Amy C. Fitzjohn's Blog, page 31
March 14, 2017
The Idiots Guide to Coming Up With Blog Titles
Coming up with a catchy blog title that makes people want to click through and read can be tricky…
Here are some quick tips, this post will take less than 5 minutes to read
Boost Your Blog Views
(Image Credit) These days, just writing killer content isn’t enough to help you rise through Google’s rankings. After all, you might have fantastic blog posts and content, but people might not be reading it all. One of the best ways to attract readers to your blog is to come up with some awesome post titles that leave the reader wanting to know more. If you manage to hook them with just the title, they will almost certainly click the link to read more. And more traffic to your blog means a much higher ranking in Google!
Struggling to come up with titles can be a problem when you are writing a new post every day. But there are ways you can push past the writer’s block and come up with some that will attract a lot of attention. Here’s my idiot’s guide to coming up with blog titles.
Keep Things TopicalPeople love to keep up to date with current events and are much more likely to click links to timely and prescient articles. So one top tip is to link your post to a topical hot topic and keep make sure you reference this in the title. By adding something newsy or cultural in the title, there is no way that the post will come across as too dry and boring.
Next time you are writing a blog post, take a scan of the latest headlines and showbiz news to see if there is anything you can tie into your post to keep it engaging.
Use A Title GeneratorYou don’t have to come up with a cool blog post title all on your own. There are some great tools that can do it for you, such as the blog title generator by FatJoe.
To use these generators, you just need to enter a keyword phrase that you want to be included in the title. The generator will then give you a selection of titles that you can take your pick of.
Short And SweetWhen readers are scanning for something to read on a certain subject, they won’t take too much time reading different headlines. They will simply scan through and pick out one that jumps out at them. Because of this, you need to make sure that your headlines are short and sweet. The tighter they are, the punchier they will be. Also, you should think about how the title would appear in Google’s search results for SEO purposes. If your title is longer than the 70 character limit, it won’t all appear in search results, which could put potential readers off clicking it.
Don’t Go Crazy With KeywordsIt’s OK to use one keyword or phrase in your title, but don’t go over the top by adding more. It is now necessary to write for readers rather than for the search engine. If it looks like you have simply written your title so that search engines pick up on it, you could find that Google actually penalises it. So only use a single keyword that is a natural fit.
It is now necessary to write for readers rather than for the search engine. If it looks like you have simply written your title so that search engines pick up on it, you could find that Google actually penalises it. So only use a single keyword that is a natural fit.
For more tips and no-nonsense advice on how to make your blog work harder for your business, my ‘Blogging for Business’ book is available on Amazon.
Looking for the personal touch? Ask about 1:1 content coaching with me – ASK HERE
Disclaimer:
*This is contributed content and contains affiliate links
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March 11, 2017
Made A Bad First Business Impression? All Is Not Lost
A first impression can make or break a fledgeling relationship.
We’ve all had those cringeworthy moments. We’re meeting a new client and we’re having one of those days…
Stuck in traffic, it’s pouring with rain, we arrive at the meeting late, stressed out and sodden – Nightmare!
No-one’s perfect. We’ve all heard that adage before, right? So it stands to reason that we shouldn’t hold that first impression against people or businesses as much as we tend to. After all, we may have just come across them on one of their imperfect moments.
This doesn’t change that fact that making a bad first impression can be very damaging. So if you’ve made one, you should look towards fixing your reputation back up as soon as you possibly can!
This advice can apply to entire businesses that have faulted customers in some way, or it can apply to writers or bloggers that have made a widely-mocked social faux pas. If you want to get your reputation back on track, here’s what you should do.
Apologise – and don’t even think about shifting the blame!
So maybe you’ve said something on Twitter that your fans or your customers didn’t like too much. Perhaps, on reflection, you’re not too keen on the wording of your comment, or maybe you realise that you had the wrong idea entirely. Or maybe your business did a customer wrong by sending a broken product.
Whatever the error, you should own it. Don’t shift the blame onto others. (In the case of social media mistakes, don’t have a damage control plan that consists solely of “it was hackers!”) Admit fault and apologise. If you have excuses, making them should be lower on the priority list than the actual apology.
Track your reputation and consider a new campaign
A lot of the business moves you have ongoing may be affected by the error you’ve made. Perhaps the error you’ve made was, in fact, an ill-informed business move! Let’s say, for example, that people don’t like a marketing campaign you’ve developed. In that case, you need to pull that campaign pretty quickly if it’s going to affect your reputation.
Keeping track of what people think of you or your business will certainly help you make a decision here. Try searching for yourself on social media to see what people are saying about the issue. You could also consider working with a PR company who specialise in this sort of thing. And if you need to look into a new public business approach, then consider working with a remarketing agency.
Fixing the problem at hand
Of course, your reputation isn’t the only thing you should be working to fix. If you’ve made a public error big enough to affect the reputation of you, your body of work, or your business, then you need to properly assess what damage or inconvenience this has caused for others. Publically recognising the problems that your mistake has caused will do a great deal of good when it comes to salvaging your reputation, but you mustn’t just let your words do the trick. You need to take action.
You should be detailing to those who keep track of you what you’re doing to resolve the issue. You should also detail what steps you’re going to take to make sure that this sort of error doesn’t happen again. Admitting fault and resolving the problem as soon as possible really is the best thing you can do.
Don’t fret. We all make mistakes, it’s part of being human. If you’re not making mistakes you’re not trying hard enough, and remember, in years to come you’ll look back and realise the lessons learned from that experience and, hopefully, you’ll see the funny side.
…At least you’ll have a good story to tell!
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*This is a contributed post*
If you enjoy my blogs, buy me a coffee to say thanks. Donate to my ‘Coffee Kitty’ here (£2.50 / $3 will get me a cappuccino). Thank you 
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March 8, 2017
Get Discovered By Google (SEO Made Easy)
The Google bot has eyes everywhere, and it eats ‘SEO’*! An all seeing, all knowing, power-bot that scurries around over 3 billion times every day!
But with so much content being produced every second, how do you get noticed by this voracious beast?
*SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is basically getting to the top of Google because most of us click on the first ‘organic search’. You can have the most beautiful website in the world, but if Google can’t see it, you’ll languish in oblivion!
Google-Bot Gunna Get Ya!
Is it time for a spring clean to tidy up your website, making it appetising for Google?
Here are my simple, actionable tips to make effective SEO manageable for the average human:
I’m No SEO Guru, but…I’m not techy, and certainly no website, SEO or Google guru, but there is one thing you can do to 
make friends with Google…
The ‘Google Bot’ likes fresh meat! One mistake often made with websites is to get it designed and launched, then not update it for months, until eventually, it stops getting noticed.
By having a blog on your website, you have a reason to update the content on it at least once a month (the minimum recommended amount to publish a blog).
I personally use WordPress for my blog.
It’s versatile and idiot proof enough for even me to use!
There is a whole host of ‘plugins’ with WordPress, some free, some you pay for.
I’ve recently discovered a fabulous one with a free option (so far the free version is good enough for me and my little business) – ‘Yoast‘.
The Yoast SEO Plugin allows you to monitor how effective your blog is as you write it. With a simple to understand traffic light system and suggestions after the draft blog post, it points out the simple tweaks you can make to that piece of content to make sure it has maximum impact with Google.
I’m now going back through ‘optimizing’ all of my old content so people can discover me and what I do in lots of different ways.
Ask An SEO Expert…If you love the human touch, I recently met Henry Oranugo from ‘Creative SEO Company‘.
He did a short video assessment for my SEO with some great tips and feedback for discoverability.
Here’s what I learned from Henry:
He took my website through a Mobile Friendly test, because Google favours mobile friendly websites, with more than 70% of website traffic being accessed from mobile Page Speed test – If a website takes too long to load, people will click away. A look at the metrics to test the strength of the domain, backlinks and keywords.I now have some actionable ideas on which keywords to use on my website, based on how much Google would charge to advertise those keywords (in other words, they’re valuable!).
Henry’s warm and easy style makes all this scary SEO and analytics stuff accessible!
Need more…If you can get to Bristol, and enjoy a practical workshop, I run a Search Engine Optimisation for Non-techies workshop for BRAVE.
The next one is in September – BOOK HERE
DIY SEO…Or you can download my simple SEO Audit Checklist to make a few small changes yourself.
What ONE small thing will you do today to get your website discovered?
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February 28, 2017
3 Quick Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
When I was writing the Sheridan And Blake books, I often found myself stumbling over writer’s block.
Even the most imaginative, creative people can suffer with writer’s block from time to time.
If you’re staring at blank pages or you just can’t seem to find inspiration for your next blog title, here are some tips to help you recover from writer’s block.
Look to others
Reading is one of the best ways to find inspiration. When you read something, whether it’s an article, a story or a novel based on real life events, it should leave you asking questions or give you something to think about. If you’re short on ideas, look to others for help. Do some reading, explore different subject areas, and use your reactions to formulate new content. If you’ve got questions or you can’t stop thinking about a character’s story, start putting some ideas down on paper. You shouldn’t ever copy another writer, but it’s always beneficial to learn from others. Even if you disagree strongly with what an author says, this can be advantageous. It enables you to think about why you disagree and reflect on your own individual stance. You may also find it interesting to see how other people react and to discuss your findings in an open setting.
Image from https://pixabay.com/en/reading-book-girl-woman-people-925589/
Never give up on learning
You may think that you’re an excellent writer, and you may be incredibly talented. But it’s highly unlikely that you’ve learned every trick in the book. In life, we can never learn too much. Even if you’ve forged a successful career, you can always develop your skills and hone your craft. If you’re finding it difficult to translate ideas onto the page, consider going to a class like those run by Writers Workshop. Hearing other people share their knowledge and expertise, and doing exercises could give you motivation, provide you with a different outlook on the way you work, and encourage you to try new things.
Switch things up
Are you trying to write a book in the same room at the same time of day every day? Are you desperately seeking inspiration for your next blog post when you’ve done nothing but work for the last few weeks? We all need to take time out now and again. You can’t expect your creative juices to flow if you’re stuck in a rut, or you’ve got nothing to base your writing on. You need experiences and changes of scenery. Eve something as simple as taking a walk can energise you, and prevent staleness. If you’re worried about deadlines, don’t be. As a writer, you’ll know the importance of getting into a rhythm and building momentum. You may have taken an afternoon off, but if it’s given you inspiration, you’ll probably be typing non-stop for hours or even days to come.
Image courtesy of https://pixabay.com/en/photos/walking%20away/
Writer’s block is an affliction that affects almost every writer. Whether you’re finding it hard to focus or you’re struggling to put pen to paper, it is possible to beat writer’s block. Read more, and use other people’s ideas to generate your own thoughts. Get out and about, change your routine, and use your experiences as inspiration. Don’t be afraid to carry on your learning journey. You can benefit from spending time with others. Every person you come across and every book you read will affect you in some way.
How do you overcome creative blocks?
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. I only send a newsletter monthly so I won’t spam you, I promise!If you enjoy my blogs, buy me a coffee to say thanks. Donate to my ‘Coffee Kitty’ here (£2.50 / $3 will get me a cappuccino). Thank you
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*This is contributed content*
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February 27, 2017
Blog Exposure on a Budget – A Contributed Post
My two favourite marketing activities for exposure are networking and blogging – talking or writing – I just love sharing and communicating stories.
In the digital space, your website can be your greatest asset or your greatest liability.
Having a blog on your website gives prospective customers an excuse to come into your virtual shop and hang around for a while. As consumers, we know the longer we spend browsing around the shelves and displays of a shop, the more likely we are to buy something.
It seems I’m not the only one who believes blogging can supercharge your success…
This contribution has some great tips to get maximum blog exposure with minimum budget
Blog Exposure on a BudgetGetting started in the world of blogging is 
arguably quite easy. You simply sign up for a blogging site such as Tumblr or WordPress and then you can start sharing your thoughts and ideas.
However, exposure is another issue.
If you want to reach an audience, then you’ll have to start worrying about marketing your blog and creating a brand. After all, no one is going to notice or care about your blog until you grab the attention of your readers, but can you do this on a budget? Absolutely!
Most blog owners aren’t exactly wealthy and they don’t treat their blog like a business (yet) which makes it hard for them to justify spending money on their blog. However, you can get a great deal of exposure on your blog without spending a dime if you follow some of these simple rules and pointers.
Get involved with related communities
Let’s say you are starting up a cooking blog. You have a bunch of recipes, perhaps a product review or two and some posts about your ideas for future cooking recipes. However, you aren’t getting much traffic and it’s starting to feel like your blogging career is going nowhere.
A great way to get a nice boost of traffic is to link to your blog on other websites or share your recipes on various websites. It’s good to practice restraint when doing this because you don’t want to overload the internet with your links. Sooner or later people are going to accuse you of spamming your blog for views and that’s the last thing you want. You can also consider guest blogging for other writers or invite people to write for you.
Practice web design principles
Your blog might have been created with a template on one of the various blogging websites on the internet, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick to something basic. You can practice basic web design principles such as search engine optimisation and simple, clean designs. For instance, you should only be using a handful of colours so that your website doesn’t hurt the eyes of your reader. You should look into contacting SEO companies if you’re serious about ranking your website on Google. Some basic SEO practices to get you started are making sure you’re using images, remember to use sub-headings within your blogs and don’t forget to tag the images you use.
Focus on quality, not quantity
Writing a blog post per day might seem like a great idea to fill your website full of content, but it’s a horrible practice because the quality of your blog posts will deteriorate. If you want to ensure your readers come back on a regular basis then you should be writing quality posts over quantity. Try to focus on new topics within each post and maintain a high standard of writing. If you feel like your post isn’t a hundred percent, then don’t publish it. Wait a few hours, wait a day, or even a few days before you hit that publish button.
For more top tips and a simple, fuss-free guide to get great exposure for your business, get my ‘Blogging for Business’ book HEREFor 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. I only send a newsletter monthly so I won’t spam you, I promise!
If you enjoy my blogs, buy me a coffee to say thanks. Donate to my ‘Coffee Kitty’ here (£2.50 / $3 will get me a cappuccino). Thank you
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February 25, 2017
5 Easy to Implement Strategies to Supercharge your Business Blog – A Guest Post
This week, I’m pleased to host another guest on the blog.
Brenda Cagara, has been writing blogs for businesses for five years now.
Based in Dubai, she was drawn to my site by previous posts sharing knowledge about blogging for business.
I’m really excited to get a blog pitch from Dubai, and happy to share Brenda’s wisdom on:
5 Easy to Implement Strategies to Supercharge your Business Blog
Links.net. The first ever blog created by Justin Hall, when he was a student at Swarthmore College in 1994. Justin wouldn’t have ever imagined that his creation, one day, will become a powerful tool for marketing and advertising. By the middle of 2006, there were more than 50million blogs on internet, amongst which politics and business blogs were the most popular ones. Business owners have realized the importance of blogging as it is a cheap source of marketing and has maximum outreach.
Driving traffic to a business blog is not easy if it neglects to prioritize the solving of customer’s problems. This is why most of the business blogs are always struggling to get people’s attention. Primarily, the purpose of a business blog is marketing, but no one wants to see a display of your products 24/7. The main reason why people like blogs is the simple and common knowledge. When a blog is simple and interesting it attracts traffic like a magnet, which then generates leads. As a business owner, who might not be good at blogging or don’t know how to run a blog, it gets very difficult to utilize this marketing platform effectively.
Well, running a business blog successfully and getting traffic is not a rocket science. It’s just a game of pushing right buttons at right time. I am going to explain five simple and easy to implement ways to boost your business blog.
Turn Your Blog into a Customer Contact CenterMake your blog a platform for customer support, take all those questions that prospective consumers are asking you through emails, on the phone calls, or via social media sites and answer them directly on your blog through informative and product knowledge posts. It is two way advantageous, firstly it will help you in building the level of trust and secondly, it will make your customer support team work more efficiently. However, for this strategy to work, it is very important that your blog is easily discoverable. You must have a good knowledge of Search Engine Optimization and its tools. To make it more effective, the blogger must write interesting and pleasant to read content for customers. Have search bars or filters so that it is easy to find a specific blog or posts.
Design According To Target AudienceTo get maximum traffic, its layout and design matters a lot. Make an analysis of your target audience and post content relevant to their interests. If your target market is teenagers, then your blog posts must have something interesting for them like articles on music or mp3 players etc. A blog is beautified if it has high-quality images. Don’t hesitate to spend a bit of money on sophisticated graphic design, finest photography, and copywriting services. It is a good investment because it will make your blog stand out from the line. Try to have freelancers onboard. Their rates are relatively less and deliver high-quality services at low cost. Choose you best writer who has a natural instinct of writing. Blogs which have grammatical errors or have an out of flow content are highly discouraged by search engines. Surveys show that blogs with killer headlines and high-quality images are more susceptible to be read.
Create a Series.Have at least one series. People love reading stories, so you need to become a storyteller. You can create blog series to present interviews with experts in your industry and tell people about their story. For example, you are an owner of a business consultancy firm that helps its clients to establish a business setup in Dubai. Introduce your audience to key people who are doing successful business in Dubai, tackle a topic of contention in Dubai market from different angles, or simply break down a very long post or complicated topic into smaller parts to make it easier for your audience to absorb it.
Add Interesting VideosA lot of people are more interested in videos than reading text. Videos are easier to process and make a strong impact on viewers. Video marketing yields better results so integrate interesting and informative videos to your blog posts. You can find a lot of exciting videos on YouTube or daily motion. They make a blog more energetic and attention-grabbing for viewers.
Don’t be longer or shorter than you need.Don’t be too much concerned about the word count. Some bloggers think that to put 1000 plus words is a must. Well, a lengthy blog is good, but it totally doesn’t mean that you write irrelevant and get out of your niche just to complete the word count. The Length of an article depends upon the topic and its importance. The content length of an article is like a double edged sword. You shouldn’t be too long, but yes, you need to say enough and complete.
There is a lot more that can be done to supercharge a business blog. Always promote your blog not website, because blogs are more appealing. Ensure that your comments section is on and you are regularly responding to your visitors. Write short sentences and always be very very clear on whatever you are saying. Increase the number of paragraphs, bullets and headings because they keep the flow of a blog in a good shape. All these factors will help in driving traffic to your blog and generate more and more leads.
( Photo credits: Pixabay )
Author Bio:
Brenda Cagara
I have been writing for websites, articles and blogs for five years now. I have had a fair share of writing in a variety of niches but my main focus is business, sales, finance and social media. Currently, I am working with business consultants in Dubai (Riz & Mona) which offers company formation in UAE and business setup services across all states of United Arab Emirates. Our other services are products registration, free zone company setup UAE, visa processing, bank account opening, trade license, trademark, local sponsors and many more.
Social Profiles:
A big THANK YOU to Brenda for contributing.
I believe in the power of small business to change the world for the better, and I’m always happy to support fellow entrepreneurs and showcase their work.
If you have an awesome idea for a blog my audience of creative entrepreneurs would find irresistible, please GET IN TOUCH. 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. I only send a newsletter monthly so I won’t spam you, I promise!
If you enjoy my blogs, buy me a coffee to say thanks. Donate to my ‘Coffee Kitty’ here (£2.50 / $3 will get me a cappuccino). Thank you
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The post 5 Easy to Implement Strategies to Supercharge your Business Blog – A Guest Post appeared first on Amy Morse - Authorpreneur.
February 23, 2017
So Much To Do, So Little Time: Getting Organised
When you work for yourself, one of the toughest challenges is staying organised.
There’s no boss breathing down your neck, giving you ‘that look’ and no job description setting out your responsibilities. You must be disciplined to get things done.
In my attempts to be organised, I regularly visit Paperchase (I had vouchers for Christmas – my family know me so well!).
It’s brightly lit stores, filled with gorgeous stationery, promise style, finesse, and the ability to magically be super organised, with their range of notebooks in different designs and sizes. Lined or plain pages, sticky notes, diaries and list books.
I have notebooks for multiple purposes.
For example, a ‘day-to-day’ book, a brainstorming ideas ‘Creative Journal’, ‘Free Writing’, ‘Business Planning’ and ‘Book Marketing’ notebooks.
Their home is a flowery filing box on my desk.
The problem is, thinking ahead about the spaces to fill in my day when I’m out, and which books to pack.
A perfect excuse to keep buying notebooks – however, if I’m honest, it is a faff!
My day-to-day book fills with to-do lists, as if writing the same thing down over and over will somehow magically get it done!
List pads too – daily planning lists (so, I know which notebooks to pack!). Checklists for content sharing, lists of marketing ideas, lists of content ideas, lists of useful hashtags and lists of people I need to email.
Endless bloody lists…
Analogue or Digital? My dad once called me “An analogue person in a digital world”.
In many respects, it’s true.
I got my first smartphone in 2015.
Call me old-fashioned, but I love a proper clickety-clack keyboard (but I still prefer pens!).
The visceral experience of handwriting is lovely.
Many well-meaning people recommend apps, list software and websites – but the truth is, I like writing with coloured pens, I like shelves full of gorgeous notebooks, and I don’t entirely trust technology.
I can control my notebooks and pens – I can’t control my phone battery, or not getting a wifi signal, or a website being down for maintenance or forgetting passwords.
Books are solid, reliable, dependable and beautiful.
And lists are somehow comforting, alluring me with the illusion of being organised. 
1) A useful analogue world tool from the digital space is ‘Bullet Journal’.
The basic concept is, particular bullets for particular activities listed in your notebook, then update and carry them forward as you go.
My own doodles act in a similar way, with lightbulb doodles for ideas, lips 
for people to talk to and envelopes for emails. 
2) The most positive and motivating list is a ‘done list’.
Our days fill with immediate things, i.e. an email, the phone rings, a prospective client messages through Facebook or Twitter, a great writing idea deviates you and you must capture it before it flutters away…
None of these small activities is on your to-do list, however, they are important progress towards those bigger to-do list items.
Ever had one of those days when you look at your to-do list at 5 O’clock and only one thing is ticked off?
Don’t be disheartened by your lack of progress, record small activities, and each day this ‘done list’ will remind you of those achievements.
Take pleasure in small achievements, they all add up (TWEET THIS)
See what you actually spend time on, and then see what you did when.
Here’s my ‘done lists’. I love filling a page!
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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. I only send a newsletter monthly so I won’t spam you, I promise!If you enjoy my blogs, buy me a coffee to say thanks. Donate to my ‘Coffee Kitty’ here (£2.50 / $3 will get me a cappuccino). Thank you
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February 13, 2017
The Power of Story – A TED Talk Review
Stories have enormous power to change our perceptions. A single story, repeated again and again, can quickly become an ‘Alternative Fact’.
When the all you hear about a person, a business, a brand, a place, a people, a race, is negative and you continue to hear it repeated across the spectrum of media you consume, it becomes a fact in your mind. When our echo chambers reverberate to the same tune, our ‘new facts’ are reinforced in social convention and social proof. They’re validated by the ‘wisdom of the crowd’.
But there is never a single story.
There are (at least) two sides to every story, and the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.
I stumbled across this TED talk by award-winning female Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:
What I love about this talk is it encapsulates so many of the ideas and information we take for granted.
We all make assumptions based on the story we hear, regardless of our cultural upbringing.
It starts in a moment of her life that completely connects with me. We’re a world apart, with different backgrounds, yet like me, Chimamanda learned to read before she went to school and loved writing from a young age, her writing influenced by what she read.
In my case, books and movies, TV, the games we played in the back garden influenced my writing.
Stories are everywhere when you open your eyes and imagination to them. They fill every aspect of our lives.
As a business, you need to take control of your story (before someone else does).
They say all publicity is good publicity – but what do you want the people you serve to hear and repeat?
How and where a story starts can radically change its impact.
Does it start with your biggest success? Or the failures that led to success? Ask yourself, which is the most compelling story?
Is it:
“Look how amazing and successful I am, buy my thing”…Or is it
“I tried this, it didn’t work, but I learned this. Then I tried this, and it was better but still wasn’t right, but I learned this and, ta-dah, now I have this! Find out how I did it and you can enjoy this warm fuzzy feeling too”…The basic components of a story are:
Character + Conflict = StoryWithout struggle, there is no success, and the value lies in the how.
A reminder: ‘there is never a single story’.
Businesses are made up of many tiny stories – as well as your overall ‘why’. They’ll change, evolve, grow and be added to as your business, and you, develop.
Your story is never fully told, embrace it, love it and share it with pride!
Stuck with your story? Tell it in your own words with my help – Talk to me! Book in for a FREE Skype consultation HERE
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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. I only send a newsletter monthly so I won’t spam you, I promise!If you enjoy my blogs, buy me a coffee to say thanks. Donate to my ‘Coffee Kitty’ here (£2.50 / $3 will get me a cappuccino). Thank you
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February 6, 2017
Busy Badge of Honour – The Scourge of Busy
Do you wear your busy-ness like a badge of honour?
Many years ago, in another life, I was an HR Administrator for a busy manufacturing firm in south Somerset.
The factory staff worked shifts but the office staff worked regular office hours. Rather than 9-5, we worked longer hours Monday to Thursday so we could close early on a Friday. Most working days were already longer than average, we started at 8 am and finished at 5.30 pm.
One senior manager was usually the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night.
The trouble is, he expected his team to as well.
Basically, because he lived to work he expected others to do the same.
The business relocated to new premises; this manager was suddenly in an open planned office with the rest of us. When the clock hit 5:30 pm, everyone was out of the door and on a Friday, we were usually in the local pub by lunchtime.
As the daily mass exodus commenced, he’d sit there, narrow-eyed, scowling at everyone from his desk.
He’d never wish anyone a good evening, he’d just sit there, angrily tapping at his keyboard, muttering under his breath.
His muttering got more and more vocal and I found the courage to stand up to him.
He made some sarcastic remark, “What is this, an early night?” at a couple of the ladies in the admin team.
I responded: “Michael, we earn half the salary you do, so why should we work beyond our contracted hours? Don’t you have a home to go to? Your contracted hours are 5:30 pm too you know. If you’re too busy to manage your workload in those hours, ask for help.”
(Names have been changed to protect the guilty)
Funnily enough, he never grumbled in front of me after that; in fact, he went out of his way to be nice to me!
The Scourge of Busy SicknessI’m sharing this, as it’s a perfect example of the ‘guilt based busy sickness’ that infects the way we work in the UK.
The idea that, to be taken seriously, you must give your life to your employer. Your job IS your life.
Laying on the guilt…How dare you take unreasonable liberties such as only working your contracted hours?
What’s wrong with you?
You’re so lazy?
Where’s your ambition?
I’m your boss, I pay you slightly more than minimum wage, therefore you should be grateful and sell your soul to me!
When you become your own boss…So many of us become self-employed because we’re sick of working for unreasonable bosses.
Perhaps you woke up to such tyranny one day and said “enough is enough. I don’t need to take this anymore, I’ll find another way.”
Am I the only one sick of this Dickensian – wringing your flat cap in your hands worthlessly – ‘yes so, no sir, three bags full sir…’ – idea of what work should be?
After seven redundancy notices in five years (the seventh was my key to freedom!)I said to myself “I’ll never work for anyone else again.”
So, why do so many people become their own bosses and adopt the same approach to managing themselves?
Being made to feel small and worthless, or bullied into submission by passive aggressive tutting and judgy-judgy eyeball rolling, is our only experience of management!
Make time for lifeI was on the receiving end of something similar to this at a networking event recently. Remarking that I avoid evening and weekend business events because that’s my time. Networking is part of my job so why should I do it in my own time?
I was laughed at.
With a snort, someone said “self-employed and you want a life?” as if that was a completely alien concept. Work IS your life. Busy is good (whether you’re paid or not). Aspiring to have a life beyond my job is a form of insanity. Somehow I’m not really a serious businessperson because I want some semblance of work-life balance.
Think about that for a moment…Now ask yourself: Are you being an unreasonable boss to yourself?
A reasonable boss will:
Set boundariesYour boundaries are those written into your employment contract, such as contracted working hours. If an employer expects you to step beyond those agreed boundaries they should compensate you accordingly – i.e. time off in lieu or overtime – That’s only reasonable and fair.
As you’re your own boss, you need to set your own boundaries. If you do step outside of those boundaries – i.e. spending the evening you should be spending with your family at an event – you need to compensate yourself for it. Either be making it pay for itself or by giving yourself the time off in lieu.
A fair day’s work for a fair day’s payIn employment, if you go to work you expect to be paid.
Just because you enjoy what you do doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be paid for it.
We do a lot of things for free in our businesses, it’s part of the deal, but only give your time for free if it has real benefits to your business.
Don’t be shy about asking to be paid for your time. And don’t forget to factor in all the ‘back office’ activities of your business into your pricing.
What are the costs financially, in time and energy of doing something and what are the benefits?
Test them against each other before you agree to work for free.
Download my easy ‘Cost vs Benefit’ cheat sheet HERE. Down timeThere are laws protecting the number of hours people can work and the amount of time off they are entitled to.
When you work for yourself, it’s up to you to plan your time, and that includes protecting time in your diary to take a break.
You may love what you do, you may feel invincible, but burning yourself out helps no one.
It doesn’t serve your customers, it doesn’t serve your friends and family, and it doesn’t serve you.
The law is there to protect people from exploitation by others. When you’re self-employed, make sure you don’t exploit yourself (because no one else will).
Work smarterIn employment, you can often get away with wasting time or not working efficiently. You quickly learn what you can ‘get away with’ in a job. We need those moments to keep us sane when our time is owned by someone else.
When you own your time, you don’t get paid for being inefficient, wasting time or procrastinating. Analyse the things you busy yourself with in your day and decide what you could do more efficiently, what you can stop doing altogether, and what you can get someone else to do so you can focus on the activities that do pay you.
The fabulous Master Fixer, Linda Davis-Carr said to me recently: “Do what you do best and outsource the rest”Of course, when you’re self-employed your life merges with your work.
You’re doing what you love, surely there’s no harm in it?
As it happens, my evenings and weekends end up being my writing time. I still struggle to remind myself that writing IS my job now! Writing doesn’t count as ‘down time’!
What do you struggle to fit into your business?
Talk to me about ways you can work smarter, not harder in your business and ditch that busy badge of honour.
Book your FREE 1/2 hour Skype consultation HERE 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. I only send a newsletter monthly so I won’t spam you, I promise!If you enjoy my blogs, buy me a coffee to say thanks. Donate to my ‘Coffee Kitty’ here (£2.50 / $3 will get me a cappuccino). Thank you
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The post Busy Badge of Honour – The Scourge of Busy appeared first on Amy Morse - Authorpreneur.
January 19, 2017
Business for Authors – A Book Review
Most entrepreneurs I know have shelves and shelves of business, self-help and motivational books.
Speak to any of us for long enough and we’ll share with you the books we recommend; books to inspire, books to motivate and we’ll even go as far as to tell you about books that have changed our lives…
The first book to change my life was The Bronze Box. It was the first commercial novel I published, back in 2013.
Publishing this book realised a dream I’d harboured since childhood of publishing a book. It became the catalyst for a whole a career shift that has brought me to where I am today.
It’s too soon to say if ‘Business for Authors, by Joanna Penn’ will be life changing, but it has certainly had an impact.
Like so many of my peers, I too have a bookcase filled with business volumes.
In 2017, I will read a minimum of 1 non-fiction book a quarter as part of my business and self-development.
From the first page, ‘Business for Authors’, made me smile and filled me with a renewed sense of confidence and conviction. I could have written it myself!
Everything Joanna talks about resonates with me on so many levels. I felt terribly self-indulgent luxuriating in its contents, like paper-based naval gazing!
Separated into intuitive chapters, this book is an invaluable resource for authors on that journey through publication, to building a business around your books. In many ways, Joanna offers the same tips I give to clients every day, so it’s great to have this validated by an author with such success and authority.
With books like this, I recommend having a notebook at hand, or get the paperback version and annotate it (if you can bring yourself to deface it) and reference the lessons within.
Here are my three top takeaways from this book:
1) Build a team around me
I already have a team of fellow entrepreneurs that support me with the business, but less so for the books.
2) Make time to show up and write regularly
I’ve been so wrapped up in my consultancy work, throughout 2016; building systems, contacts, networks and processes to grow and sustain, I’ve neglected my ‘asset production’ (i.e.: writing books!). I need to remind myself that writing fiction as Amy C Fitzjohn is part of my job now, I don’t have to apologise or justify my writing time.
3) Keep going – it’s a marathan, not a sprint
Writing as a business is a long-term career and one that will sustain me to the grave. I must continue to write and release books regularly, the more assets I have the more income I’ll generate and I don’t want to leave my readers wanting – I love my readers, and I’m grateful every day to them for being part of my world!
If I ever doubt the path I’m on, I’ll re-read this beauty to get me back on track.
Which books have changed your life?
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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. I only send a newsletter monthly so I won’t spam you, I promise!If you enjoy my blogs, buy me a coffee to say thanks. Donate to my ‘Coffee Kitty’ here (£2.50 / $3 will get me a cappuccino). Thank you
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