Amy C. Fitzjohn's Blog, page 16
July 18, 2019
Tip Top Top Tips (A to Z of Blogging)
Quick, simple, sharable, actionable and consumable – sharing top tips on your a blog allows you to convey a lot of useful information in a short and snappy way.
Who doesn’t love a listicle?
That’s why T is for ‘Tips’ in my A to Z of Blogging.
You can’t go far wrong by building a blog article around a core list of tips on a topic (hence, ‘Listicle’ – ‘list+article’) .
Here is a roundup of Top Tips I’ve shared over the years on the blog:
Top Tips to re-purpose, reuse, recycle and re-imagine your blogs
Turn your blogs into:
eBooks
Slides for a talk
Handouts for an event
Downloadable freebies…
2 Tips For SEO
1) Optimise your images
Give them a sensible name
Use Alt text – ‘say what you see’
Add keywords to the description…
2) Make use of Google’s free tools
Google Analytics
Google Places
Google Console…
2 Tips to edit, polish and improve your writing
1) Experiment with tenses to give your words more power
2) Declutter your writing by removing these words
Really
Very
Some
Actually
That…
Blogging Tips
Six Blogging FAQs:
How often should I blog?
What’s the ideal length for a blog?
What shall I blog about?
How do you make the time to blog?
What are the benefits of blogging?
How do I get people to see my blogs?
Research Tips and Tools
Research can inform and inspire your blogs,lending authority and authenticity to your work…
Instant updates when I publish a new blog post, Follow me on Bloglovin’
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The post Tip Top Top Tips (A to Z of Blogging) appeared first on Amy Morse.
July 16, 2019
Lessons You Can Learn From Successful Marketing Campaigns
You may not have the budget or resources of a big successful business, but it’s surprising what you can learn from their marketing campaigns. Lessons you can apply to your own business, in your own unique way.
This contributed content has some great take-aways to inspire, if you’re stuck in a marketing rut.
Photo by Mateusz Dach from Pexels
Effective marketing campaigns usually make a big impression; they catch people off guard, get people talking, and ultimately get a brand noticed. When you want to make a splash with your business then you need to develop a bespoke campaign, if you cannot do that in-house then look at marketing services from Herdl and see what they can create for you. In the meantime, take a look at some of these really effective marketing campaigns to see what lessons you can learn from them:
T-Mobile flash mob in London Liverpool Street Station
In 2009, T-Mobile organized a flash mob in London Liverpool Street station as part of its ‘Life’s for Sharing’ advertising campaign. Dance routines were performed as commuters passed through the station and hidden cameras captured the publics’ genuine reactions which were of both surprise and delight. Using the element of surprise and the power of viral video to creatively, T-Mobile was able to demonstrate that their products can be used to share exciting things with family and friends.
Iceland’s Travelling Animatronic Orangutan
Last year Iceland made the headlines by releasing its banned Greenpeace’s film featuring an orangutan and the destruction of its home in the rainforest. Banned for being too political the controversy raised awareness of the advert and the message that Iceland was trying to get across over the about the environmental dangers of using palm oil. Capitalizing on this interest and striking while the topic was hot, Iceland got an animatronic orangutan and took it to the streets of London to raise awareness of how palm oil and rainforest destruction is threatening the species. The orangutan, obviously out of place, grabbed peoples’ attention straight away, got people talking, and vividly demonstrated the effects of deforestation.
Greggs’ reversed shop logo
In a cheeky but smart move, Greggs’ Newcastle store flipped around the shop’s logo, knowing that across the road at the Fenwick department store, there would be huge crowds flocking to see its Christmas window display. Flipping the logo meant that the logo’s reflection appeared in just about every photo taken of the impressive display. The stunt then cleverly corresponded with the launch of Greggs’ 2018 Christmas menu.
Lacoste’s Endangered Species Logos
The Lacoste ‘Save Our Species’ campaign was extremely popular and memorable. Marking the three-year partnership between Lacoste and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Lacoste replaced its famous reptile with ten threatened species in separate polo designs. In addition to that, the number of polos released matched the number of remaining animals in the wild, so only 40 Burmese Roofed Turtle polos were released. This was indeed a creative and sobering campaign that set Lacoste apart from other fashion brands.
Coca-Cola’s Christmas Truck
Capitalizing on the success and the popularity of the television advert, two decorated lorries played the ‘Holidays are Coming‘ theme song while touring the UK and offering free cans of fizzy drinks to eager consumers. The impact of a stunt like this on consumers is massive; it prompted emotions of joy from children, nostalgia from adults and always good for branding, it prompted most people to take photos and post them on their social media.
Feeling Inspired? What’s your favourite marketing campaign?
Tell us in the comments, what were the most memorable campaigns for you? Personally, I love a Meerkat toy!
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The post Lessons You Can Learn From Successful Marketing Campaigns appeared first on Amy Morse.
July 10, 2019
6 Harmful Blogging Mistakes
I love blogging.
Blogging and networking are my two favourite ways to market myself and my business.
Writing and chatting – Brilliant.
As a writer, blogging is the most intuitive way to communicate my message, but it doesn’t always come easily, especially when you are writing about something close to your heart – Your business.
It’s easy to get into bad habits, however, and these are six of the most common blogging mistakes I see, (and what to do about them):
Six Common Blogging Mistakes
1) Spelling, grammar, and bad writing
In your haste to ‘just get it done’, it’s easy to overlook blogging mistakes or bash something out and post it there and then. I often find myself saying ‘the real writing happens in the edit’.
Too often I see content where someone has clearly drafted it and put it immediately out there without editing or taking stock.
If you are going to blog, do it properly. There is enough crap published every second online already, don’t be part of the problem.
Solution:
Draft it, save it, then walk away. Do something else for a while, give your brain time to reset then come back with a critical eye.
When we read something immediately after writing it, our brain reads what it thinks it’s written, by coming back to it, even just a few minutes later, your brain has already reset itself and you are more likely to spot silly little mistakes or typos.
2) “Buy my thing” – A sales pitch
The job of your blog is not to ‘sell’ what you do.
The job of your blog is to build that ‘know-like-trust’ factor.
To tell your story.
Share your passion.
Educate your audience.
Be helpful just for the sheer pleasure of it.
Show us what it feels like to work with you.
Solution:
Avoid this blogging mistake by writing creative and informative content, not sales copy.
3) Once in a blue moon
If you are going to blog, you need to commit to it.
Solution:
Aim to publish at least one blog a month, that way, when someone goes to your website it’s current – Google also likes fresh content and active websites.
Make space in your diary to write, and show up with a positive attitude. It’s easier to build a healthy writing routine if you write little and often then publish at least once a month.
A good quality piece of writing will take at least a couple of hours to write, craft and edit.
4) No theme
We are all interested in lots of things, but that’s not the point of your business blog.
Solution:
Write with relevance to your business and your audience. Stay consistent. Have a theme that threads through your content (and the theme is never ‘what’ you do.)
5) Too short
From a Google pont of view, anything less than about 300 words will barely register in search engines. From an readability point of view, it’s hard to say anything of depth or value in less than 500 words. By the time you’ve written an introduction and a conclusion, the main body would ony be a paragraph or so.
Add value with depth.
Save your soundbites for Twitter.
Solution
Keep your writing to the point and edited tightly. Don’t tackle too many topics in one piece. Instead, focus on depth. Take one element and add value by exploring it in depth and structuring it coherently. Less is more in writing, but it still needs to say enough to be worth reading.
6) Too Long
Again, a symptom of publishing without editing effectively is writing too much. Avoid the waffle and the jargon, and producing something so long and wordy the audience clicks off.
Solution
The first draft is where you let all the words come out. Go for it. Write it all down, then take stock and edit.
Once a blog post exceeds the 1,000-word mark, ask yourself these fundamental questions:
What to look for if you think you’ve written too much
Have you repeated statements and points too much?
Is it really one blog post, or have you gone off on a tangent?
Is it structured, or did you waffle?
Are your sentences long and wordy?
Have you repeated words in a sentence?
Have you used unnecessary words such as: Really. Some. That. Actually. Purely. Simply?
Can you play with tenses to tighten it and shorten your sentences?
Are you making these common mistakes on your blog?
If you’re not sure whether your writing is any good, get in touch.
I’m happy to chat for free and give you some sample feedback on your writing.
For instant updates when I publish a new blog post, Follow me on Bloglovin’
For extra goodies and exclusive new information, join my mailing list HERE.
The post 6 Harmful Blogging Mistakes appeared first on Amy Morse.
July 4, 2019
Passion Projects #6: Stepping Off The Treadmill with Maria Newman, Mummy On A Break
Stuck on the treadmill. Plodding along getting gradually more and more tired and feeling like you’re going nowhere.
Do you have those days where you wonder what the hell you’re doing with your life?
When you’re counting down the week to the weekend and spending your Sunday sulking because you have to go to work tomorrow?
I think most of us can relate to this.
You don’t have to be a mum to have days where you feel like you’re just a supporting character in somone else’s narrative.
Maria Newman had the chance to change direction.
Let’s meet…
Maria, Mummy On A Break, my next Passion Project.
A Passion Project Interview with Mummy On A Break, Maria Newman
Why did you decide to do what you’re doing? Tell your ‘Origin Story’
Getting to this point I’m at now has been a windy road. I didn’t wake up one day and think ‘I’m going to change my career’. It’s something that crept up on me over a number of years. It was that Monday morning feeling of ‘here we go again’. That Friday night feeling of ‘at last it’s the weekend’. That Sunday night feeling of ‘what’s in store for me this week?’ A gradual realisation that I should be doing something different. But feeling stuck.
My way out came in 2016. I decided to take voluntary redundancy from my corporate job. The job I’d had for 17 years. I was on maternity leave with baby number 2. I also had no plan. This was the start of my adventure.
Over the last couple of years I’ve spent time getting involved with lots of different projects. Trying to find out what my passion is. Trying to determine what I actually want to do.
It didn’t hit me until earlier this year that I’m not unique in my search for ‘what I want to do when I grow up.’ I’d been blogging about my journey since leaving my corporate job. Being honest about what I was doing mixed in with laughing at the realities of motherhood. That’s when I realised that my passion project is my mummy blog, Mummy on a Break.
My blog is about inspiring others, building a community and enjoying life.
What would you do with your time if you didn’t have to work?
Awesome question. I’d buy a round the world ticket and take the family exploring.
What really makes you smile from the inside out?
My kids. The things they say. The things they do. Especially when they’re laughing. It’s really quite infectious.
What is your proudest achievement?
This is a tough one. Leaving my job to do what I really want.
Where do you want to be in 5 years’ time?
Blogging and inspiring others to follow their passion
Who do you serve? Be specific, think of everyone you impact (not just customers)
Mums who feel like they’re stuck and want to get off the treadmill of life. Stop that feeling of groundhog day. Stop that feeling that life is just passing them by. Mummy on a Break is about showing mums that they’re not alone. It’s about laughing at the realities of motherhood.
How do you want the world to see your business?
Genuine, helpful, encouraging and inspiring.
What one thing would you do to change the world?
Encourage people to listen. I genuinely believe the world would be a better place if we all did more listening and less talking.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
Freeze time. Time seems to move faster as I’m getting older so I’d want to freeze time to appreciate the special moments for longer.
What advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?
Just keep doing what you’re doing and all will be okay.
And finally, is there one thing you wish someone had told you before you went into business?
No matter what happens always be kind to yourself.
Thank you Maria
To connect with Maria and learn more about her work:
Facebook: MummyOnABreak
Instagram: MummyOnABreak
Invest in Advertorial on This Blog
Be immortalised on my blog and be one of my featured #PassionProjects
Get your business featured on the blog for £25 / $34 – via PayPal
The post Passion Projects #6: Stepping Off The Treadmill with Maria Newman, Mummy On A Break appeared first on Amy Morse.
July 2, 2019
Passion Projects #5: Jacqueline Harthill, The Happy Parents’ Club
I love working with entrepreneurs at the start of their journey. I’ve been mentoring start ups with Brave Enterprise for a while now (having started my own business with their help).
I first met Jacquline Harthill earlier this year, having mentored her while launching her new venture The Happy Parents’ Club. Jacqueline is a qualified clinical hypnotherapist who specialises is hypnobirthing and baby massage.
Her enthusiasm and energy are infectious.
Let’s meet Jacqueline…
A Passion Project Interview with Jacqueline Harthill, The Happy Parents’ Club
Helping women to have the best birth experience possible
Why did you decide to do what you’re doing? Tell your ‘Origin Story’
I was originally a journalist and ended up working in marketing and communications for a large local authority in London. During this time, I trained in complementary therapies – massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, baby massage – and ended up teaching adults to train as therapists as well as teaching baby massage in children’s centres.
I developed RSI in my thumbs so had to give up massage; that’s when I decided to retrain as a clinical hypnotherapist and it was through this that I discovered hypnobirthing. I added this to my portfolio of professional development as it fascinated me.
I didn’t have a positive experience of childbirth and the thought that I could help other women have the best birth experience they could make me feel very excited. To be an educator and a facilitator around childbirth, family development and maternal mental health is something I’m passionate about and I do get carried away when talking to other people about it.
I’m now doing more professional development as I want to hone my skills and knowledge around fertility and postnatal support.
Raising a family is incredibly hard, as well as joyous, and parents need all the support they can get.
We live in such a fragmented world these days. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child and most of us don’t have that village support any more so we have to look elsewhere. And that’s where someone like me comes in.
The idea behind The Happy Parents’ Club is that eventually, I will work with parents / families from the very beginning – from pre-conception through pregnancy and into the first years with my clients being part of a club, a tribe, meeting up to share their own experiences.
I also teach baby massage from birth to pre-crawling and this is a natural follow on from hypnobirthing – it’s not just about teaching a massage routine/technique to help your baby’s physiological systems and to help them relax.
It’s more about learning your baby’s early communication cues and cementing the emotional bond.
Babies that experience regular massage from an early age form a very strong attachment to the parent(s) and this has a massive impact on their brain development!
The eye connection, the emotional connection, the loving connection fires up neurons and synapses within the brain and enables positive development!
What would you do with your time if you didn’t have to work?
If I didn’t have to work, I’d go to art college and study/create textile art. I’m really interested in remodelling/reusing fabrics to make not only functional items but works of art – fun, happy pieces of art with a message – save the planet, save Mother Earth!
What really makes you smile from the inside out?
Accidental humour, witty humour – remembering those moments when you’re with people and something sets you or someone else off and you laugh and laugh – to the point that you can’t actually stop and even when you do eventually stop, absolutely anything will set you off again. And most of the time, the thing that started you laughing wasn’t really that funny, it was just one of those moments. I don’t think they happen very often but, when they do, I remember them and they make me smile years later!
What is your proudest achievement?
This may sound corny and clichéd but my proudest achievement is my daughter.
I was a lone parent and it was hard but, from the moment she was born, I have loved her with a force.
She’s transcended all those difficult moments growing up with me and is a wonderful, loving, kind, emotionally intelligent person.
She’s clever (although she doesn’t see herself as others do), she’s talented and she’s a fantastic friend. She is now my best friend but, first and foremost, she is my daughter.
My heart burst with pride when I saw her graduate – I did that! My girl! And then I was amazingly privileged to be with her and husband when my grandson was born…
Where do you want to be in 5 years’ time?
In five years time, I want to be busy running hypnobirthing groups, possibly in my own building. I’d like to be running a successful fertility practice and postnatal support service with regular (post) client meet ups. I’d like to be writing regularly in magazines/supplements, possibly have even written a book (or two!).
Who do you serve? Be specific, think of everyone you impact (not just customers)
The biggest impact of my work is on communities.
Hypnobirthing babies tend to be quite chilled and babies that have been massaged tend to grow up confident in their abilities and themselves because they’ve had a supportive, loving base from birth.
All of this together has an impact in that these loving, caring children grow into loving, caring adults. That impacts on the wider community, so the positive benefits impact more than just the mums and dads that I work with.
The service is targeted towards women who want to have a positive birth and subsequently learn how to emotionally bond with their baby – not just massaging them as babies but continuing the massage and adapting it as the child grows.
So, if you’re pregnant, 20 weeks plus, come along to a hypnobirthing taster session and find out more about it.
If you’ve just had a baby, call me to discuss what baby massage is all about.
I’m not offering fertility services or postnatal at this stage as I’m just starting out in my business and I want my hypnobirthing and baby massage services cemented as my core offer before I add to them. I also want to ensure that my knowledge and skills around fertility and postnatal support are totally current, so I’m working on these in the background.
How do you want the world to see your business?
As a supportive, caring, ethical service for expectant and new parents.
I’m vegan and I try to be as eco-friendly as I can be. I recycle, reuse and all the products that I include in my hypnobirthing goodie bags are all vegan/from sustainable sources/ecologically sound.
I don’t see the point in providing a service that benefits new generations of children if my everyday life impacts negatively on them and I am a part of destroying the planet.
I want to be a part of saving the planet!
What one thing would you do to change the world?
Ban all destruction of rain forests and forest land anywhere in the world.
Trees are vitally important – to the air we breathe to providing food and shelter for a myriad of insects, birds, animals, mammals that all contribute positively to our eco-systems.
If you chop down a tree, you have to plant a new one immediately to take its place!
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
To be able to open people’s eyes to the negativity of bigotry/racism/misogyny/sexism – these are all rooted in ignorance and often people don’t realise how destructive their thoughts can be as they seep into everyday life. We are all people with good bits and bad bits and, if we don’t like someone, we can just avoid them.
We will never like everyone and not everyone will like us, but we don’t have to be cruel to others.
Dislike someone because you think they aren’t a nice person by all means but don’t dislike someone you don’t know because of their culture or the colour of their skin, or their gender.
What advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?
Be proud of your Scottish heritage – you’ve got a wonderful history behind you, savour it and be proud of that beautiful land and your forebears.
Whatever you do, don’t lose your Scottish accent because, if you do, everyone will think you’re English! 
June 25, 2019
When Social Media and Blogging Collide (A to Z of Blogging)
Using Social Media is a little like renting a room from a curmudgeonly landlord. You have to follow their rules.
You’re not allowed to redecorate. You can have visitors, but only people on your designated friends’ list – unless you pay the landlord extra rent.
If the landlord doesn’t like the way you live in their apartment they can kick you out or change the locks on a whim.
This fickle landlord can get a bit funny with you sometimes and it’s inexplicable.
You get to be in the Tennant’s Social Club as long as you play by the rules.
Social Media is great for having conversations, sharing and helping others to get a sense of what it feels like to work with you. But ultimately, a change in algorithm, a change in the rules, and it’s easy to fall foul and lose your audience. The best chance you have of being the life and soul of the Tennant’s Social Club party is to be interesting to hang out with.
Being Interesting
Being ‘interesting’ doesn’t necessarily mean being a magician and conjuring sparkly new ideas (or rabbits from hats) to wow your audience with your originality.
Reuse, repurpose, reconstitute, repeat, reshare and recycle your content (and other people’s), as long as you are always adding value.
That’s why S is for Social Media in my A to Z of Blogging
Add Value With Your Blog
Hosting a blog on your website is like finally buying your own place.
It might be small to start with. You’ll get things wrong, regret painting the hallway in that ghastly shade of green, hang that picture up in the wrong place, forget to put the trash out…
When you host your content on your own website you make the rules. And when you go along to the latest Social Club Soiree, you’ll have something interesting to entice people away and get them to visit you in your shiny new shop (your website).
If Social Media is the windows into your online store, your website invites them inside.
Having a blog on your website gives people a reason to come in and hang around for a while, getting to know you and your business, without the noise and distractions of the overcrowded Tennant’s Social Club.
Social Media is, after all, really just microblogging on someone else’s website.
There are two ways you can make the most of that connection between your Social Media buddies and your new footprint on the digital high street, because, like a shop on a high street, when it comes to blogging it’s not a case of ‘build it and they will come’. There will be a certain amount of passing trade as people cruise along the Google highway, but most of the footfall will come by showing people you are there.
1) Sharing your blog on your Social channels
2) Sharing your Social Media content onto your blog
Sharing Your Blog On Social Media
Here are four ways to bring people to your blog by sharing it across your social channels:
1) Social sharing buttons
Make it easy for people to find you by having Social sharing buttons on every blog post. The visitor can read a blog, click ‘share this’ and automatically post it onto the social channel of their choice.
As soon as the blog is published, share then and there, from the ‘Social Sharing buttons’ on your blog across your social own channels. By using these buttons yourself, you can see what visitors will see. It also shows Google the blog is ‘alive’ and has already been shared.
2) Plan and schedule multiple shares
Use scheduling tools such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and Facebook scheduling to fill your social media feeds in advance. Set your blogs loose into the wild and help people discover them long after they’ve been published. (Read more about How To Schedule Social Media For Free HERE)
3) Quotes and soundbites
Take quotes from your blog and turn them into Social Media friendly images to share using Canva templates
Use a quote from the blog as the social update then include the URL
4) Questions
Pose a question on a social update and offer the answer as a link to the blog URL
Sharing your Social Media Content On Your Blog
As is often the case, we share an unplanned update on Social Media or get involved in a conversation that spurs on an idea. Rather than leaving that content, that lots of people engaged with, to disappear to the bottom of a Facebook or Twitter feed, why not capture that idea on your blog and expand on it?
Here are three ways you can plant that seed of an idea from Social Media and cultivate it into a blossoming blog post
1) Facebook Live
Copy the URL of the live video. Start a blog post. Write up what was talked about on the video, expanding on it with tips and links and paste the link into the blog. Voila, this month’s blog post done!
2) Polls and survey results
Collate the responses you got to that question you posed or that poll you created and turn them into a blog.
For example, I asked a question on Facebook, “What advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?” then collated the results and summarised them across two blog posts.
3) Images
Any images you share can be used to inspire a blog post. For example, I created a series of ‘Lessons From Blog School‘ images to share on Social Media and compiled the series into a blog
Social Media and blogging were made for each other.
If you blog, you will always have something interesting to share on Social Media, and if you use Social Media you can always find topics to blog about.
Stuck for creative ways to make the most of your ideas?
Talk to me about how working with a mentor can help you make the most of your blogs and Social Media.
Book a FREE 30-minute ‘InspirationCall’
For instant updates when I publish a new blog post, Follow me on Bloglovin’
For extra goodies and exclusive new information, join my mailing list HERE.
The post When Social Media and Blogging Collide (A to Z of Blogging) appeared first on Amy Morse.
When Social Media and Blogging Collide
Using Social Media is a little like renting a room from a curmudgeonly landlord. You have to follow their rules.
You’re not allowed to redecorate. You can have visitors, but only people on your designated friends’ list – unless you pay the landlord extra rent.
If the landlord doesn’t like the way you live in their apartment they can kick you out or change the locks on a whim.
This fickle landlord can get a bit funny with you sometimes and it’s inexplicable.
You get to be in the Tennant’s Social Club as long as you play by the rules.
Social Media is great for having conversations, sharing and helping others to get a sense of what it feels like to work with you. But ultimately, a change in algorithm, a change in the rules, and it’s easy to fall foul and lose your audience. The best chance you have of being the life and soul of the Tennant’s Social Club party is to be interesting to hang out with.
Being Interesting
Being ‘interesting’ doesn’t necessarily mean being a magician and conjuring sparkly new ideas (or rabbits from hats) to wow your audience with your originality.
Reuse, repurpose, reconstitute, repeat, reshare and recycle your content (and other people’s), as long as you are always adding value.
That’s why S is for Social Media in my A to Z of Blogging
Add Value With Your Blog
Hosting a blog on your website is like finally buying your own place.
It might be small to start with. You’ll get things wrong, regret painting the hallway in that ghastly shade of green, hang that picture up in the wrong place, forget to put the trash out…
When you host your content on your own website you make the rules. And when you go along to the latest Social Club Soiree, you’ll have something interesting to entice people away and get them to visit you in your shiny new shop (your website).
If Social Media is the windows into your online store, your website invites them inside.
Having a blog on your website gives people a reason to come in and hang around for a while, getting to know you and your business, without the noise and distractions of the overcrowded Tennant’s Social Club.
Social Media is, after all, really just microblogging on someone else’s website.
There are two ways you can make the most of that connection between your Social Media buddies and your new footprint on the digital high street, because, like a shop on a high street, when it comes to blogging it’s not a case of ‘build it and they will come’. There will be a certain amount of passing trade as people cruise along the Google highway, but most of the footfall will come by showing people you are there.
1) Sharing your blog on your Social channels
2) Sharing your Social Media content onto your blog
Sharing Your Blog On Social Media
Here are four ways to bring people to your blog by sharing it across your social channels:
1) Social sharing buttons
Make it easy for people to find you by having Social sharing buttons on every blog post. The visitor can read a blog, click ‘share this’ and automatically post it onto the social channel of their choice.
As soon as the blog is published, share then and there, from the ‘Social Sharing buttons’ on your blog across your social own channels. By using these buttons yourself, you can see what visitors will see. It also shows Google the blog is ‘alive’ and has already been shared.
2) Plan and schedule multiple shares
Use scheduling tools such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and Facebook scheduling to fill your social media feeds in advance. Set your blogs loose into the wild and help people discover them long after they’ve been published. (Read more about How To Schedule Social Media For Free HERE)
3) Quotes and soundbites
Take quotes from your blog and turn them into Social Media friendly images to share using Canva templates
Use a quote from the blog as the social update then include the URL
4) Questions
Pose a question on a social update and offer the answer as a link to the blog URL
Sharing your Social Media Content On Your Blog
As is often the case, we share an unplanned update on Social Media or get involved in a conversation that spurs on an idea. Rather than leaving that content, that lots of people engaged with, to disappear to the bottom of a Facebook or Twitter feed, why not capture that idea on your blog and expand on it?
Here are three ways you can plant that seed of an idea from Social Media and cultivate it into a blossoming blog post
1) Facebook Live
Copy the URL of the live video. Start a blog post. Write up what was talked about on the video, expanding on it with tips and links and paste the link into the blog. Voila, this month’s blog post done!
2) Polls and survey results
Collate the responses you got to that question you posed or that poll you created and turn them into a blog.
For example, I asked a question on Facebook, “What advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?” then collated the results and summarised them across two blog posts.
3) Images
Any images you share can be used to inspire a blog post. For example, I created a series of ‘Lessons From Blog School‘ images to share on Social Media and compiled the series into a blog
Social Media and blogging were made for each other.
If you blog, you will always have something interesting to share on Social Media, and if you use Social Media you can always find topics to blog about.
Stuck for creative ways to make the most of your ideas?
Talk to me about how working with a mentor can help you make the most of your blogs and Social Media.
Book a FREE 30-minute ‘InspirationCall’
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June 20, 2019
How To Schedule Social Media For Free
When I happened upon Hootsuite to schedule updates for the first time – covering for our Marketing Manager in a previous job – my mind was blown.
Suddenly I realised the potential of being able to plan my Social Media marketing, instead of being inconsistent and ad-hoc.
I’ve been asked how I manage my Social Media so regularly and consistently – This is my formula for staying on top of my Social Media presence, for FREE (my favourite four-letter word).
An Efficient Social Media Schedule
Using tools (both third party and those built into Social Media platforms) allows you to be far more efficient and strategic about how you plan and use your Social Media platforms.
It also means you can ‘be seen’ even when you are sleeping or sunning yourself on a beach somewhere!
Three Tools To Schedule Your Social Media (and they’re FREE)I can only go by my own experience and share what I have learned over the past few years.
There are three tools I use to schedule my Social Media platforms:
1) Hootsuite
2) Facebook
3) Tweetdeck
Other third-party tools are out there, such as Buffer, however, I can’t comment on how these work or how much they cost.
Hootsuite
I originally started with just Hootsuite as it was a tool I was familiar with from my previous life employed by an enterprise agency.
You can have up to 3 channels on Hootsuite for free, and up to 30 updates. Any more and there is a monthly fee.
At first, I set mine up for Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.
Later, I managed two Facebook pages and a Facebook group, as well as Instagram. My three free were no longer enough. I paid the monthly fee and did it all in one place.
Hootsuite connects with all of the main Social Media channels, including LinkedIn and Instagram.
However, when Facebook added a scheduling function and I discovered Tweetdeck, I no longer needed to pay for the extra channels.
Since closing my Instagram account I now use it just for Linked In. 30 updates and one channel allows me to plan a month ahead.*
Facebook Scheduling
Using the native tool will always be favoured over a third-party tool. While you can use Hootsuite, I suspect Facebook would rather you use its platform and its algorithm would favour content scheduled within the platform.
When you create an update on your Facebook business page (or in a Facebook Group), instead of clicking ‘share now’, go to the dropdown and select ‘schedule’, choose a date and time and hit ‘schedule’.
Tweetdeck
Twitter’s own scheduling dashboard. Once I committed to dropping my paid subscription to Hootsuite I started using Tweetdeck and I’m yet to find its limit for how many updates you can post.
Three tweets a day will reach 30% of your Twitter audience, so Tweetdeck is great for copying and pasting the 100-odd updates you may schedule in a month.
Top Tips To Schedule Appropriately
Don’t use the same update and select all the channels.
On Twitter, cross-posted Instagram updates appear as a link, you don’t see the picture so they are easily ignored or look like spam.
Although nouns and phrases as hashtags are how Instagram is searchable, hashtags are different on Twitter. Hashtags that trend on Twitter will be different and, for example, #green or #blue would filter images on Instagram but will look silly on Twitter.
With a limited number of characters on Twitter (240), don’t waste them with loads of useless hashtags.
Hashtags also don’t work on Facebook, so a cross-post from Instagram is obvious and makes you look lazy.
The solution:
Copy and paste the update, change it (add/remove #’s etc) and post as separate updates on each of your channels. It will take a few seconds longer but will get you much more engagement than the obvious cross-posting of inappropriate updates.
Schedule in chunks
I tend to work a month in advance* and schedule a month’s worth of content in one sitting.
Depending on the nature of your business, how often you say similar things and how often you plan, decide how far ahead to plan your content and schedule in batches.
Good and Bad Scheduling
I have no patience for people who are sneery about scheduling Social Media. Those people clearly don’t run their own businesses, or if they do, could be working much smarter!
The problem comes when people schedule Social Media then ignore it completely and stop engaging.
“Scheduling is not an excuse to forget about Social Media.”
If you schedule updates, you must make sure you go into your Social Media accounts and respond to any notifications.
When someone engages with your content (scheduled or otherwise) and you don’t respond, or at least acknowledge them, well, that’s just rude!
The solution:
Build it into your routine.
My Routine
I’ve built Social Media engagement into my daily routine.
When I check my emails, I will also go into each of my Social Media platforms and check any notifications, then respond accordingly. As a trainer and mentor, I’m often with clients throughout the working day, I’m not sat at a desk or scrolling through my phone when I’m with a client, at an event or in a meeting. I do my message checking at the start of my working day, and at the end. I may get opportunities in the day as well and I try to keep at least one day a week free as an office day.
Copy, paste, tweak, repeat
– Keep your Tweets on a word document or similar and copy and paste your updates.
– Change the # depending on what’s trending on different days and use a few different images when you share the same update.
– Make sure you have plenty of Tweets to share, you don’t want to repeat the same Tweets too close to each other, have a minimum of 24 hours before you repeat a Tweet
How do you plan and manage your Social Media and what tools would you recommend?
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June 13, 2019
Passion Projects #4: Children’s Book Sequels – For Young Book Lovers
“A child who reads will be an adult who thinks.”
This is the inspiration behind the next in my series of Passion Projects.
Sarah Corcoran has been a book lover all her life. She’s the brains behind the website database ‘Children’s Book Sequels’.
My favourite quote from her response to the interview is one I can definitely relate to,
“I still love reading and being given books to read is wonderful.”
Let’s meet Sarah…
A Passion Project Interview with Sarah Corcoran from Children’s Book Sequels
Why did you decide to do what you’re doing? Tell your ‘Origin Story’
I worked in public libraries for many years including children’s libraries. The catalogue didn’t give the order of children’s series, e.g. Harry Potter, so you didn’t know which order to read the books. The library association used to print a hard copy but the last time this was done was 1992 and it went out of date almost immediately after going to print. I realised that this information needed to be online and the Children’s Book Sequels website went live in 2006. It is now used all over the world in public and school libraries. I have a blog connected to the website and I do book reviews for publishers who are kind enough to send me review copies.
What would you do with your time if you didn’t have to work?
I had to give up working in libraries in 2015 due to health reasons, but I love doing the website and networking with children’s authors and fans of children’s literature. I still love reading and being given books to read is wonderful.
What really makes you smile from the inside out?
A really good book and seeing a child sat in a corner totally absorbed in the book that they’re reading.
What is your proudest achievement?
Now got over 100 followers on Twitter and discovering the new schools and libraries that have found and are using my website.
Where do you want to be in 5 years’ time?
Still doing the website, but hopefully, it will be making more money than it does now.
Who do you serve? Be specific, think of everyone you impact (not just customers)
Public and school Librarians, bookshop owners, children, parents.
How do you want the world to see your business?
As a valuable resource that will make their lives easier.
What one thing would you do to change the world?
That every child could read before year 4
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
Better vision
What advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?
Be more confident.
And finally, is there one thing you wish someone had told you before you went into business?
It takes longer than you think.
To connect with Sarah and learn more about Childrens’ Book Sequels, the website is: ChildrensBookSequels.co.uk
Get to know her through Twitter
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June 5, 2019
Productivity Quick Tips
Procrastination is just a step on the path to productivity.
I’m a terrible procrastinator.
Productivity never comes as readily as I’d like!
Mindless scrolling through Social Media and reading blogs is my procrastination enabler – although I’m much more disciplined with Social Media than I used to be.
I’ve accepted that procrastination is not always a bad thing. In fact, it’s an important part of my process.
Procrastination doesn’t necessarily mean lack of productivity, for me, it’s a step on the path to being creative and productive.
This was highlighted for me when I saw this blog of 10 ways to be productive.
When you work for yourself, and often find yourself alone at home, it can be tough to stay motivated.
The tips that stand out for me are especially relevant as someone who works from a home office.
They were:
#3 : Take short breaks
Complete a task. Take a break. It’ll break up the day and keep you moving around. Combine it with #8 ‘reward’.
#5: Decorate your workspace
It could be easy to get carried away! Creating a pleasant workspace, keeping it tidy and organised helps you to be tidy and organised in the way you work.
#6: Reward yourself
I’m a big fan of this. Give yourself lots of small rewards in a day.
Rewards are a great motivator. We’re all good at criticising ourselves for not getting as much done as we ‘should’, but the ‘carrot’ always works better than the ‘stick’.
Be kind to yourself.
Be OK with not getting everything done.
Be realistic about what you can and can’t do in a day.
Rewards can be phyiscal or psychological.
#8: Read inspirational books
I need to make more time to do this. I always feel guilty about reading in ‘work time’, but books are an important part of our personal and professional development. They have the power to inspire and motivate.
#9: Think positive thoughts
When you work for yourself, it’s easy to get stuck in a negative thought spiral. Challenges swirl around and around in our heads and take on a life of their own. Focus on the positives and if you need help, just ask.
“If you don’t take the time to take care of these things, chances are you’ll find yourself on the road to exhaustion. “
Learning Productivity
Read the full list of 10 tips on The Virtual Hub blog
What’s the one thing you do to increase your productivity?
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