Tag: blogging

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Are you making one of these blogging mistakes?

Man writing on a pad and making blogging mistakes.
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.

If you want to create blogs that will turn your readers into customers, I can help. Book a call, and let’s have a chat.

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5 ways you can blog without needing a website

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.

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Do you need a website to write a blog?

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.

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Why you still need to write marketing content

Image shows a woman with black fingernails and a 'be happy' mug using a pen to write marketing content in her notebook.

When it comes to marketing, video is everything, right? You might be getting amazing results on TikTok and Instagram is showing Reels to more people than static images. Why would you need written content when you can put everything you want to say into a video? It won’t surprise you to hear that I think you still need to write marketing content. Here’s why.

Social media doesn’t belong to you

Social media platforms are amazing marketing tools and definitely need to be part of your strategy. The trouble is, I’ve seen too many people who only use social media and find themselves with a massive hole in their marketing because they get hacked or banned.

When you have an email list or website, you’re in control because it belongs to you. You can use video but you’ll get better results by using good writing as well.

Sometimes you need more depth

Social media videos need to be short and snappy to hold people’s attention. They can still help you to build a relationship with your audience, but what about the times when they need more than that?

Sometimes you need to write a long post to go in-depth on a subject to help your audience understand what you offer or how you help them. That’ll work better on your website, not just because there won’t be room in a social media caption, but because your audience will be more willing to read.

Your audience might just like reading

Believe it or not, some people prefer to get their information by reading. They might avoid videos because they find the sound intrusive or want to absorb something at their own pace.

There’s also the fact that you can’t skim-read a video. If your audience is looking for a quick answer to a question they can probably find it in a couple of minutes by skimming a blog post. Your one-minute Reel might give them what they need but they’re less likely to search on social media in the first place. By using a mixture of content types you can talk to a wider range of people.

Written content is good for SEO

If you want to rank highly in a Google search, you need words. Google’s search bots can’t scan videos and rely on your written content to decide where your site should rank. Even YouTube likes a reasonably long description to help your video rank.

Having a wide variety of keywords on different platforms will help your content rank more highly so your ideal customers have a better chance of finding you in a search and other content creators are more likely to link to your site.

Writing can help you to make sales

If you have a low-cost product that your customers will buy on a whim, a short video will probably get you some sales. You’ll get even more if you’ve already built a relationship with your audience so they know they can trust you and they’ll get something good for their money.

That starts to change if your product or service costs more. People are less likely to take a chance so you need to make sure they’ve got all the information they need. When you write that down you help them to refer back, check details and then decide. There’s also a chance that they’ll take written content more seriously than a video.

Don’t have the time or the inclination to write your own content? If you want some help writing in a way that speaks your customers’ language, let’s have a chat.

Alternatively, if you’d like to get blogging and content writing hints and tips straight to your inbox every month, subscribe using the form below. I’m a vegetarian so I hate spam and you can unsubscribe any time you like.

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Does grammar even matter anymore?

The image shows a woman in a black t-shirt writing on a notepad, probably wondering if her grammar is OK.
Photo by picjumbo.com: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-blue-ballpoint-pen-writing-in-notebook-210661/

Every so often, a conversation will crop up in my social media feed about grammar. The person writing the post wants to know how much we all care about it and whether mistakes bother us. Aren’t we all talking more informally now? Does grammar even matter anymore? Here’s what I think.

Your audience matters

When I write my content, I’ll be thinking about you. Not in a weird way, of course. I’ll think about how you balance running a business with everything else in your life and the marketing challenges you might face. It’s the same when I write for my clients. The type of language I use depends on who we’re talking to.  It’s not so different to having a conversation when you think about it.  A chat with your friends is very different to a meeting with the bank manager.

Think about the kind of person you’re talking to and what image you want to put across. Do you need to be professional but approachable? Could you have a chat with your customers over a cuppa?

Speech vs writing

It can be easy to get the right tone when you’re speaking but writing it down can prove a bit more difficult though.  I’ve often advised people to record themselves speaking if they’re struggling to write. The trouble is, they often find that their sentences suddenly look wrong on paper.  We start to wonder whether that word is spelt right or if there should be an apostrophe somewhere.

I’ll admit that I’m a grammar pedant. Even if my clients are relaxed about grammar, I want to get it right. Having said that, there are times when bending the rules can make your message more effective because it’s the sort of language your audience would use. At the same time, I’m not going to judge anyone for getting it wrong. I know some highly intelligent and creative people who struggle with grammar and spelling. In the grand scheme of things, it’s more important to get the message across. 

When does grammar matter?

There are forms of communication where every comma matters.  Legal and financial documents must be precise.  They have a language all their own.

It’s important to strike a balance.  Say, for example, you’re a financial adviser who wants to start a blog.  You need to create the right impression.  You’re intelligent, experienced and (most importantly) you know what you’re talking about.  However, none of that will matter if your potential customers don’t understand a word you’re saying.  Your tone needs to be formal but accessible.

If you’re a mum making baby clothes to sell to other mums, they’ll still want to hear about the quality of the product but your tone can be much more conversational.  You’re having a chat with someone who shares your experiences.

Listen to people talk

Conversations are going on all around you.  Some involve you, others don’t.  If you want to start tailoring your language to your audience, start listening to how people speak.  You can start with your customers and the people you meet at networking events but eavesdropping can help too. Think about how the language you hear in a business-focused setting differs from the conversations you overhear in coffee shops or on public transport.  Ask yourself whether the person you can hear could be a potential customer. Different groups of people have very different speech patterns and learning about them can help you to write for your audience.

Is grammar important to you? If you want some help writing in a way that speaks your customers’ language, let’s have a chat. Alternatively, use the form below to receive writing and marketing tips straight to your inbox every month. I won’t share your details with anyone else and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.

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How talking about transformation in your marketing will help your customers buy

A woman lies in bed reading an article talking about transformation
Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-reading-a-magazine-in-her-bed-6633697/

When you create marketing content for your business you’re aiming to show your future customers how each product or service will help them. You’ll do that in different ways, whether you’re writing content to build your relationship or copy to convince your audience to buy now.  Talking about transformation and how your products and services bring it about helps your audience see the benefits in action. It’s like a before and after weight loss picture with feelings.

Here’s how it works in practice.

The before

This is often the bit your audience will identify with most. Sometimes it works visually, particularly if you help your customers to achieve a physical transformation. At other times it doesn’t because you need to show that you understand how they feel. Your ‘before’ could be a feeling, like mum guilt, depression, or worry. Use those feelings as your starting point and talk about them in your marketing.

The after

Now comes the part where you show your audience where they could be with your help. You can do this in a blog post, offering general advice to help them see the benefits of your products or approach. This could be something like “why you need to hire a professional will writer” or “how accounting software saves you time”.  You can also offer tips that will give people a practical taster that your advice works and put them into free downloads to encourage sign-ups to your email list.  

The most powerful pieces of content are things like client testimonials and case studies that show your real-world results.

How talking about transformation works

The idea of talking about transformation might seem a bit obvious; you show your customers the before and after and it convinces them to buy. The thing is, it goes deeper than that. Human beings have always used stories to form communities. You’re telling someone a story when you talk them through a transformation. You’re also showing them that you understand. You stop being a business that wants to sell them something and become another person who knows what it’s like to be drowning in paperwork or how important it is to buy your mum a great Christmas present.

Two types of transformation

There are two ways that you can change someone’s life; you can make a physical difference and an emotional one. Good marketing content uses both.

Physical

When you’ve helped someone to achieve physical change, it could be outwardly obvious. That’s where those before and after photos come into play because you can show how much more toned someone is or improvements in their skin. You might not always be able to spot the difference by looking at them. Maybe you’ve saved someone time, helped them get more organised or to achieve a goal that’s only obvious to them. That’s where you need to start writing about it.

Emotional

Showing a practical transformation is great, but it only works if the person seeing it has an emotional response too. You might look at before and after photos and shrug because it’s irrelevant to you. Talking about the feelings that go with the transformation is what motivates people to take action. Get them to imagine what it would be like to feel healthier or less stressed. Show them that they can feel more confident in their parenting skills. That’s the stuff that motivates someone to make a change.

Do you need to start talking about transformation in your marketing? I can help with that. Book a call here and let’s have a chat.

Alternatively, if you’d like writing and marketing hints and tips straight to your inbox every month, sign up using the form below. I don’t do spam and you can unsubscribe whenever you like. You’ll also get a copy of my free guide with 5 easy content marketing tips to help your future customers find you online as a thanks from me!

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How thinking about seasonal marketing can help you plan your content

Seasonal marketing leaves in a line.
Photo by Designecologist: https://www.pexels.com/photo/leaves-hang-on-rope-1389460/

If I told you to think about the seasons when you plan your marketing content, a whole host of obvious ideas might spring to mind. Or they might not. Maybe your business doesn’t have obvious seasons or perhaps you’ve done every topic you can think of to death. Seasonal marketing doesn’t have to be about Christmas or encouraging your customers to book their summer holiday. Here are some obvious seasonal marketing ideas along with a few that take a sideways view.

Special occasions

A special occasion like Christmas or Easter gives you a great focus for your marketing if you offer related products or gifts. In a broader sense, you could treat the whole wedding season as one big special occasion. It’s always worth thinking about how you can relate your product or service to a special occasion in a less obvious way. You could offer financial advice for the school holidays or promote noise-cancelling headphones before your relatives descend for Christmas (or is that too harsh?).

Spring

Seasonal marketing for spring might feel like an easy job if you’re a garden centre or if you can help people with their spring cleaning as you can share hints and tips that will help your audience even if they don’t buy from you. You can also find ways to talk about outdoor activities, particularly if your business is related to travel. Talk about what’s available in different areas, even if you don’t earn anything by promoting them. You can also share stories about environmental issues and how you’re doing your bit.

Summer

If I’m being optimistic, summer could equal sunshine but it’s also weddings and school holidays. You can talk about fun in the sun, wedding fashion and last-minute holiday deals but think about taking a different approach too. Lots of working parents struggle with school holiday juggling every year. You might be able to offer activities but what if you could support them with getting a better work-life balance?

Could your content include screen-free ways to entertain children or what to do if you hate hot weather?

Autumn

I love Autumn because it’s the start of the rugby season and it becomes socially acceptable to stay indoors.  It’s about finding the balance between being cosy inside and getting outdoors. Autumn also brings Hallowe’en and bonfire night, two of my favourite festivals. You can use scary stories in your marketing without talking about ghosts. Share the things that could go wrong if your customers don’t ask the right questions when they’re choosing a service provider. Fireworks are about light triumphing over darkness – how do you help people overcome adversity?

All this and I haven’t even mentioned how you could educate your audience to channel that back-to-school energy.

Winter

Have you ever read ‘The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe’ where the witch made sure that it was always winter but never Christmas? Christmas makes winter bearable because it’s all about fairy lights and family time. Then you’re into January and a diet of broccoli and water. The symbolism of a new year is great, but I reckon that good winter marketing needs to acknowledge the fact that people need cheering up. It’s freezing outside and dark by teatime. Offer your audience a new start if they want it but give them something to alleviate the gloom too.

Do you need some new ideas for your blog and seasonal marketing? I can help with that. Book a call here and let’s have a chat. You can also get 50 blog topic ideas you can use in your business today by snaffling a copy of my book here.

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Resources to help you come up with new blog topic ideas

Image shows a woman at her desk trying to think of new blog topic ideas

It doesn’t matter if you’re thinking about starting a blog or have been doing it for ages, we all dry up sometimes. You think you’ve said everything you could possibly say that would interest your audience or every topic that comes to mind seems too obvious. (The truth is, it’s only obvious to you because you work in your business all day, every day and you know it all.) How can you come up with new blog topic ideas? Even more importantly, how can you come up with them without spending hours doing it? Here are some great resources that will give you lots of new blog topic ideas fast.

Do the groundwork

Think about your business and the main topics you’re going to talk about. Mine are content marketing, blogging, content writing and copywriting. Yours might be different products or services. Start with the big topics then break them down. For me, that would look something like breaking blogging down into topic ideas, writing style and structure… you get the idea. Then think about what’s going to interest your customer. This is the longest part of the process, but it will help to tune your brain into the kind of topics your audience will enjoy so you’ll come up with ideas more easily in the future. If you want an easy way to come up with topics that will appeal to your audience, my book ’50 blog topic ideas for your business’ has fifty of them (in case that wasn’t obvious).

Use Google

There are technical ways that you can use Google to come up with ideas, particularly if you’re getting into finding keywords for ads. However, there is a quick and simple way to do it too. When you start typing a search into Google it gives you suggestions for ways to complete your search. I did a search for ‘blog writing for…’ and this is what it looked like:

You can do the same thing. Start your search with one of your key phrases and see what comes up. It’s a bit of a blunt instrument but it could give you some quick inspiration when you need it.

A useful website

Enter a keyword or phrase into Answer the Public and it will show you what searches people have made which include that word. It includes a whole host of things including questions and even an alphabetical list of terms. It doesn’t show you which ones are frequently asked questions and which ones have only been asked once, but you could find an interesting question that you can answer in a blog post.

Here’s what it gave me when I searched for blog writing:

Ubersuggest

Neil Patel is a content marketing god. Virtually any search you make about marketing will give you something from him on the first page of Google so it’s fair to say he knows his SEO. Ubersuggest is a free tool (there is also a paid version) that lets you see what people are searching for. It also gives you the numbers on search frequency and how easy it would be to rank for that phrase if you’re trying to improve your SEO. I searched for blog writing and here are the results:

Even if you aren’t getting deeply into SEO just now, it’s a good way of seeing what phrases your audience is searching for.

Do you need some new ideas for your blog and content marketing? I can help with that. Book a call here and let’s have a chat. You can also get 50 blog topic ideas you can use in your business today by snaffling a copy of my book here.

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Is your body image holding you back?

How many of you have suffered from body image issues? *hands go up*

I certainly have and since starting my Sparrowlegs business, it has become apparent to me how many of us women in business have struggled with the image in the mirror.  Did you know that your body image could be holding you back in your business? Body image is what we think and feel about the way that we look and not just simply what people see. So, how can it get in the way of your greatness? In the way of you showing up and being successful (and a reminder here that you get to choose what success looks like for you, it’s not one size fits all and I really didn’t intend that pun!)

Is negative body image holding you back?

So, firstly, negative body image LIMITS you. Believing you aren’t ‘beautiful’ enough (what defines beauty anyway?!) you aren’t slim enough; your skin isn’t clear enough, to be the person you want to be. We are subjected to a constant barrage of images and inferred expectations of a construed idea of what ‘beautiful’ is and sometimes we can’t see past it. These thoughts limit you; you might not choose a certain career path or say “yes” to opportunities because you believe that isn’t a choice for people who look like you. You may not progress your business because the image you have of yourself holds you back. Sometimes we think “when I’m slimmer I’ll succeed” or “when I look better, I can work on my business” – These are just limiting beliefs.

Secondly, feeling negative about the way you appear may stop you from taking risks, and from being brave. That’s not to say that I don’t have days where I look in the mirror and struggle with what I see BUT through the work that I’m doing I’ve learned how to manage those feelings better. Your body image, if negative, can keep you in your comfort zone. It can keep you from doing your lives on social media, from sharing the photos and even from turning up to meetings. We all know though, that forming true connections is a way to build our business, being relatable and vulnerable. That all starts with showing up as our true selves.

Lastly, having a negative body image makes you more likely to compare yourself with others. You can start to believe that others are more successful because they look a certain way. That’s not the case though, those that are successful (and to reiterate – success looks different for us all,) don’t limit themselves; they take the risks, and they stay on their own path without comparing. Another person’s beauty doesn’t make us less beautiful – this we MUST remember!

What can you do about it?

So, I hear you asking, what can you do to change things?

Surround yourself with the people who like and love you for who you truly are. Talk to them and you will realise that everybody has worries and insecurities. We all struggle with negative body image at times.

Support your body image by taking care of your body. That can look different for each one of you but don’t underestimate how much self-care can make you feel good about yourself. Treat yourself with kindness, and speak to yourself kindly. If you wouldn’t say it to a friend don’t say it to yourself.

Lastly, be you! People love to see the real you. Don’t let what you look like hold you back. Some people will love you and others won’t (their loss obviously!) Just remember your purpose and the right people will surround you

Now go, shine your light and follow your dreams and passions……

My links

Facebook Group:     www.facebook.com/groups/sparrowlegs

Instagram                 www.instagram.com/miss_sparrowlegs

Website                     www.sparrowlegs.com

Email                         anupa@sparrowlegs.com

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Are you setting boundaries between your personal life and business marketing?

The image shows a laptop, book and phone wrapped in chains. This is setting boundaries at its least technical and most extreme.
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-android-smartphone-on-top-of-white-book-39584/

I’m a big believer in sharing some of your life in your marketing. Here’s why. The question is, how much do you share? It’s one thing to give your audience a glimpse behind the scenes, but that doesn’t mean giving them access to your entire private life. Everyone is different; what’s right for you may be inappropriate for someone else. Here are some of the things I thought about when I was setting boundaries between my marketing and life behind the scenes. I hope they help you too.

Can you talk about work?

I ran a blogging workshop at a business retreat a few years ago and one of the attendees told me that she couldn’t talk about her day job. At all. She’d signed a non-disclosure agreement. She was building a business on the side and could talk about that but couldn’t share any anecdotes about her work history or experience. It’s an extreme example, but if you work with sensitive information or have a duty of confidentiality towards your clients this could be an issue for you. The problem is that case studies are a great way of showing future customers the kind of challenges you deal with. I often share an anonymised version of a case study in these circumstances. If it’s something distinctive or highly personal I’d still recommend contacting the client in case they recognise themselves.

What do you want to protect?

Your family might support you in your business but that doesn’t mean they want to feature in your marketing. My husband has appeared in the background of a few Zoom calls, but he’d be deeply uncomfortable if I put him on Instagram. I talk about my children because it helps me to connect with other business-owning mums, but I never share images of them or mention their names. This is the kind of boundary that it’s best to set by having a conversation with the people closest to you. My kids aren’t old enough to consent to be on social media, so I don’t put them on there. That’s why I acknowledge their existence but don’t share details.

You might think this is a small issue, but it can cause rifts if you make assumptions. (Google ‘why don’t we see Aimee Osbourne’ if you don’t believe me.)

Setting boundaries around personal details

Setting boundaries isn’t just about protecting your family members and throwing caution to the wind when it comes to your privacy. On a practical level, sharing too much personal information puts you at risk of identity theft or being scammed.

You might have started your business because of something you went through and want to help others with. Connecting with your audience might mean sharing some incredibly personal details. You might be talking about your experience of baby loss, medical treatment or mental health issues. Your audience might read about your experience and emotions and be relieved that they’re not alone. At the same time, you might feel that some details are too personal. Remember, it’s your decision. If it feels like too much, leave it out. I know you want to help your audience but think about what’s right for you too.

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