Category: blogging

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5 blog post ideas to help you sell more Christmas gifts

Sell Christmas gifts

If you run a business that sells perfect Christmas gifts, this is probably peak season for you. I’ve already started my Christmas shopping and I’ve got a list of local businesses that I’ll be buying from in the coming month. I know that you’re already doing loads of marketing to show people what you have to offer. If you’re not already writing a blog it can be a great way to showcase your products and build your profile.

A Facebook or Instagram post can be amazing at getting an immediate response. I’ve already bought presents for two people based on a photo the seller posted on Facebook. However, one of the reasons for my quick decision was that I already knew the business. Building relationships is incredibly important when you have a small business. You might already be doing that at events or online and a blog can be a big part of that.  A blog can be chatty and helpful which makes people more likely to trust you when you post about something you’re selling.

So without further ado here are my top 5 ideas for blogs that will help you to sell more Christmas gifts.

1.    Your ultimate gift guide

This one does what it says on the tin – write a monster post with your best ideas for every family member and interest group that you could possibly sell to. It’s the kind of thing that people will save for reference. This could take you quite a long time depending on how many products you have, so you might prefer to break it down into…

2.    Christmas gifts for…

You can write as many of these as you like and tailor them to your business. If you offer perfect gifts for women, children or a particular interest, break it down. You might write about choosing jewellery or your best gifts for kids who love dinosaurs. Your audience will find it really helpful and you can include pictures with product links to make it easy for them to buy.

3.    How to buy for the awkward one

We’ve all got one – the person we struggle to buy for every year. What have you got that’s a bit out of the ordinary? This could also be a great opportunity to educate people about your products. For example, a gift buyer with a newly vegan relative might think of them as ‘awkward’ – you could be the one to offer a gift that will change their view.

4.    What to buy for the person who has everything

Do you sell gifts for people who don’t want more stuff? Experience gifts or charity donations? You could also give ideas for interesting budget gifts for when you’re skint but need to buy for wealthier relatives. What do you sell for the person who doesn’t want to buy their mum more jewellery or yet another scarf?

5.    Are you a Secret Santa?

The dreaded Secret Santa can be a real challenge. Your customers might be buying for someone they don’t know very well or have a tiny budget. Can you help them to come up with something interesting and avoid falling back on an Amazon voucher? (Yes, I’ve had this – the perils of being a temp who still got invited to the team Christmas lunch.)

If you’re planning your Christmas marketing (or your non-Christmas marketing) and need some more ideas, head to my shiny new online shop where you’ll find ’50 blog post ideas for your business’ and my guide to Christmas marketing which gives you ideas for social media posts from 1st December all the way to Christmas Eve.

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Microblogging: why you need to start small

Microblogging - small is beautiful.

The idea of writing a blog can seem a bit daunting. Maybe writing doesn’t come naturally to you or you’re just out of practice. Sitting in front of a blank screen trying to come up with something good to blog about could be your worst nightmare. Either that or you try it and end up spending a whole day getting it to sound right (or giving up because it doesn’t). If that sounds familiar, microblogging could be your new best friend. Read on to find out what it’s all about…

What is microblogging?

Microblogging is basically a mini blog (sorry for stating the bleeding obvious). If you’ve never heard the term before, you actually see microblogs all the time. Tweets, Facebook updates and Instagram posts are all microblogs. The essence of microblogging is about sharing a quick snippet of information. It could be anything from a link, to a photo, some text or a video.

The key thing to remember about microblogging is that it’s relatively short and to the point. A standard blog post could be anything from 350 words up – generally a microblog should be shorter than that. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules. If you’ve got something to say and you want to put it on Instagram, knock yourself out. You’ve got over 2,000 characters to play with so you can say quite a lot. As always, the key is to think about what you have the time and skill to produce and what will be helpful to your audience.

How you can use microblogging

Microblogging is a brilliant way to get used to writing because you can be brief while still saying more than you usually would. I know that sounds as if I’m completely contradicting myself, but bear with me. If your standard Facebook post only runs to a couple of sentences, is it because the things you talk about don’t need more than that or because you feel you have to keep posts really short? If it’s either of those, think about what that’s telling your customers. As small businesses we need to build trust with our audience. That only happens when you offer useful information or let people get to know you.

The next time you go to a business event, try posting more than ‘here I am at X for networking’. Relax and talk about what you get out of the event as if you were telling a friend. You don’t have to write loads but it gives people a bit of insight. Also, because it’s social media you get immediate feedback.

The downsides

Of course, there can be downsides to microblogging. One of the main potential pitfalls is if you don’t establish clear boundaries when you start. I’ve talked about maintaining your privacy when you blog before but it bears repeating. Letting your audience get to know you is great, but not if you let it intrude too far into your life. For example, would you want some random person to see your Facebook posts and be able to work out where you live or where your kids go to school? There has even been debate about whether the availability of information on Twitter made super injunctions pointless.

From a practical point of view, microblogging on social media has one major drawback. It doesn’t help your search engine rankings. A website based blog, updated regularly, helps you to get found on Google whereas social media just builds your profile. That’s why I’d suggest building your confidence with microblogging then moving on to a blog. Then you get the best of both worlds.

Further reading

You can choose subjects for microblogs in the same way as you would for a traditional blog. Here’s how to get started.

For blogging and marketing tips straight to your inbox every month, sign up to my mailing list here and receive a free guide to getting your
business out of hiding!

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Blogging vs YouTube: which side are you on?

YouTube icon

Ladies and gentlemen, let us consider the contenders in tonight’s match. In the red corner – blogging, communicating with your customers using the written word on your website (or a few other places – but that’s for another blog post). In the blue corner – YouTube, letting you talk to your customers face to face. Which will win? Or, more to the point, which should you choose? Because when it comes to blogging vs YouTube, the thing that really matters is knowing what will work for your audience.

Who are you talking to?

As with everything else in marketing, the first question you need to ask is – who am I talking to? It’s all very well saying that you only want to blog because you hate being on video, but what if your customers love YouTube? I confess that my YouTube viewing is fairly limited because my kids love it. If I try and watch anything while they’re still awake I end up with demands for videos about Lego and slime. Reading a blog is far easier.

Even if you’re able to choose, some of your customers might just prefer reading. Deciding what content to create ultimately comes down to what your ideal customer wants to see. (For more on that, read this.)

What do you want to say?

Sometimes the message you want to send is short and snappy – a quick tip or reminder that your event bookings are closing, for example. You might just want to ask a question for your audience to ponder. These are perfect for short social media posts or videos. Video is also amazing if you’re interviewing someone or having a discussion as it makes the audience feel part of the conversation.

On the other hand, maybe you want to offer something a bit more in depth. If you’re writing a step by step guide or a range of questions to ask, it’s far easier for your audience to follow if everything’s written down. For me, reading a blog often feels more like a one to one chat too.

Do you need to be on YouTube?

Have a gold star if you’ve already asked the obvious question. You can post video almost anywhere you like, why would you need YouTube? Good point. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter all allow you to upload video (obviously it’s not just them either – I’m ignoring the others for now). I’m glad you asked.

Firstly, Google owns YouTube. That means that having a YouTube channel could boost your search engine ranking. You can also embed YouTube videos on your website. There’s also less competition from other businesses giving you the chance to find your niche audience.

Of course, if your audience never use YouTube (or only watch it for cat videos), it could be a pointless exercise. It all comes back to knowing your audience.

Blogging vs YouTube: which will win?

Honest answer? They both will if you use them properly. Even though Google owns YouTube, when it comes to your website, words still win. Regularly updated and useful content will push you up the search engine rankings and help your customers find you in a way that video won’t.

Video is still a massive growth area and a great way to attract attention on social media. Plus, if you’ve gone to the effort of creating a video, why not share it wherever you can? You can even cover the same topics across your blog and videos as the audience is unlikely to be the same. Just don’t read your blog out on video. That would be like watching paint dry.

Further reading

For more on repurposing your blog, read this.

Ready to get started on YouTube? Here’s an in depth guide from Hubspot.

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Does your blog suit the season?

Change of season - autumn leaves blog header

Marketing success isn’t just about how good your message is. It’s about catching your audience at the right time and in the right mood. If you think about what season it is and what’s happening in their lives you can include references to the things you can help with at the right time. Here’s my handy guide to help you write your blog to suit the season (and bring the rest of your content in line too).

Your customers

When you’re planning your marketing, think about your customers first. If you want your message to resonate it needs to be targeted (for more on that, read this. When you know who you’re talking to you can identify the things they’ll be thinking about at any given time of year. If your customer is a mum with her own business she’ll be thinking about Christmas in terms of the family logistics, present buying and school activities. She’ll also be wondering how she’s going to market her business in the run up, particularly if Christmas is peak sales time. Other times of year will bring different concerns and understanding that helps you to talk to your customer in a way that makes sense.

Blog topics

I use blogs as the central point in my marketing. You can choose a suitable theme that relates to your business and the time of year. I talk about blogging and writing all year round, but I sometimes have topics that I can tailor to suit the season and you will too. For example, a travel agent could talk about their top 5 family summer breaks then top 5 skiing holidays later in the year. Winter skincare is going to be different from summer so you can write different blogs for each.

Of course, not every blog has to be seasonal. Even if a blog isn’t talking about a specific occasion you can schedule it to suit what’s going on with your customers. For example, I might write a piece on learning to blog to go out in September when the kids are back at school and there’s time to focus on the business.

Planning ahead

I plan my overall marketing a few months in advance, then work out the details a month or two before I send it out. It’s also worth thinking about when your customers will need your help. I started talking about Christmas marketing in July. I know, ridiculously early, but if my customers want my help with their Christmas campaign that’s the ideal time to start. I can still help further down the line but it makes things a bit more stressful. If your customers won’t want to hear about Christmas until December, you can adjust the timetable.

I use my blog posts to inspire as many of my other social media posts as possible. (Read this blog to find out why.) Of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t do posts about specific services, I just make sure that they fit with what I’ve been talking about for the rest of the month. Doing it this way means that I can schedule as much as possible in advance so I’m not panicking about what I’m posting.

So, if you want to try working seasonally, here’s how to do it:

  1. Work out what your customers will be thinking
    about at different times of year.
  2. Plan your blog topics a few months in advance to
    talk about those topics.
  3. Plan the rest of your marketing posts around
    your blogs.

If you haven’t thought about your Christmas marketing yet, there’s still time. Sign up to my mailing list and receive your free copy of ‘Your complete guide to Christmas content’. I won’t spam your inbox or share your information with anyone else.

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How you can make your blog work harder for you

Make your blog work harder for you.

I know that a lot of you probably think that writing a blog sounds like a lot of effort. I’m not going to lie to you, it can be. There are plenty of people out there who’ve told me that they spent an entire afternoon trying to write a blog only to end up with something they weren’t happy with. It’s had them sending their blog post straight to the bin and they never try again. After all, you’ve got enough to do creating the rest of your marketing content without spending hours on one blog post, right? It doesn’t have to be like that. If you can write one blog a month (or get someone like me to write one for you) it can go much further than you think. It could even make creating the rest of your content much easier. I decided to see how far one blog post can go, so that you can discover how to make your blog work harder for you.

So, here’s my guide to some of the ways you can take one blog post and turn it into much more.

Video

I’ve started with this one because it creates the most work. You can use a blog post to inspire your videos and share a link to your post. You could use a live video to give a brief introduction or offer some tips. I create tips based videos with Ripl using still images so it’s not just my face on camera all the time. You could also share one tip in a weekly live if you want to go into greater depth.

Blog images

A good blog post should have at least one striking header image so why not reuse it? You can share an image with a snippet from your blog’s introduction on multiple platforms. If you use a DIY graphics platform like Canva you can create multiple images to showcase different bits of your blog, or even relevant quotes.

You can also share behind the scenes images. They can reflect your theme and show your audience the person behind the business.

Share your blog on other platforms

If you’re only marketing on Facebook, you’re probably missing a trick. That said, I don’t believe in spreading yourself too thinly either. Creating content for multiple platforms can get stressful very quickly. However, if you’re on Facebook and Instagram with a side order of LinkedIn, there’s no harm in sharing edited versions of the same thing as long as they’re not completely identical.

It makes your content go further and lets you see what kind of content works on different platforms.

Ask a question

Asking questions of your audience is a great way to get them engaged. It’s even better if you can get them talking about your blog post topic. You could ask about the things they struggle with or if they use any resources that could help. Of course, sometimes it’s best to keep it simple. For example, I could ask who writes a blog and who doesn’t. If lots of people say that they don’t I can follow up by asking why. It doesn’t just get people talking – it could also inspire future posts.

There you have it – I’ve set myself a challenge to create most of my content for this month from this blog post. If you don’t already follow me on Facebook come over and see how many posts I manage to create from just this one.

If you’d like me to create a blog post for you (and give you some ideas on how to reuse it) just email me to get the ball rolling. Or sign up to my email list here for a step by step guide to writing your own blog.

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How do you write a blog and keep your privacy?

blogging privacyOne of the many benefits of writing a blog (if you want to know the others read this) is that it helps your future customers get to know you. You can talk to them about the stuff they’re interested in like a human being rather than a corporate cardboard cut-out. A lot of people love the idea of buying from a small business but they’re wary of being ripped off. The end result is that they go and buy something from a reliable big name brand and not you. A blog helps you to overcome that by letting them see the person behind the business. Of course, the downside of this is that you have to put yourself front and centre. The idea of sharing your story is all very well but what if there are still parts of your life that you want to protect? The good news is that you can write a blog and still maintain your privacy. You just need to follow a few simple steps.

Consider the law

There are certain professions where you need to be careful about what you write. If you offer any kind of medical or psychological treatment, it goes without saying that your patients’ information is confidential. You could potentially still write case studies but they’d have to be heavily anonymised. You’d also still need the patient’s permission.

A lady at one of my workshops had signed an NDA which meant she wasn’t allowed to talk about her former employer at all. Even an anecdote could potentially be recognisable. In circumstances like that you should probably stick to referring to something that an experience taught you rather than the experience itself.

Set your boundaries

Before you start writing your blog it’s a good idea to consider what you’re willing to share. The ultimate aim in writing a blog is to promote your business. Your focus should always be on your customer and what they need to know. Personal information is where it helps you to show your customer that you’re their kind of person.

If you work with parents and have children yourself it gives you common ground. However you can still draw a line. Think about how much of your family life you’re willing to share and set your personal boundaries early on.

Give the edited highlights

Once you’ve decided how much information you’re able and willing to share, you can start getting specific. One of my key priorities is to protect my children’s privacy. As you can see, it doesn’t mean that I can’t mention them at all. There are so many common reference points between parents that you can be a bit generic and still strike a chord. (In fact it’s one of the few places where cliché can sometimes work.) Every parent knows the struggle of a non-sleeping baby or trying to get small children to put their shoes on.

Whatever you want to say, think about the ways you can offer a shared experience.

Other people in your blog

The way you talk about other people in your blog doesn’t just apply to your children. There’s a potential story in every encounter you have with a client, networking contact or even someone in a Facebook group. There are certain types of conversation that you might have on a regular basis, but others will be unique. Think about whether the person you’re writing about could be identified from the information you’ve given. If they are you might still be able to talk about them, but get their permission first. (In case you’re wondering, I’ve been in touch with NDA lady to get the OK from her.)

If you’d like to learn more about putting your personality into your marketing, sign up to my mailing list for useful hints and tips every month. You’ll also receive a copy of my free guide ‘Stop hiding your business!’

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Why you need a blog for your business

you need a blogI’m generally not a fan of stating the bleeding obvious. I don’t like it when people talk down to me so there’s no way I’m going to do it to anyone. The trouble is, sometimes it leads me to credit people with knowledge that they don’t already have. This is not a criticism. When you’re a small business owner there’s a massive amount of stuff to learn. Even if marketing is towards the top of your list of things to get to grips with, the benefits of writing a blog could still be a long way down. If that’s the case for you, here’s why a blog could do wonders for your business.

It’s great for SEO

If SEO makes you want to hide, don’t worry. It’s basically increasing your chances of getting found in a Google search. There’s a lot out there about how Google algorithms work so I won’t repeat it here. However, if you write a blog that focuses on words and phrases that are key to your business then you’re more likely to be found when your customers search.

The words you choose depend on your business. You can choose words that reflect your services or target a particular region. It won’t surprise you to learn that blogging and writing both feature in my list. Just think about what your customers will be searching for.

It builds your profile

Profile building can be a massive amount of work if you let it. You can promote yourself in any number of ways, from online marketing to networking, public speaking and a whole host of PR strategies. You could, in theory, spend so much time promoting yourself that you don’t get any work done.

A blog can be a great way to share your knowledge and demonstrate your expertise. Write regularly and share your blog on relevant social media platforms and your reputation will start to grow. The best part is that you can outsource it if it becomes too time consuming.

A blog talks to your customers

The great thing about a blog is that they’re designed to be persuasive but not to give people the hard sell. Sometimes a potential customer will find your blog because they’re looking for a specific piece of information or a particular service. At other times they might start reading because it’s a subject they’re interested in. Reading a blog should feel a bit like chatting to a well-informed friend. You learn something but also come away feeling entertained.

The point is that a blog enables your customers to get to know, like and trust you. That can result in sales further down the line but it can also reach those people who need help straight away.

It’s endlessly reusable

I’m willing to bet that every piece of marketing advice you’ve ever heard has mentioned consistency. Wherever you share your message you need to be doing it regularly to have an impact. The main reason for this is that drip feeding allows people to absorb information slowly. That’s much more effective than dumping everything in their lap at once.

The problem with this is that it creates constant demand for content, even if you don’t post every day. It can get pretty tiring over time. However, if you create a blog once a month you can use it in lots of different ways. Use your blog post as a central theme and you share snippets with images, as tips and in videos. (I’m contemplating producing a template to show you how this works, so watch this space.)

If you like the idea of starting a blog but would rather get someone else to do it, let me help. You can find out more about my blog writing packages here or just get in touch at info@kirstyfrancewrites.co.uk.

Alternatively, sign up here for monthly blogging tips straight to your inbox.

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What marketing training do you need for your team?

marketing training teamIf you’re a larger organisation it can be easy to think of marketing as part of someone else’s job description. It’s easy to understand why. If your business has invested in employing marketing professionals why not rely on them to do the heavy lifting? Leave the marketing training sessions to small business, sole traders and network marketing companies. The truth is that even when marketing isn’t your primary responsibility it doesn’t mean that you can’t play your part. After all, as far as your customers are concerned, every employee represents your brand. The question is, what do you need your team to do and what marketing training do they need?

Social media

You might justifiably think that this is one to leave to the marketing team. When it comes to posting to official business accounts, you’d be right. However, you’d still be wise to consider what your team are doing on their own social media. If your employee is making offensive comments or acting in a way that could reflect badly on your business, it’s best to know about it sooner rather than later. Of course, some people make it easy. The annals of internet history are littered with stories of people who were sacked because they forgot they were Facebook friends with their boss.

The kind of training you’ll need to provide here is probably best lead by HR as it’ll need to be in line with company policies. It’s also a fine balancing act between protecting your business reputation and preventing your employees from posting anything vaguely interesting.

Expos

Personally, I love business expos. I get to wander round chatting to people and they’re also an excellent source of free stationery. However, I say this as someone who has never had to spend an entire day standing at a stall. Engaging with potentially hundreds of people to create the right first impression over the course of a day takes stamina.

You might think that it’s just a matter of sending the right people. However, even your most loquacious employees might need help. An expo is no different from any other marketing platform in that your message needs to focus on your customer. A monologue about your services isn’t going to help anyone. I’d suggest that a workshop style briefing session would be the ideal pre-expo training. Firstly, the team develop questions to get visitors talking. Then they think about potential answers and how your services would be of benefit. Your staff sound knowledgeable and visitors get to hear about stuff they’re actually interested in.

Blogging

Depending on your business you might already have members of your team writing articles for various platforms. This may have lead you to believe that you don’t need to blog. The truth is that they’re not exactly the same thing. (For more on why, read this.)

Blogging is one of the most effective ways of humanising your business. People often see corporate businesses as remote and think that you might blind them with science. A business blog can, on one level, demonstrate your expertise if you let the marketing team do it. However, if you delegate some of the blogging to employees you get a unique perspective each time. It shows your customers that you’re approachable and not just a corporate stone edifice.

If your teams (even your marketing team) have never blogged before, there are some great workshops available that will take you through the basics from choosing topics to editing. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I offer one and will bring it to you – sign up using the form below to find out more.

However you market your business it’s always worth getting your employees involved by offering them the right training support.

Further reading

Even your marketing team might need training – these social media horrors were created by professionals.

A more comprehensive expo survival guide

Finally, for details of my training sessions, sign up to my mailing list here.

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Why you need to know the difference between articles and blogs

difference between articles and blogsBusinesses come in all shapes and sizes, from the sole trader working at home to massive multinationals. The main differences in their marketing strategies tend to come down to budget. If you’re a one person business you’re unlikely to be able to afford to plaster your message on a city centre billboard or nab an ad slot in the middle of ‘Coronation Street’. On the other hand, creating written content is accessible to everyone. Any business can create a blog, but a lot of the people I talk to tell me that they don’t need to as they’re already writing articles. The fact is, while there are similarities they aren’t the same thing. Here’s why.

Articles are on someone else’s platform

For the purposes of this blog I’m lumping all articles together. In reality, there are hundreds of different outlets for articles. You could be featured in a local magazine or in a professional journal that’s targeted at a specific industry. Finding the right outlet is crucial to raising your profile. When I was a solicitor one of our partners used to write articles about legal issues for food industry journals to showcase his expertise. If you’re offering a service that’s accessible to the general public a local magazine could help you to reach potential customers.

The big difference between these kinds of articles and your own blog is that the articles are all on someone else’s platform. You don’t get to choose how they’re promoted or if you get to publish them at all. An editor has to think about what message will appeal to their readers and it might not be the one you want to send.

Different tones

In marketing it’s important to tailor the tone of voice you use to the platform as well as your audience. If you write articles for a local magazine your tone might be quite similar to that of a blog. By contrast, the difference in tone between a blog and a professional journal article is going to be pretty big.

I find that a lot of professional people shy away from writing blogs because they think it looks unprofessional. A serious article enhances their reputation but a blog might make them look frivolous. I’m generalising here, of course – some of my blog writing clients are very serious businesses. The key difference is that whilst articles make you look professional, a blog makes you look human. They can both win you clients but for very different reasons.

Your audience

When you write an article for a magazine, do you know who is going to read it? You might have been given information about circulation so you know where it’s distributed or who the audience is. It doesn’t tell you who puts it straight in the bin. Even regular readers might stick to their favourite articles and ignore yours completely. The only way you’ll know if your articles have been an effective marketing tool is if someone mentions it when they get in touch.

Now I know that you might have the same issue with your blog. You can’t control who visits your website or whether Facebook shows your post sharing the link to anyone useful. But you can see the data on how many people are reading and where they’re based. You can also run adverts promoting key pieces of content and targeting them at specific people. The results might still be hit and miss but at least you have a fighting chance of discovering what worked and what didn’t.

If you’d like to learn to write blogs, or how to shift your tone from writing articles to something more customer friendly, I’m here to help. Sign up using the form below to find out more about my 1:1 and small group training.

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How you can start storytelling in your marketing

How to start storytellingI know, you’ve heard people like me bang on endlessly about using storytelling in your marketing. It’s a great way to get personality into your content and set yourself apart from the crowd. The thing is, how do you do it? It won’t surprise you to hear that it’s not just a case of telling everyone your life story. It’s all about balance. Your customers will love the fact that you’re relatable but they mainly want to hear about how your business can benefit them. Here’s how you can start using storytelling in your marketing.

Dig deep

You already know the good news about storytelling. Here’s the bad(ish) news. You need to put some work in. As with anything that’s worth doing, using storytelling in your marketing requires a bit of groundwork. If you don’t believe in what you’re saying your customers will spot it. Your message comes across as half-hearted and no-one will buy into it. That’s the last thing you want.

This means that your first step is to work out exactly what your story is. There are loads of things that go into this. If you’ve ever thought about your ‘why’, you’re halfway there. Think about why you chose to start this type of business, or to become self-employed at all. What are your values? How does your lifestyle and history relate to your business? Dig down to the core of what motivates you and write it all down.

What do your customers care about?

Once you’ve got a clear picture of what you’re about, start looking at it from a customer focused angle. People do business with you because you offer something that they need. As consumers we’ll often choose a big brand because we’re confident they’ll deliver most of the time. We know what they’re offering and have clear expectations. As a small business you need to build all of that into your marketing. Your customers only really care about your story because it gives you substance. If you share their values or understand their lives you’re much less likely to let them down.

What does this mean for storytelling? It means that you need to look at what your values are and decide which of them your customers will care about. If you offer products or services for children, parents might trust you more if you’re a parent yourself, or have a childcare background. Look at your story and work out which bits are going to be important to your audience.

The storytelling drip feed

About once a month I’ll write something that isn’t really related to my business. It doesn’t help you to work out how to write your blog or improve your website, it just tells a story. They usually end up having some kind of business relevance because it’s often a story that tells you how I got to where I am or what an experience has taught me.

If you want to do something similar, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. You can use storytelling any way you want and if you’re talking about something that helps your audience relate to you better, that’s great. However, it’s not the only way. You can still drip feed your story into your blog or business related social media posts. For example, you could post a time management tip on Facebook and sign off with a joke about being late for the school run. Or write a blog with tips to get something done more quickly (because the only long winded thing about your day should be getting the kids into their shoes).

Do you need to start storytelling? Sign up to my mailing list for your free guide and lots of hints and tips.