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Words, ideas and the odd short story
Thoughts on writing and marketing, real client work, and occasional fiction for a change of pace.
I write about marketing, writing and small business life.
You’ll find practical advice, honest case studies, thoughtful guest posts and the occasional short story for when you’re ready for a break.
Can you have personality and still be professional?
What image pops into your head when someone says you need to be professional? It might feel a bit stiff, possibly even boring. You need to be reserved, use formal language, and keep your views out of it. I don’t think so. You can have a personality and still connect…
Does your business have more personality than a big brand?
Have you ever looked at a competitor’s marketing and thought, “I’ll never be able to do that.” You can really feel it when you’re a small business, and they’re a big brand. They have teams of marketers, and you have, well, yourself. They look polished, their posts pop…
What does your blog do to help you attract new customers?
You’ve decided to write a blog for your small business. Music to my ears. But you’re the kind of person who wants to know how this stuff actually works. It’s all very well thinking of ideas you want to write about, but how does a blog post help you take someone from a…
Is it still worth writing a blog for your small business?
I wish I had a pound for every time I’ve seen a version of the question ‘Is blogging dead?’ My retirement fund would be much healthier, and I’d have considerably nicer shoes. After all, why would you bother spending time on writing a blog post when AI can churn one…
Not managing your overwhelm properly? Let’s see…
There are excellent ways to handle overwhelm, but most of us haven’t learned them… Yet. You are a highly capable individual and an ambitious business owner, and I’m willing to bet that you sometimes struggle with overwhelm. Hi, my name’s Lorna, and I want to help you…
One idea, lots of content: how repurposing can make your marketing easier
Have you ever posted the same thing to social media more than once? Did you glance over your shoulder, wondering if your followers would notice that today’s post wasn’t something sparkly and new, but was, in fact, identical to something from six months ago? You’ve…
How to create marketing content that keeps working long after you hit publish
Have you ever felt as if marketing is like being on a treadmill with no off switch? You either have to jump to safety or fall flat on your face, but neither of those will help you tell people about your business. You write something, share it on social media, and it…
Wait a minute, who am I again?
Thirty years is a long time to spend in one environment. For three decades, my identity was tied to large-scale operations, transformation programmes, and the fast-paced world of telecoms. But like a lot of the amazing solopreneurs I have networked with in the last…
From brain dump to focus: how clarity speeds up your marketing
Have you ever felt as if creating your marketing takes forever? You try to create a batch of social media posts and suddenly an entire morning has whooshed by with very little to show for it. You’ve got loads of ideas, and the notes app on your phone is full of…
What will your customers remember you for?
A few years ago, the host of a local networking event posted in their Facebook group asking who they could talk to about blogging. When I logged on later, I hadn’t seen the original post, but noticed lots of people had tagged me and found that my name had been the…
Writing for Humans: How UX Makes Your Content Actually Work
When people talk about websites not converting, the blame often lands on the content. The copy is not strong enough. The message is not clear. We need better words. As a web developer, I see something slightly different. More often than not, the content is doing its…
Why is it hard to turn your knowledge into great website copy?
You know what you do and how you help your customers, but it can be challenging to put it into words. You start writing website copy, blog, or social media content, and end up with massive paragraphs that are difficult to read, or something short that feels like it’s…