Author: Kirsty France

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Your menopause and the butterfly effect

Guest blog - Mairi Taylor - menopause rock star

We know that for a caterpillar to transform into a butterfly they have to allow themselves to turn in to the most glorious goop where their imaginal cells – I always thought they were called “the magical cells” – recreate the butterfly the caterpillar was always destined to be.

If anyone tries to hurry the process or help the delicate butterfly emerge from their cocoon too early their lives are shortened & they don’t get to live their full glorious next phase of life.

What if your menopause transition is your glorious gloopy phase?

A full breakdown of the woman you are in order to become the woman you are meant to be in this next chapter of your life? This is a true “unbecoming” as you have to allow yourself time to be the gloopy mess, a mess where everything you thought you were is allowed to disintegrate & you recreate a new glorious version of yourself.

This time can be confusing, frustrating, irritating & downright frightening as we appear to rage against the two aspects of ourselves. For many of us we hold on so tightly to “our caterpillar” that we simply don’t allow the potential magic to happen. There can be such a sense of loss for many as society doesn’t honour our “gloopy mess” phase, or the wise wild woman we can become.We haven’t been shown how to navigate this transition in between family, work & all the other 100’s of responsibilities & commitments we face as modern women, but maybe just knowing this “mess” is all part of the phase may help your butterfly emerge just a little easier.

You can’t rush it, force it or deny it because to do so would impact the quality & vibrancy of the next phase & you would be dishonouring the woman you were & the woman you are yet to know.

What if we could all enter this phase of life knowing we need to allow time & space for the breakdowns, setting strong boundaries to protect some “chrysalis time”, the reimagining, the gloopy, sticky mess & see, hear & feel it for what it is? Knowing that by allowing it to take it’s time & simply swim in the soupy mess we will emerge as a newly formed & glorious post menopause woman who can open her wings & fly with a new sense of freedom as her next chapter takes form?

Mairi Taylor

Get in touch

If you need or support navigating your menopause / midlife transition then know you don’t have to be on your own. I can offer a range of services and a support network of resources and people to help you navigate.

www.mairitaylor.com

https://www.instagram.com/mairitaylor_menopause_rockstar/

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7 tips to help you write a headline that gets you noticed

Me at my computer, creating content and trying to write a headline that'll get my marketing noticed.
Image by Julie Grant Photography

Good content marketing headlines can mean the difference between your content being read or totally ignored. (Find out why here.) Here are my tips on how to write a headline that will help you attract the right audience.

Make sure your headline reflects your content

A good headline lets your audience know what to expect. If people start reading only to find that your post wasn’t what they were expecting, you’ll lose their trust, and that’s fatal to a small business. So write a headline showing them why your content is worth your time, and ensure your post sticks to the point.

Write your headline last

If you’ve planned your post, you’ll have a good idea about what you’re going to cover, but things can change as you write. You might come up with an interesting analogy or a take on the subject you weren’t expecting. If you write a headline before you start, check it at the end. Does it still work with the finished piece?

Use numbers

If you can use a number when you write a headline, do it. Several studies have shown that using a number in your headline can increase engagement by anything from 15% to 73%. Readers like numbers because they’re specific and show you roughly how long a post will be. However, please don’t shoehorn a number in if it isn’t relevant. Your readers will smell a rat.

Write lots of different options

Writing several different headline ideas gives you options to choose from and can help you to create a headline that fits your content. Change the structure of your headline and use different synonyms. You can also think about the results your readers will get and why they’ll be interested in what you have to say. Then, when you’ve finished the piece, you can see which one is the best fit.

Put keywords at the start

Putting your keyword or phrase at the start of your headline means that your subject is clear from the start. That’s great for your readers and your SEO. However, it isn’t always possible; I think it’s better to have a headline that reads well than to put your keyword at the start and end up with a clunky sentence.

Use power words

Power words are words and phrases that encourage people to pay attention. Sometimes these can be as simple as using ‘you’ or ‘your’ in a headline. It makes your reader feel that you’re speaking to them personally. Power words are often emotional but can also create a sense of urgency. CoSchedule’s list of 180 power words will give you an idea of the kind of words that work.

Test your headlines

A good headline lets your audience know what they’re going to read but also creates an emotional connection. You might not think you can test that, but you can. If you’ve got a few different options, a headline analyser can help you to pick the best one. There are a few to try, but my favourite is the Advanced Marketing Institute’s headline analyser.

Do you want to grab your audiences’ attention and create content that speaks your customers’ language? I can help with that. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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Why are good headlines important?

A newspaper with good headlines

You might associate the word ‘headline’ with a newspaper or online article, but you use them everywhere in your marketing. They’re the title of your blog posts, the subject line in your emails and even your social media posts have a line at the top that’s the first thing your readers will see. Good headlines can determine whether your marketing hits the spot with your audience. Read on to find out why…

Headlines catch people’s attention

OK, this is the most obvious reason for creating good headlines. They’re designed to intrigue potential readers so that they want to know more. That could be because you’re offering the solution to a problem or because you’ve teased some juicy secret they must know about. It makes them look twice and tempts them to read the rest.

I have one important caveat – a good headline isn’t misleading. This brings me to…

Good headlines let your readers know what to expect

Clickbait may work for some businesses, but small businesses like ours need to build trust. A clear headline that lets your reader know what they’ll get from your content helps you do that. It also allows your audience to decide whether it’s worth their time. That way, when they click through, they know that you’re providing tips or advice they can use.

Even if people don’t read the whole post, it gives them a clear impression of what you do and what your business offers.

They can express a particular mindset

Have you ever stood and looked at a newspaper and magazine display in a shop? Each publication could be talking about the same subject or news story, but they all do it differently. The headlines they use help you understand their political viewpoint or the issues they care about.

Your headlines can do the same; they can help you attract customers with a similar worldview to you or tell them something about your personality, so they’ll know whether you’re their kind of person.

Headlines are great for SEO

Headlines work to boost your search engine rankings in two different ways. Firstly, the fact that you have a headline tells Google that your content is well-organised and likely to be helpful.

Secondly, you can include keywords in your headlines. Then, when search engines look at your site, they can immediately tell what your subject is. That means when someone asks a question with your keywords, they know your content is relevant to that search.

Good headlines = more clicks

When you create marketing, you want people to read it, and a good headline encourages them to do that. That doesn’t just apply to content you created to educate your audience. It can help you to get new sign-ups to your email list and more sales. A headline can make it clear that you’re selling something and give your audience insight into the benefits of your product or service so they click through to find out more and ultimately buy from you.

Do you want to grab your audiences’ attention and create content that speaks your customers’ language? I can help with that. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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What kinds of content will help you grow your audience?

Chimp and stormtrooper thinking about content types.
Image by Julie Grant Photography

Growing your business means getting yourself noticed. What content can you create to attract new social media followers and website visitors and let people find out about you when you’re not face-to-face?

Read on for some ideas.

Be creative in how you present information

Whenever you create new content, think about how you can reuse it, so your audience gets the point no matter what kind of content they prefer. For example, you can edit your website copy for leaflets and present social media posts as text, graphics or videos.

Keyword blogs and articles

Writing blogs or articles using keywords your customers are searching for will help you show up in a Google search. You can also share them on your socials and educate people about your services. So, think about your services and what you want to be known for, and write about that.

Case studies

Case studies show your future customers the results you’ve got for real people like them, so it helps them trust you. Sharing them on your website helps your SEO, and you can post them on your socials or make a video telling the story.

Testimonials

Testimonials work the same way as case studies, except they come straight from your customers. Google reviews help your SEO, but you can also make graphics out of positive reviews and share them as posts.

Infographics

Infographics help people remember information so they can make great posts, and you can include them as a summary in your blog posts. They’re good on Pinterest as you can use them to summarise a longer article and post them with a link.

List articles

List articles could include top tips, questions, or your favourite resources; there are loads of possibilities. Post them on your website and break them down into individual social media posts and Reels or summarise the key points.

Personal stories

Sharing your story helps your customers get to know the person behind the business. A story can be an article or a few sentences so you can share them on your website and social media as text, images or videos.

Business cards

Believe it or not, some of us still have business cards (mine are from pre-lockdown). They’re great for networking, but you can carry them all the time; I once had someone ask for my card at a kids’ birthday party!

Leaflets

Leaflets offer more information than your business card can, which means you can pin them on your local noticeboard, leave them on a bumph table in a café or send them in the post.

Brochures

Brochures let you show off your work and give more details about your products and services. They can be pricey, so you could stick to sending them in response to new enquiries, but they can be a great way to introduce yourself to new people, especially if you offer a B2B service.

Merchandise

You’ve probably seen personalised merchandise at expos and trade fairs, but they work well as thank-you gifts and as a way of introducing yourself by post. The great thing about products with your name on is that people will keep them where they can see them, so they remember you.

Do you want to grow your audience by creating content that speaks your customers’ language? I can help with that. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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Where will you find new people to grow your audience?

Marketing has two main goals. The first is to let potential customers know you exist, and the second is to show them how you help them (and that they can trust you) so they become customers. Of course, you need to grow your audience to achieve the first goal, but how do you do that? Where will you find all these new people who haven’t heard about you yet?

Here are a few of mine. If you have some of your own, let me know in the comments!

Your website

Your website can help you to grow your audience in loads of different ways. A good SEO strategy will help them find you on Google and learn about you or buy products from the comfort of their sofa. You can have a contact form so they can get in touch with you quickly or encourage them to sign up for your email list. Even if you aren’t ready to get into SEO, a website can act as a brochure where people who’ve found you elsewhere can check you out.

Social media

This is probably the first thing you think about when you’re trying to grow your audience. Social media can help you to reach people you might never meet in real life or someone who’s just up the road but hasn’t heard of you yet. This could happen because your existing followers share your posts or because each platform shows you new things that it thinks you’ll like.

You must think about what your audience needs, what platforms they spend time on and the content they’ll enjoy.

Networking

The idea of networking can strike fear into the heart of a new business owner, but it doesn’t have to be scary. It can give you a supportive community and new customers if you find the right group. Groups can vary immensely in their approach, so try out a few and see what you think.

The main disadvantage of networking is that it can be pretty time-consuming, but it can also be the fastest way to build a relationship. It can also have other benefits…

Referrals

Your network isn’t just the people you know; it’s also the people who know you. For example, you only have to dip into a community Facebook group to find someone looking for recommendations for a plumber or somewhere to get their nails done.

You could get a referral from an existing client or someone you met networking. That person you spoke to over coffee or in a Facebook group might not need your services but could end up chatting with someone who does.

The real world

How would you find new customers if every social media platform suddenly ceased to exist? I know that isn’t likely to happen, but I’ve seen plenty of people get hacked or banned and lose their business page. The reality is that you’d look to the real world. That could simply be networking or referrals. It could be making your shop front look inviting, so people walk in. Think about where your potential customers spend time offline, and you can expand your marketing horizons.

Do you want to grow your audience by creating content that speaks your customers’ language? I can help with that. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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What you need to know about your audiences’ lives

Here I am, getting to know about my audiences' lives.
Image by Julie Grant Photography

Understanding what your future customers need is an essential first step in creating effective marketing, but you guessed it, there’s more to it than that. Any marketing you create has to compete with umpteen other things. First, you need to learn about your audiences’ lives to understand what they are. Then you can talk to them like a human being, not just another faceless business.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

What will stop them from buying?

Overcoming buyer objections doesn’t mean you have to be a pushy salesperson. It just means that your marketing needs to answer the questions they already have. That could be explaining what you do and how you work, being clear about costs and answering as many potential questions as possible. Sometimes new customers need to do their research before they feel ready to decide.

What demands do they have on their time?

Understanding your audiences’ lives means knowing what they deal with every day. Do they work all day, then come home to cook the kids’ tea and get them to bed before they can sit down? Do they look at social media when they’re still half asleep in the morning? When might they get a minute to themselves? When you know that you can create content that they’ll enjoy and time your posts so your audience will see them.

Where do they spend their time?

It’s easy to focus on social media and which platforms your audience will use. That’s an integral part of your marketing but think about the real world too. For example, if you offer activities for kids or postnatal yoga, consider where the baby groups meet and whether they have a notice board. A co-working space could have room for leaflets that other businesses will see.

What do they value?

It can get disheartening when there’s a cost-of-living crisis, and everyone you know is talking about being skint. What’s the point in marketing when no one’s buying? The truth is that people will still spend money on the things they value. Ask yourself what’s important to your audience and how your product or service ties in with that, and then tell people about it.

What stage of life are they at?

Sometimes the things your audience value most relate to where they are in their lives. A student or someone looking for their first job has very different priorities from a newly retired person. Even if you sell to parents, their needs will change depending on whether they have a newborn or a teenager. That will influence what they care about and how you need to talk to them.

What do they expect from you?

My expectations of a business vary depending on who they are. If I buy from a small business that sells handmade goods, I don’t expect next-day delivery like I would from Amazon. Likewise, the level of professionalism your customers expect might change depending on the type of business they’re looking for. You can influence their expectations through the language you use in your marketing. This works incredibly well if you work in an industry with a stuffy reputation, like law or finance, and want to turn that on its head.

Do you want to create content that reflects your audiences’ lives and speaks your customers’ language? I can help with that. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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Why you need to understand what your audience needs

Photo by Julie Grant Photography

Getting to know your audience is a fundamental part of marketing your business. When you understand what your audience needs, you can create marketing that speaks to them and lets them know you understand them.  The alternative is bland marketing that doesn’t connect with anyone.

Here’s why you need to know what your audience needs and how it’ll help your business.

Products and services

Sometimes, the services you offer depend on your qualifications and experience. For example, you won’t get far without professional credentials if you provide legal advice or treat someone’s bad back. In other industries, there might be more than one way for you to help your customers. Understanding what your audience needs allows you to tailor what you offer.

A range of products and services will also cater to customers at different stages of the buyer’s journey.

The buyers’ journey

Every potential customer who comes across your marketing will be at a different stage of the buying journey. They might need what you offer but want to know more about you before parting with any cash. Maybe they aren’t sure what they need, or they have an idea but want to try a low-cost product or a DIY version of your service to test it out. But, on the other hand, they could find you and sign up immediately because you’re exactly what they’ve been looking for.

Creating different types of content lets you meet people at whichever stage they’re at.

Who needs your business most?

When you’re planning your marketing, it helps to think about the kind of people who need what you offer. For example, you’ll only need me if you have a business or create content for other companies. You’ll mainly talk to parents and grandparents if you sell baby clothes. Will your service be a great fit for someone who’s cash-rich but time-poor, or is it the opposite way around?

Technically, you could sell to anyone, but when you work out who is most likely to need what you offer, it’s easier to create content that hits the spot.

Who do you want to work with?

If you run a service-based business and work one-to-one with your clients, your life will be a lot less stressful if you get on with your customers. Of course, you might already have worked out what type of person is most likely to need what you offer, but you can still tailor your marketing to attract people you’ll enjoy working with.

For example, I mainly work with small business owners, and there are a lot of those about. I use relaxed language in my marketing but also mention my kids and my former career as a solicitor. It combines to attract people with the same approach to life as me.

How will they engage with you?

Finally, ask yourself what your audience needs to do to get in touch with you. Can they quickly buy your products when they finally sit down at the end of a busy day? Do they need to send you a message, email you or click a link to book an appointment? Thinking about how your customers spend their daily lives can help make it easier for them to buy from you.

Do you want to create content that speaks your customers’ language? I can help with that. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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TRY STARTING THE NEW YEAR WITH A SANKALPA!

Mid-January: The time when traditionally, many of us have made New Year Resolutions to lose weight, get fitter, stop smoking or have a ‘dry’ January!  By now, we’ve often ‘fallen off the wagon’ or decided categorically not to bother!

I don’t know about you, but personally, just the thought of the word ‘diet’ makes me want to reach for the biscuit tin! Or search for that leftover box of mince pies!

The question is, why do we feel the pressure to make a New Year’s Resolution?

Apparently, it’s all to do with the Babylonians!   In ancient times, the Babylonians would make promises to the gods in the hope that they would earn good favour in the coming year.  Thousands of years on, this worldwide tradition has continued into to 21st Century.  Incredible!

New Year resolutions may work for some people, but for me, it’s a matter of reverse psychology; as soon as I’m told not to do something, it makes me want to do it even MORE! It simply doesn’t work!

However, as a Yoga practitioner of 30 years, I prefer a much more balanced approach, which absolutely works for me.  It’s also something I use throughout the year, not just for January.

This approach involves making a Sankalpa. 

Sankalpa is a Sanskrit term in yogic philosophy that refers to a heartfelt desire, an intention to do something.  It tends to be an affirmation and comes from deep within.  It’s slightly different to a resolution because unlike a personal goal to achieve something, a Sankalpa is a short positive affirmation or declaration such as “ I am happy and healthy” rather than “ I want to find happiness and get fitter”. 

Examples of a Sankalpa may be:

“I AM healthy and strong.”

“I AM at peace within.”

“I AM enough.”

“I AM loving and kind.”

“ I AM happy and confident in all I do.”

New Year image explaining a Sankalpa.

The Sankalpa is a yogic tool we regularly use to help us focus on our innermost desires; it enables us to use personal power to bring our inner beliefs to fruition.

During Yoga Nidra, a state of deep relaxation or yogic sleep is when the Sankalpa is most resonant.  It is believed that when the mind is relaxed, the Sankalpa can be absorbed by the subconscious.

Furthermore, in Yoga, we believe that whatever your Sankalpa is in life, it is sure to come true!

Maybe you’d like to try making your Sankalpa during a Yin and Nidra class?

To find out more and how Jane can help guide you in your Yoga journey, please take a peek at www.hathayogawithjane.com.

Jane Hathaway is an award-winning, Experienced Yoga Teacher (EYT) and Yoga Alliance Professional (YAP). She specialises in Trauma Resilience Embodied Yoga (TREY), Hatha and Yin Yoga and Pranayama.

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How your business life can give you content ideas

The image shows me at my desk, recommending that you use your business life to develop new content ideas.
Image by Julie Grant Photography

You know your business inside out and back to front. It’s all so familiar that it can make you blind to the possibilities that your everyday, day-to-day business life can offer when it comes to creating content ideas. If you’ve ever struggled to come up with new ideas for your marketing, you might be surprised at how many are hiding in plain sight. Here are just a few.

Answer your FAQs

What questions do your customers ask all the time? If you’ve never written any of them down, start now and answer one at a time in your content. They work well because some people won’t contact you to ask a question, but they will Google it. You can give a short answer in social media posts and a longer one on your blog. If you have an FAQ page, start there or build one as you create more content.

Listen while you network

If you go to networking events, listen to what the other attendees talk about. What are their challenges, and how could you help? I love doing this at face-to-face events, where you might overhear other people’s conversations. I know my granny would disapprove of me eavesdropping, but it works.

Tips

Sharing tips can work in two different ways. Pro tips let you share your expertise and help your customers when they need to DIY a task, so you build trust. You can also make your existing customers feel looked after and appreciated by sharing a tip that helps them get the most out of their purchase.

Share your favourite resources

Sharing some of the resources you use every day has different benefits depending on who your customers are and how much experience they have. For example, a crafting business can help new learners by giving them a beginner’s guide, but you can also show more experienced crafters that you know what you’re talking about. If you offer a service, sharing professional resources lets your audience know that you take your work seriously.

Case studies

Case studies are brilliant because they tell your future customers about people you’ve worked with before and the results you’ve achieved. You can lift stories from your day-to-day life and use them in your marketing. Ideally, get permission from the subject before you write about them, but you can also write anonymised versions if that isn’t possible.

What can new customers expect?

This might seem ridiculously obvious, but good content can sometimes be as simple as describing what happens when your customer first contacts you or walks through your door. If someone isn’t contacting you because they’re nervous and don’t know what to expect, this kind of content can help to give them peace of mind.

How to find the right person

If there are lots of different businesses that do what you do, the choice can be overwhelming for a new customer. You can help them by talking about things to look out for or questions to ask at the first meeting. Use your insider knowledge to help your audience avoid common pitfalls, or let them know what credentials to look for, and they’ll start to trust you.

Do you want to develop new content ideas and create engaging marketing content? 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.

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How to come up with new content ideas

Coming up with new content ideas
Image by Julie Grant Photography

There comes the point in every small business owner’s life when you think you must have talked about your business from every possible angle. How can you come up with new content ideas when your audience has heard it all before? But, of course, you might be at the other end of the scale, trying to get started but wondering what your audience wants to hear about.

The good news is that there are many ways to develop new content ideas, and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. So please read on for my five favourite ways to come up with new topics.

Have a brainstorm

I know that brainstorming sounds like your worst corporate nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. Just write down everything you can help your customers with, then break the significant subject areas into smaller topics. For me, writing about blogging can include topic ideas, structuring your content and writing tips. Each has its own more minor topic; the main thing to remember is that you don’t have to write War and Peace. Smaller nuggets of information are always more digestible.

Get new content ideas from social media

Spending time scrolling social media can be research if you do it right. If you’ve ever avoided posting something because you think it’s too obvious other people’s posts and the comments can help you to find the right level for your audience. Social media research lets you see what questions people are asking; you can comment with an answer and turn it into new content.

Ask the audience

Answering FAQs is a great way to create content, as you can share the answers on multiple platforms. If you’ve got an idea for a subject you’d like to cover but aren’t sure what your audience needs to know, ask them. Your questions can be new posts in themselves; they’ll also give you fresh content ideas to use later.

You can ask for help on your own channels and in groups to help you build your profile.

Update old posts

Updating old posts means you don’t have to develop a new idea from scratch. This is an excellent approach if the original topic is still relevant to your audience, but some of the advice has changed. You can create a new post to replace the old one or write a post supplementing the original content. This gives new followers information they won’t have seen before while also offering something fresh for people who’ve been with you for a while.

Think about what you’ve learned

Forgive me if you’ve heard this one before. All your content needs to be tailored to your future customer’s needs. This means that you only need to know more about your subject than they do. For example, you might already know you want to write a blog but not know how to get started, so that’s what I talk about. Think about what you’ve learned to get to this point and talk about that – it could be more than you think.

Do you want to develop new content ideas and create engaging marketing content? 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.