guide and website copy we worked on meant Jevon Baby could:

    • Launch with a clear, distinctive voice in their market
    • Build trust by actually speaking to their audience’s worries and needs
    • Connect emotionally with their target audience
    • Make sure their content was saying the same thing across all channels
    • Set a strong foundation for sustainable growth – even into other product lines

    The founder’s verdict:

    “Peta really over-delivered! If you are looking for a professional brand strategist, please look for Peta.”

    Clement JevonBaby founder

    So What?

    The chances are, someone else is selling the same thing as you are. And they probably have a bigger ad budget.

    So, to build your business, you need more than a great product. You need to be able to show people why they should buy it from you. Why are you better? Why is your version of the product better for them? Why should they trust you?

    That’s what one of my Brand Messaging Guides does for you:

    • Gives you the information you need on your audience – what they’re looking for, and the language they’re using to talk about it – so that you can use that language throughout your brand communications and make them feel heard.
    • Helps you figure out what’s really unique and interesting about your brand, your product, and your story – so that you can really stand out n your marketplace
    • Gives you empathy-based, story-driven messaging that you can put EVERYWHERE – so that you can create those emotional connections that drive customer loyalty.
    • Makes sure that your team has clear guidelines for creating all your content – so that you can build trust through consistency.

    Are you ready to build a foundation for scalable, sustainable growth? Let’s talk about how clear brand messaging can transform your eCommerce business.

    Find a time in my calendar

    Carry on reading

  • Marketing, Business

    Understanding your audience: the key to unlocking business growth

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    people at theater
    Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.com

    I’ve just spent 15 minutes trying to work out which song from the Taylor Swift Eras tour Erica wanted to listen to this morning.

    She kept repeating a line from it (but it was her 4-year-old version of the line that she’d heard). She tried to describe the outfit Taylor was wearing during the song (but again that wasn’t very clear). And she did the dance moves (again, her 4-year-old version of the dance moves).

    15 minutes of frustration later, I finally opened Spotify on my phone, and got her to scroll through the songs…

    Turned out she wanted Dua Lipa’s Dance The Night…

    Yeah.

    So that was fun.

    The challenge of understanding your audience in business

    I was absolutely convinced that she wanted one particular thing – based on what she was saying (and dancing).

    But I was wrong.

    I needed to look a little deeper to discover what would actually solve her problem (and give me 5 minutes of peace and quiet!)

    And yes, I am going to turn this into an analogy about running your business and understanding your audience.

    Because that’s what I do. And if you were bored of it then you’d have left my list by now!

    Your future clients are searching desperately for someone who understands them, who speaks their language, understands their struggles, and takes into account their background, experience, barriers, visions, hopes, and dreams.

    They’re desperate to be understood.

    But it can be pretty hard to work out what they’re on about sometimes.

    Why understanding your audience is crucial for business success

    And then, when we launch our new course, service, or product (in response to what we think they want) and we’re not bowled over by a stampede towards the sales page… 

    Well, it can be a little frustrating.

    We read the comments! We chatted with people about their struggles! We looked at the SEO! We turned our testimonials into Canva graphics for goodness sake!

    But what people say, isn’t always what they mean.

    Understanding your audience isn’t just about hearing their words; it’s about decoding their true needs and desires. It’s the difference between a launch that fizzles and one that sizzles, between a product that collects dust and one that flies off the shelves.

    3 Strategies for mastering the art of understanding your audience

    So, as I bop along to Dua Lipa (it’s a tune, don’t get me wrong!), here are some tips to really finding out what your audience wants:

    Ask the Right Questions: When people finish your programmes, or you offboard them at the end of an engagement, don’t just ask them how it went. Testimonials that say “You were fab!” are not helpful to future you trying to develop and sell a new thing. Think about asking why they came looking for you, or what problems they were looking to solve. Or consider asking them for a specific example of how your thing changed their life.

    Here’s an article I wrote on the most useful questions you can ask your clients.

    Look for Patterns: It’s time to get out the murder board. Understanding your audience means looking for those red threads. Pull together all your feedback, and look for patterns. What transformations are common? What problems pop up all over the place? What language are they using to describe both of these things? These are golden nuggets that you can use to shape your offers, write your copy, and connect more effectively with your ideal client.

    Get an Outsider’s Perspective: Your programme, service, whatever, is your baby. You are inclined to think it’s the most beautiful thing that’s ever existed (when everyone else might think its nose is a little weird). So, when it comes to developing a new thing, grab someone you respect, tell them about your audience, show them that spreadsheet full of feedback, and ask them what they think. I can guarantee they’ll see something you don’t. Or have a perspective that sparks ideas in your brain. (If you’d like me to be the objective baby viewer (weird?), then you can book a free strategy call here)

    Understanding your audience means business growth

    Once you’ve gathered these insights, it’s time to put them to work. 

    Use the patterns you’ve identified to refine your offerings. Speak directly to the problems your audience is actually facing, not just the ones you think they have. And don’t be afraid to make a pivot. If you’ve been talking non-stop about self-belief, and it turns out your clients really value the supportive community you’ve built – take a breath and talk about this instead.

    When you truly working at understanding your audience, you can create products and services that feel tailor-made for them – because they are.

    When to call in the experts

    Yes, this all sounds like a lot of work. Because it is. 

    Yes, the value it brings to your business, in terms of clearer communication, confidence in speaking about your business, and in actual increased revenue, is incalculable.

    But we all only have so many hours in the day, and very different skillsets. Which is why my clients bring me in to help. 

    If you work with me on a launch, website, or anything really, the first thing I’ll do is deep research to make sure you’re understanding your audience (without you having to lift a finger). I’ll ask the questions, do the surveys (and analyse the results), run client interviews, and work out exactly what is going to work.

    So if you’d rather let someone else work out what the confused 4-year-olds are saying, while you get on with the things you enjoy about your business, then we should talk.

    Tuning into your audience’s real song

    Like finally figuring out which song your 4-year-old wants to hear, understanding your audience takes patience, creativity, and sometimes a little outside help. But when you get it right, the results are music to your ears (and your bank account).

    Ready to start truly understanding your audience? Schedule a free strategy call right here

    Your audience is singing their song. It’s up to you to learn the lyrics.

    Carry on reading

  • Marketing, Business

    Consistent Brand Messaging: The secret to never running out of things to say

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    Consistent brand messaging

    Every Friday morning, I rock up to an upstairs room in a local pub, wearing a red and white badge with my name on it. I pop a smile on my face, a security blanket cup of coffee in my hand, and meet with 40 other local business owners.

    Yes, I have joined a cult.

    But I promise, I’m fine (I don’t need a “Blink twice if you need rescuing” intervention).

    In fact, I’ve brought in a considerable amount of revenue since I joined back in June.

    The challenge of consistent brand messaging in networking

    My local BNI Chapter is full of inspiring, ambitious people. They’re funny, kind, generous, and driven. And every week we all get 30 seconds to tell the room about our businesses and let them know what we need – who we’re looking to be introduced to, what offers we currently have, which clients we’d like to work with.

    The first time I had to do this – I was terrified.

    And terrible.

    The second time? I was a little more prepared (although I still forgot to breathe).

    As I got into the swing of things it became less nervewracking. And, you know, I’m good with words (duh), so I had an advantage.

    When consistent brand messaging feels like a struggle

    But, as the weeks went on, I started to get a little stuck.

    I’d educated the room on what copywriting actually was and wasn’t. I’d explained to them the value a conversion-focused copywriter can bring to their business – in added traffic and revenue. I’d laid out how my approach was maybe a little different with its focus on empathy and research.

    But one morning, sitting down to work out what I was going to say in my 30 seconds, I began to panic. 50 weeks a year. How on earth was I going to explain my business each week without boring everyone?

    Surely there are only so many ways to describe what I do and why it’s awesome?

    The foundation of consistent brand messaging

    But, it turns out I didn’t need to be worried.

    Why?

    Because of the invaluable information I have at my disposal, information that makes it easy to be creative while sticking to the point:

    • I know my brand
    • I know my voice
    • I know my ideal client
    • I know the unique value I provide
    • I know what services I want to offer
    • I know my key brand messages
    • And I know which messages work at which stage of the buyer journey.

    These slabs of concrete are the foundation my brand is built on – the things that keep me steady in the face of nerves, tiredness, and people who don’t really know what copywriting is.

    They are the key to consistent brand messaging (something even Forbes thinks should be integral to your business strategy).

    Leveraging your brand knowledge for consistent messaging

    With all this information, I can create endless 30 second snippets that consistently reinforce who I am, what I do, and why they should care in the people sitting in that room.

    That’s also how I create relevant and on-message social content. Content that brings me impressions, engagement, connections, and qualified leads in my inbox. It’s how I keep a consistent brand message without being so generic and repetitive that it turns into background noise.

    The Brand Messaging Guide: your tool for consistency

    This is also how my clients use their Brand Messaging Guides. Once they’ve got the foundations of their brand in place, they have the tools they need to communicate consistent brand messaging:

    • Brand Voice
    • Brand Story
    • Brand Archetype
    • Customer Avatars with pain points and dreams
    • Potential objections and how to overcome them
    • Key Messages
    • Competitive analysis and positioning
    • Unique value propositions and elevator pitches

    They can create (or have their team create) blog content, social content, pitch decks, sales pages, email newsletters, and BNI presentations based on the Guide. Safe in the knowledge that they’re being consistent and on message at all times. Building that know, like, and trust factor.

    Embracing consistent brand messaging

    So, I didn’t need to worry as I wandered into that networking meeting for the first time – I’ll find another 52 ways to tell people about my business, no problem.

    How about you?

    Feeling a little stuck with your brand messaging? Not sure how to keep it consistent across all your platforms and interactions? It might be time for a Brand Messaging Guide of your own.

    Book a free strategy call, and let’s talk about how we can make your brand messaging as consistent and compelling as a Netflix binge-watch. (You know, the kind where you suddenly look up, and it’s 3am, and you’re surrounded by empty snack wrappers. But in a good way.)

    I’m want it to be easier to talk about my business

    Carry on reading

  • Marketing, Business

    How to build a community that’s obsessed with you – and why it matters

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    physiotherapy-weight-training-dumbbell-exercise-balls-39671.jpeg
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    Let me tell you a story. A story about someone who knows how to build a community. Someone who’s community I’m a part of.

    I got an email from Tracy this morning.

    Tracy has been in my life for 14 years. I see her around 4 times a week, and we can spend between half an hour to 2 hours together. I know what her kids are getting up to, the books she’s reading, what causes she’s thinking about, the new ideas she’s coming up with. I know her favourite drink, the skincare she uses, and what she thinks about Taylor and Travis.

    We’ve never met.

    The community I’m obsessed with

    Tracy Anderson is a fitness trainer. She’s developed a method that keeps my ADHD brain from getting bored, that’s put me back together physically after two pregnancies and births, and that kept me sane during my husband’s cancer diagnosis and death.

    She has earnt my undying loyalty.

    I’m also connected to the wider community of other people who follow her workouts. (I even met one of my first copywriting clients in a Tracy Anderson Facebook group!) We’ll check in with each other to talk about recent workouts, to compare notes on equipment, to try out new recipes. And I’ve never met any of them, either.

    The result? I buy everything Tracy launches (well, almost everything – I’ve yet to stretch to the Vitality weeks she runs in the US, but they’re on the vision board). I have her DVDs, streaming subscriptions, leggings, and equipment. I’ve bought skincare and books she’s recommended. I am all in.

    When she sends an email, I’m excited. And when she launches a new product, I’m already more than halfway towards buying it. I don’t need as much convincing, and I have fewer objectives.

    I feel part of her community.

    These are the kind of people you want in your audience. People who don’t feel like an audience of customers – they feel like part of a community.

    Because, when they do, they’re much more likely to buy your stuff, and it’ll take much less time to convince them they need it. 

    But how do you get them to that magical state of obsession? How do you build a community that’s obsessed with you?

    How to build a community and make people feel like they’re part of it

    Do you want my advice as someone who spent 15 years building communities of young people?

    It’s about more than a Boots or Tesco-style loyalty scheme that offers you a quick return on your investment, or extra perks (Although these aren’t to be sniffed at).

    I think that more small businesses should strategically work to create that feeling of being part of a family. Knowing how to build a community is something you need to pay attention to.

    And here are 3 tips to get you started:

    Make them feel special 

    Send them emails on their birthday with a personalised discount code. Let them in on behind-the-scenes secrets, ask their opinions. Never underestimate the power of asking questions (and, you know, listening to the answers!).

    Make them feel listened to

    Regularly ask your members about their needs, preferences, and the things they’d love to see you offer…and then ACT on that invaluable information!

    Would they find it easier to follow your course videos if you had captions or a transcript available? 

    Are they looking for a less involved offer at a lower price point?

    Make them feel part of something

    If you’re a brick and mortar business put on special VIP events that feel like secret parties. If you live online then give them early access to sales, or host a members area on your website with access to exclusive content or discounts.

    And, of course, use the regular emails you send to your members to build on that feeling of being part of something, being special, and being listened to.

    ​How a strong community can grow your business

    We’ve had an uncertain few years in the business community, and we’ve seen how the sense of insecurity can affect people’s spending habits. But if you’ve figured out how to build a community, then you have an ace up your sleeve.

    If you have nurtured a community, and a relationship with your customers, then spending money with you will feel secure and comforting. 

    When people already know, like, and trust you AND they feel part of your community, then you won’t have to work as hard to convince them of the value of your offer. They’ll be excited to see your email drop into their inbox. They’ll run towards the pre-sale link. And they’ll shout about you from the rooftops.

    Not a bad return on your investment really.

    If you’re looking for support – someone who will care as much about your business as you do, then book a strategy call with me. We’ll work out the best way to build your very own obsessed community.

    Carry on reading

  • Marketing

    Putting some substance behind authentic marketing – how your unique story should inform your brand

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    Every now and again, the argument about authentic marketing reappears online. How can you be “authentic”? Should you be trying to be “authentic”? Is authentic marketing a completely redundant phrase because all effective marketing is authentic?

    My take? Yes, all marketing should be authentic. But not all marketing is. And I want to help you make your marketing more authentic. So you can feel better about doing it, and your audience can feel better about responding to it.

    And one of the most important keystones of this is story.

    The myth of the ‘7 stories’

    There’s this theory – there are only 7 stories in the whole world. (here’s a YouTube video explaining them all, if you’re curious.)

    Across thousands of years, millions of films, billions of books, songs, and poems – there are (apparently) only 7 different stories. And everything humans have ever created is a variation of one of them.

    I call bullshit.

    Sure, you can categorise anything you want. My 4 year old quite likes sorting her annoying little Bratz dolls into groups. Long hair, short hair, shoes, no shoes, well behaved, looked at her funny…

    (You think I’m joking, but there is currently a tiny doll with too much eye-makeup sitting in a box in our understairs cupboard because “she didn’t say please in the right way)

    The categories are arbitrary. And within those categories, there’s so much variation that the category becomes objectively worthless. One doll has long pink hair with sparkles (I know), and the other has a black afro. But it helps her sort things. Make order in the chaos (and man, can I relate to that).

    If some bloke wants to do a deep dive into all the stories he can find and neatly sort them so he can breathe a sigh of relief at the organised piles before heading off for nap time, then fine.

    But that doesn’t mean he’s right. Or that his opinion has any bearing on reality.

    Because stories are infinite, and it’s the variations that make them so magical. That can turn our world on its head when we hear them. That can uncover a deeper meaning we had never imagined. Or that can help us through whatever it is we’re going through that we thought no one else had experienced.

    Because, if we decide that there are only 7 stories. Then we’re resigned to believing that there are only 7 types of people. That we’re not really unique at all.

    And you really are. Completely unique.

    Scratch the surface, get deeper than “how was your day”, “how are the kids”, or “what do you think about Beyonce going country?”, and that’s what you discover.

    Nail authentic marketing by using your truly unique story

    Everyone has had a specific journey that makes their perspective or experience astonishingly unique.

    I sat in a seminar earlier this year on how to market without the traditional “sales funnel”. And this seminar was full of inpsiring business owner, with unique stories. But it turned out none of them were talking about that story in their marketing.

    • They studied international relations at university and then ended up coaching a gymnastics team. But their daughter has a rare disease so they’ve spent a lot of time in the healthcare system.
    • They worked in logistics for a decade before writing a book about surfing. But they also have to care for their elderly father on the weekends.
    • They spent years in hospitality and corporate, before making a hard left into coaching. And it turns out they’ve got ADHD.
    • They grew up wanting to be Prime Minister but instead they worked as a youth worker for 15 years before burning out and taking a hard left into marketing (oh wait, that’s me…)

    This seminar was filled with gloriously talented and creative individuals running businesses that make the lives of their clients better in many different ways. But they weren’t fans of selling, because they didn’t want to feel pushy, or big-headed. And, surely everyone knew what they knew, so why would anyone pay for it? Their story wasn’t unique.

    Except it was. And it was the missing piece in their marketing. 

    They just needed to see it how others saw it. 

    How your unique personal experiences inform your brand message

    So there are two things I think about this. And, because you’ve clicked on this link, you get to hear them.

    There is only one you

    The first thing I do with new clients is work on their USP. We look at the things that they are uniquely positioned to provide that nobody else can. Why they are different.

    Why do I do this? Because you are the only person who is that unique combination of the expertise that you have, the training that you’ve done, the knowledge that you’ve acquired, the life experiences that you have chalked up, and the personality that you are born with/been nurtured into.

    And that “you-ness” is what your future customers connect with – why they want to work with you and, yes, hand over their money. This is why authentic marketing works – because your audience can feel the you-ness behind what you put out there. (I talk more about making that emotional connection here.)

    But, because we’ve already acquired this expertise, training, and knowledge, we think it’s no big deal. Anyone could do it, so it’s not really worth that much. But that’s crap. 

    • Your insights are worthwhile. 
    • Your hard work has value. 
    • From a purely capitalistic standpoint – your creativity commands a price.

    But, even if you’re not down with full-throated capitalism, you still shouldn’t shy away from selling to your audience.

    Why? Because, when you sell to people in an email, in a Facebook ad, or on a webpage, you are not trying to trick them out of parting with their hard-earned cash. You are not trying to encourage them to spend more than they can on something that is frivolous, that won’t help them, or that they could find out for free. You are helping people.

    You are recognising that your audience has specific problems. Things that on a smaller or larger scale are making their lives worse, or stopping their business from being as good, as effective, as aligned, as easy, as profitable as it could be.

    Because of your unique story, you have a solution to offer your audience.

    Whether it’s your incredible service, or a fabulous product, you are providing them with a way of making their lives or their business better. And you’re the only one who can do it in the way that you do it.

    So you are not trying to trick them into buying something. You are not trying to tell an engaging story and then segue seamlessly into a sales pitch so that they don’t even notice that they’ve taken out their credit card and punched in the numbers and suddenly sent you £3000 for nothing. Newsflash – that’s not authentic marketing. You are doing something that helps them.

    Your emails and your web pages and your adverts and your social media captions are not manipulative tricks. They are ways to communicate effectively. Ways to let your ideal audience know that the problem that has been keeping them awake at night or making them miserable over breakfast – you can help them with it. And it doesn’t have to be there anymore.

    How your unique story builds connection

    I will still be saying this when I’m an old woman, rocking in the chair on my porch in the house I’m going to retire to in the Canadian countryside (#goals):

    “People buy people”

    There are a million places that people can get business advice. Thousands of different apps they can download to help them with productivity. Hundreds of courses on how to get the best out of Canva. One way they make that choice is through price, sure. But a huge part of the decsion-making process is done through vibes. 

    No matter how logical and rational we think we are – we’re buying the person doing the selling. Would we sit down inn a pub garden with them and chat about our day? Do we feel like they really understand us? Are they “our kind of people”?

    And how do they gather the information to make those decisions? By consuming our content  – including our story. And if they like what they hear, then they’re much more likely to buy from us – and benefit from the help that we can offer them. 

    And, believe me, they don’t want a cookie-cutter, generic rags to riches, or hero conquers all story. They can get that in a cheap airport novel. They want your real, unique story. 

    So, if you’re sitting staring at your social media scheduling software thinking, “Everything I have to say has been said a million times before”…

    Say it anyway – say it your way.

    Because there are more than 7 stories.

    And yours is worth telling.

    If you’d like some help with that, book a free strategy call here.

    Carry on reading

  • Marketing

    How to build an emotional connection with your customers

    • 1 Comment
    • by
    chocolate coated ice creams
    Photo by Min An on Pexels.com

    In 2007, 14,000 people joined a campaign to bring back a discontinued chocolate bar.
    ​
    Cadbury’s Wispa bar was discontinued in 2003.
    ​
    But 14,000 people joined an online campaign group to try and convince Cadbury’s to reintroduce it. When the brand did a 7-week trial run in 2007, they sold 20 million bars. And they finally put it back on our shelves for good in 2008.
    ​
    It’s just a chocolate bar.

    And, frankly, it’s pretty similar to other chocolate options out there (here in the UK, anyway – I refuse to consider the stuff you eat over in America as actual chocolate!). You could get the same taste, the same ingredients, the same sugar boost (and crash) with an Aero.
    ​
    But it’s not about the taste, the ingredients, or the calorie content. It’s about the story people attached to it.

    • The after-school snack.
    • The visit to the leisure centre vending machine with still-wet hair after swimming lessons.
    • The Christmas morning selection box discovery as you’re sat in your pyjamas under the fluorescent glow of the tree lights.

    Because story sells.

    And it can help you build an emotional connection with your audience.

    Why are stories so effective?

    A story kickstarts an emotional connection that we build meaning around.

    All the legends we’ve known since childhood have to start somewhere. Whether it’s Thor and his mighty hammer (the original or the Hemsworth version), Robin Hood and his band of merry thieves, or how the Colonel really makes his fried chicken. They all began as myth and reality woven into a compelling narrative.

    Whispered to each other at twilight.

    Human beings love stories, and we share the good ones. We used to share them around campfires at the mouths of caves, then we traded them in return for food and shelter as we travelled to new towns and lands. We wrote them in books and wove them into songs and turned them into multi-movie franchises where blonde Australians show off their arms. (ahem)

    Now we click tiny arrows as we scroll through our phones, sharing the best stories with our friends and followers. And our reach is endless.

    Why do you need a good brand story?

    Brands come and go. You can seem like the next big thing – a potential unicorn, the TikTok product everyone wants – one day, and the next people have moved on to something shiner. 

    What makes the difference between your brand being a flash in the pan viral trend and a true lasting legend? Well, you need a good story. And you need to know how to share it.​
    ​
    If you’re not using your website copy and emails to help people weave a story around your business…then you’re missing out on building an emotional connection.
    ​
    That’s what good copywriting and good messaging do for your business. They weave that story. So that people are invested in your brand. So it becomes a part of their life. So they form campaign groups to bring it back once you’re sunning yourself on your retirement yacht!

    How to find the right story for your brand

    Great Peta, thanks for that. But unless I founded my brand off the back of some epic Netflix special-worthy life event, how do I find this magical story?

    Well, while some stories are more cinematic than others, every single brand has one, you just need to do a little digging. And here are 3 things you can try to get started: 

    1. Tap into your brand’s origin

    Just like every superhero has an origin story, every brand does, too. How did you get the idea for your product or service? Were you struggling with something and couldn’t find a solution? Did you discover a talent and realise that you could help people with it? Did you experience something in your life that changed the way you look at the world? Did you decide to confront an injustice?

    All of these origin stories will resonate with the right audience. But you need to be telling them (and not just in a small section on your About page)

    1. Listen to how your customers use your product or service

    Your brand story isn’t just about you – it’s about our customers too. Just like the stories people attached to the Wispa bar, people will attach stories to using your product or service. 

    The app that helps them finish their to-do list so they can make it to their kid’s tennis practice every week. The membership that helped them actually write their book. 

    The drink they always buy when they’re waiting for the train to go home for the holidays. 

    Spend time with your customers, and listen to how they talk about your offer. They’ll tell you what resonates. And you can use those stories and that language in your messaging.

    1. Find the everyday emotions

    If you’ve got a huge, sweeping epic of a story then great! Run with it. But the everyday can be just as good (if not better) at helping you form that emotional connection. 

    Find that everyday moment that people associate your product or service with. Tap into the emotions that are related to that moment. And weave that emotion into how you tell your story. 

    This is one of the reasons why User Generated Content is so big right now. People want to see stories they relate to – the mum who (just like them) struggles to get her kid to sit at the table and eat, and feels like a terrible parent. But then they found this card game they can play to keep everyone engaged and eating tea. 

    “This product changed my day/life/mindset because…” is a story – and an incredibly effective one. I’m willing to bet you can find stories like this within your customer base. 

    ****

    Stories are nothing new. But they can weave magic through your business. 

    Why not tap into that Wispa magic, and see what stories you can find? 

    If you’re struggling to land on the story that will build an emotional connection with your audience – or you can’t find one at all – then I can help.

    Book a Get My Brain On Your Business call and we can choose the right story, and come up with a plan on how to share it, too!

    Book a Get My Brain on Your Business Call

    Carry on reading

  • Social Media, Business, Marketing

    7 Copywriting Tips for Social Media. How to easily craft an account that’s aligned with your values

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    • by
    Copywriting tips for social media that share your values. A blonde white woman offers up a pile of books to the camera. Terry Pratchett: The Truth, Robert Cialdini: Influence, Rutger Bregman: Utopia for Realists, Clover Stroud: My Wild and Sleepless Nights, Marc Brackett: Permission to Feel, Caitlin Moran: More than a woman, Helen Lewis: Difficult Women

    Maybe Instagram is your happy place. Maybe you love nothing more than pouring your heart out to your followers and watching the little heart icon light up with notifications. Or maybe you find yourself sitting at your computer far too regularly…staring at the blinking cursor and wondering how you can cram into 4 inches why and how you are the best in your niche. If the latter is you, then you need these copywriting tips for social media.

    But, before you scroll on by, they’re not your common and garden social media tips. If you’ve been around for a while, then you’ll know I believe in the power of sharing your values. Your politics, principles, or whatever you like to call them. I believe in the power this brings to your business. The way it helps your audience connect with your brand. The authentic gleam that it gives your content.

    And so, here we’re going to go through 8 ways that you can use your social media copywriting as a window into your brand values. So that your followers can be confident you share in the things that are important to them. And be happier opening up their wallet.

    Why social media copywriting matters

    When a tragedy happens, do you feel like you have to stop selling “out of respect”, but then you realise tragedies are happening every other day and you need to pay your bills?

    Do you want to talk about the issues that matter to you, but don’t feel like you know enough, and what if people ask you questions you can’t answer?

    Do you worry about being polarising because the last time you had a political conversation with someone Aunt Stephanie stopped sending you Christmas cards?

    Our businesses don’t exist in a vacuum. And on social media, our posts jostle for space in between the campaigning organisations our followers are keeping an eye on and the latest influencers peddling shapewear. It can be tricky to find the line where sharing the issues you care about becomes shouty preaching about recyclable coffee cups.

    That’s the power of copywriting. By taking some of the key principles I use when I’m writing for clients, you can speak about the things that matter to you with empathy and conviction. Even when you’re nestled between videos about cats.

    Bored of following all the social media copywriting best practices?

    There are about a million guides to social media for business. This is not another one of those. Because most of those will tell you to pick 4 key pillars to talk about online – your brand’s most important messages. Then rotate between the following:

    • Behind-the-scenes content (you know, “look how untidy my desk is, I’m just like you”. Or “we’ve asked everyone in our marketing department what their favourite cat was and these are the results”.)
    • Educational content (explaining things to your audience that they need to know so they can engage with your product better)
    • Promotional content (Look how great our stuff is!)
    • Social proof content (look how great other people say our stuff is!)

    This is all useful stuff to work out when you’re designing a social media content strategy. If you have a clear idea of who you’re talking to, what you want to say, and how you want to say it, then you’ll have a more engaged audience.

    But it’s getting harder and harder to fight the algorithm. And if everyone else is following these strategies, then how do you stand out?

    By making your values a key part of your message. Values that your audience connect with, that get them excited, and that leave them wanting to know more about what you offer.

    My copywriting tips for social media in this article are all based around my framework on How to Talk Politics Without Pissing People Off.

    Easy-to-follow copywriting tips for social media

    Social media copywriting is a tricky beast. You have limited space, you’re competing with a million other colourful squares on an endless scrolling platform. You have to grab people’s attention, engage them, and get them to take an action. All while they’re sitting on the loo or trying to get their baby to eat porridge.

    Work out what really matters to you

    Let’s face it, there is no shortage of things to get annoyed about right now. But what are the issues that you just can’t stop thinking about? The ones that keep you up at night or directly affect those you love? Those are the ones you need to be talking about in your social media content.

    So, rather than trying to address every single thing The Guardian puts on its front page, here’s what we do:

    • Grab a pen and paper,
    • Write down the 3 issues you want to start discussing.
    • Brainstorm what you want to get across to your audience – what do you want them to know about the issue?
    • Start practising what you want to say and how you want to express yourself on the issue.

    Get to know your audience

    Now you’ve got your values ironed out, you need to think about the people you’re speaking to. If you’re running a business, then you should have a basic idea of who you’re marketing to already. But ask yourself this: What things do they care about? What are they always talking about? What’s going on in the world right now that affects their lives?

    The answers to all of these questions influence how you talk to your social media followers. And how they’ll engage with your value-based content. This is good old Voice of Customer research – a cornerstone of copywriting practice. And it’s sooo important if you want to connect with your ideal people online.

    Be prepared for dialogue

    You’re talking to actual people, not shouting into the ether. So you need to be prepared for someone to talk back. This might just be one of your followers asking a question, or it might be a loud disagreement. How you deal with this is important.

    The thing is, we’re not used to seeing people disagree agreeably anymore. Social media algorithms have reinforced this “us vs them” idea. And we are much less likely to have thoughtful conversations with people who think differently.

    It is possible to have a constructive dialogue with people who disagree with your post, where each of you goes away having learnt something. It might also be the trigger for you to go away and rethink some parts of your brand messaging. And the easiest way to get to this point is to keep in mind that you’re talking to a human being.

    My tip? Pretend they’re your nan. Sure, you might think she’s wrong, but it’s almost impossible to shout at her!

    Don’t try and cover everything

    We all have a LOT of things we care about. And, if you dedicated your brand’s social media platform to every one of them, then people might not know you were selling anything. Which kind of defeats the point of having a business at all.

    You do not have to address every single issue or event that pops up on your breaking news notification.

    This is why I advise you to pick 3 (ish) and focus on those. That way your messaging stays consistent. And your audience knows what they’re getting when they engage with your brand.

    Consistency is key

    One of my biggest bugbears is companies jumping on the latest “international day of” bandwagon. There are a few reasons this sort of thing has become more common.

    1. With the algorithm changes, it became easier to be seen if you posted more often. Coming up with quality content more than twice a week can be tricky. Social media gurus have encouraged smaller brands to use these “international day of” calendars to plan their content, so they don’t run out of things to say.
    2. Larger brands saw the opportunity for increased visibility by using hashtags associated with things like Black History Month, or Pride Month, and would put out content during these times to take advantage of the event.

    The problem is, we’re not as easily fooled as we used to be. If you’re posting about LGBTQ+ rights today, and you’ve never mentioned it before, then your audience knows you’re not really committed. Also, if you’re a larger brand, then the internet has made it pretty easy to find out if you’re putting your money where your mouth is.

    Sticking to a few key messages or causes means you can be consistent all year round. Not just because your calendar says so.

    Take breaks

    In addition to helping with your consistency, choosing a few key causes helps your mental state. The world is a busy and stressful place. And there are a lot of things going on that can cause much anxiety and stress. Keeping up with them in real life is hard enough, but keeping up with them in order to weave them into your messaging adds an extra layer. There are also particular issues that may hit us hard.

    So, it’s important to be realistic about how much you can engage. If things happen, like a school shooting for example, that you just can’t talk about. Then don’t. You are not a journalist. You are allowed to take a step away and come back when you’re ready.

    Be kind to yourself.

    Be a human

    Which brings me to my final tip. Be a human.

    When you’re talking about a cause close to your heart, or a value you hold, you don’t have to pretend you’re Stephen Hawking. You don’t have to be the expert who knows everything.

    Write your posts like you’re talking to a friend. As if you were explaining to someone you care about why this thing is so important to you.

    Write like a human. And the humans who read your posts will feel so much more connected with you and your brand.

    Want more support?

    If these copywriting tips for social media whetted your appetite and you’d like to find out more about weaving your values into your messaging, then you’re in luck.

    I’m building a membership to help businesses share their politics without chasing away their audience. So you can feel authentically you when crafting your social media, your blog articles, and your web copy.

    Sign up for the waitlist and be the first to know when we go live.

    Carry on reading

  • Marketing, Business

    6 Tips to Connect With Your Audience That Work (& ignore the gurus)

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    • by

    Why I think authentic marketing is the best thing since sliced bread.

    A white woman sits on a bench next to a canal. She is smiling at the camera, wearing a red patterned dress and blue denim jacket. She is holding a Pokemon plushy and thinking about how to help you connect with your audience

    This is a picture of me on a bench. With Sobble – a Water-type starter Pokemon.

    No, I’m not a Pokemon trading whizz. A few years ago the only small Japanese creature I could pick out of a lineup was Pikachu. And I couldn’t tell you anything about him other than he was yellow. But my 10-year-old son is obsessed with the game.

    Sobble wasn’t the photoshoot companion my incredible photographer Karen was expecting. But it is impossible to go anywhere in my life and not be confronted by my children. Or some reminder of them

    “So what, Peta?” (I can hear you rolling your eyes all the way from Berkshire!)

    Well, firstly – rude!

    And secondly – I have built a loyal and supportive audience by sharing all parts of my life (not just the #soblessed performance parenting bits, and not just the #girlboss entrepreneur stuff). You want me – you get stories of humus-covered webinar notes and answering client emails during the 2 am feed. And you get Pokemon, Minecraft, a far-too-deep understanding of the Napoleonic Wars (Ethan’s new obsession), and metaphors based around Hey Duggee.

    To put it in marketing speak – I’ve built my business through authentic writing and authentic marketing. I connect with my audience by being me. All of me.

    And that strategy is also how I take my clients’ brands from boring to boast-worthy. One of my copywriter friends, Sonali, calls the way I write “like a human being speaking to another human being”. Which, in the world of online marketing, is rarer than you’d think!

    Why those guru-backed marketing strategies aren’t working for you

    Trying to get people to buy things is an ancient practice. (Spoiler alert – we’ve been doing it long before Don Draper ever lit his cigarette). In the golden age of advertising, very clever marketers and psychologists learnt how to sell using manipulative copywriting tricks and hit-and-run marketing tactics plastered all over billboards and newspaper spreads. and now – Facebook ads are the new billboard ads, but accessible for those of us without buckets of wallpaper paste and a broom. So the same tactics have stuck around.

    And they worked for a while. But now we have a few problems. Because I’d guess that ad spend isn’t working very well for you right now. And the social media algorithms aren’t currently your friends either.

    It’s because these tactics weren’t made for you. They were developed for massive businesses. The Birds Eye’s, Mcdonald’s, and even Ben & Jerry’s of the world. You can’t beat their budgets.

    And those 3 step programmes constantly being sold to you by coaches on LinkedIn, Instagram, and even TikTok? You know the ones – post 12 times a day and engage with at least 25 people in the comments whilst following 56 new people. Oh, and film Reels and Stories and start dancing while pointing at things. All while running your own business.

    They work for these coaches, sure, but that’s because they have a team of 15 badly paid content creators doing it all for them. So they can focus on the important stuff. You can’t win the quantity race.

    But what you can win – is the quality race.

    How to connect with your audience

    If you want to connect with your people – the ones who will buy your stuff, reply to your emails, and tell your friends how amazing you are – then you need quality connection.

    You get that with authentic marketing, and here are my 6 tips for how to connect with your audience (and boost your business):

    Get clear on who you’re speaking to.

    You can’t make a connection with someone if you don’t know who they are. You need to put in the hard work on researching your ideal customer. Find out where they hang out, what they like doing, what other things are going on in their lives.

    Listen to them.

    Every authentic connection is built around dialogue. It’s all very well having something to say, but is it what they want to hear? The more time you spend listening to your ideal audience, the better you’re able to communicate with them. As people. Not just wallets on legs. You can find out more about listening here:

    7 Voice of Customer Practices to Make Your Audience Feel Seen and Heard

    Be a real person.

    Your customers are real people. And they want to connect with a real person. You.

    If you’re a smaller brand, then this is easier. Drop in some behind-the-scenes content (not overly curated “look at my artfully prepared Sunday lunch and my rosy-cheeked cherubs sitting around the table without throwing peas at each other”. But your early morning dog walk, how pleased you are that it’s warm enough to put the washing on the line, frustrations with HMRC – that kind of thing!).

    If you’re a larger brand, then you can’t just be one person. But you are still made up of real people. Showcase them, Celebrate them, and sound like them – not like faceless customer service robots.

    With real values

    These days, people are overwhelmed with choice on how they spend their money. As wonderful as you are, they can probably buy almost an identical service or product from about 8 other businesses. They are looking for why they should spend their money with you. And we’re not talking about price.

    One of the reasons the About Page is the 2nd most visited page on any site is your potential customers are checking to see if you’re principles match theirs. They want to know if you care about the same things they care about before they hand you money. They want to make sure their hard-earned cash is spent with companies who align with their values.

    Which means you have to talk about your values. Decide what they are, and make them obvious in your messaging. For more on how to do this without turning Instagram into a soap box, here’s another post:

    How to Talk About Politics Without Pissing People Off

    Speak to their pains

    So, you’ve acknowledged that the people you’re selling to are real people. But that means they have real lives, with real pains. The marketing mechanism of finding people’s pain points and speaking about them in your copy is true.

    The difference with authentic marketing? You’re not using those pain points to try and make people feel bad so they’ll buy your stuff. You’re not poking at the pain points to convince them that, without your product, their life will be worthless and awful.

    You’re making them feel heard. You’re saying “I know you’re struggling. And you’re not alone.”

    That is authentic marketing GOLD.

    Address those pains with empathy

    And, once you’ve acknowledged those pain points. Once you’ve sat down on the park bench next to your potential customer and listened to their struggles. Then you can put your arm around their shoulder. You can address those pains with empathy. And show them how your offer could be the solution they’re looking for.

    You can show them how you (someone close to you, or past customers) were in similar situations. That you understand how they feel. And that you’d like to help.
    Because you care.

    The key? You have to actually care.

    And that I can’t help you with.

    How I can help

    Rather get this off your place so you can focus on the parts of your business that don’t feel overwhelming? That’s cool. This is where I come in. I’ll work with you to:

    1. Develop a messaging strategy that sees your customers as real people
    2. Create a website that feels like your authentic online home
    3. Write content that your ideal customers can’t wait to devour

    Sound good? Here’s what to do next:

    Fill in my (very short, and not at all complicated) contact form, and I’ll set up a call where we work out the best way I can help you in your business.

    Or, if you’re not quite there yet, then sign up to my weekly newsletter for more tips on authentic marketing, weaving your values through your messaging, and news on Hey Duggee.

    Carry on reading

  • Business, Email, Marketing

    5 Lead Nurturing Email Sequence Examples to Wow Subscribers

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    • by

    Get your nurture sequence to do all the work for you, while you sip on your latte.

    Find out about lead nurturing email sequence examples. A white blonde woman in a dark green jacket and white t-shirt holds an orange cup, looking down smiling. She is standing in front of a coloruful mural

    Let’s talk about first impressions…

    I sign up to a lot of email lists.

    Partly because I’m nosy.
    I like to know what people are saying, and I like to see different lead nurturing email sequence examples.

    But it’s also because I like to know a brand if I’m going to spend my money with them.
    And what better way to do that than to sign up for their list, and devour the 4-5 emails they send me introducing their brand, their ethos, their origin story, their funny little foibles, and what their dog did in the office that one time…

    Except that often doesn’t happen.

    Why you need an email nurture sequence

    When I discover a new brand and sign up to their email list, I’m not just after the discount/freebie/special offer. I’m motivated (excited even) to find out more. I’m ready to get to know them, to dive into the story, to become part of their tribe.

    Which means I’m waiting to spend money with them (and tell my friends about this great new business I’ve found).

    When there’s nothing…except for maybe a 2 line templated email saying: “Here’s your discount code”…then I’m left deflated. I want my email nurture sequence. I want more!

    This was their opportunity to make the perfect first impression.
    To pick me up in my excitement and plonk me in front of all they had to offer.
    So that I’d jump in and become their newest customer.

    Without it…if I’m honest…they end up in the graveyard that is my Promotions tab, only to be noticed if they send a particularly interesting subject line in a month’s time.

    Which is why I’m so passionate about getting all the businesses I work with to create (and continuously one) their welcome sequence – those 4-5 emails that get sent out to new subscribers.

    It’s your one chance at a first impression. An opportunity to develop the initial excitement of a new visitor and turn them into one of your tribe.

    Increased sales, increased customer LTV, increased organic referrals, you name it: your welcome sequence can hand it to you.

    How to write a good email sequence

    You’re sat, staring at the blinking cursor, your discount code already entered into your Shopify backend.

    How do you sum up years of mulling over your idea in your head, the late nights struggling with stock levels, or tying down your USP, the bookkeeping, hiring your first team member, the way your product or service has made people’s lives better, what you want every one of your customers to feel like when they hear from you…

    What can you write that will make them feel like they know you, and want to be a part of your story?

    Well, that’s it really – you need to give them a story to be part of.

    What is the story of your brand?

    Human beings love stories, and we share the good ones. We used to share them around campfires at the mouths of caves, then we traded them in return for food and shelter as we travelled to new towns and lands. We wrote them in books and wove them into songs and turned them into multi-movie franchises.

    Now we click tiny arrows as we scroll through our phones, sharing the best stories with our friends and followers. And our reach is endless.

    Story nurtures connection – and that is how you get customers that buy from you, stick around, tell their friends (and Insta followers), and take your brand off into the stratosphere.

    What’s your story?

    How an email nurture sequence is your dinner party opener

    Sipping your warm glass of pinot grigio, you glance nervously around the room.
    Couples and small groups are scattered across the space. Some are staring at the comfort of their phones, some checking their watches, some trying to work out the best place to sit.

    School performances, college reunions, company parties…
    Life is full of situations where we have to make artificial connections with people we just happen to be thrown together with.

    And what is the first thing everyone asks?
    “So, what do you do?”

    Your stomach seems to have made its way towards your knees.
    As an entrepreneur, you often don’t have the luxury of an easily explainable job title or field.
    “I’m a doctor!” is easy. Everyone fills in the rest.
    “Oh, I refurbish antique furniture and sell it to rich women at craft fairs” is understood.

    “Well, I own a business that helps female entrepreneurs find their joy” is likely to elicit a confused furrow of the brows and a nervous sip of wine.

    • What do you say to people who ask what you do?
    • What are the important things you want people to know about your business?
    • What do you wish you had written down when you were trying to work out the best place to put your name tag?

    Those things are what your welcome sequence of emails should be made up of.

    A primer for your business, how it helps people, and why they should care

    How do you make a connection?

    You can’t make a connection if you don’t know who you’re trying to connect with.

    Imagine walking up to someone at a party, and launching into a heartfelt story about how Airfix models have been the thread that pulls your life together.
    And expecting that to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship/romance/lifetime filled with the smell of glue and balsa wood.

    I mean, there is a chance that they delight in opening a new model aeroplane too. But you’re taking a pretty big gamble. Surely a safer way would be to start a general conversation, and maybe ask if they had ever heard of Airfix models? Before you commit yourself to going all in!

    Emails are the same.
    When you’re getting ready to build that connection with your subscribers – the one that will bring you sales, greater customer LTV, and free advertising from all your loyal fans – you need to know who you’re writing to. Who is the “lead” for this lead nurturing email sequence? Yes, I know using the term “lead” is a little dehumanising. But you all knew what I meant!

    Who is your audience?

    Were they die-hard Friends devotees who’ll spot a Ross reference a mile off? PIVOT!!!
    Did they burst into tears at the news that BTS are taking a hiatus?
    Are they spending their weekends trying to work out how to stop the pigeons eating their tomato plants?
    Or are they balancing caring for their aging mum who refuses to have outside carers, whilst supporting their teenagers through exams?

    This is why so much of my job when I start work with a new client is research.
    There are many ways to say who you are and what you do.

    But it takes finding out about your audience to pick the one way that will resonate with them the most.

    So, before you even start with your “Hi! I’m just popping into your inbox to say thank you for signing up! email…

    Take some time to investigate who you’re talking to.
    You might even get to talk about Airfix models.

    The importance of providing value

    For me, marketing will always be about the long game.

    Your welcome emails, your nurture sequence – they’re what draw new people in. You give them a taste of who you are, and a story to dive into – be part of.

    But then you need to get them to stay. And that’s where your ongoing emails come in.
    I’ve been on too many email lists that shift from an endearing welcome email, straight to “BUY MY STUFF!” with a shedload of high res images and lots of “SALE!” banners.

    Now, I know that I am a customer. A way of making money.
    But I’m also a person. And I want to know that a company has thought about how they can serve me, as well as sell to me.
    I want them to play the long game.

    Keep your customers on board by sending them value. Articles you think they’ll find interesting, stories you think will make them laugh, tips from your industry that will make their day easier.

    This works for other sequences too. If you’re trying to work out how to write a good email sequence for a product you’re launching, or a membership you’re advertising. In any of these cases, you need to mix your more salesy content with serving your subscribers.

    Because, when you do this, they feel less like a cash cow, and more like a valued part of your business.

    And then they’ll give you more cash.

    Getting this off your plate

    If you think this all sounds great, but you don’t have the time or the inclination to do it yourself…

    Then it’s time to bring in the big guns…

    Me…

    Head over to my email services page to find out about my packages. Or fill in my contact form and we’ll have a chat about the best way to introduce you to your people.

    And, if you’d like more ideas on how to play the relationship marketing long game, then you probably want to sign up to my newsletter. It comes out on Friday mornings, and it’s packed full of value, funny stories, and things I think you’ll find interesting (see what I did there?).

    You can sign up here

    Carry on reading