As we approach the end of another year, I paused to reflect on how much ‘being in community’ has helped me to grow emotionally and spiritually, and as a businesswoman.
But what do I mean by ‘being in community’? For me, it’s being an active member of a group that shares similar values. It’s being in spaces where I feel safe and have a sense of belonging. With lots of everyday demands and in the interest of self-care, I’ve had to be selective about how I spend my time.
Here are 5 questions I ask when choosing a community:
Do we share similar values?
If I’m investing time being involved in a group, it’s important that it’s about being supportive and celebrating each other. One of the things I’m most proud of when it comes to the Curvy Convo community that I created for plus-size women is how much we celebrate the achievements of our members Curvy Convo – Olivia Pitt. My ‘Keeping the Dream Alive’ coaching groups are perfect examples of this – check them out here: Group Coaching – Olivia Pitt. I also get that same experience in my early morning circuit classes. There’s no competition, just support and encouragement to give things a go.
What contribution could I make?
For me, it can’t be about just taking from the community. What could I bring to the table? What value could I add? My church community provides me with an opportunity to serve and lead, putting my skills, experience, and personality to good use. In networking groups, bringing joy has often been the most valuable contribution I could bring.
What could I learn?
Stepping into the role of being a businesswoman was alien to me after having been an employee for most of my working life. There were so many things I had to learn (and unlearn!), and I’ve been blessed to find a space in a business coaching group where I can be completely myself, unembarrassed about my lack of knowledge in some areas and fighting off impostor syndrome when it rears its ugly head.
How will it help me to grow?
I’ve been ‘doing life’ with other women of faith as a member of a mentoring group since 2014. This is where I learned about my identity and unique design. It helped me to understand myself a whole lot more than I ever did! I discovered that I am gifted in encouraging others. In the past two years, I’ve intentionally spent time with other women who share my gifting. This has helped me to confidently flow in my gifting, in complete alignment with my business as a Life Coach.
Can I really be myself?
In safe communities, I’ve allowed myself to be vulnerable and let my guard down so people can see beyond the smiles and laughter. I’ve shown up at times when I’ve felt broken, rejected, mentally drained, a failure. In virtual spaces, I’ve done the makeup-free, braless in PJs showing up as well – this all counts!
So, my question is, are you in community? You don’t have to navigate life on your own. You have nothing to prove. There’s so much to be gained by meaningfully connecting with others. As you enter a new year, maybe it’s time to consider who you could ‘do life’ with. You might be the missing piece of the puzzle that the group needs. Go for it!
One of my favourite things about my work is the chance to learn about the different ways that creative people work. I loved art at school, but I know that there are artists and designers out there that are far better at creating visuals than I am. Hand me a pen and a notebook, and I’m happy. I don’t panic in the face of a drawing pad and pencil, but I might not show the results to anyone. It makes me happy when I see work from people who can make stuff look beautiful.
This means that I was thrilled when I met Christina from Goldfinch Marketing. She creates gorgeous designs, and she’s also brilliant at techy stuff. It all comes together in beautiful websites that Google will love as much as your customers do. She’s also very good at writing; in fact, she’s so talented I would hate her if she wasn’t also lovely.
This may have you wondering why she’d need me, a writer when she’s already good at writing. Read on…
The pandemic
I met Christina during lockdown when everyone was virtual networking; some of us were home-schooling too. She’s based in Dorset, so the chances of us running into each other in person were virtually non-existent. Like many of us, Christina had taken some time during lockdown to evaluate her business and work out what she wanted to spend her time doing.
She’d started Goldfinch Marketing to help her clients with all their marketing needs, whether that was a new website, graphic design or content writing. Her review told her that she loved web design and graphics work but didn’t want to do content writing anymore. That’s where I came in.
The project
Christina had gradually reduced the amount of content writing she took on, but she still wrote blogs for one client. She told me they were lovely people she enjoyed working for and didn’t want to let them down. At the same time, she wanted to free up some time for other projects, so she wanted to see if I could take over writing a blog for them.
Of course I could. Writing their blog was right up my street; they’re a business offering a professional service, so they needed to share their expertise but didn’t want to be stuffy. I read the posts that Christina had already written to follow the same style and suggested some new topics. I also wrote social media edits for each blog post so that the individual paragraphs would work as standalone posts. The client was still happy, and Christina had time for other things.
If you need a new website, I recommend checking out Christina’s work here. Alternatively, if you want to outsource your content writing, either for yourself or one of your clients, let’s have a chat. You can book a call with me here.
Photo by Emma Bauso: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-wearing-black-boots-3585819/
Mary watched the fields flash past her window in a green blur as Sam steered the car along the narrow country road. They’d only just left the M1, but she already felt like they were in the middle of nowhere. Bliss. She flinched slightly as the branches of a dark green conifer clattered against the window. The sat nav announced their destination was half a mile on the left. Mary leaned forward in her seat, hoping to see the little house where they’d be spending the next three days.
She tried to forget how her mum had looked at her as they packed up to leave — disheartened and a little bit sad. Mary had known in advance that two days would be enough. Christmas Day with her parents and her younger sister was always fun, and she loved seeing the extended family on Boxing Day, but she knew Sam struggled. Her family’s Christmas centred around eating, drinking and watching TV, and Sam started to get cabin fever. They’d gone for a walk, but a stroll around a suburb was a long way from his childhood, spent climbing the Malvern hills whenever he got the chance.
Mary remembered her childhood Christmases when everyone had stayed together in her grandparent’s house from Christmas Eve until New Year’s Day. It had been heavenly when they were children, but now she wondered how the adults had managed to stay sane. Perhaps that was why her Dad and Uncle John had started drinking so early on Christmas morning.
Next year it would all be different.
…
“There it is!” Sam said, sounding as excited as a five-year-old. He indicated and turned off the narrow lane onto a block-paved drive. Mary sighed happily. The cottage was just as lovely as the photos suggested, with beautiful red bricks and fields stretching away into the distance. She turned to look at Sam, and her smile widened when she saw his face. He looked more relaxed than she’d seen him in months.
“It’s beautiful, Sam.” They climbed out of the car, and Mary stretched her arms upward, lowering them again to rub her back. “Oh, God.”
“What? You OK?”
“Yes, I’m just such a cliché. A little Weeble with an aching back.”
“You don’t look remotely like a Weeble. Much sexier.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Remind me of that when we’ve got a newborn, and I feel like I’m made out of rice pudding.”
Sam looked down and rubbed her belly. “It’s a strange thought, isn’t it? Next Christmas, we’ll have a ten-month-old crawling all over the place.”
“Yep. Weird. Anyway, let’s make the most of the peace and quiet and get inside.”
“Your wish is my command, oh Weeble-ish one.”
Mary laughed, reflecting that Sam was lucky she hadn’t picked up her handbag, or she might have walloped him with it. She watched as he took their suitcase out of the boot, opened the passenger door and retrieved her bag from the footwell. They definitely wouldn’t be able to travel this light next Christmas. She realised they’d have the perfect excuse to stay at home.
…
“They’ve left us some teabags and milk,” Sam called as Mary shut the front door behind her. She smiled at his unerring ability to find the kettle wherever they went and followed his voice into the kitchen, where he was already rummaging in cupboards looking for mugs. “I’ll take the case upstairs when we’ve had a cup of tea. What are you smiling at?”
“The fact that nothing starts without tea.”
“Quite right too.”
She wrapped him up in another hug, stroking his cheek as she kissed him.
“Do I need a shave?” he asked, feeling for stubble.
“Nah, you’re OK.” She groaned as he rubbed her back, then felt him hesitate. “Don’t worry, that was a good groan.”
“Did you see the pictures of the bathroom?”
“With the lovely slipper bath? Yes. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to a proper soak. The only problem is, you might have to hoist me out.”
Sam tried and failed to suppress the snigger. “Sorry. Tell you what, let’s have tea, and I’ll check whether I’ve got a signal in case we need to call the fire brigade.” He ducked away as she tried to slap him on the shoulder.
…
Mary followed Sam up the stairs as he carried the suitcase into the main bedroom. It was glorious, with a king-sized bed and views out over the fields to the woods beyond. The listing had said that there were 14 acres of land across the farm, and they were welcome to walk anywhere they liked. Sam had put the case down and was gazing out of the window. She told him that she was going to run a bath and headed across the landing to the bathroom. The smell hit her before she opened the door. She hesitated, half wanting to know what was behind the door and yet not feeling ready to face it. She realised she was standing completely still with her hand on the doorknob and felt faintly ridiculous. Eventually, she decided to stop dithering and turned the knob, pushing the door open in a single movement.
It wasn’t the first time she’d seen a dead body. She’d been there when Sam’s mum had died eighteen months ago when cancer that treatment had held at bay for three years had finally overtaken her. This was different. Emma had looked peaceful. This man’s life had clearly ended with violence. Even if the rope hadn’t been left, tied tightly around his neck, his face would have told her that. Mary had always thought that people who found dead bodies screamed, but she didn’t feel the need. She was shaking, transfixed by the man’s contorted face.
“Mary? Are you OK? Is anything wrong with the bath?”
She almost called back to tell him that, yes, there was a dead body in it. That made her feel ridiculous, and she giggled, clapping her hand to her mouth at the inappropriateness of it all. She turned and headed back to the bedroom. “Don’t go in there,” she said, “because there’s a dead man in the bath.”
“What? Are you kidding?” He turned to look at her and realised that she wasn’t. “God, you’re shaking.” He took hold of her and sat her down on the bed. “You’re sure he’s dead?”
Mary nodded. “We need to call the police.”
…
DI Fitzgerald and PC Jones had been impressively efficient, arriving within an hour of Sam’s call, shortly followed by a pathologist and two forensics staff. Mary sat on the sofa next to Sam as DI Fitzgerald asked her to tell him about her discovery. She’d been surprised at how easily the details came out; the smell, the position of the body and the cord around his neck. Fitzgerald had nodded encouragingly, watching her with his piercing blue eyes. She wondered what it would be like to be a suspect facing that searching look.
“That’s excellent, Mrs Collins, thank you. Can I ask, have you ever seen him before?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“What about you, Mr Collins?”
“I didn’t see the body. I’m a bit squeamish, to be honest.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a cough from the doorway. The pathologist had appeared and asked to speak to DI Fitzgerald. They disappeared into the hall, and when the police officer returned, he was smiling.
“I have some good news for you. We’re ready to remove the body. It looks like we might have a possible ID. You’ll be relieved to hear that I won’t be asking you to view the body, Mr Collins. Hopefully, you can both have a restful night, even if you don’t fancy a bath.”
Mary groaned, “I was looking forward to that.”
Fitzgerald smiled. “A warm bath was the only thing that helped my wife’s backache when we were expecting. The forensics officers have almost finished with the bathroom, so we’ll be out of your way shortly.”
…
Mary and Sam wished the departing officers a happy Christmas as the last cars pulled away from the house.
“Alone at last,” Sam said. “They were a lot quicker than I thought they’d be. Are you OK?”
Mary nodded. “I’m fine, and surprisingly hungry. What have we got for dinner?”
…
A large pizza, garlic bread and ice cream later, Mary lay back on the sofa, rubbing her belly. “I think the baby likes pizza; she’s kicking like mad.”
“Don’t you mean he?” Sam teased, sitting down next to her with a glass of red wine. “I’m sorry you didn’t get your bath.”
“I don’t mind. I’m just happy to be here, just the two of us.” She lifted her glass of elderflower fizz and clinked it against Sam’s. “Here’s to the next adventure.”
“Cheers,” Sam replied. His face creased with concern as they heard a knock at the door. “Who can that be? It’s pitch black out there.” He heaved himself off the sofa and put his glass on the table.
Mary felt a shiver go through her. She felt that something wasn’t right, and got up and followed him, reaching the door just as he opened it.
“Mr and Mrs Collins? I’m sorry it’s taken us so long to get to you. It’s been a busy night.”
The two police officers extended their warrant cards into the light.
“A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.” ~ Harvey Mackay
I like this quote for its optimism; you can dream, but you only get somewhere when you make a plan and hold yourself accountable for each step. If you’ve planned your goals for the next 12 months, your next step will be creating a marketing plan to help you hit them.
The question is, does your marketing content align with your targets? When you match your marketing to your business goals, you’re more likely to achieve them. Here’s my guide to the types of content that will help you at each stage of the customer journey.
Brand awareness
To grow a business, you need to make sure that people have a) heard of you and b) understand what you do. SEO plays a big part here; it lets people find you via keywords that describe your business. Personality-filled, shareable blogs and social media posts will help you to reach more people and stay at the front of their minds.
It’s also worth creating guest posts for other sites and collaborating with other businesses. My favourite local café hosts workshops and shopping events, and it helps everyone involved grow their brand awareness.
Engagement
This is the stage where you want people to move from knowing who you are to having a conversation so they can decide whether they like you. Asking conversation-starting questions works well here. You can do this in your blog, on social media posts or ask for interaction on your Stories. You can also invite viewers to ask their questions on live videos.
People are more likely to buy things that their friends like, so ask people to post pictures of themselves with your products.
Lead generation
Lead generation is just a fancy term for encouraging them to opt into a closer relationship where they hear from you more often and start thinking about buying. Asking people to sign up for your email list is an excellent first step, as you can send them an email series that shares everything they may not have known about your business before. You can offer a helpful freebie, such as a checklist, eBook, video tutorial or a free trial to encourage them to sign up. Sharing case studies on your website and social media can help as they show your results.
Sales
Small business owners often struggle with this, but selling doesn’t have to mean pressuring someone into buying. All the work you’ve done to build a relationship means that your audience knows how you can help them; they just need to take the next step.
Sales content needs to take away any doubts people might have. They might need to understand the process or get more details about the product before they buy. Use your content to talk about the benefits and your process, and include technical information as bullet points in your product descriptions. Sharing reviews and case studies lets them see that you’ve delivered for others.
One final thing. Don’t forget to follow up after the sale to help them get the best out of what they’ve bought. Offering hints, tips, or extra support maintains the relationship and makes you memorable.
Do you want to match your marketing to your business goals? I can help with that. I create content that speaks your customers’ language. Book a call to find out how it works.
You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.
I have always envied people who wear beautiful jewellery and often admired pretty necklaces and earrings, feeling just a little jealous because I’ve never really been able to wear much jewellery due to skin reactions.
Where I was
For about 18 months, I’d known I needed to find something new business-wise, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I have worked in Direct Sales for over 12 years; I originally decided to ‘give it a go’ because I loved the product, bought it myself and needed some extra money – quite a common theme, really! What started as a bit of a paid hobby for me soon developed into a super little business, and the BEST thing for me was that I could work around my family; I was always there to do the school run, take the children to their friends, after school classes etc. and the extra income helped pay for the treats and days out in school holidays. Win-win.
However, the lockdown and the pandemic changed things, plus I had a difficult house move to navigate. I decided to limp along but keep my eyes and ears open for something new.
Finding a new opportunity
Earlier this year, I was in the right place at the right time, and I am so very grateful that I heard that conversation! A new jewellery company was looking to launch in the UK, very established in Canada with beautiful fine jewellery. My spidy sensors alerted I reached out and asked for more information. I am so glad that I did!
Tocara Jewellery, founded by a jeweller with over 40 years of experience designing and making fine jewellery, was looking to launch here. I have always believed people need to be a product of their product and believe in what they do or sell. I had to see some jewellery and, more importantly, find out if I’d be able to wear it – I have sensitive skin that reacts to lots of things, including many metals, so this was the real test. RESULT! Tocara jewellery is made from genuine Sterling Silver, surgical grade Stainless Steel and 10c and 14 c gold plate. For the first time in years, I could wear earrings for more than 30 minutes. These were so comfortable that I forgot that I was wearing them!
This was clearly a sign I had found the product I had been looking for, and not only had I found a new business, I realised that I had found a whole new sparkle wardrobe. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to be able to wear jewellery. I really am like a child in a sweet shop.
How it’s going
Product and business found, new challenge accepted! I’ve been privileged to see a side of a business that no one really sees. Usually, when people are invited to join a direct sales business, it’s established, and we wish we could be there earlier in the journey. My connection to Tocara UK is via Canada and my goal is to share our founder’s vision to share the beautiful jewellery and business model. My experience over the past 12 years gives me the opportunity to help others build a flexible business, whether that be a paid hobby, a part-time income or an additional income stream around their own lives and families.
I have enjoyed the flexibility, recognition and income my little business has provided. I am really looking forward to starting from scratch now, with stunning sparkles ready to share and a fabulous opportunity to enhance lives. It’s truly rewarding to see how people grow in confidence, blossom and take pride in their achievements, no matter how small. Some people will love simply wearing and sharing the jewellery enjoying the compliments they receive. Some people will recognise the bigger picture and the business model providing financial reward, and others will find happiness, like I did a few years ago, being able to provide those extras for my family, taking pride in my own achievements and creating memories that will last a lifetime. Everyone is welcome to join me.
What’s next?
We’ve just launched here in the UK, and the reaction to the jewellery has been so positive and what perfect timing for Christmas gifts; everyone loves a little sparkle at this time of year. Tocara also supports Breast Cancer Now through the sales of the Debbie Collection. This beautiful collection includes a pretty bolo bracelet made from stainless steel and shell pearl, making an ideal Secret Santa gift, stocking filler, or to wear daily and show support to a worthy charity.
If you’d like to know more (or do some Christmas shopping) you can find me on Facebook.
Photo by energepic.com: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-sitting-in-front-of-macbook-313690/
You know some of the most common blogging mistakes (if you don’t, read this). The question is, how do you avoid them? I’m glad you asked; here’s how.
Write a clear headline
A good headline is designed to spark your reader’s interest. It also tells them what to expect from the content they’re about to read. The headline for your blog posts sets the tone in the same way as a front-page newspaper headline; that’s why there’s such a massive difference between headlines in the Sun and the Daily Telegraph.
Your headline also tells people what they’re about to read. It lets them know that if they click, they’ll get five helpful time-saving tips or find out why they need to make a will. When you follow through on the promise your headline makes you build trust with your audience, which is an excellent thing for your business.
Use subheadings
Big blocks of text are scary and off-putting for your reader. When you break your blog post down into sections, you make it more readable and visually pleasing. You’ll also help the people who found you because they were looking for a quick answer to a question. They can use your subheadings to jump straight to the bit they need. They might even read the rest of the post if you’re lucky.
Your subheadings need to be clear, just like your headline, so your audience knows what to expect.
Plan your post
If your headline promises one thing, but the post wanders off from the point, your reader might lose patience. This is especially true if they’re looking for quick information. Even if your post is helpful and well-written, you’ll lose readers if you aren’t giving them what they expected.
Planning your post helps you to work out whether all the information you’re including is relevant to the post’s central theme. If it isn’t, you can still use the points you’ve thought of in a different blog post, so it isn’t wasted.
Get to know your audience
You can write more compelling posts when you know your core audience. It’s essential to be aware of their level of knowledge about your subject and what they need from you. That doesn’t mean that you can’t write for different types of people; you might be able to help beginners with one thing and more experienced people with something else. The main thing is that you’re clear about which one each post is for.
When you know who you’re writing for, you can talk to them at the right level. Being patronising or blinding your audience with science won’t win you any fans.
Think about your call to action
Creating the right call to action, or CTA, where you guide your readers towards the next step you want them to take, can take a bit of planning. Achieving your business goals might mean attracting more leads and growing your audience. Your blog post could ask them to follow you or include an email sign-up form. You could invite people to book a call or have images of your products with links to your online shop if you want to make it easy for them to buy.
There are many potential options, so think about the steps that align with your goals.
Photo by Cup of Couple: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crumpled-papers-near-a-person-writing-on-a-notepad-6632868/
A blog is brilliant for letting your audience get to know you and how your business helps them, but it only works if people keep reading and take action when they’re finished. Read on for the top 5 blogging mistakes that will have your readers wandering off to your competitors.
Clickbait
I loathe clickbait with a passion, mainly because I’m not immune to it. There’s always a wonderfully intriguing headline (that’s the point). You click through to find pages of nonsense that don’t deliver what you expect. It only works if your business model is based on high-volume content that generates ad revenue when people click through. If you want to build trust with your audience, it’s horrendous.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Do. Not. Do. This. To. Your. Customers.
Walls of text
Most people don’t read a blog post all the way through. They’ll skim it to get the gist or to find the piece of information they searched for. It’ll put them off if they land on your post and find a big block of text with no subheadings to guide them through. It’s a good idea to plan, so you know what you want to say in the post. Then you can have a subheading for each point and separate paragraphs if there are a couple of different elements to each subheading.
Breaking your post up makes it more visually appealing too.
No through line
Sometimes going off on a tiny tangent can give your content more personality, especially if your topic reminds you of something from your life outside business. However, you’ll lose readers if you wander too far from the point. This can hold true even if your off-topic bit is interesting; it wasn’t what they expected.
That’s why it’s vital to ensure that each section refers back to the central theme, so everything is relevant and you have a clear through line running through your post. Planning will help you do this.
Talking down to your reader
No one likes being patronised. Even if you’re an expert in something and your reader isn’t, they don’t want to be spoken to like they’re five years old. It can be difficult to judge what level of knowledge your audience has, but it’s something you can develop over time as people respond to your content or ask questions in person.
You might also work with professionals who understand business but don’t know the technical terms you use. Professional but jargon-free content is your best bet, or you could offer a quick definition if it’s a term you’ll use throughout your post.
No call to action
You’ve written a helpful blog for your audience that’s answered one of their questions or taught them about an important topic. Now what? How can you keep them on the path to becoming a customer rather than drifting away?
The best way to get someone to do something is to ask them; your marketing is no exception. If you want them to offer an opinion, ask for it. If you want them to book a call or sign up for your mailing list, give them a link or a form to fill in. Your call to action (CTA) aligns with your business goals, so think about what you’re trying to achieve and how your content can help you do that.
Many of my clients enjoy checking in with me at the start of their sessions as to what they have achieved since our last session, proving that they have been accountable for their actions and if they have not looking at why this may be and if they are still important. When you are the owner of a business or in a senior position it is very challenging to be your true self. People struggle with goal setting and if you are at the top of your game who can you report into with tasks you have completed and or not. Where do you get the recognition for being accountable?
The definition of accountability
Accountability is when an individual or department takes responsibility for the consequences for their performance or actions. Accountability is essential for an organisation or society. Without it, it is difficult to get people to assume ownership of their own actions because they believe they will not have to face the consequences.
What are the main principles?
Anyone that follows the principles of accountability, transparency, participation, evaluation or feedback, are more likely to develop best practices and be more successful.
Why is this so important
Accountability eliminates the time and effort you spend on distracting activities and other unproductive behaviours. When working with people from a coaching perspective we help people be accountable for their actions, help them to value their work, when done right, accountability can really help people with their confidence as they learn to deliver when they say they will.
This week I was at the start of a coaching session and I asked my client what she would like to cover in the session. My client explained that she often gets distracted with everything going on in her business, so sometimes the important tasks can be forgotten about. She explained that she wanted to be held accountable to completing her daily jobs and felt it would be useful to report her accomplishments to me each day to feel the reward of explaining what she had achieved that day.
This client of mine is by no means alone. I speak to many people who are easily distracted, whereby one of the biggest culprits can be getting lost in social media. Social media is great for many things but it can also easily suck you in, then before you know it an hour has gone by. This not only wastes time, but it also leaves you feeling unproductive and increases the difficulty of focusing on new tasks ahead because of this disappointment.
Being accountable is really important for you and your business. If you book in an appointment with a client, how do you think that client will feel if you call them late or not at all? Do you think they will value you and your service? You are constantly building a relationship with your client. Just because they have started working with you doesn’t mean they may continue if you are always late or don’t meet deadlines, and they are much less likely to refer you. Learning to be more accountable is hard but if certain procedures are followed through and areas of importance and less important areas are highlighted this will help.
How I can help
In a coaching session we can look at what are you trying to achieve. Have you given yourself a realistic time frame to complete the task and is it providing value to you and your business? Are you committed to achieving a high standard when you complete the task or are there other things that are conflicting your ability to perform well? Coaching will help make you more accountable, deal with issues that are holding you back such as distractions and your values relating to business development.
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/author-blog-create-creative-267569/
You’ve decided to write a blog that’ll stand up on its own or form part of your marketing strategy, but you don’t have a website yet. Maybe you don’t need one at all. You want to start writing and engaging with your audience, but how do you start? Here are 5 ways you can blog without needing a website.
Use a free blogging platform
A free blogging platform lets you start writing your blog without needing a website that you have to pay for. WordPress has free and self-hosted versions so you can choose the option that’s right for you.
It’s worth considering whether you might want to expand your blog into a full website eventually. If you do, it might be worth paying for hosting. That option lets you choose your own URL rather than a link that has the provider’s name in it, so you can build your brand identity from the start.
Write for someone else’s site
Medium hosts thousands of articles on an impressive range of subjects. You can create content and tag the topic to build a following in the same way as you would on social media. There’s a version that pays or you can add links to Ko-fi or Buy Me a Coffee to let readers send you a donation.
To build your business network, you can also guest blog for other businesses with a similar audience to yours. I’ve hosted blogs from everyone from social media experts to nutritionists as they can help my readers with topics outside my expertise.
LinkedIn articles
I hesitated to include this one as you’ll generally get better reach with LinkedIn posts than you will with articles. However, if you’re trying to build a following articles are still worth your time as it gives you more space to share your expertise than you’d get in a normal post. You can also share articles in your main feed and repurpose them to create a LinkedIn newsletter.
I’m hearing from more and more people who are focusing on LinkedIn for their marketing, so if you want a business audience it could be a great platform.
Microblog on social media
If you’re writing a blog to share your views or offer hints and tips you can do that on social media. The only real difference between a standard blog post and a microblog is that the second one is shorter. That means that a limited character count isn’t a problem.
A microblog doesn’t give you the chance to go in-depth on a subject, but it can help you to learn your writing craft and start building a following.
Create a YouTube vlog
I know I’m all about the writing but creating a video blog on YouTube lets you try out content and build a following the same as any other social media platform. You can also transcribe your videos to turn them into blogs and make them accessible to people who prefer other types of content.
Of course, you can always do it the other way around. If you’ve written a blog on another platform and want to help it reach a wider audience, you can create a video summing up the highlights and include a link to the original post for anyone who wants more detail.
Wherever you choose to blog, the quality of your content matters if you want to build a following and promote your business. If you want some help writing in a way that speaks your customers’ language, let’s have a chat.
The short answer to this is that no, you don’t. The question is, will a standalone blog help you to achieve your goals if it isn’t part of a larger website? Here’s my rundown on the reasons why you don’t need a website to write a blog and why you might want a website after all.
What’s the difference between a blog and a website?
When you visit my website you’ll find lots of different pages about my business, products and services. My blog is just part of a larger whole. The reason I do it this way is that my blog is part of my marketing strategy, not a business in itself.
If you run a business, your website is your virtual shop window. The blog is part of the content that helps your customers to find you.
What do you want to achieve?
If you want your blog to be a business, you might not need a website. However, if you want a site that lets you offer products, build your email list and offer affiliate links you almost certainly will. Some brands will only offer affiliate links if you have a website rather than a standalone blog or social media presence.
It’s also a good idea to think about your brand and the kind of image you want to create.
You can use a free blogging platform
Some platforms let you choose whether to create a self-hosted website or a free blog. WordPress is just one example; you can create a website and pay for hosting. Alternatively, you can have the free version to create a blog.
If you choose the free version you’ll have WordPress in your website URL, which might not look all that professional if you’re trying to build a brand that goes beyond blogging.
Third-party selling sites
If you create products your main source of income might be a third-party platform like Etsy or Not on the High Street whose brands let small businesses reach a wider audience. Building your own website could let you make sales at a lower cost, but you’d have to do the work to promote it and attract visitors.
If you’d prefer to start by creating a blog, you can use it to send visitors to your shop even if it’s on a third-party platform.
You can use another blogging site
There are blogging sites that operate in a similar way to social media platforms. You can create a profile and attract followers who are interested in the topic you cover or who’ve searched for specific hashtags. For content that’s heavy on visuals, Tumblr could be a good option. Alternatively, if you create in-depth written content Medium is a great platform and there’s an option to monetize your content too.
Microblogging
Microblogging is short-form content (like a longish social media caption) that helps you to share your expertise and tell your story. It’s a great way to start if you’re trying to find your voice. The only disadvantage is that you don’t get to share as much detail as you would in a standard blog post.
I tend to create this kind of content by writing a longer blog post and then breaking it down into individual sections.
Wherever you choose to blog, the quality of your writing matters if you want to build a following and promote your business. If you want some help writing in a way that speaks your customers’ language, let’s have a chat.
