Month: August 2025

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What does your marketing voice sound like?

Image shows a women with dark curly hair and blue eyes hiding the rest of her face behind books. She's thinking about her marketing voice.

What does your marketing voice sound like? It might be a bit like your mum’s phone voice when you were a kid. You knew she was talking to someone important if her voice edged towards Lady Bracknell. The way you speak probably changes for different audiences, but how does it work when you’re writing for potential customers? If you’re a one-person business, sharing your personality helps you build a connection with your audience that makes it more likely they’ll buy or work with you long term.

Of course, there are a lot of factors that influence the voice you use in your marketing. In no particular order, here are my tips to help you think about what you want your marketing voice to sound like.

You are your business

When you’re a one-person business, you set the tone in terms of how you work and treat people. As customers, we make buying decisions based on our values and whether we see them reflected in the businesses we choose. Your marketing should show people what you stand for and how you work, which can also help you attract the right people. For example, I talk about structuring my working hours around family life, which means I often attract business owners with children because they know we work in the same way.

If your work involves meeting or talking to clients, ensuring your marketing voice matches the way you speak in person gives them a seamless experience. Equally, if someone meets you at a networking event and then looks you up online, they’ll feel as if they’re talking to the same person.

How professional do you need to sound?

Your profession might create expectations about the way you come across in your marketing. If you’re a financial adviser or lawyer, your clients will expect you to take their work seriously. However, they might also worry that you’ll use technical language they won’t understand, and want reassurance that you’ll communicate clearly. Your marketing voice can find the balance between the two, demonstrating your knowledge while also being approachable and friendly. Using informal language in some contexts doesn’t mean you’re unprofessional.

What experience do you offer?

Your marketing voice and writing style need to evoke the kind of experience your customers can expect when they come to you. You could write in a reassuring way, especially if you help with something that could be causing your customer stress. Think about the experience you offer. Is it calming, exciting or entertaining? How do you want your customers to feel when they work with you? The way you write can evoke those emotions and help people understand what to expect before they decide to buy from you.

Who are you talking to?

Getting to know your audience helps you understand what they need, which is one of the foundations of good marketing. It also helps you write by allowing you to imagine having a conversation with a potential customer.

When you write, think about who the post is for and what you want to achieve, then tailor your marketing voice to the person you’re speaking to. It’s a lot better than trying to talk to everyone, as you end up speaking to no one.

What’s already working?

If you’ve already been writing content for a while but haven’t looked at your analytics, start now. Reviewing what’s working helps you understand the type of posts your readers enjoy and which ones help you get results. Review your social media and blog posts to see what gets good engagement or prompts people to buy a product or book a call.

Taking this approach can help you plan what posts to create, but it can also help you work out what language people prefer. Think about whether your more successful posts use a particular marketing voice so you can replicate it in future content.

Ready for a chat?

If you’d like some help finding your marketing voice, let’s have a chat. When you work with me, I’ll get to know you and your business, and write content that sounds like the best version of you and that your audience will love. That could be monthly blog posts or articles, social media posts, emails or pretty much anything else you can think of!

Please email me to arrange a chat or book a Zoom call to find out more.

Alternatively, sign up for my mailing list, and I’ll send you a free copy of my eBook with fifty (yes, 50) topic ideas for your marketing as a thank you. It also includes hints and tips to help you structure your posts if you’re currently writing your content yourself.

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Planning your marketing when you’ve no time and too many ideas

Guest blog by Ciaran Davison at Davison & Brain Digital Ltd talking about marketing when you've no time.

Guest post by Ciaran Davison, Davison & Brain Digital Ltd

Let’s skip the preamble: you know marketing matters, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.

The challenge isn’t motivation for most small business owners, it’s too many ideas and a massive lack of bandwidth. You have a creative brain bursting with brilliant ideas and a to-do list that could crush a small horse. If you have a marketing plan at all, it’s probably buried under drifts of client notes, half-written blog posts, and last month’s receipts.

So how do you keep your marketing on track without falling into the trap of overthinking, overcommitting, or quietly resenting the whole thing? Here are a handful of simple strategies to plan your marketing when you’ve no time and a gazillion ideas.

Make a decision, choose a direction, and crack on

Does your business need a five-part funnel, a 12-month roadmap, or another idea? Probably not. All you really need is a decision and a direction.

Let’s make this easy; start by picking one simple goal. Make a cuppa, take a breath, and reflect on what’s most important to your business right now. Don’t overthink it, if you’re overwhelmed with priorities, pick one of these (only one, don’t be greedy!):

  • More leads
  • More visibility
  • More trust
  • More sales

Next you need a direction, so ask yourself: “What’s the simplest way I can move forward with the time I’ve actually got?”

If your answer involves a colour-coded vision board, a spreadsheet, and three new platforms, you’re definitely overcomplicating! Find the straightest, smoothest path and take that first step.

Stop trying to be everything everywhere all at once

Give yourself a break. You can’t be on Instagram, write a blog, send weekly emails, post daily on LinkedIn, and still have a life. And that’s completely fine. The idea that you should be everywhere is utter nonsense.

What’s more, your customers aren’t necessarily everywhere either. So, pick one or two places where you know for a fact that your ideal clients hang out and meet them there.

Finally, work to your strengths. How do you naturally communicate? Always start by using the format that comes easiest. Write if you write. Talk if you talk. Show up consistently and say something useful. That’s it.

Reuse, repurpose, recycle

If you’ve been in business longer than six months, you’ve already said something worth repeating. Don’t be giving me that look! Yes you have.

The internet is a flighty beast with the attention span of a forgetful gnat. No one remembers your blog post from last May, but that doesn’t mean your content isn’t still useful and relevant.

So go back. Dig out the good stuff. Update it. Reshare it. Say it again, better. Turn it into a caption. Or a tip. Or a short video. Don’t create from scratch every single time… unless you want to and have time to spare and a full marketing team to support you and an endless budget. No? Then reuse, repurpose, recycle.

Build a rhythm, not a calendar

You honestly don’t need a minutely detailed content marketing plan. A rhythm that helps you think less and post more is going to get your marketing wheels rolling much faster and with far less stress.

Here’s one simple content framework that works:

  • Monday: something helpful and informative
  • Wednesday: something about what you offer (yes, it’s a sales post, get over it!)
  • Friday: something real and human that connects you to your audience (a win, a learning, a behind-the-scenes glimpse)

If that all feels too prescriptive for you, ignore it. The point is to reduce decision-making and build your marketing muscle memory. Marketing shouldn’t be a daily puzzle.

Published not perfect

Perfectionism is brilliant for legal contracts and brain surgery. It’s rubbish for marketing. You’re not editing Vogue. You’re a person running a small business. Your audience wants clarity, integrity, and relevance, not flawless graphics and poetic captions.

Write something useful. Hit publish. Move on.

Need a second brain on your marketing?

If the thought of marketing your business just makes you feel tired, let’s talk. At Davison & Brain Digital, we help small business owners turn brainfuzz into a clear plan. No jargon. No nonsense. Just thoughtful digital strategy that fits you and the way you actually work.

Visit davisonbrain.com and get marketing off your maybe pile.

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5 ways to reduce your content writing load

Image shows a woman with a panicked look on her face, who clearly wants to reduce her content writing load.

Have you ever felt as if there isn’t enough time to write all your marketing content? You might have lots to say or spend more time writing than you realistically have to spare if you want to get any work done. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are my top five tips to help you reduce your content writing load.

Outsource

If you’ve got lots of ideas but lack the time or energy to turn them into marketing posts, think about what you could outsource. I spend time with my clients listening to their ideas and how they describe their work, then go away and turn it into content. A graphic designer can give you templates to make creating visuals easier, and a VA can create images and schedule your posts and emails for you. Think about the tasks you want to keep up with but would rather not do yourself, and use your network to find people who can help.

Reuse old content

If you’ve been in business for a while, you’ll probably have a reasonable amount of content you’ve created along the way. Newer followers may never have seen it, while others might need a reminder. Review your old content to see what’s still relevant, give it a polish and share it again. You can also update anything that’s changed, for example, if you’d give different advice now or if there’s been a change in the law. Repurposing it by turning it into different formats also helps it go further.

Automate as much as you can

Automation means you can create something once and leave it to do its thing. It’s particularly useful for welcome emails that greet new subscribers to your list. You can set up an automatic sequence that thanks them for signing up, lets them know what to expect, and shares information about your business, as well as some valuable resources. One of my favourite copywriters, Laura Belgray, compares it to ensuring every new guest at a party gets the same experience, no matter how busy you are when they arrive.

Batch create your content

Batch creating your content means you can write everything at once when you’re in the right frame of mind. I’ve blocked out content creation time in my calendar each month and spend a day or two writing everything. It helps me plan and lets me get into a rhythm. Switching between different tasks affects your productivity and focus, so if you’re currently trying to write a post every day and struggling to write something you’re happy with, try batch creating instead.

Share testimonials

Testimonials are great for marketing as they show potential customers how happy the current ones are. They also save you time because someone else has written most of the words for you. You only need to put them in a suitable format (and you can outsource this if you prefer). It’s a good idea to write a quick introduction reflecting on your work with the client or how their comments make you feel, but it’s a lot less time-consuming than writing a whole new post yourself.

Ready for a chat?

If you’re ready to outsource your content writing, let’s have a chat. When you work with me, I’ll get to know you and your business, and write content that sounds like the best version of you and that your audience will love. That could be monthly blog posts or articles, social media posts, emails or pretty much anything else you can think of!

Please email me to arrange a chat or book a Zoom call to find out more.

Alternatively, sign up for my mailing list, and I’ll send you a free copy of my eBook with fifty (yes, 50) topic ideas for your marketing as a thank you. It also includes hints and tips to help you structure your posts if you’re currently writing your content yourself.

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Have you ever got bored of marketing?

Image shows a woman lying on a sofa with her eyes closed and a book in her hand. It's how I look when I'm bored of marketing.

There are times when I can’t be bothered with my marketing. There might be other things going on, like the school holidays, when I’d rather spend time with my kids. Sometimes I feel as if I’ve said it all, and writing anything new feels like a tick-box exercise with content that will put everyone to sleep. If you’ve ever got bored of marketing too, there is hope. Here are my tips to help you keep going.

What’s the minimum?

Even if you’re bored of marketing, you need to keep going so people know you still exist. The key is to focus your effort on the platforms that will have the most impact. If you’re exhausted from scheduling on lots of channels, cut it down. Where can you best showcase your skills, and where will you find the people who are most likely to need what you offer? For me, it’s my blog, emails and LinkedIn, so I’m focusing on those at the moment. Don’t stress yourself out with work that won’t help you in the long run.

Do you sound like yourself?

Marketing that sounds like you helps you engage with your ideal customers. You might find that trying to use your voice in your marketing brings on an attack of imposter syndrome. If it does, remind yourself that your customers choose to work with you because of the relationship you’ve built. Also, trying to sound like someone else is tiring, so if you’re bored of marketing, that could be the reason. Take time to reflect and find your voice. If it helps, try talking to yourself and recording it instead of sitting down in front of a blank screen.

Lower the frequency

There’s loads of guidance out there with recommendations about how often you should post on social media to grow your business. I’m not a social media specialist, so I’m not going to add to that, save to say this. The frequency that works for you is the one you can maintain. If you’re fed up or exhausted, cut down the number of times you post or get some help. Check your analytics to see what’s working and adjust your approach as you go.

Repurpose everything

Constantly writing new stuff can get tiring pretty quickly, and your followers will only see a fraction of it anyway. Create one thing and reuse it in multiple ways so you’re not constantly reinventing the wheel. You might get déjà vu doing this, so keep a record of how you’re reusing your content to keep track.  Try breaking your blog posts down into social media posts, use them as inspiration for Reels and videos and tweak them to send out as emails.

Remind yourself why you do this

I’ve been reading ‘Start with Why’ by Simon Sinek, which emphasises that people care why you do what you do more than anything else. Taking some time out to reflect on why you started your business and how you can share that with your audience will give you renewed enthusiasm for your marketing.

This approach is especially useful if you’ve been juggling, so you can take time off.  Use your break to give your brain time to reset. If you’re going on holiday or spending time with your family during the school holidays, be honest. I used to believe clients would think less of me, or that I wasn’t serious, because I’ve tailored my business to work around my family. Guess what? The ones I actually want to work with don’t because they take the same approach.

Ready for a chat?

If you’re utterly bored of marketing and would rather hand the writing over to someone else,  let’s have a chat. When you work with me, I’ll get to know you and your business and write content that sounds like the best version of you and that your audience will love. That could be monthly blog posts or articles, social media posts, emails or pretty much anything else you can think of!

Email me to arrange a chat or book a Zoom call to find out more.

Alternatively, sign up for my mailing list, and I’ll send you a free copy of my eBook with fifty (yes, 50) topic ideas for your marketing as a thank you. It also includes hints and tips to help you structure your posts if you’re currently writing your content yourself.