Comments Off on How to keep up with politics without your head exploding
by allwordsbypeta
I talk a lot about UK politics.
I sit here sipping my Earl Grey tea and polishing my monocle, aware that my sphere of reference is ridiculously narrow. Even as I make a concerted effort to look beyond my borders.
The fact is, it’s impossible to stay up to date on every issue and event currently kicking off around the world. Unless it’s your full-time job. And as the internet makes our world smaller, it brings home just how interconnected we all are – for good and bad.
So, if you want to acknowledge in your messaging that you are a citizen of the world, affected by Roe V Wade, grain supply lines in Ukraine, and the melting Arctic ice…
How do you possibly stay in the loop?
1. Work out how much you can handle.
If you have the time and headspace to devour the entire Guardian website, and follow it up by listening to Radio 4 while you do your burpees then more power to you. But if (like me) both time and headspace are limited, decide the amount of content that will make you feel informed without feeling overwhelmed. And be OK with that.
Got 5 minutes, but still want to be informed? The Knowledge is a free daily email collated from across the media on all the issues of the day.
2. Take breaks.
I am a politics junkie. I will sit down at a party with someone I’ve only just met and spend 2 hours talking about how the PFI policies of the last Labour government paved the way for NHS privatisation. (And then regret it the morning after!). But even I need a break. Sometimes it all gets too much. When the world is tough, or your life is tough, or both – have the confidence to step away for a bit. We’ll catch you up when you get back.
3. Vary your sources.
Mainstream Media is not the balanced information Mecca that it used to be (well, if it ever was). And the Facebook algorithm does not provide a one-stop-shop for everything you really need to know. If you want to make sure you’re getting the whole story, and you want to be aware of what other groups are also thinking, then you need to triangulate your sources like a good little orienteerer! Mix it up, step out of your box, etc. etc.
Tortoise Media is another relatively unbiased place to find decent information. Especially on important issues that the mainstream media have moved on from.
4. Listen to people with lived experience.
Professional commentators are paid to have opinions on things. Journalists are paid to write interesting stories that make you buy their newspapers. The good ones do their research, and talk to the people actually affected by an issue. Those living it. But a lot don’t. If you want to know what it’s like being a poor single mum juggling childcare and DWP assessments, or a middle-aged mechanic who’s just been made redundant and is walking to the Job Centre every day, then seek them out.
Head to Twitter, find them. And LISTEN.
5. Don’t fall into the “what about the dolphins?” trap.
You’re a lovely person. You care about a LOT of things. And occasionally you might post about one of them. On your personal or business social media. Only for some plonker to come along and say “I can’t believe you’re talking about this! It obviously means you don’t care about these 3 other things!”
And of course, it doesn’t mean that you don’t care about those other things. Only that it’s impossible to talk about all the issues you DO care about all at once, within the character limit of your favourite social media platform.
It’s important that idiots like this don’t put you off voicing your opinion and advocating for important issues. You can talk about the importance of good sex education in schools, while also caring about the plight of bumble bees but not talking about it today.
And it’s important to remember that we can’t all campaign for all the things all the time. Share the load. Don’t feel you have to jump on every campaign that comes along. It doesn’t make you a terrible person if you don’t go on the dolphin march.
“But I’m so adorable!”
So, there you have it.
5 steps towards staying informed, and using that information to speak out about the issues that matter to you. Take this knowledge and use it wisely! And if you really want to get started, but you have no idea how you can fit this into your business, then we need to talk.
Comments Off on Why you know too much – how to communicate your brand effectively.
by allwordsbypeta
Every founder needs a good USP, a compelling elevator pitch, and a Product-Market Fit. This gets you your investment, sure. But your investors aren’t the only people who need clarity about your offer. If you want to sell anything, then you need to know how to communicate your brand effectively to your potential customers.
Even if you know exactly:
what you offer (and how it hits your customer’s pain points),
how it works,
the customer journey (every single step they go through),
your brand values (why you make the decisions you do), and
your target audience (who you’re talking to)…
That’s not the end of the story.
Because while you’re the expert on your company…your ideal consumer isn’t.
“Why does that matter, Peta?” I hear you cry, “I can still talk to them!”
And you can. But you’re going to find it a lot harder to put aside all your expert knowledge, the hours you’ve spent obsessing over the meaning behind your brand logo, or the particular reason you chose this app layout.
Why being an expert on your business is a problem for your marketing
Ok, so maybe that’s not quite what I mean.
Obviously, knowing the ins and outs of your business, being an expert at what you do, and having the skills and information you need to help your ideal customer are super important.
But, all this prior knowledge stops you from putting yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes – inside their brain – and communicating your brand from where they are. What they know NOW.
You need to take these complicated ideas and make them accessible.
Not in a dumbing down “you’re too stupid to understand this so let me explain it with lego” way. But in such a way that, even without all your background knowledge, your ideal customer will grasp why your offer is so groundbreaking and be able to relate to your brand.
Whether it’s about:
shedding light on the benefits of your product,
giving an example of why you’re a better bet than your competitors,
talking about nuances of different sustainability options, or
breaking down a complicated tech or scientific concept to show how it helps you in real life
Your messaging needs to do all that without overloading them with information, or making them feel like they need to put down the playdoh and head to the nap corner.
And that’s hard for you, as the resident expert, to do.
How to speak to noobs – how to communicate your brand to the people who need it
“But Peta! I know exactly what my customers need, because I’ve spent hours, days, weeks, years of my life developing the perfect product/service/offer for them!
I’ve researched and honed and gone through beta testing. I’ve got a comprehensive breakdown of why it’s excellent and how it helps. I’m all set!”
But do you know how you’re going to start explaining all that to someone who knows nothing about your brand?
Do you know how to talk to a noob? (there is a LOT of Minecraft talk going on in my house, and some of it was bound to sink in!)
Here’s something to ruminate on:
Your customer isn’t stupid (but they know less than you)
A few months ago, I wrote a lead magnet for a Tech Security firm (yes, I am THAT versatile). Framed as a checklist, it outlined the things you needed to do to make sure your business was safe and secure. The audience was companies with 25-250 employees, who didn’t have their own IT departments.
Now, I’m not a tech security expert (surprisingly), so I needed to rely on the client’s knowledge of what businesses should do to stay safe and secure.
He sent me a document outlining the most common risks when it came to The Cloud, data storage, etc.
And it. Was. Dense.
No personality. No real way to make a connection or build trust. No compelling brand story.
There was no way that the majority of his ideal customers were going to get their heads around any of it, let alone work out why they should care. This was not a sensible brand communication strategy.
And so I got to work.
This is why you hire a copywriter (well, one of the many reasons – we’re pretty useful people to have around!).
You have a wealth of expertise and knowledge. But your ideal customer probably doesn’t. A copywriter bridges the gap between you. Explaining your concepts from the position of a non-expert. Helping them see why it matters to them. Showing them how you can help them.
Without overwhelming them with jargon, or being patronising.
It’s a fine line. But it’s a line I’m very good at staying on the right side of.
Why a copywriter is your secret weapon:
Have you gone too far down the rabbit hole of your brand messaging and can’t figure out a way to communicate anything to your audience? Then you need a copywriter.
A good copywriter and messaging strategist (so, someone like me, perhaps) will be able to bring the following invaluable skills to the table:
An outsider’s perspective
You know when you’re doing a jigsaw, and you’ve been sitting there for ages, staring and stuck? And then your mum/partner/4-year-old child prodigy nephew wanders over, picks up a piece and immediately puts it in the right place?
Yes – it is very annoying.
But you know how they did it? They looked at the problem from a different angle.
I bet you’ve spent days going over the problems in your messaging. Trying to find a content strategy that your ideal customer will relate to. Trying to strike the right tone between “buy my stuff because it’s, like, really cool!!” and “Here are 17 pages on our company culture, sales channels, and why this product is so amazing!”
Pulling in an outsider, someone who is probably learning about your offer too, means you benefit from a different perspective. You get someone who will see things you don’t, and make sense of it from the perspective of your customers, because you’ve been looking at the puzzle pieces for too long.
A strategic overview
Getting lost in the weeds of your messaging means missing things that might be even more important.
A good copywriter leads you away from the tiny piece of wonky bark on the sycamore in front of you, hikes with you up the nearest hill, and shows you just how far the forest reaches, the impact it has, and how many things it touches.
And then you are better placed to be able to communicate that impact to your audience, with clarity.
A window into the brain of your ideal customer
Not only is a good copywriter great at getting to the bottom of what it is you offer, and why it’s so great, but they also excel at getting into the minds of your perfect customer.
Copywriting isn’t just the writing bit – it’s a whole mess of research before we even put pen to paper (or fingers to crumb-covered keyboard). Taking the time to get to know the people you’re trying to reach, working out what problems they have, and why they’re looking for your solution. All these things are integral to crafting a message that will make an emotional connection with the people you want to speak to, get them to buy from you, and build customer loyalty.
A bridge between your knowledge and your customer’s understanding
And then we have the final piece. Where a good copywriter will take the storage unit of stuff that you know about your brand and your offer, pop it over a bunsen burner, and distil the chemicals that will make the most potent message possible. Ready for you to put out on your website, slosh all over your social media channels, and even help you craft your brand’s visual identity.
We’re the scientists bottling the perfume that will draw your perfect customer towards you.
We’re also pretty good with the words, too…
How I can help you communicate your brand
Yes, you have your pitch deck (if not, we can talk about that as well).
But a good pitch deck does not make a good brand message. Especially a brand message that your future loyal customers identify with.
My Brand Guides are the blueprint to your brand identity, your messaging, your content strategy, your go-to-market plans, your website copy, and even your packaging (if that’s your thing). It’s one (meaty) document that becomes the Bible for all your brand communications.
I take the expertise in your brain and make it relatable to your audience. And it’s just as relevant for a start-up as it is for product-based small businesses, or a personal brand.
If you’re serious about what you offer. And you want the world to understand how it can help them. Then you need a Brand Guide.
One client said:
“This is so what I needed to move forward. You have totally banged the nail on the head!”
And your political beliefs are a huge part of that story. You’d love to stand up for what you care about. You’d love to use your platform to make a difference in the world. But, the problem is, you don’t know how to talk about politics as a business owner. And so you avoid it.
You might have noticed some of my own politics woven into my content. (And if you didn’t then a quick scroll through my social media will get you up to speed)
And you may have thought:
“Well done her! There’s no way I have the confidence to do that. And what would I even say? What if I put off potential customers? What if the social media gods decide they object to my values and throw my posts into the darkest depths of the algorithm, never to be seen again?”
All valid concerns!
And none of them a reason to keep your content politics or principle free.
Why should I talk about my politics in my business?
You see, the professional/personal divide we carried with us from the office to the online world is dead.
That’s why you get people posting selfies on LinkedIn (to massive engagement), and why behind-the-scenes content does so well on Instagram.
It’s also why companies have spent the past month telling everyone how wonderfully accepting they are of LGBTQ+ rights (whether they are the other 11 months of the year is a conversation for another day).
We expect people and brands we buy from to have principles, to have opinions, to be made up of actual people with principles and opinions.
So it’s not a “nice to have” for people (like me) who don’t mind putting themselves out there. It’s a necessity if you’re running a business in the 21st Century. (You can read more about my thoughts on this here)
But if you’re not used to putting your political and personal beliefs out there (even amongst your Facebook friends) then how do you talk about politics as a business?
*theatrical flourish *
I’m here to help with…
My framework: How to Share Your Politics Without Pissing Everyone Off
(disclaimer – you will piss people off if you’re honest about what you think. And that’s ok. There will always be people who disagree with you. But there will also always be people who have been waiting for someone to speak out. They are your people.)
Follow all the steps and you’ll feel confident and comfortable telling your audience what you really think – without worrying that they’ll all run for the hills.
SPOILER ALERT: They won’t.
Step One: Get comfortable with the space
We’re taking baby steps, because this is a big deal.
So, before you jump in and write a mini-essay on LinkedIn about everything political you’ve ever thought, you want to get the lay of the land. And giving your audience whiplash is never a good marketing strategy. So, here’s where we start:
Write down 3 things that are important to you (there may be more than 3, but it’s a good start). These could be abortion rights, LGBTQ+ equality, child poverty, or climate change. Anything that you’re passionate about.
And then start sharing what other people are saying about these 3 things on your Stories, or in your Feed. You don’t even have to comment, and you don’t need to make anything up yourself. Just start sharing.
Why? Well, this gets your audience used to seeing you and these issues in the same space. And get’s you familiar with the current discourse on your chosen issue.
Baby steps, remember?
Step Two: Honing your message
You’ve dipped your toe in the murky waters of political social media, sharing content from other people that you agree with. But you don’t just want to be a parrot. You want to use your own words to share your passions.
So Step Two is working out what you really think. Vague rants coming from hot white anger at the latest news are not your message. They are the source of your message, the passion you can feel through your posts. But they are not enough.
If you are going to put your politics, your principles, whatever you want to call them, out into the public sphere as a business, then you need to nail them down. You need to be able to articulate what it is you believe, and why you believe it.
Because people are going to ask. And the quickest way to lose people is to be vague (that is literally why people hire me to work on their copy – well…one of the reasons…I’m pretty talented…).
Imagine you were sat opposite your ideal client here, and you had to explain to them why microplastics were so important to you. Or why you are so passionate about Early Years nutrition. Take the 3 issues you picked yesterday and lay out your thoughts, your reasoning, and your argument clearly. Put together the jigsaw pieces.
And write it all down.
That’s a message that you can start communicating to your audience. Ready for questions or objections that come your way.
Step Three: Bring people with you
This is where you actually start sharing that message with your audience.
But, and here’s the key, not in a preachy “this is the final word on this subject and if you have nuances then you can go follow someone else” way.
The most effective political conversations – the ones that have the potential to change hearts and minds, to inspire action, and to impact the world – are just that – conversations.
Two-way dialogues that invite questions, agreeable disagreements, and new ideas.
If you’re sharing your politics in your messaging as a way to use your platform, and to connect more authentically with your audience, then you need to encourage this sort of conversation.
You can do this on social media with question stickers, polls, invitations to send you a DM, or even Lives where you share your platform. You can do this through your email list, giving your subscribers an opportunity to reply – and replying back!
However you choose, give your people opportunities to talk to you, to share their thoughts, and to offer up their stories.
Step Four: Walk the talk
It’s time for a little reflection. Because it’s one thing to tell people what you believe, but you also have to take a look at the way your business acts.
Authenticity is a word that gets thrown about a lot (and I do it too!), but in this new online world it is so important. To build a long-term connection with your audience, to bring them along with you, you need to build trust. And so your business’ actions need to align with your business’ principles.
So here are some questions to consider:
Do your business practices match your principles? (do you talk about climate change but bank with someone who invests in the oil industry, for example)
Are you open to criticism? (not trolling or vitriol, but people pointing out where you could improve)
Are you always learning? (there’s always room for learning more on any issue, so are you making an effort to stay informed?)
One last point. While we strive for perfection, we never reach it. You need to be realistic – and open about this. Not all of us can completely ditch plastic, we might want to leave some social media platforms, but right now our business relies on it…
Being open about where we’re still working is an important aspect of that authenticity.
Step Five: Be in it for the long haul
And here we are: the final step.
This will not be news to you, but in marketing as in exercise – consistency is key.
Take Pride month, for example. I’ve been revelling in the rainbows all over my feed, the marches popping up all over the country, and the opportunity it has given some people from the LGBTQ+ community to speak about their experiences on social media (yes, even on “This isn’t Facebook” LinkedIn).
We’ve also seen a LOT of companies jump behind the Pride banner. Adding rainbows to their logos, donating proceeds of particular products to supporting LGBTQ+ people, and highlighting policies that help the community.
And then we’ve seen some other companies pop up, spray rainbows and “love is love” quotes all over their platform… only for it to disappear from their branding (and the way they actually do business) for the rest of the year.
If you jump on every international month, only to not mention it for another 12 months, those people you’re trying to draw to you will be confused, annoyed, and even betrayed.
Step Five involves staying the course, and being true to the principles and politics you’ve identified as important to you. Because if they are important to you then they should be on your radar all year round.
Now, a little disclaimer. I don’t mean that you have to be inserting them into your content plan every week. But you do have to think about how they fit into your content plan! If you’ve chosen to use your platform to speak about your politics, then you need to carry on doing it – not just when everyone else is, and not just when there’s a tragedy/SCOTUS judgement/Daily Mail trending article.
What next?
So, there we have it. My gift to you. 5 easy steps for when you need to work out how to talk about politics as a business owner. Or, come to think of it, as a human being.
Now, go forth and tell the world what you believe!
Need some help? Then let me introduce you to The Soap Box.
It’s a community of business owners with a social conscience who are using their platforms to champion the causes they care about.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you can find out more here
Comments Off on How to show up authentically online without oversharing!
by allwordsbypeta
This is my preferred selfie!
Authenticity is the big buzzword in the world of small businesses right now. Especially how do you show up authentically online?
You need to be showing up as your “authentic self” on your social media channels (cue “hilarious” reels of me pointing at invisible words on the screen trying to game the algorithm. Not really, I’m never doing that.).
Maybe it’s because of my naturally cynical British brain (yeah, it’s probably that).
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that we’re slowly moving away (at least in some corners of the internet) from the performative posts online where we show off the tidy side of our perfectly arranged “home office” whilst ignoring the bit behind us where we’ve hidden all of the kid’s drawings, empty water bottles, crayons, and crumbs that are usually on the table.
But I’m always wary of just swinging the pendulum from one side to the other, where I feel a little like I’m letting down the sisterhood when I post a picture of my kitchen in the rare moments it’s actually clean. Or when I find an image of my kids in which they’re not trying to sit on each other’s heads.
And the thing is, buzzwords usually start off as great ideas with logic and analysis behind them. As a business owner or entrepreneur (pick the title that feels more “authentically you”!) being authentic online is good for engagement. Your potential customers see themselves in you, they relate. And this makes them more likely to buy from you and work with you.
As well as that, the drive for more authenticity was meant to make it easier for people to show up in the online space. You didn’t have to fit into a certain box, follow a certain formula, speak in a certain way, or build your website with a certain tool. You could be yourself.
But it turns out being yourself authentically online is still bloody hard.
Which “self” are you going to be?
How much of your life/principles/ethos/beliefs/personal vocabulary/mad earrings are you going to put out into the public domain for your potential customers to see?
When you’ve put yourself out there – the honest, real-life you – how do you cope when some people don’t like it? Now they’re not just rejecting your product, it feels a lot more personal.
And then, along with that, comes a whole heap of self-image issues that we like to think we’ve parked because we’ve “done the work” (read: liked the Instagram posts). Do I have to be in my photos? I can’t possibly do a reel right now because I didn’t wash my hair this morning. What if my kid walks into the background of my Story and pulls a funny face?
As messy as it gets!
Ways to show up authentically without making everyone within 5 feet roll their eyes:
If all that is running around your head then grab a cup of tea, and keep reading. Because it’s going to be ok…really.
Think about your audience: this can be pretty basic customer research, or you can geek out over it. But coming up with a customer avatar (ok, sorry, marketing speak: an image in your head of your ideal customer…excellent, the rash has gone now) can help you think about the sort of photos, captions, emails, and adverts that they would relate to.
Think about your style: If you’re a put-together person then a full face of makeup might make sense for your photos and videos, but if you can bring yourself to be a little less coiffed then you can own that and make it work.
If you’re pretty straight-laced (hey, no judgement, if everyone was punk we’d run out of safety pins) then coming out all guns blazing in your emails and marketing material is going to feel a bit weird, and be pretty hard to sustain.
Your authentic voice needs to contain some of you.
But don’t feel like you have to include it all: You might be really into Japanese anime or building bug hotels in your spare time. You might run a business making hand-pressed floral soaps but listen to thrash metal while you do it.
If you’re comfortable showing that side of you to your customers then that’s great! But if you’d rather not then that’s fine too. Your online “authentic self” doesn’t mean handing all elements of your life and personality over to the Facebook police. Pick what you want to share, and stick with that.
Look for the trends: Nope, not what everyone is dancing to on TikTok. Start noticing the patterns in how you speak when you’re comfortable and “in your flow”. That’s your brand/business voice. So if you can write and talk in that way, then your message will be that much more relatable.
People love consistency. They want to know what they’re going to get when they scroll your feed, or visit your website. No one likes surprises when it comes to their digital diet.
Get some help: writing about yourself is hard. You’re not being rubbish – it’s psychologically proven to be difficult for us to get our brains around. Our brains find it harder to recall things we’ve done well and much easier to flood us with all the things we’ve sucked at.
As well as this, when you sit down to write about your brand or business you’re doing it from the perspective of the expert and it’s difficult to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. So you end up with a whole page of text that makes sense to you. But your audience has no idea why they should care.
Finding a copywriter and strategist who can give you that sense of perspective, help you relate to your audience, and pick out all the things that are actually awesome about you and your brand, is golden (I know, I would say that, but my clients say it too, so I have actual proof!).
So, if you’d like some help to work out what your “authentic” brand voice is (or you know a fellow entrepreneur who’s struggling), then I can help you with that!
You might have heard (if you follow me on social media, subscribe to my email list, or read this blog – yeah, I’ve banged on about it a lot, sorry), that I was on the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast this week.
I talked with Nikki and Kate about how I started my copywriting business from scratch with a tiny baby and a homeschooling 8-year-old. We also chatted about how most time management tips seem to forget the responsibilities of those of us who are caring for children full time.
You can catch the episode here, or watch it on YouTube here to see my smiling face (and yes, I am in a van. We were at a summer festival in the UK and it was the quietest place I could find!).
As with all great conversations, there’s always more to say. So I wanted to collect my best practical tips and mindset hacks here. Some we covered on the episode, and some we didn’t get to. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, and not all of the ideas will apply to everyone’s circumstances. But I hope you find them helpful whether you have children to keep alive or you’re balancing other responsibilities.
Be realistic about your time
Don’t feel as if you have to do all the things. Yes, your Facebook groups and copywriting communities have Facebook Lives, and Study Hall hours. There are summits and live coaching and it’s all great, but be realistic about how much you can be involved in an online community. And don’t be tempted to feel as if you’re a 2nd-class online citizen because you literally don’t have time. Also, catching up afterwards (if you can) is just as beneficial.
Communicate clearly
Working part-time is ok, as long as you communicate clearly and realistically, with your clients and with your family. When it comes to your family, managing expectations is really important. You might not be able to read every bedtime story, and you might have to work the occasional weekend. But making sure everyone knows this is happening can stop frustrations
With your clients, communicating boundaries and turnaround times in advance as clearly as possible keeps everyone happy. If you can’t get a sales page written until Friday then tell them that. It doesn’t matter that you’ll be spending time watching your child play football and ferrying them to dentists appointments, rather than ploughing through a project for another client. Your clients don’t have the right to a 24-hour turnaround (unless you can do it and they pay you accordingly!). They’re here for your writing, not your attention 24/7.
Make the most of podcasts and audiobooks
You’re not going to have time to sit down and devour all the juicy marketing books everyone posts on social media. But you can listen to some brilliant experts while on the school run, cooking dinner, feeding the baby, and sorting the washing. There are so many great podcasts out there that, whatever your sphere of interest, you’ll find something you can learn from. Earbuds are a must though unless you want your baby’s first word to be “metrics”.
Realize your superpowers
Yes, you might be up through the night, but this means you are able to check and reply to messages from those in other time zones. When 2 am is a regular reality for you, why not embrace it and nab those jobs everyone else is sleeping through?
Also, as a parent (or someone with other caring responsibilities) you will have incredible powers of listening and understanding. You’ll be able to have a conversation and discern exactly what is actually going on behind it. Sure, your son might be talking about how he hates maths because the teacher is too strict. But he might actually mean that he’s struggling to understand and is embarrassed to say anything.
You can use these powers of discernment to get to the root of your client’s problems. Sure, they might be talking about how their sales page doesn’t convert, but they might actually need help developing a brand voice that sounds more like them.
Get a voice recorder on your phone
With a button right on the home screen. That way, if you have a great idea, or you remember something, you can note it down without having to move the baby and get to a piece of paper. I write some of my best copy via this app. You can also use transcription software like Otter to get it onto the page afterwards.
Ditch comparisonitis
Some people have entire afternoons to work through training modules or write 25 pitches in one go. You don’t. And that’s fine. There is enough work out there for everyone, and you bring things to the table that no one else can. Your journey may take a little longer, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive.
Also, you’re often comparing your everyday reality to someone else’s highlight reel. You have no idea what sacrifices they had to make to get to where they are, or what help they had along the way.
Someone else’s success isn’t your failure – it’s just more success.
Be more open and honest about your reality
This is just as important with clients as it is with your fellow freelancers. I’m not talking about sharing stories of exploding nappies (there is still such a thing as TMI), but the more people stand up and say “I’m running my business while feeding my baby”, the more parents sitting at home will realize that it is an option for them too.
And the more clients will realise that the image of a professional freelancer/business person, is more varied than it used to be.
Get help where and when you can
If you have the option of childcare, even if it’s just a family member taking the baby out for a walk for an hour, then take it. Any opportunity you can find for uninterrupted writing time is worth its weight in gold. Also, bite the arm off anyone who offers to help with cooking, cleaning and laundry until you are doing well enough in your business to pay someone to do them!
And if you’re tempted to feel guilty for delegating, remember that your time has value. If you can earn more by working that you pay someone to do your ironing, or go through your accounts, then it’s worth it.
So, these are my top tips for how to run a business while keeping a baby alive.
Comments Off on Build Your Copywriting Business – The Family Edition!
by allwordsbypeta
When I started my copywriting business there were a few podcasts that I binge-listened to while on the school run, cooking dinner, sorting laundry, you know the parenting drill. One was Filthy Rich Writer‘s Build Your Copywriting Business.
Nicki and Kate always had great advice and really interesting guests.
And now I’m one of them! *screams a little*
You can listen to my episode below, hear me giggle too much, and say “um” a lot, but also talk about:
How I got started as a copywriter
What I think abot Upwork (spoiler: this might surprise you)
How big a part laundry plays in my day
How I manage client expectations
How my previous career as a youth worker helps me deal with comparisonitis
What time management tips really help when you have small people you’re meant to be keeping alive.
I’d love to know what you think, and if you have any tips you could add.
Comments Off on When you can’t see the wood for the trees
by allwordsbypeta
Today’s blog is a little different. I’m sharing a little bit about how I work with my clients, and what I bring to the table.
I’ve just wrapped a fun project with a UK-based client (which makes zoom call scheduling a lot easier, I’m not going to lie!).
When you get to see your work in real life (or on a screen) there’s this little shiver of excitement. A lot of what I do as a copywriter feels abstract and amorphous most of the time like I’m drawing in the air. The moment when all my hard work coalesces and appears in front of me on a snazzy webpage with a funky design still gives me butterflies. It’s also quite nice to have something to show to my father-in-law to help explain to him what a copywriter actually does!
One of the reasons that this project was so much fun was the big picture thinking I was able to do.
Some clients just need you to write words.
They need a description of a product or a blog about why mums should buy their baby bottles. These things are important, don’t get me wrong, and they take skill.
But, while jobs like that do involve a lot of Listening, Empathising, and Directing (you can find out more about these 3 Youth Worker superpowers of mine on my blog), the client has probably already sorted out who they are, what they do, and how to communicate this. I’m just helping them speak more effectively to their ideal customer.
But occasionally I get to work with clients on a higher level, and it’s hands-down my favourite thing about my job.
This client was an established stationery company who was relaunching, with a new website and messaging. This gave them an opportunity to rebrand and be clearer on their marketing message.
But they were lost.
They’d spent hours and hours trying to come up with one strapline that explained everything they did. But they sold loads of stuff, so this didn’t seem possible.
They needed another way to stand out and get people to stay on their home page, rather than wandering off because it was all a bit vague.
So, what did I bring?
How could I help when they’d already been struggling for so long?
Well, a few things:
An outsider’s perspective:
You know when you’re doing a massive jigsaw and you’ve been looking for one particular piece for AGES? And then your partner/child/mother comes along and immediately picks it up from the pile of loose pieces? Annoying, isn’t it? But they looked at the problem from a different angle.
We’ve all been there. Stuck staring at a blank page for so long that you can no longer see any possible solution. Going around and around in circles. The issue? You’re too close to the problem. Grab an outsider (preferably one with some understanding of your field or business, don’t draft your dog walker in to look at your sales page unless they’re your target audience!) and explain the issue. They can help you find solutions you hadn’t even thought of, because their perspective is slightly different.
I helped the client look at his webpage from a different angle. We looked at how you could use it to take the reader on a journey that fit with their needs, rather than just focus on showcasing products.
A strategic overview:
Was finding this one phrase really the most important thing? Perhaps focusing on the feeling that you wanted to create on the page could draw people in more effectively than making sure that a reader instantly knew everything you did after reading the headline of your home page.
Strategically, this client operated in a fairly crowded marketplace. It made more sense to find a different way to engage their customer. So we settled on creating the feeling of a tribe, finding people like you and products that fit with that feeling.
That way, the company stands out, there’s no need to try and fit hundreds of different product lines into a single magic sentence, and you end up with intrigued visitors who turn into loyal customers.
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So, I’ve ended up with a very happy client, and they’ve ended up with web pages that will bring them more traffic and more sales.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m a stationery nerd, but Septembers always feel more like new starts than Januarys.
It probably is the stationery thing, you know. On my first date with my husband, we spent about half an hour bonding over the Staples catalogue. (Yes. I am aware of how sad that makes us sound, but we’re very happy so we don’t care!)
Having moved my task management system online over the summer, this is the first year since I was, ooh 11, that I haven’t swanned around WHSmith or Paperchase picking out my school year planner. It’s only the 2nd of September, and I’m already debating buying one anyway, just for the new paper smell.
This is when my new year starts, when I gear up for change and re-imagine what my life looks like. It’s in September when I’m feeling energized, optimistic, and fresh. January, when I’ve spent all my money on Christmas and it’s all dark and gloomy outside, is not my time.
But wait, this is a blog about copywriting and marketing, let’s not get too hung up on me, shall we? I promise, there is a point to this post and it will help your business.
“What is it?” I hear you cry in exasperation as you scroll through new productivity planners on Amazon.
Well, just like me, your customers think seasonally. And so should you.
Why should you think seasonally?
There are two reasons why thinking seasonally in your business is a helpful tool:
Youthworker insight alert!
As human beings, we like rituals and rhythms, new starts and seasons. As a species whose lives revolved around when you could farm, when you could fish, when you needed to store food, and when you needed to scrape the ice off of the top of your basket and get gathering again, we are biologically tuned into the idea that things change on a cycle. We like to set moments in our year where we can reflect, plan, remember, or celebrate. And our thoughts and emotions (read: buying habits) are massively affected by this.
In times gone by, most cultures had set moments in their calendar where the changing of the seasons was noted. A harvest celebration, a feast to mark the end of Winter, the first flowers budding. And almost all cultures had rituals involving the passing of time in people’s lives. Initiation ceremonies, first communions, marriages, funerals, all of these mark the passing of the seasons (of life and the year).
In many western cultures, we have fewer and fewer of these universally accepted rituals as time goes on. A lot of the religious rituals have been swapped for secular ones (Easter being a prime example, there are definitely more Instagram posts about egg baskets than there are about crucifixes) and this is fairly normal for a more multi-cultural society. But, because of the way we are wired, we still need some kind of marker.
Now, back to business
From a more traditional marketing perspective, as a business owner, your sales and successes will fluctuate throughout the year. Depending on your specific area – the things you sell and the space you occupy – you may do better in the summer, or in the run-up to Christmas. For example, if you sell garden machinery, you’ll probably be a bit quieter in January when most of us are hiding indoors and not thinking about our lawns. But July is going to be manic!
Tapping into these two reasons for seasonal behaviour can give you insight into the way your customers think and how best to market to them at different points in the year.
How can you make the seasons work for you?
Sure, you can stick to the traditional supermarket cycle of Valentine’s Day, Easter, Summer holidays, Back to school, Halloween, Christmas. But, let’s face it, you’re not going to stand out in a crowded marketplace when everyone else is doing the same thing. And, frankly, it’s boring.
Let’s be a bit more creative, shall we?
Research
The best way to develop a seasons approach to your marketing is to do our favourite thing: research! Consider these questions as a start:
What seasons do your customers most engage with?
What stages, in their life and in their year, are they talking about on social media and message boards?
What seasons (in life or the calendar year) do your products most fit with?
What seasons do you get most excited about?
Brainstorm
There are so many different seasons that you can tie into your messaging.
Sit down, grab a pen and paper, and think through the year. What events and periods spring to mind?
Spring cleaning,
Tax deadlines,
Summer holidays,
Back to school (even if your customers haven’t been at school for a while now)
Christmas.
Then think about life seasons; things that might be concerning your customers right now and affecting the way they think and purchase.
A new baby
Coming out of the pandemic
Finally having an empty nest now the kids have gone to Uni
Ending a relationship
Getting married
Buying their first house.
Tying it all together
So, you’ve got a better idea about the seasons that chime with your audience, now you need to make the connections between your products or services and the seasons you’ve decided to focus on.
Now, a word of warning: shoehorning a “back to school” call to action into every one of your emails, web pages, and social media posts through August and September won’t work (unless you actually are WHSmith, in which case “Hi, thanks for dropping by!”.
Nope, you want to tap into people’s emotions around the different seasons, but you don’t want to hammer it too much.
Think about it this way: If you sell soft home furnishings – cosy throws, inviting cushions, chic bedspreads – then you probably want to connect with the warm cosy feelings that your customers will have around Christmas holidays. Encourage them to fill their homes with tactile fabrics to snuggle up under whilst drinking their mulled wine. Paint a picture of how visiting family won’t be shivering up in the guest room if they have a couple of your bedspreads ready in the airing cupboard.
Alternatively, in September, you might talk about how a little piece of home can help student halls feel less lonely. Thus encouraging every mum of an 18-year-old to buy one of your blankets to pack on top of the IKEA crockery set.
The possibilities are endless.
And, you know, if you’re struggling you could always spend some time talking with an expert…
I promise I don’t bite…especially when I’m feeling all optimistic this time of year!
Comments Off on How to Direct – and get more sales!
by petaobrien
You‘ve been with me for the last few weeks as I’ve explored how my youth work superpowers can boost your business (in what we’re definitely NOT calling my copywriting philosophy).
We started with how making your audience feel listened to can build loyalty.
Then we moved on to the power of empathy in building a connection with your customers.
Now we’re at number 3 on my list: directing.
Now, fair warning, this one is the hardest to get right and the easiest to get terribly wrong (both in youth work and in marketing).
While the first 2 superpowers involve putting your target audience in the driving seat, you’re in charge of the wheel for this last one. So, strap in, check your mirrors, and pay attention to your blind spot. Let’s go!
What is a Critical Friend?
In my youth work training, one of the most interesting things I learnt about (aside from the fact that a teenager’s brain is literally rewiring itself while they deal with Math and English lessons) was the concept of the critical friend.
A lot of youth workers want to be friends with the young people they work with. We want to be seen as cool, hip, with it, accepted. Sometimes that stems from not being accepted as a teen themselves, and sometimes it stems from a well-meaning wish to make life lovely for everyone.
The thing is, young people have enough friends. And they’d rather hang out with someone their own age and talk about video games/politics/how annoying Mr Stevens is than listen to you try and make a conversation about Fortnite as if you’re one of them.
The one thing young people are short on, however, is someone to fill the middle ground between their friends and their parents. They don’t want someone to tell them what to do, and they sometimes need more than a mate who will just agree with them.
A critical friend is someone who cares about the person, and asks provocative questions or introduces new information to help them see things from a slightly different perspective.
Let me give you an example:
Owen is trying to decide which A Levels he wants to do next year.
His parents want him to be a doctor – respectable, honest, well-paid profession. So: physics, chemistry, biology, maybe maths. He thinks that he might be really good at developing video games. So: graphic design, art, IT. Home is currently full of massive arguments over ambition and “wasting your life” and “you don’t understand me”.
As a youth worker, it’s not my job to tell Owen that he should listen to his parents because they know what’s best for him (as much as his parents would like me to!). It’s also not my job to go “sure, whatever you want”. My job is to help him look at the situation from a different perspective, and to make sure he has all the information. Has he researched game developer career paths, why is he sure this is the job for him? Has he discounted medicine just because it’s what his parents want? I can help him research all these things, and maybe point him in the direction of game developers and doctors so he can make his own decision.
How to be a critical friend to your customers
As business owners, sometimes it can be too easy to focus on trying to get everyone to like you (literally when it comes to social media engagement) or on constantly selling your stuff. But if you only use social media to try and sell (or for “behind the scenes” photos of your dog) then you’re missing a trick.
Teenagers don’t want to be told what to do. It makes them instantly feel like doing the opposite. They can’t help it, it’s wired into their brains. But they are open to learning from someone else’s perspective.
Your customers are the same. They don’t want the hard sell, but they are open to being convinced that what you sell can improve their lives. They want to be directed, to be shown a different path.
You do this by gently leading them to helpful sources of information or a different perspective. This can make all the difference in the world between being a business that is just trying to get their money, and a brand they connect with.
Blog posts and emails play a big part in authentic directing. Use them to tell your audience about you and your brand, sure. But also use the opportunity to widen their perspective on relevant issues, to expand their knowledge on topics related to your product or service, and to introduce them to interesting people.
Hazards on the road
(It would appear that I’m sticking with the driving metaphor…which is weird, considering I could have gone the whole orchestra conductor route…but here we are, I’m not rewriting it all now, I have a baby to put to bed!)
As great as “telling people what to do” might sound to you (“you need to buy this…”) it’s important to remember what directing is NOT:
Bullying your audience. Just because you’ve positioned yourself as an expert, doesn’t mean you get to harangue them.
Using your influence over your audience to manipulate them (the “friend” part is important: you should care about their wellbeing).
Making your audience feel “less than” if they don’t buy from you (all these new subscriber pop-ups that say “Subscribe” vs “I don’t want to hear about cool stuff” are not kind, and will not build a community. They’ll just piss people off.
It’s a journey
There’s a reason that directing is superpower number 3. It has to come on the back of superpowers 1 and 2. In order to direct in a way that is authentic, empowering, and ethical, you need to have listened to your customers and spent time empathising with their situations. When you’re directing you’re showing them how their lives could be better in some way if they worked with you. But you won’t know if that is true unless you’ve done the first 2 things.
If you want to build a deeper relationship with your customers, to increase their loyalty to your brand, and to make them your biggest advocates (walking Facebook ads that you don’t have to pay for), then you need every step in the process.
And if you’re struggling then I’d love to help, because I want more authentic businesses out there, connecting with their audiences and enriching their lives.
I started my business when Erica was 8 months old, and 8-year-old Ethan was homeschooling because of the pandemic.
As it often does for mothers I’ve discovered, my copywriting journey began by starting my own blog about the trials and tribulations of motherhood. In my case, I started the blog (http://www.secondtimearound.blog it’s pretty good, you should totally check it out) to talk about the weirdness of my situation: widowed with a 2-year-old son at 31, now remarried and expecting another child. A friend reached out and asked if I’d like to write some blogs for her sustainable fitness brand about keeping fit and being a mum. She paid me £40 and I was pretty chuffed that someone else wanted to read what I’d written.
How I found copywriting
Before Erica was born I was balancing 10 hours a week of bookkeeping from home (that I was terrible at) with the part-time position of Chief Exam Invigilator at a local secondary school (which I was awesome at, but wasn’t exactly inspiring). Neither of these were going to work once Erica was born, especially when Covid hit and finding childcare was an impossibility. I was going to have to think of something else.
Nick was listening to a business podcast and heard about this thing called Upwork, where freelancers could find paid writing opportunities. It suddenly dawned on me that I could actually get paid to write things.
This is a pretty familiar story on the copywriting podcasts. People who have always found writing easy, through school, college, and work. People who get asked by their friends all the time to “just take a look over my CV”, or “what do you think of the wording in this essay paragraph”, don’t necessarily think this is a skill that others will pay for. Surely everyone finds writing fairly easy?
It seems not. It seems that I had a marketable skill just sitting there, only pulled out for heartfelt messages in birthday cards and wedding speeches. So in I jumped, going from zero in September 2020 to July 2021 and my first $2k month. I’m incredibly proud of my progress so far, but I’m not going to pretend it’s been easy.
Why time management tips don’t work for parents
I’m an all-or-nothing kind of girl. When I decide to do something new I want to find out everything I can about it. I’ll read all the books and scour all the websites until I know all there is to know. These days it’s all about the podcasts. Partly because they’re so very in right now, and partly because I haven’t had the time to crack a book since January 2020 (can’t think why).
There are about a million (at a conservative estimate) podcasts about running a business, and a million more about copywriting and digital marketing. I’ve been binging them all on the school run and in my earbuds while I feed the baby to sleep, clean the kitchen, make dinner and sort the washing.
As you’d expect, among the common topics of conversation, time management features quite heavily. For a lot of freelancers, or solopreneurs, their business starts of as a “side hustle” that they fit in to their evenings and weekends, once they’ve got home from their regular jobs. So time is a factor.
But not all busyness is fixable.
I was listening to one particular podcast the other day, where a time management guru asked the listeners whether they valued entertainment or learning more. And challenged them to look at whether the way they spent their time reflected this. Basically, if you say you value learning, but you spend 3 hours every evening watching Netflix instead of working through the digital marketing course you bought or starting your novel, then you’re kidding yourself.
As I drove along the road from school I realized why this particular podcast episode was making me cross. It was because I’d consistently heard from business guru after business guru that we all have time to do the things we want to do (workout, learn a skill, start a business); we’re just not looking hard enough.
Trust me. I’m looking pretty hard. And, unless you want me to stage my client calls at 3 in the morning while I’m breastfeeding a baby, I’m a little confused as to where all these magic pockets of time in my day are. Because I do actually value learning. But the last time i sat down to look through the digital marketing course I bought I realized that there were two loads of washing to put away, one to put in the machine, and the breakfast things still hadn’t made it to the dishwasher.
2 weeks ago I downloaded a 14 day bootcamp from a very well-known copywriting business that rhymes with snottypackers. Now I appreciate a no-nonsense tone as much as the next impatient person. But Day 1 focused on setting up your workspace, and argued that unless you had a specific area that was just for you to work in, with a door you could close, and scheduled times that you coud go and do that work with no distractions, then basically you were playing at this whole business thing and no-one would take you seriously.
Life doesn’t work like that if you have kids, especially small ones.
Copywriting and kids – the reality
This blog post for example. I was meant to write it after Erica went down for her afternoon nap. But she didn’t. After I’d spent 45 minutes trying to get her to drift off. So it was written in 3 minute blasts between getting her food, getting her to eat the food and not throw it all over the dining room, changing her nappy, explaining to her that eating chalk was not sensible, and finally giving in and finishing it off later in the evening.
But I am a freelance copywriter. I have regular clients who pay me for work and give me glowing testimonials. My earnings pay bills. And I’m serious about growing my business. So where does that leave me in this story?
Maybe there are a whole bunch of people sat on their bottoms watching Schitt’s Creek who just need to be told to get up and work towards their goal. But I reckon that (especially during the pandemic) there are even more people who are trying to follow their dream of a small business or a freelance career whilst teaching their daughter long division, battling zoom parents evenings, and bouncing toddlers who suddenly decide sleep is for losers at 18 months old.
I want time management and business tips from people who are making it work while balancing a baby on one hip. I want to hear their top tips for how to deal with a pile of client work when they were up every hour the night before.
I really don’t want to hear fresh-faced and groomed women on Instagram lives talking about how getting up an hour before their children has been the best thing they could ever do for their business, as now they can get their workout/meditation/journalling/scheduling of social posts done before they embrace their cherubs over breakfast.
I want to hear from the parents typing blogs one-handed (not that I’m doing that right now, obviously….) whilst holding a poorly preschooler, hoping little hands don’t lean over and delete the last paragraph. I want to hear from the business owners who arrive at school 15 minutes early for pick up so they can answer emails while the baby is contained in the car seat.
And most of all, I want to hear from them because I’ve spent the last year struggling with my brand voice and communications. I didn’t want to post about the realities of running a business as a Stay at Home Mum, because I was worried clients (and potential clients) would think I wasn’t a professional. I didn’t want them to think I was half-assing my work.
But, if anything, I work harder because of my limitations. Just because a blog post might be concepted while I cook spaghetti bolognese doesn’t mean it’s any less of an effective marketing tool. Just because I might be answering their email at 2am while I’m feeding Erica doesn’t mean I’m “phoning it in”. Just because I’m not at my desk (or in a hipster coffee shop) from 10 till 4 doesn’t mean I’m not a credible business woman. I’m just slightly more covered in humus than business women tend to be.
So, podcast hosts: bring on the mess and the honesty, and lead me to the women (and men) who I know are knocking it out of the park while literally holding the baby!
And if you need a copywriter with great time management and multitasking skills (who may or may not be covered in humus) to give your website a polish, your emails the relatable touch, or to inject new blood into your blogs, then give me a call!
