Ali, Author at Words by Ali

21
Feb

Want to know the one thing every single person I speak to wants more of when it comes to writing content?

TIME.

You don’t give yourself enough time to do your content, so you avoid it and feel unhappy with what you write.

Or, you’re so busy writing client content you don’t do the thing you tell clients to do, which is regularly publishing content on your own site.

But it doesn’t need to be that way. In fact, right now, you’re probably producing content in a counterproductive way that creates more frustration and stress than engagement or enquiries.

Read on and I will teach you how to cheat time by repurposing one blog post into a month’s worth of brilliant content in one day.

Yes, you do have to give me a day.

Doing it this way will save you time and stress across the month by doing it in a single sitting, so it ultimately makes you feel super organised and calm.

Once you get into the rhythm of doing it this way, you’ll feel so on top of things and so confident in your content and what it will bring your way, it will be TOTALLY worth it.

Plus, allowing a full day means you can do things at your own pace, take breaks, and stop flapping and rushing things.

So, are you ready?

Let’s get into your step-by-step guide on how to write a single blog post then turn it into a month’s content.

Step 1: take out the guesswork

Before you write a single word of your blog post, get clear on what you’re going to write about and whether it’s what your audience needs help with.

How?

Have conversations with your existing or target clients.

Ask them how they feel right now about themselves or their business and what’s holding them back.

Find out their goals and how they think they will feel when they achieve them.

You can do this via 1-1 Zooms, social media polls, or surveys.

🚨 Free resource #1 🚨

You can use my survey or questions if you like – make sure you make your own copy first.

Save their responses (word for word) in a Trello board list.

Step 2: block out the time

You are making a big commitment to yourself by doing things this way, and you’ll thank yourself for it.

But if you don’t prioritise your content and block out the time, you’ll likely end up rushing it, feeling overwhelmed, and you won’t see the results you want to see.

Like the feeling of calm confidence and the rush of excitement when you get comments and messages from ideal clients.

I like to do my content days in a coffee shop because it feels like more of a treat than my other work, and the change of scenery fuels my creativity.

Plus, there’s nothing like overpriced coffee to make you feel you need to get your money’s worth from the day out.

Step 3: get organised

Next, set up a Trello board to organise your content for the month, so it’s all in one place and easy to access, upload, plan, and review.

🚨 Free resource #2 🚨

Here’s a Trello board template based on my own that you can copy to create your own.

Step 4: write a blog post

Once you have your customer insights, it’s time to write a blog that addresses their biggest problem and how you can solve it for them.

The other week, I asked on LinkedIn what I could create to help you with your content, and one of my followers replied:

“I’d love a step-by-step guide on turning one blog into a month’s content.”

So already, I know my time is being well-spent creating something you need, rather than procrastinating over what to write about and wasting an afternoon in Caffe Nero (although arguably, an afternoon drinking coffee is never wasted IMO) barking up the wrong tree.

🚨 Free resource #3 🚨

If you need help writing and structuring your blog post, use this free template I made for you or use this guide.

Basically, your blog should be split up into sections under different headers. The headers are questions for you to answer in the section underneath.

I use websites like Answer The Public to research what kind of things people want to know about a certain topic.

I look at the most popular searches for my chosen topic (e.g. blog writing) on there, and turn search terms into blog headers, like ‘what is a blog?’ or ‘what are the benefits of blog writing?’

Using quotes, statistics, lists, tips, and bullet points also makes your blog post more repurposable (is that a word? It can be now).

Doing it this way makes it much easier to repurpose your blog post into emails, videos, and social media posts later on, as it’s already prime for copying and pasting.

Once you’ve written it, post it without overthinking it!

Step 5: use your blog to create two emails

Next up, it’s time to create two fortnightly emails to send to your database.

This is a conservative estimate, as you may well be able to break your blog down into four emails, depending on its length, format, and content.

Because you structured your blog into different sections using the template and keyword research you did on Answer The Public, you should be able to use these for separate emails.

I like to make my emails a little more personal or “behind the scenes” than my other content, so my email subscribers feel the value of being on my list and see it as different from my other content.

But you don’t have to.

You can simply copy and paste, or add a personal anecdote to the start if you want.

Step 6: break your blog down into multiple social media posts

Once your blog is posted onto your website or a third party site like Medium, it’s already out there gaining visibility, traffic, and brand awareness for your business.

And now you’ve turned it into two emails, you’ll receive interest and interaction from your email database – often, seeing you pop up there will remind them to enquire with you.

But its potential doesn’t end there.

Now, let’s turn it into social media posts.

The bite-sized sections you used to write your blog post come in handy again, but we’re going even more granular for your social media posts.

Here are some tips:

Break each section of your blog down into even smaller snippets than the emails for your socials
Use quotes from the blog as a social media graphic with a simple caption: ‘do you agree?’ (quotes from other people and yourself both work)
Use statistics as single posts – as a graphic or in your caption, e.g.: ‘did you know 40% of people are skim readers? Are you one of them?’
Condense a longer section into a smaller social post
Cut the number of tips down or post each tip as a single social media caption (e.g. TRY THIS TIP to feel more confident speaking in public)

On average, I can get eight to 12 social media posts out of a blog of 1,000 words.

Obviously, the number of social media posts you can create from one blog post depends on the length of the blog, but I would say even a 300 or 500-word blog will have at least five social media posts lurking in its content.

Step 7: turn your social media posts into videos and Insta stories

Finally, it’s time to milk your blog post even further by using the content to create some videos and stories.

You might have time to do this within your content creation morning, or you may want to do this day by day as you go along.

Here’s how I do this.

I like to turn my social media posts into Instagram stories by reading out or paraphrasing the caption.

Package it like a mini-series on Insta stories or a single Insta video/YouTube video/TikTok, e.g. ‘three tips for writing a blog post’.

Or, use just ONE of the tips as a Reel or short video clip for LinkedIn.

This gives your social media content consistency and makes it nicely thematic, building your authority in this specific topic for your audience.

When they think of this topic, they’ll instantly think of you as the expert in it.

Step 8: schedule everything in

Getting your emails and social media content all scheduled in for the month is an AMAZING feeling.

You will feel on top of the world, let alone your workload. Once it’s done, you can bask in the glow of posts going live as you enjoy your morning gym trip or chill over a coffee while you reply to comments feeling fresh and energised.

I use Buffer to schedule my social media posts – you can add three social media accounts on the free version and schedule unlimited posts. I have my Buffer hooked up to my Insta, Facebook, and LinkedIn, as these are the main social platforms I use.

You can also schedule content for free on Meta Business Suite for Facebook and Instagram, while LinkedIn now has its own scheduling option.

For emails, you can write and schedule them easily on platforms like Mailchimp or Mailerlite.

Optional step 9: bonus blogs

Often, when I follow this process for creating a month’s content from one single blog post, I find my creativity flows and I end up adding extra bits to the social media captions once I’ve copied and posted the relevant blog section.

If these expanded captions are a decent length, I then turn them into short blogs.

Similarly, you might have old social media posts you can copy and paste into a blog, so it starts working even harder for you in gaining visibility on Google and driving traffic to your website.

Having multiple blogs around the same topic cements your reputation as the expert in this area, both in Google’s algorithm, and in the mind of your audience.

And having authority in a specific area leads to more website traffic, social media engagement, enquiries, invitations, buzz, and referrals.

So, it’s win-win.

This process continues forever so you never run out of content ideas.

Get help writing and repurposing your content

Hopefully, this will spur you into action becoming a repurposing queen!

If you’re not at that stage yet though and it feels a little much, fear not.

I’m Ali, your content mentor, and I’ll support you in developing the confidence to write and publish compelling content that sparks conversations and enquiries that have a direct impact on the growth of your business.

Sound good?

You can join my Content Club community to get monthly group support, advice, and motivation, and download my Content Writing Course to upskill and grow your knowledge and confidence on all things content.

If you prefer personalised support, I offer 1-1 mentoring to get your confidence where it needs to be to consistently put out purposeful content that brings engagement, buzz, and hot leads to your comments section. Speak to me about this in a free 30-minute call to get started.

Tips and advice

3 things I’ve invested in for my business

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Ali

24
Jan

Look, I get it. Investing in yourself and your business is a scary thing. But have you ever done it and regretted it? I haven’t. So, whether you’re contemplating your first or next business investment, I wanted to share some of the things I’ve invested in as a freelance content mentor and let you know how they’ve helped me develop personally and professionally.

Why should you invest in your business?

It’s a funny one, isn’t it?

You set up your business because you know you’re an expert and have so much value to offer the world.

But then you find yourself wearing ALL THE HATS.

Suddenly, you’re expected to not only do the main thing but also be your own social media manager, admin assistant, sales director, accountant, and content writer.

(OK, that last one I can do).

The truth is, if you’re going to do all of that to an acceptable standard, you’ll likely need some help to get there.

Whether it’s an investment in your mindset or more practical skills and knowledge, investing in your business is the only way you’ll see growth and success in the long term.

There are different ways to achieve this.

Maybe you’re someone who prefers to outsource everything to experts, so you hire a virtual assistant, social media team, lead gen experts, accountant, and more.

Perhaps you prefer to invest in upskilling to gift yourself the ability to excel in new areas without relying on someone else to get the job done.

Three things I invested in for my business

I’m going to share with you now three of the main things I’ve invested in in my business journey so far.

Please bear in mind, I’m three years into running my business, and I didn’t invest in all of these at once or at the same time.

But these are the investments I see tangible returns from, either financially or within my mentality and mindset.

1. Business coaching

For years, I didn’t really understand how business coaching worked and how it would be worth it for me.

Yet I look back now and it’s hard to recognise who I was and where I was at in my business before I worked with a coach.

I would take on any work I could find, undercharge, get ghosted when it came time to be paid, and I felt burned out and stretched too thinly.

I knew I wanted to move from spending all of my time writing content and help people do it themselves, because I saw the potential in so many small business owners to create their own impactful content with a little support and guidance.

But honestly, I have ZERO clue how on earth to go about doing this.

Was I good enough? Could I manage to deliver training on this? How did I go about creating an online course? And even if I created one, how would I promote it to get people signed up? What tools and strategies did I need to reposition myself and make all of the practicaltiies of this work?

These are ALL questions I had answered by working with coaches.

I’ve worked with three different coaches so far, and each of them took me leaps ahead in my business journey in different ways.

Have you ever worked with a business coach? What was your experience of it?

2. Public speaking support

This was one HUGE GIANT fear of mine which I had absolutely no plans to conquer.

I had hidden behind my MacBook screen for two years and found plenty of clients that way, so why bother?

Truthfully, I never thought about public speaking until recently. It wasn’t for me. I couldn’t do it – it was impossible – so I wasted no time or brainpower worrying about it.

Yet I had an urge to challenge myself to get out into the world of networking to grow my confidence and meet new people. I wanted to feel like I was growing personally and professionally, and after running my online content writing course live twice, I had a sneaky suspicion I was capable of a little more than I was giving myself credit for.

So, when my lovely friend and former client, Liz Boswell, told me about her Bold Voices Speaking Academy, I was intrigued. Could this be the thing to guide me into networking and give me the tools to actually get through the door and mumble an intro?

Turns out, yes.

But not just that.

After venturing out to my first networking event in 15 years (I’m going to spare you the details of my previous networking past as a 20-something PR girl with zero confidence surrounded by a sea of white dudes in suits) I was approached to deliver a 45-minute talk on content marketing at an event the following month.

Thanks to my investment of time and money into Liz’s Bold Voices Speaking Academy, I accepted before I could change my mind and used the gems I’d learned during the academy’s live Zooms and recorded masterclasses to speak with confidence, clarity, and authority.

Believe me when I say this is not something I would have EVER expected myself to do. Yet investing in myself took me down a new avenue and opened up a whole world of opportunities for me and my business. I’d consider that money very well spent.

What’s your experience of networking and public speaking? If you are a nervous Nelly like I was, I highly recommended checking out the academy and finding a super supportive and empowering community to set and achieve real goals on this front.

3. Accountancy services

OK, so this one is way less exciting than the other two (sorry, accountants) but I wanted to explain my reasoning behind adding it to the list.

This may be a limiting belief, but me and numbers DO NOT get along.

And while I’m sure I could work through this, I prefer to outsource it and devote the many, many hours I would waste trying to figure out the financial side of my business to doing something much more productive.

This is worth it for me because it takes away the anxiety, stress, and confusion of the figures and frees me up to do what I’m best at.

Hiring an accountant was one of the first business investments I made and I’ve never regretted it for a second.

Do you have an accountant or do you manage this yourself?

What support is out there to help you improve your content writing skills?

Is there any area you’d love to master when it comes to running your own business?

For my clients, it’s the challenge of feeling comfortable and confident creating great content that generates engagement, excitement, and enquiries.

I believe everyone is capable of doing this – including you.

So, what are your options if you want to develop in this area and learn new skills?

Here’s how you can work with me on becoming the master of your own content.

Join a supportive content writing community

Content Club is a monthly space for you to speak to fellow business owners, share your challenges, get tips and insights. You have your content marketing questions answered by a professional with 16 years’ commercial writing experience (it’s me, hi), and generally feel supported, seen, and empowered.

Find out more about Content Club here.

Upskill through an online content writing course

Investing in a self-paced online content writing course is the perfect way to make a lower-level investment in upskilling at your own speed.

By making a financial commitment, you’ll be more motivated to work on it and see results. Over six masterclasses, you’ll get a new perspective on what it means to create great content, learn insider secrets on how to do it, and discover the tools and proven techniques to make your content writing habit consistent and successful.

Learn more about my online content writing course here.

Get intensive and personalised 1-1 content writing support

If you’re someone who needs personalised support to stay accountable and get the job done, work with me 1-1 on switching on your content brain and discovering the joys of collaboration.

Together, we’ll create a realistic and doable strategy that excites you, give you a great feeling of partnership in content writing and access professional input to reassure you your content is primed for success.

See 1-1 content mentoring options here.

Got a question or want to find out more about any of these options? Follow me on Instagram for content writing tips and inspiration, and sign up to receive weekly musings and motivation for me directly to your inbox.

Tips and advice

How (and why) to be yourself in your content marketing

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Ali

19
Jan

This is both the simplest and hardest thing to do as a business owner: be yourself in your content marketing. So why is it so important, and how do you actually go about doing it? Read on to find out and tap into the unreal benefits.

Why is it important to be yourself in your content?

From my three years’ experience of running my own business and putting it out into the world, the most important thing I’ve done to build my visibility and earn trust from my audience is actually showing up as myself.

I used to envy other people’s polished selfies, wistful scenery shots and succinct captions.

But then I realised we’re all different, and the only way we can attract people who share our vibe is to be fully ourselves through the content marketing we put out into our little corner of the internet.

Here’s why it matters.

If you’re a personal brand, people are buying YOU

Running a personal brand has its pros and cons, right?

There’s just you, which can be daunting and challenging at times, for sure.

But there’s also just you, you know? So you don’t have to immerse yourself in complex brand guidelines to market a huge corporate organisation, you get to do things exactly how you want to because it’s your business.

No lengthy approval processes, no dickheads in the boardroom to crush your creativity, no rigid hours that drain your time and compromise your wellbeing. When you look at it that way, it’s kind of exciting, isn’t it.

So being yourself is a great way to get people to buy into your brand and buy whatever you’re selling.

Other people do what you do

The reality is, you’re probably not offering something nobody else offers.

The difference is how you do it and how you make people feel when they work with you.

How will they understand this important difference unless you’re being yourself in your social media posts, blogs, emails, and videos?

What’s going to stand out about you to make people choose to work with you over the next person on Google or Insta? How will they develop that know, like and trust to pick you?

This is why you need to be yourself: because if you don’t, someone else will convert your customers by showing their own personality and vibe.

How to be yourself through your content

So you get that it’s important to be yourself through your content, but how do you go about it?

Define your brand voice

One crucial step is to determine your voice as a personal brand so your target customers start to notice, remember, and identify you amid the noise.

Define your voice as a business by noting down key descriptors – here are some examples:

Friendly
Professional
Quirky
Casual
Authoritative
Fun
Serious
Positive
Inspirational
Caring
Warm
Strong
Weird
Down-to-earth
Cheeky
Respectful
Mature

Which are you?

Now, when you’ve chosen 3-5 adjectives to sum up your brand voice, write them down and keep them to hand so you can check every piece of content you write is recognisable as you.

Be inspired, not jealous

If you see something you like online, rather than being jealous, think about what you like about it and how you can apply the same sort of idea to your own content (without copying, obviously).

What do they do well that you want to try?

Is it the type of image, the style of post?

Use them as your inspiration. Hell, why not connect with them and ask for advice? Why does everyone have to be our competition? There is power to be had in teaming up and sharing expertise. Maybe there’s something you can do for them in return, or maybe they’ll help you without needing anything in return.

There’s enough business out there for everyone, so connect with people and learn from them.

For me, showing up as myself through my content means:

🧇 Filming waffley Insta stories from my messy car

🥲 Being honest when I’m feeling sh*t personally rather than putting on an act

🗣 Sharing that I’m sometimes posting on the fly and haven’t always got a perfectly mapped out plan for my content (this was big – I thought you’d think I was crap at my job, but hey, even content writers are human lol)

🦮 Posting make-up free dog walking selfies with a spontaneous caption because it sprung into my head

🧣Writing in my own style, even if it’s long-winded and features my weird witticisms and random Taylor Swift lyrics.

It took me a while to do all of that.

For months, I hid behind graphics and wrote in a much more cold, clinical tone than I do now, because I was scared I wouldn’t be liked or hired.

Is it the same for you?

If so, tell me – how is authenticity going to look for you?

Get help being yourself online

If you need help finding your voice and sharing your gorgeous personality with the world, I’ve got you!

You can get my support in the following ways:

🧡 Join Content Club – a monthly accountability community to share ideas, get feedback, have your questions answered by a professional, and connect with like-minded peeps who will cheer you on!

CONTENT CLUB – a supportive space for likeminded business owners to write better content

🧡 Binge my online course – develop lifelong content writing skills and switch on your content brain by downloading my online content writing course. You get lifetime access to all six masterclasses to binge or work through at your own pace.

Be A Content Queen – Online Content Writing Course – Words By Ali

🧡 Work with me 1-1 – book a discovery call to explore your options if you prefer personalised, intensive support to get comfortable and confident creating amazing content that grows your business your way.

Virtual Coffee – Ali King

Social media content

5 reasons to film a Reel (and how to do it without dancing)

Posted on January 19, 2023January 19, 2023 by Ali

19
Jan

Film a Reel? Before you shout a firm NO THANK YOU, hear me out. When Reels first launched, I felt the same and spent a good while ignoring their existence. But I have news for you 🗞. You – yes, you – can film a Reel. Here are five reasons why you should (including tips to grow your confidence doing it).

I know, I know. Mastering all of this stuff social media throws at us can feel like a steep learning curve at our age, right?

But before you start telling me you’re a dinosaur and this is a bridge too far, read on and let me know if it changes your mindset.

5 reasons to film a Reel

1️⃣ It’s easy (trust me!)

Reels are designed to be easy to create.

At the most basic level, you literally upload a video of some trees blowing in the wind, click the text button, write something meaningful and hit post.

There are plenty of other things you can add as you go along, but it’s really not as hard as you think.

2️⃣ It will get you seen

Insta is still pushing Reels as its preferred type of content, so it’s likely to get you more visibility than a grid post or a story.

If you’re shying away from Reels, I get it – but you’re missing out on lots of people who want to hear what you have to say!

3️⃣ You can use it elsewhere

Once you’ve taken the plunge, save the video and use it on your LinkedIn and Facebook, to get more bang for your buck.

PLUS! You don’t need to come up with ideas from scratch. Repurpose a grid post that did well, or use an excerpt from a recent blog or email newsletter as your Reel text and caption.

4️⃣ There’s help out there

I follow a couple of Reels tips accounts and save the trending audios they recommend using, as this raises your chance of being seen.

I also go through life filming random clips of said trees, myself, and other things so when I come to create a Reel, the audio and video is already banked and I simply have to add music and text.

5️⃣ You DON’T have to dance!

I know you’ve seen those dancey ones and it’s SO out of your comfort zone and honestly, same.

You can easily make a Reel out of a selection of images (of you or something else), screen-record your latest blog, or make a clip of the aforementioned nature to upload.

Dancing is 💯 optional – unless you want to do it, you never have to!

So, how about it? Do you dare?

And if you do, will you tag me in your finished Reel so I can go celebrate you?

I can’t wait to see you shine ✨

Reels are really such a good way to make the most of the great content you’re writing elsewhere in your business, so I hope this has helped you gain a little more confidence to take the plunge.

Will you let me know if you do?

How to get confident and comfortable creating good content

If confidence is holding you back from more than just Reels when it comes to creating good content, I have just the thing!

My online content writing course is loved by business owners like you, and it’s available for you to download and binge at your leisure so all of this stuff feels so much more comfortable, doable, and fun.

Download your online content writing course and watch your business thrive in 2023.

Content marketing

3 tips for sharing your expertise freely (while still getting paid)

Posted on January 19, 2023January 19, 2023 by Ali

19
Jan

How do you feel about sharing your expertise freely? 🤗 I know it feels scary and you worry you’ll never pay your mortgage by giving away all your secrets for free. I used to be the same, but now I feel differently – so I’m sharing my experience (freely lol) to help you spread value and still get paid what you’re worth.

Should you share tips for free online?

I’ve spoken to plenty of people who are nervous about giving away all their expertise for free and I used to be the same – are you?

😩 I worried my audience would never pay me for anything.

As I was working on a plan to promote my online content writing course, I hired a business coach to grow my confidence and gain valuable skills about how to position and promote myself and my business.

My coach told me there’s no such thing as giving away too much value.

This shifted something for me and changed my attitude to content marketing entirely 💡

Ahead of the launch and during the run of that course, I started using some of the course content in snippets on my socials each week to give a teaser of what we were learning and working on.

The response was fantastic.

I didn’t upload the entire course for free, but I used elements of it in my social media marketing and people loved it.

It didn’t take away from the experience of the people on the course, but knowing I’d helped people along the way, whether they were here for the odd freebie or investing in the full support, was a lovely feeling.

Plus, it saved me time creating content from scratch and optimised the time I’d spent working hard to create the course content. More bang for that buck!

⚠️ REMINDER: Most of the info you have to share is available out there on the internet somewhere.

I say, if someone has the time and motivation to scour the web, compile and implement it all, good for them.

Most people don’t, and they work with you for accountability and personalised support rather than those free resources.

So, how do we go about it?

3 tips for sharing your expertise freely (while still getting paid)

1️⃣ Make it bite-sized

Say you’ve created a masterclass, online course, or talk. While you have the option to upload some or all of it as a lead magnet, you could also chop it into much smaller snippets.

Nobody sees or actions all your posts, so you could potentially drip-feed every single part of it into individual social media posts.

Plus, doing things this way saves you so much time creating content from scratch and optimises the excellent work you’ve already put into existing stuff.

2️⃣ Remind people what it’s like to work with you

OK, so you’ve done the above and created a graphic post featuring a quote, stat, insight, or challenge from your masterclass or online course.

As you share it, remind your audience of the difference between scouring the net for free tips and working with an expert.

Accountability, personalisation, consistency, collaboration – what would you add? If you’re not sure what clients pay you for, ask them!.

3️⃣ Upsell your paid services

Sharing your expertise freely is all about planting this seed: “if she shares this for free, imagine what you get when you pay to work with her!”

So, as your call to action, you can direct your audience to your paid services. For example:

‘Was this useful? This is a taster of the incredible things you’ll master when you sign up for my new group programme – DM me CALL to book a free call to find out more.’

Has this changed your perspective on sharing your expertise?

Let me know your thoughts by commenting on my socials or dropping me a message.

Get support marketing your business

You don’t have to do all of this stuff alone btw!

If you need more support actually getting stuff like this done, you have plenty of options.

Join Content Club – a monthly accountability community to share ideas, get feedback, have your questions answered by a professional, and connect with like-minded peeps who will cheer you on!

Learn online at your pace – develop lifelong content writing skills and switch on your content brain by downloading my online content writing course. You get lifetime access to all six masterclasses to binge or work through at your own pace.

Work with me 1-1 – book a discovery call to explore your options if you prefer personalised, intensive support to keep you on track.

Content marketing

9 tips to overcome your fear of talking on Instagram stories

Posted on January 10, 2023January 10, 2023 by Ali

10
Jan

Do you ever see people talking on Instagram stories and wonder how the hell they do it so naturally without an ounce of visible fear? Do you feel like it’s genuinely impossible for you because of debilitating nerves, self-doubt, and a deep-seated paranoia about you being the laughing stock among people from your high school and ex-boyfriends?

Believe me when I tell you I FEEL THIS. I was that person. Now? I regularly open up the stories tab and post myself waffling about content marketing with zero fear or paranoia. And if I can achieve this turnaround, so can you.

First of all, let’s explore why it’s a great idea to challenge yourself to speak on Instagram stories.

What are the benefits of filming myself for social media?

There are so many compelling reasons to swallow the nerves and be more visible on your social media, and Insta talkies are the best way to reach people if that’s where your audience hangs out.

Here are five huge benefits of filming yourself for social media.

1. It’s authentic

To connect with your ideal customer, you have to show up as yourself in all your flawed and imperfect glory.

There’s nowhere to hide on Insta stories (well, aside from the filters), so it’s a great way to be your authentic self for all to see.

We want to hear your voice, see how you look, talk, and act behind the gloss of any professional images you use.

2. It invites connection

Following on from the authenticity point, THIS is what invites true connections.

By showing up as your real self, people can see themselves in you, and warm to aspects of your character and personality that wouldn’t be visible otherwise.

When I started talking on stories, I got so many messages from people saying they felt like they would be friends with me and I was someone they’d love to work with – this simply hadn’t come across in the same way via graphics and written captions.

Are your audience members getting that opportunity to get to know the real you? If not, talking on your Instagram stories is the fastest way to rectify that.

3. It directs people to your content

The algorithm might not be showing your great feed posts to the right people, so showing up on your stories gives you another bite of the cherry.

Tell them about your latest post then link to it, or simply speak out the caption and share the message an alternative way for people who prefer story tapping to feed scrolling.

4. It’s less permanent than other social content

Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours, so I see them as a fun way to play around with different ideas without committing to them being accessible online forever.

Doesn’t that take the pressure off when you compare it to a video on your website homepage?

Use it in this way to develop your confidence and see what sort of content your audience responds well to, then you can extend your content marketing strategy to incorporate more permanent forms of video that feature the things that worked well on stories.

5. It’s quick!

Ever spent ages writing a caption, then analysed it to death and talked yourself out of posting it? You could open up your Instagram app right now and have a story video filmed, captioned, and posted within 5 minutes. Isn’t that an appealing prospect?

We all want more time to spend on things we love and want to explore more deeply. Talking on Instagram stories is one of the fastest types of content creation, so don’t overlook it if you’re keen to save time on creating content.

9 tips to overcome your fear and start talking on Instagram stories

It took me 18 months of running my own business before I plucked up the courage to start talking on Instagram stories.

(See stills from my first ever attempt here).

🤦🏻‍♀️ I know it feels like a level of bravery you do NOT possess right now.

😬 And there’s always an excuse not to – feeding the cat, doing your hair, or finding your phone (this one made me laugh).

But trust me also when I say you will NOT regret it and the response will be so positive – leading to an inbox bursting with warm leads and friendly support 🫂

So I’ve put together nine tips to coax you onto camera 🎥

1️⃣ Find a place you feel most comfortable – for me that’s in the car or on a walk (as long as there’s no one nearby).

2️⃣ Make a few bullet point notes so you have a clear plan, then place them behind your phone to glance at.

3️⃣ Practise a little to get used to the weirdness that is talking to your phone.

4️⃣ Start bold – don’t “just jump on” (I’m still guilty of this and working on it!). Prepare a strong opener that jumps into what you’re going to say to grab attention.

5️⃣ Post it right away before you can overthink and talk yourself out of it!

(Nobody is paying as much attention as you think – in a nice way).

6️⃣ Do it regularly once you start – it honestly becomes second nature before long.

7️⃣ If you’re feeling in the zone after, batch record and save several as phone videos to use another day.

8️⃣ Talk like you normally do – be yourself! Swear words, slang, accent – make sure it’s authentic or you’ll struggle to maintain someone else’s voice.

9️⃣ Smile! 😃 (nerves made me look SO miserable on my first attempt looking back! #rbf)

Get support with content marketing for your business

Talking on your Instagram stories is one important element of your content marketing strategy. But, all the elements must work together towards a common goal for your content to be effective. And when I say effective, I mean attracting the right people, engaging them, and turning them into clients.

If you need help gaining the confidence and direction to talk on Instagram or video, this is something I help with.

A good content mentor covers every aspect of your content marketing. From creating a strategy to growing your confidence, I’m your one-woman cheerleader and hype squad for all things content.

Fancy a chat to see if we vibe? Book a discovery call – it’s free and we’ll explore where you’re at and how I can support you to be where you want to be.

Content marketing

5 brave content marketing intentions (to push out of your comfort zone and see your biz thrive)

Posted on January 2, 2023January 3, 2023 by Ali

02
Jan

I’m not one for resolutions in general. I’m more of a gentle, positive shifts kinda gal. BUT this year I’ve decided to be bolder in my business and push out of my comfort zone. Are you the same? With that in mind, I’m challenging you to set one – or more – of these BRAVE content marketing intentions to spice up your engagement, enquiries, and excitement this year. Who’s in?

What is content marketing and why do I need it?

Before we dive in, let’s quickly refresh on why content marketing is a pivotal part of your business’s marketing strategy. Trust me when I tell you, you should not overlook content marketing this year if you want this to be the year you positively thrive.

Content marketing is the creation and sharing of free stuff like blogs, social media posts, videos, Reels, ebooks, and emails that share information, entertain, and educate your audience without directly selling.

You’re helping, not aggressively forcing people to sign on the dotted line.

Here’s why content marketing is crucial for your business strategy if you want to grow this year:

It’s generally free if you do it yourself, so only costs your time
It’s SO effective – being helpful is everything to a customer during the exploratory stages of the buying journey
It builds your reputation as a good egg
It amplifies your online presence and visibility in a competitive field
It sets you apart from others doing similar stuff

So, are you game?

Let’s make some brave steps into the content marketing world with some BOLD resolutions.

Five brave content marketing intentions (to push out of your comfort zone and see your business THRIVE)

Talk on video

I’m starting with this one because it was a BIGGIE for me, in two ways.

One, it was a massive fear. I genuinely thought it was impossible for me to do. I’m naturally introverted and despite the fact I left high school in 1998, I was sure someone from the popular group would see my Insta stories and ridicule me (reality check: they didn’t know who I was then and definitely don’t now!).

Two, it was hugely effective form of content marketing for me when I finally plucked up the courage to start filming my little car videos outside the school gates.

I really believe this was the moment ideal customers started feeling connected to me, which made them engage and want to work together.

Have you done this yet? If you still can’t bring yourself to speak on Insta stories or film a video of yourself, is it time to put on the big girl pants and give it a whirl?

Trust when I say that if I can do it, honestly – you totally can. I’ll do a separate post with some tips for you, but if you need help more urgently, message me.

Write a blog

Do you ever feel like you don’t have the right words to articulate what you want to say? Maybe you get it down in some form but feel it’s not interesting enough to publish.

I’m not really sure if I’m supposed to say this as a content writer, but I genuinely believe most people can write.

Importantly, we’re not talking about busting out that GSCE English essay tone that felt forced and unnatural. This is about writing how you speak, your way, and just f*cking publishing it.

If you really struggle writing, try recording voice memos and either typing them up or using a website like Otter to transcribe them for you (the free package currently offers 300 minutes in 30-minute slots).

You know blogs are my absolute fave form of content marketing.

So, if you’ve been following me a while, you’ll have heard me blabbing on about benefits like having a bank of content to break down into multiple emails, social posts, videos and more from one blog. Or how they help dream customers find you on Google and position you as an expert in your niche.

Need a kick to get going? Start here!

Give something big away for free

OK, so this might not be daunting in the way the first two are, but I’ve spoken to plenty of people who are nervous about giving away all their expertise for free and I used to be the same.

I would worry my audience would use the free tips and never actually need to pay me for anything, defeating the object entirely.

But then a wise woman told me there’s no such thing as giving away too much value, and this shifted something for me and changed my attitude to content marketing entirely.

While running my online course live in February 2022, I used some of the content in short snippets on my social media to give a taster of what we were learning and working on.

Knowing I’d helped people along the way, whether they were here for the odd freebie or investing in the full support, was a lovely feeling. And honestly, most of the info we have to share is available out there on the internet somewhere.

I say, if someone has the time and motivation to scour the web, compile and implement it all, good for them. Most people don’t, and they work with you for accountability and personalised support rather than those free resources.

Does this change your mind?

What could you give away to your audience for free to boost your visibility or build your email database?

Film a Reel

You – yes, you – can film a Reel. Before you start telling me you’re a dinosaur and it’s out of your reach, hear me out.

Reels are designed to be easy to create.

At the most basic level, you literally upload a video of some trees blowing in the wind, click the text button, write something meaningful and hit post.

There are plenty of other things you can add as you go along, but it’s really not as hard as you think. Plus, right now Insta is still pushing Reels as its preferred type of content, so it’s likely to get you more visibility than a grid post or a story.

You can also save the video and use it on your LinkedIn and Facebook, to get more bang for your buck.

I follow a couple of Reels tips accounts and save the trending audios they recommend using, as this raises your chance of being seen. I also go through life filming random clips of said trees, myself, and other things so when I come to create a Reel, the audio and video is already banked and I simply have to add music and text.

So, how about it? Do you dare?

And if you do, will you tag me in your finished Reel so I can go celebrate you?

Show up as YOU

I used to envy other people’s polished selfies, wistful scenery shots and succinct captions.

For me, showing up as myself means:

Filming waffley Insta stories from my messy car
Being honest when I’m feeling sh*t personally rather than putting on an act
Sharing that I’m sometimes posting on the fly and haven’t always got a perfectly mapped out plan for my content (this was big – I thought you’d think I was crap at my job, but hey, even content writers are human lol)
Posting make-up free dog walking selfies with a spontaneous caption because it sprung into my head
Writing in my own style, even if it’s long-winded and features my weird witticisms and random Taylor Swift lyrics.

So, tell me – how is authenticity going to look for you?

Find your content community this year

If all of this seems scary and you wish you had a circle of mates cheering you on from the sidelines, making you accountable to actually do content marketing properly, giving you confidence, sharing your content, offering you inspiration, posting lovely comments, and generally being your personal hype squad, this is what it’s like to be in my Content Club.

We meet once a month for a Zoom, and this year I’m adding virtual coworking onto it so we can decide what to do with our content and actually get it done there and then, how about that?

Find out more here or drop me a DM to chat.

Content writing

5 steps to mastering meaningful content

Posted on November 7, 2022November 7, 2022 by Ali

07
Nov

You have no shortage of passion for your business and you see first-hand the wonderous benefits it brings to your customers. But when you sit down to plan or write content, you can’t think of anything meaningful to share. So, another week passes without you doing very much at all to connect with or educate your audience. You know you have so much value to offer – how do you tap into that?!

I’m going to share with you my secrets to creating meaningful content your audience loves. Because when you master this, you’ll discover the consistency, authority, and engagement you crave.

What is meaningful content?

If you’ve spent more than five minutes on social media or Google, you’ve likely encountered plenty of content that lacks depth or meaning.

You’re a good writer, so you’ve read countless social posts and blogs from apparent experts and know you could do a much better job of it yourself.

100 million photos are shared every day on Instagram and 500 million accounts are active on stories daily.

And these are stats from 2019 – the last time Insta shared usage data – so are likely higher today.

That’s a whole lot of noise out there for you and your customers to wade through, so what counts as meaningful content on social media?

Here’s my definition.

Meaningful content is original, authentic, and either informative, entertaining, or educational to its audience. It speaks directly to the person consuming it and is created with purpose.

Despite the plethora of content doing the rounds, anyone who uses social media on the regs will confirm a vast majority of what we see on there falls short of this definition. So, if you’re keen to do things differently and don’t want to post for the sake of posting or churn out the same uninspiring stuff others in your industry rely on, read on.

5 steps to creating meaningful content for your website and social media

After 16 years of writing commercially valuable content for websites, blogs, and social media, I’m sharing my insight into what it takes to create content with meaning.

Step 1: Get to know your audience

Screaming into the void is not the way to lead with purpose through your content, so before you start posting, start connecting. How many of your social media followers do you feel like you know? The very definition of ‘social’ means this is a conversation – not a broadcast.

This is how I do that.

Message new followers to say hi and start a convo
Follow people back if they’re in your niche or aligned with you
Engage – reply to Insta stories and leave genuine and thoughtful comments
Set up virtual coffees with interesting people without an ulterior motive

Getting to know your audience is a critical foundation for starting to understand what sort of content will resonate with them.

Step 2: Conduct market research

Taking things a step further, once you’ve established a rapport with your audience, it’s time to really find out who they are and what they want from you.

Market research comes in many forms, and doing it regularly ensures you stay in touch with what your ideal customer is thinking, struggling with, dreaming of, and working towards on a day-to-day basis.

Here are a few great ways to carry out market research:

Use social media tools like polls and question boxes to see what your audience needs help with
Invite ideal customers on a 20-minute Zoom to delve deeper into their mindset (always record the session!)
Send surveys to existing and previous customers about why they came to you, why they chose you, and what they get from the experience of working with you
Join relevant Facebook groups for your niche and observe and/or ask questions

The real reason your clients love working with you may be different to what you think.

You’ll never know if you don’t ask – and you’ll be stuck in tumbleweed town forever.

A quick case study on market research

A client of mine is a PT who asked her customers what they loved about her running groups. Smashing their PBs? Conquering new distances? Boosting their energy levels? All of these factored in, but they weren’t the main reasons for coming.

They were a bunch of mums desperate to get out of the house alone. They wanted to have an adult conversation, make new friends, and do something for themselves.

Now, this has transformed how my client promotes her running programmes because she realises it’s about more than fitness, it’s about connection and wellbeing.

Are you sure you know what your clients get out of working with you and what really keeps them coming back?

Step 3: Know your values

Understanding yourself, your values, and your purpose is just as important as knowing your audience inside out.

Why are you here? What’s your dream? What parts of your job do you love and speak animatedly about to your friends and family?

A fantastic way to dig into this is to determine your values as a brand. Think about yourself as a person, and your business as a whole, and what you stand for and believe in. Ask your customers how they’d describe you and your business, and look for common ground between how you perceive yourself and how others experience you.

Once you’ve done this, choose three to five nouns to live by and make sure you embody these through your services, your content, and your demeanour with clients.

My brand values? Authenticity, positivity, and simplicity.

Identifying your values can be a much deeper exercise, but this is a great starting point to remind yourself of your purpose as a business and form the basis for a meaningful content strategy.

Step 4: Mirror your audience’s language

For me, this is the golden rule of meaningful content: listening to how your audience describes their struggles, needs, goals, mindset, and your value.

Without this, you can have all the insight and purpose in the world, but your content could still miss the mark if you don’t communicate effectively.

The actual words your ideal customers use are so, so, so important to connect with them on their level.

4 places to observe how your customers speak

Your reviews and enquiries
Your market research findings (e.g. responses to Insta questions or more detailed Zoom interview transcripts)
Discussions in Facebook interest groups
Competitior reviews and comments

I like to set up Trello boards to gather and organise data like this, as it often comes in titbits and soundbites easily lost or forgotten if I don’t keep track (and my chaotic mind needs organisation to thrive).

Step 5: Have a content strategy

Once you know your customer, yourself, and how you can help them get to where they want to be, it’s time to organise yourself to ensure your message lands with consistency and purpose.

A content strategy may sound like something you don’t know how to create or lack the time for, but a little simple planning goes a long way towards bringing meaning and impact to your content.

Spend an hour at the start of each month or week mapping out what you’ll share and when to save yourself that midweek panic that no posts have gone out and avoid rushing out something that doesn’t align with you and your intentions.

Starting with a big piece of content and repurposing it is my recommended way of doing things, as the time and effort you put into the initial piece then pays off over time and allows you to divert your energy elsewhere once it’s done.

5 speedy content repurposing tips to save time and maximise impact

Write a blog based on something your audience is struggling with (this is exactly what I’m doing here – I posted a question box last week on Instagram and a follower asked for advice on creating meaningful content – here’s a blog on using market research to create content)
Break the blog down into 2-4 emails (depending on how often you send them out to your database)
Use the same blog to create 6-8 social media captions, separately the different headers, bullet points, quotes, stats, and questions into individual posts
Organise it all in a spreadsheet or Trello board, so you know what to post and when
Add some nice graphics and images, and you’re good to go!

Get more help writing meaningful content

Hopefully, this blog has inspired you to understand and create social media content that strikes a chord with your audience and leads to the engagement, enquiries, income, and authority you aspire to.

If you feel like you need a little more help knowing how to create great content that resonates with your dream customer, my self-paced online content writing course is available to buy and binge now – get it here.

Fine with what to do but need accountability to keep doing it?

Join my Content Club community, where we get together over monthly Zooms to chat through what’s working, share ideas, and cheerlead each other on (it’s like therapy for your business – so far, we’ve seen members find their niche, get the courage to do their first Insta Live, and use each other’s services). Join Content Club here – there’s a spot with your name on!

Need more customised and intensive support to get your content up and running? Book a virtual coffee to explore 1-1 content collaboration with me.

Don’t forget to follow me on Insta and LinkedIn and drop me a line to say hi – my DMs are always open.

Social media content

How (and why) to write an intro post for your socials

Posted on September 26, 2022September 26, 2022 by Ali

26
Sep

Do your followers know the real you? Are they experiencing that know, like, and trust? If not, an intro post is a great way to start building it today.

You may think your audience knows you and what you’re about. But with short attention spans, fickle algorithms, and newbies surfacing all the time, your people may not know as much as you think. A good intro post is an essential part of a great content strategy to develop relationships, boost your visibility, and position yourself as THE one in your industry.

Read on to find out how to write one, and why it’s super important.

What is an intro post on social media?

Your business social media accounts are about your business. Yet for many of us, we are the business. It’s all too easy to drift into churning out business-related content and forget why people followed you in the first place: for you.

You may have heard about personal branding and felt unsure what it means or whether it applies to you. The short answer is, if you’re the face and personality of your business, it does. Therefore, an intro post helps your audience get to know and understand you, so they connect to your message and come to you when they need what you’re offering.

Put simply, an intro post is a social media update where you introduce, or re-introduce, yourself to your following.

What should an intro post include?

There’s no rulebook on writing an intro post, so feel free to make it your own.

What people want to see is you, your personality, and what makes you different. So, be original and be authentic to give the most opportunities for likeminded souls to see themselves in you and find common ground to build a relationship.

For me, a good intro post includes personal and professional details mixed in nicely to give a rounded impression of who you are. So, recap on your services, why people like working with you, as well as some fun details that highlight your character and individuality.

Benefits of writing an introduction post on social media

Still on the fence? Let me enlighten you on the many compelling reasons to re-introduce yourself on your socials this week.

Shows your personality

Hopefully, if you have a distinct tone of voice that weaves through your content writing, personality will be built-in to every social media post you write.

However, an intro post is a surefire way to inject character into your content and show the world who you are. As a solo business owner, personality is essential to develop that know, like, and trust that prompts your dream customer to choose you over others offering similar services.

Sparks conversations

Social media is exactly that: social. If you’re not starting conversations, you’re doing it wrong. By creating an intro post, you’re offering your audience multiple avenues you to connect with you by searching for common ground. Share your interests, background, starsign, hobbies, qualities and more and watch people like you comment about what you have in common. These conversations could continue in the comments, move into the DMs, or evolve into a discovery call. And it works both ways: now you know more about your audience, you have things to chat to them about and ways to build your relationship further.

Makes your life easier (and saves you time)

One of my fave things about writing an intro post is it’s pretty bloody easy! No research, no graphics (unless you’re feeling snazzy), no stats – simply open up a post and start writing. Save your precious time and put out a great post minus the stress and pressure.

I’ll share some ideas below to make it easier, but this is a post about you, and there are no set rules, so what better subject to freeflow on?

Write from the heart, and don’t overthink it. Then, choose a picture that embodies who you are, and hit post.

Boosts engagement

Intro posts are a fantastic way to boost engagement on your social media. One of my clients posted one to her LinkedIn after I challenged my followers to do their own. She received 27 comments (and counting). Her comments section was full of old and new friends chatting about their shared love of Italy, 80s music, and Asian food.

On a platform like LinkedIn especially, this expands your reach beyond your network and makes your content visible to potentially thousands of other target customers.

Creates an impression

Nobody looks at your content as much as you do, so to many of your followers, you’re simply another face they scroll past in the feed or tap past on stories. How will you cement yourself in the mind of your dream customer?

An intro post done well is a way to establish who you are and make a memorable impression they won’t forget in a hurry. Next time they need what you’re offering, they’ll feel they know the whole person rather than a faceless service provider.

Reminds people what you do

Even if you feel like you say it all the time, your audience probably isn’t crystal clear on what it is you do. Intro posts can be a mix of personal and professional titbits, so reintroduce your services and remind your audience what they include and how to enquire.

Ideas for an intro post

Tell your story
Share likes and dislikes
Fun facts
Two truths and a lie
Quizzes (Insta stories and polls work well for this)
Your morning routine
A day in the life
Questionnaires (like those ones you see doing the rounds on your personal socials)
This or that
Starsign
Favourite books, podcasts, movies, TV shows
Where you love to travel
Goals
Pets
Education
First job
Embarrassing moment
Family
CALL TO ACTION! Finish it by inviting your audience to book a call, download your lead magnet, or simply comment if you share something in common.

Plus, it doesn’t have to be a text post. You could create – or repurpose it into – a Reel, video, carousel post, or even a blog.

How often should I do an intro post?

Probably much more often than you’d think!

Aim to do an intro post once a month.

After all, you’re always getting new followers and even your oldest, loyalest audience members will benefit from a refresher or new info you’d like to share with them to keep connecting and engaging with each other.

How often do you write an introductory post at the moment? If at all?

If it’s been less often, start now and make it a regular part of your content strategy – then watch the comments, follows, and messages flow!

Where to find customised support with your content writing

Ever wish you had professional input giving your content writing the seal of approval and boosting your confidence without having to outsource everything and lose that authenticity your audience loves?

1-1 content mentoring with me is a collaborative, fun, and productive way to dedicate creative space to your content writing and optimise the time you spend on your blog posts, emails, and social media to ensure maximum impact, engagement, and enquiries.

If you’re tired of putting your heart and soul into your content for little (or no) results, or you’re ready to give yourself the kick you need to start creating content consistently and becoming more visible, I have 1-1 spots available.

My 1-1 content mentoring service works best for coaches and wellbeing business owners who know their audience and write well. If that’s you, and you need support taking things up a notch, so you start getting more DMs, bookings, discovery calls, and speaking opportunities from your content, email me to book a virtual coffee.

Book your virtual coffee here.

Content writing

8 tips for writing a social media post after a break

Posted on September 2, 2022September 2, 2022 by Ali

02
Sep

Social media was grinding you down – and deleting your apps has been the biggest relief. You didn’t spend a single day wanting to go back on it and actually dreaded going back. Yet you know you need to have some presence as a modern business owner, and you understand the benefits of growing your audience with the right people to facilitate the lifestyle you love.

It’s time to make your comeback – but how do you write a social media post after taking a break?

Returning to social media after a hiatus

After your mind-calming break, you want to go back online on a new footing and not go back to the way you were. In an ideal world, you’d say see ya to the doomscroll and hiya to healthy boundaries, connections, and balance.

So, as you redownload your app and the empty caption box glares back at you, what on earth are you going to say?

Do you need to explain where you’ve been?
Has anyone noticed?
How honest should you be?
And who are you as a newly boundaried person re-emerging to do things differently?

I know exactly how you feel.

Earlier this year, I was EXACTLY where you were. Things got on top of me, personal and professional stuff clashed and culminated in a mini meltdown, which resulted in me logging off socials for some headspace. I quickly wrote a ‘bye for now’ post, then deleted the Instagram and LinkedIn apps from my phone and felt instantly lighter.

A week turned into four and I felt SO much better after realising how much worse social media had been making things seem and feel. Coming off your socials doesn’t solve all your problems as I’m sure you know, but it absolutely contributed to my overall wellbeing during a period where soulless scrolling had become a factor in my mental fogginess.

So, rest assured, I get it. It’s that conundrum we all face, how do you stay visible without it robbing you of your headspace?

Well, that’s a question for another day, as I’m not 100% sure I’ve cracked it yet! But in the meantime, I can absolutely help you out when it comes to composing your comeback post.

Buckle up and let’s get into it – here are my eight tips on writing your first social media post after a break.

Don’t apologise

Number one in my book is this: DO NOT apologise for being off social media. You’re your own boss, so you don’t answer to anyone. You’re not playing truant because there are no rules – and however lovely your audience is, you don’t owe them an apology for logging off.

Respectfully, please know no one will have noticed or thought about your absence as much as you so it really isn’t that big a deal outside of your head.

Therefore, when drafting your comeback post, resist the urge to say sorry and remember your social media presence and activity levels are choices you’re allowed to make for yourself without explanation.

Be authentic

Social media is about authenticity, and it was only when I started being my full self that my audience felt truly connected to me and I began to form genuine relationships there.

Now you’re returning to social media after a hiatus, don’t be afraid to be honest and authetic about why you took off in the first place and how you feel about coming back. Share as much or as little as you like in this regard, but know that honesty and vulnerability don’t make you unprofessional.

If you’re dreading it, be open and ask your audience if they ever feel the same – maybe they’ll share some insights and advice to help you on your way.

Invite connection

Remember, your social media and online presence isn’t all about you. You’re here to help people, so involve them in your return post and use it as an opportunity to catch up.

Post questions, ask what they want to see from you going forward, and think of it as a fresh start to build your audience and develop relationships with dream customers.

Choose your medium

Before you post a knee-jerk feed post to your Insta, have a little think about which type of content best suits what you want to say and how you’d like it to be received.

If you have a lot to share, writing a blog post is a great way to explore your thoughts and tips without a word limit.

The benefit of this is that you then have a large bank of content to repurpose across social media captions, Reels, emails, and more – your content strategy can then almost write itself for the month with so much to share in a multitude of ways.

After all, different people prefer different kinds of content, so consider how to spread and repurpose your message so it lands in front of the right eyes.

Have a purpose

What’s the point of this post, exactly? Are you making it because you feel you should, or because you have something you genuinely want to say or achieve?

Ahead of getting words on screen, think about what you want your audience to get or do from it.

Do you want them to read your blog?
Or check out your new group programme?
Are you hoping they’ll sign up to your mailing list?
Or book a discovery call?

Your post doesn’t have to be salesy to get them to do these things – quite the oppposite.

However, understanding what your purpose is allows you to dig into the emotive triggers that will encourage your audience to take that action and make the next step in their journey with your brand.

Tell a story

Storytelling is a powerful way to communicate with your audience – did you know it can boost conversion rates by 30%?

Set the scene and bring your following along for the ride.

It doesn’t have to be a tell-all about yourself – although it can be – you can also use storytelling to help your audience imagine themself in a common scenario, or share a customer story.

The way you do it is the main thing, playing on emotions, pain points, and those interesting details that bring a situation, issue, or solution to life.

Think ahead

Thinking beyond your initial comeback post is a smart way to return online after a social media break.

The first post is likely to be well received, but what happens after that?

Having a plan for what you’ll post and when moving forward will maintain that momentum and prevent you from burning out, coming to loathe that little app icon on your phone and finding yourself back at square one.

Do it your way

The most important thing to remember? There are no rules, so come back however you like.

You don’t have to announce why you went off social media for a week or six months, or explain yourself if you don’t feel comfortable doing so.

You could hit the ground running with your usual kind of content, or try something new and experiment with different ways of connecting – you don’t owe anyone anything, and as long as you keep bringing authentic value they’ll welcome you back and be glad it’s business as usual.

Or, you can pour your heart into a detailed caption full of your innermost thoughts, fears, realisations, and plans if you want to – it’s your social media after all, and YOU are your business.

So, you have carte blanche to be as open or closed as you please.

Get help organising your content writing

I know writing your own content and handling the marketing side of your business can feel like a complete time-suck. It’s a struggle to get your head round how to make sure it actually translates into results (like a consistent monthly income, pinch-me enquiries, and dream speaking opportunities landing in your inbox).

Many of my 1-1 content mentoring clients feel they’re great at writing, but less good at the strategy and organisational side of things, so it takes over their lives and they get absolutely nothing back.

Others have brilliant ideas racing around their minds, but writing doesn’t come naturally so they feel vulnerable putting content out there without professional input.

Either way, I’ve got your back! I’m now taking on 1-1 content mentoring clients in the coaching and wellbeing space to get you feeling in control, confident, and – dare I say – EXCITED about this side of your business! Think it’s impossible? Jump on a virtual coffee with me and see how you feel at the end – if we click, there are so many amazing things ahead for you and that business of yours.