Tag: content strategy

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The building blocks of your Christmas marketing plan

Do you have a Christmas marketing plan yet?

Creating your Christmas marketing plan as early as possible is a good idea, but where do you start? Your festive marketing will work best if it’s consistent with your existing brand, but you may also need to make a few changes. Here’s my guide to the building blocks of your Christmas marketing plan.

Who are you talking to?

Whenever you create new marketing, the people you want to talk to must be at the front of your mind. What do they want or need, and how do you help them? This can shift at Christmas, especially if you sell gifts. Think about how you can attract someone looking for a present for your ideal customer and how you’d describe them.

What does your audience need at Christmas?

It’s fair to say that people get a bit stressed at Christmas. (OK, understatement of the century.) What does that look like for your customers? Are they freaking out because they’ve got their extended family descending and have no idea what to cook for a vegan, or are they doing Christmas shopping between the office party and endless school events? Address their Christmas-specific concerns, and you’ll be onto a winner.

What can you offer existing customers?

If you deliver excellent service at Christmas, you’ll have fans for life. Ask yourself what you can offer your existing customers to thank them for their business during the year. For example, you could offer a discount or free delivery if you sell gifts. If you don’t, consider sending your regular clients a Christmas card or present.

How can you attract new customers before things get busy?

If you want to increase your sales during the golden quarter, consider ways to attract new followers to your business before your Christmas marketing starts in earnest. A lead magnet with valuable hints and tips can be simple to create and encourages people to sign up for your marketing emails.

What products are you focusing on?

When you sell conventional Christmas gifts, you’ll probably focus on your best sellers. However, what if you offer alternative gifts or ways to make Christmas more special, such as a Christmas mini photoshoot to get cute pictures of your kids? It’s a good idea to think laterally. For example, a recipe book or meal kits could be ideal if people are feeding a crowd or want something easy to eat in that netherworld between Christmas and New Year.

What if Christmas isn’t about sales?

Christmas might be the golden quarter for many businesses, but it can be quiet for the rest of us. Your Christmas marketing can help to raise awareness of your business so people get in touch in the new year. For example, I once wrote a blog for a bathroom designer offering advice on sharing your facilities with guests over Christmas, including tips on adding an extra shower room in a small space!

Think about content types and platforms

Adding new social media platforms or marketing channels at Christmas creates a risk of spreading yourself too thin without reaching a new audience. Instead, focus on the platforms and content types that work all year round, but do more of them. Thinking of ways to repurpose your content can help with this.

Make sure you have any new branding across platforms

Christmas branding can make your leaflets, emails, and social media feeds more festive and draw your audience’s attention. It’s vital to keep elements of your existing brand and keep it consistent across all your platforms so your followers will still recognise you.

If your Christmas plan involves creating a lot of new marketing content, I can help. I’ll write blogs, emails and product descriptions and repurpose them to make your content go further. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

Alternatively if you want some Christmas content inspiration to help you create your own festive marketing campaign, sign up for my email list here. You’ll receive a copy of my eBook ‘Christmas content ideas to fire your imagination’ as a thank you from me, and you can unsubscribe whenever you like!

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How you can reuse old marketing content

Reuse old marketing content

Batch-creating content is one of the easiest ways of creating consistent marketing content when you’re busy, but it’s not the only way. If you’ve been marketing your business for a while, you might think you’ve covered every possible subject. You could be right, but there’s always a new way to address the same topic. Here’s how to reuse old marketing content and give it a fresh spin.

Choose the right content

Sometimes, you write a blog post or share something on social media, and it strikes a chord, while other things fall flat—understanding which is which can help you decide which posts to use again. When you reuse old content, make sure it’s something that worked well the first time around. Alternatively, choose an evergreen topic that won’t date.

Look at your social media statistics or Google Analytics to work out what went well.

Share something again

Reusing content can sometimes be as simple as sharing it again. If a topic is still relevant and the advice you’d give hasn’t changed, there’s no harm in reposting it. Newer followers won’t have seen it, and it can be a helpful reminder of key principles for people who’ve been with you for a while.

Think carefully about timing so your content doesn’t get repetitive. I’d recommend waiting at least six months, possibly longer, before sharing something again.

Update an old blog post

You might have a post where the subject is still relevant, but some of the information you want to share has been updated. You can reuse old content by tweaking it instead of writing a new post.

For example, a post on financial planning might have the same core advice, but you need to update it to reflect that some of the tax rules have changed.

Reuse the idea

Reviewing your old content can reveal old posts where the topic is still relevant but where you’d give completely different advice. For example, there may have been a change in the law, new research or advances in your industry, or you’ve got more experience to share.

You’ll need to write a new post, so it isn’t a quick fix when you’re short on time. However, it’s great for SEO, showing Google that your content is still relevant.

Go in-depth on a subheading

This is an easy way to come up with a new topic, but you’ll still have to find time to write a new blog post. If you’ve written a general overview of a subject, pick one of the subheadings and write a more in-depth piece.

For example, if you’ve written a post about healthy eating, you might have a paragraph on eating your five a day. That could turn into a post about the health benefits or tips on ways to eat more vegetables.

Change the format

I’ve talked about ways to make your content go further before, and there are loads of ways to do it. You can reuse old content by changing the format. That could mean breaking down a blog post, sharing the same content in a video or turning a series of blog posts into an eBook.

You can also share old content on a new platform that you want to try out.

Do you want to stop creating your own marketing content? I can help create posts that make your content go further. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with helpful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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Where will you find new people to grow your audience?

Marketing has two main goals. The first is to let potential customers know you exist, and the second is to show them how you help them (and that they can trust you) so they become customers. Of course, you need to grow your audience to achieve the first goal, but how do you do that? Where will you find all these new people who haven’t heard about you yet?

Here are a few of mine. If you have some of your own, let me know in the comments!

Your website

Your website can help you to grow your audience in loads of different ways. A good SEO strategy will help them find you on Google and learn about you or buy products from the comfort of their sofa. You can have a contact form so they can get in touch with you quickly or encourage them to sign up for your email list. Even if you aren’t ready to get into SEO, a website can act as a brochure where people who’ve found you elsewhere can check you out.

Social media

This is probably the first thing you think about when you’re trying to grow your audience. Social media can help you to reach people you might never meet in real life or someone who’s just up the road but hasn’t heard of you yet. This could happen because your existing followers share your posts or because each platform shows you new things that it thinks you’ll like.

You must think about what your audience needs, what platforms they spend time on and the content they’ll enjoy.

Networking

The idea of networking can strike fear into the heart of a new business owner, but it doesn’t have to be scary. It can give you a supportive community and new customers if you find the right group. Groups can vary immensely in their approach, so try out a few and see what you think.

The main disadvantage of networking is that it can be pretty time-consuming, but it can also be the fastest way to build a relationship. It can also have other benefits…

Referrals

Your network isn’t just the people you know; it’s also the people who know you. For example, you only have to dip into a community Facebook group to find someone looking for recommendations for a plumber or somewhere to get their nails done.

You could get a referral from an existing client or someone you met networking. That person you spoke to over coffee or in a Facebook group might not need your services but could end up chatting with someone who does.

The real world

How would you find new customers if every social media platform suddenly ceased to exist? I know that isn’t likely to happen, but I’ve seen plenty of people get hacked or banned and lose their business page. The reality is that you’d look to the real world. That could simply be networking or referrals. It could be making your shop front look inviting, so people walk in. Think about where your potential customers spend time offline, and you can expand your marketing horizons.

Do you want to grow your audience by creating content that speaks your customers’ language? I can help with that. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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What you need to know about your audiences’ lives

Here I am, getting to know about my audiences' lives.
Image by Julie Grant Photography

Understanding what your future customers need is an essential first step in creating effective marketing, but you guessed it, there’s more to it than that. Any marketing you create has to compete with umpteen other things. First, you need to learn about your audiences’ lives to understand what they are. Then you can talk to them like a human being, not just another faceless business.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

What will stop them from buying?

Overcoming buyer objections doesn’t mean you have to be a pushy salesperson. It just means that your marketing needs to answer the questions they already have. That could be explaining what you do and how you work, being clear about costs and answering as many potential questions as possible. Sometimes new customers need to do their research before they feel ready to decide.

What demands do they have on their time?

Understanding your audiences’ lives means knowing what they deal with every day. Do they work all day, then come home to cook the kids’ tea and get them to bed before they can sit down? Do they look at social media when they’re still half asleep in the morning? When might they get a minute to themselves? When you know that you can create content that they’ll enjoy and time your posts so your audience will see them.

Where do they spend their time?

It’s easy to focus on social media and which platforms your audience will use. That’s an integral part of your marketing but think about the real world too. For example, if you offer activities for kids or postnatal yoga, consider where the baby groups meet and whether they have a notice board. A co-working space could have room for leaflets that other businesses will see.

What do they value?

It can get disheartening when there’s a cost-of-living crisis, and everyone you know is talking about being skint. What’s the point in marketing when no one’s buying? The truth is that people will still spend money on the things they value. Ask yourself what’s important to your audience and how your product or service ties in with that, and then tell people about it.

What stage of life are they at?

Sometimes the things your audience value most relate to where they are in their lives. A student or someone looking for their first job has very different priorities from a newly retired person. Even if you sell to parents, their needs will change depending on whether they have a newborn or a teenager. That will influence what they care about and how you need to talk to them.

What do they expect from you?

My expectations of a business vary depending on who they are. If I buy from a small business that sells handmade goods, I don’t expect next-day delivery like I would from Amazon. Likewise, the level of professionalism your customers expect might change depending on the type of business they’re looking for. You can influence their expectations through the language you use in your marketing. This works incredibly well if you work in an industry with a stuffy reputation, like law or finance, and want to turn that on its head.

Do you want to create content that reflects your audiences’ lives and speaks your customers’ language? I can help with that. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.

You can also sign up to receive monthly emails packed with useful content writing and marketing tips using the form below.

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4 easy steps to help you plan your marketing for 2022

A planner that will help you plan your marketing for 2022.
Photo by Bich Tran from Pexels

When the Christmas scramble is over it’s time to turn your attention to a shiny new year. (If you’re really organised the best time to plan for the new year is before your Christmas marketing even starts.) If you plan your marketing on the hoof and never feel as if you’re quite on top of it, I’m here to help. Here are my 4 easy steps to help you plan your marketing for 2022.

Map your services to subject areas

This might sound like I’m stating the bleeding obvious, but your content needs to talk about stuff you want to sell. The key is to cover relevant topics in a way that shows your expertise but also lets your customers know that you understand them. You can keep things really broad at this stage and come up with general subject areas. For me, this part of the plan includes blogging, website copy and content marketing. Once you’ve come up with those, start to think about the challenges that your customers face that you can help with. Shifting your focus to the things that your audience care about will help you to come up with topics. Which brings me to…

Break the big ideas down into smaller topics

Within every big subject area there will be loads of smaller subjects. If you’re a beauty therapist one of your key areas might be skincare. Your audience will have different needs depending on their skin type, individual problems or even the time of year. Break them all down into the smallest topics you can think of. If you’re writing content for December your customers might be looking for Christmas gift ideas, ways to protect their skin in the colder weather or how to look after their skin during Christmas party season when they’re wearing make up more often. The narrower your topic, the more likely it is to be useful to your audience.

Choose a monthly focus

Marketing is pointless if it isn’t consistent. (You’ve probably heard me say that before.) We learn by repetition and studies suggest that someone needs to see your message at least 7 times before it sinks in. When you choose a monthly focus for your marketing it means that every piece of content sends the same core message. Even if your followers don’t see everything you share, the message sinks in and they understand what you offer. It also makes it easier for you to plan your marketing each month because everything comes back to the same central focus. It also means that you can use my next tip much more easily.

Repurpose your blog

A blog is a wonderful piece of content because it’s endlessly reusable. You can take each blog post and break it down into individual tips to share on social media. You can use each tip more than once, creating different types of content. That could include image posts, stories, Reels or other kinds of video just for starters. Look at your analytics to work out what your audience likes and try out new things to see what reaction you get. It saves you time because you don’t have to constantly plan new marketing content or write new words for each individual post. Don’t worry about repeating yourself because no-one sees everything you share.

Would you like to create a new marketing plan and brand-new content? I can help with that. Just click here to book your no obligation chat.

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How you can start creating evergreen content

Creating evergreen content means making something worth reading.
Image by Suzy Hazelwood via Pexels

It’s all very well knowing that you want to include evergreen content in your marketing. (If you don’t know what evergreen content is or why you’d need it, start here.) The real question is, how do you start creating it? Read on for five quick ways to help you get started.

Know your audience

When you start creating evergreen content, it’s important that you know who you’re writing for. The normal rules of getting to know your audience apply, but when you’re creating evergreen content, you need to go a bit further. Identify the beginners in your audience and what they need to know. Experts will look for the latest news and updates and that’s not what evergreen content is about. Write for the newbies and you’ll be heading in the right direction.

Keep sharing

Evergreen content is great for SEO because it’ll turn up in Google searches for ages after you wrote it. That doesn’t mean you can ignore it completely (sorry). Give it a little boost every so often by resharing it on your social media platforms. You could also include this kind of content in a welcome sequence for new email subscribers. It can work as an introduction to your area of expertise and will help new subscribers understand the work you do.

Creating evergreen content: format ideas

There are a few kinds of content that lend themselves really well to this. If there’s a topic that most of your audience want to know about or questions that you answer all the time, start there. Here are a few examples.

Frequently asked questions

If you already have a FAQ page on your website, you’re off to a flying start. If not, start thinking about the questions you get asked all the time when people first get in touch. These are the kinds of questions that they’ll be typing into Google as well. You can even improve your SEO by linking to these posts from your FAQ page so visitors can head there for a bit more detail.

How to guides

When it comes to creating evergreen content, these are a classic. They’re ideal if you do the kind of work that your audience might want to DIY to start with. My version of this is a series of blog posts that show you how to write your first blog post. (If you’d like the full series straight to your inbox you can sign up here.) Create a guide that walks your readers through a topic step by step and you’ll have created a resource that’s useful for both new and existing visitors.

What to expect

Most people don’t like trying new things. I know that sounds pessimistic, but it’s true. You might have loads of potential customers who aren’t booking because they’re scared what might happen if they do. The best thing that you can do is to talk about what they can expect when they contact you. What happens at the first consultation or after they fill in that contact form? This is different from an FAQ; people won’t ask because they’re worried about looking stupid. Put their fears to rest by telling them what to expect.

Are you ready to start creating evergreen content? I can help with that. Just click here to book your no obligation chat.

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Evergreen content: what is it (and why do you need it?)

Evergreen content blog header - with literal evergreens!
Photo by invisiblepower from Pexels

If you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘evergreen content’ you might have written it off as a bit of a buzzword. You might have heard it described as ‘cornerstone’ content in those SEO guides too. The thing is, if you haven’t got to grips with evergreen content yet, you’re missing out. It’s incredibly useful and could save you a heap of time. So what is it and why should you care? Read on…

Evergreen content stays relevant for longer

Evergreen content got its name because of its resemblance to evergreen trees. It might not look at home covered in fairy lights at Christmas, but it does last for ages. This kind of content doesn’t talk about current news, trends or even a particular season. They’re the sort of posts that your audience could find any time, for years to come, and they’ll still be helpful and relevant. It’s the difference between talking about panic buying petrol and how to maintain your car between services.

It’s great for SEO

Evergreen content is great for SEO because it covers the kind of topics that people search for time after time. You could write a blog post about how to soothe a screaming baby now and new parents might still be finding it in 2031. Posts about current affairs or new trends will get you website traffic in the short term (which is still a great thing). Evergreen posts will keep going for longer. Your figures might drop a bit, but they’ll keep going, quietly working away in the background to bring you new visitors.

It has wide appeal

The key thing about evergreen content is that it generally isn’t for experts. Someone who’s experienced in your field already knows the basics so will only be looking for updates. Evergreen posts work better for people who need a beginner’s guide to a topic. This is great for you because if you’re an expert working with non-experts, it’s an opportunity for you to share your knowledge. Your visitors might learn from you and do a DIY version, but they’ll still remember you as the expert who helped them when they’re ready to pay someone else.

Some examples of evergreen content

If you like the sound of this evergreen lark and you’re starting to think about topics, here are some ideas. In every industry there will be perennial subjects that never go away. Your audience could be interested in time management, parenting skills, how to write their first blog post or questions to ask a new supplier. When you come up with an idea, ask yourself whether anyone will care about this in five years’ time. If the answer’s no, you might still have a great idea for a post, but it probably won’t be evergreen.

Keep it updated

It’s tempting to think that once you’ve created your evergreen content you can just ignore it until the end of time. Sorry, but that’s not how it works. While the posts will definitely stay relevant for longer, it’s still worth checking in on them from time to time. Attitudes change and while your advice might be spot on for a few years, it won’t necessarily stay that way forever. A quick read through every year or so will tell you if anything needs updating to extend the life of your content.

Are you ready to start creating evergreen content? I can help with that. Just click here to book your no obligation chat.

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What can creating a blog do for your business?

The benefits of writing a business blog

When it comes to business marketing there’s always a lot of chat about blogging. Some people will tell you that writing a blog is pointless because no-one reads them anymore and others will tell you it’s essential. It won’t surprise you to hear that I recommend blogging to most people. (There are a few exceptions.) Writing a blog is only pointless if the customers you’re trying to talk to won’t read one. I’d be hard pushed to find an audience that would never read a blog. But when you’re a busy business owner who’s short on time, there might be better methods depending on who you’re trying to reach. There are lots of reasons why blogging is an effective marketing tool. Here are just a few of them.

It can bring you more website traffic

You might do most of your marketing on social media, but ultimately you want to attract people to your website. A link to your blog post is a great way to do that, mostly because it’s offering useful information and not just trying to sell something. When visitors arrive on your website you can engage their attention with more information about the ways you can help them. Social media is full of posts from their friends and other businesses which will all make them wander off and get distracted. That won’t happen on your website.

It helps you turn traffic into leads

Building a following can be incredibly difficult. Social media algorithms make it easy for your posts to disappear from followers’ newsfeeds if they don’t engage frequently. When you write a blog you can use it to encourage readers to stay in touch with you. That could be by including something as simple as a sign up form for your mailing list so you can email them. I know you still run the risk of vanishing into an overstuffed inbox but it’s still an improvement. If you talk about specific products or services you can also direct visitors to your shop or a contact form if they’re ready to talk.

Your blog can be evergreen

Unless you have followers who are in the habit of scrolling through all of your page content, social media posts have a fairly short shelf life. Of course, the advantage of this is that you can reuse old posts as long as they’re still relevant. The downside is that those posts aren’t going to show up when someone asks Google a question. With good SEO a blog on a topic that’s relevant to your audience could still be found in a search years from now. If there are key questions that your audience always ask, write a blog and it could keep bringing you a new audience in the future.

You can recycle your blog

I’ve talked about reusing your blog before but you can go beyond recycling it for social media. You can use it as a lead magnet (also known as a freebie) to encourage people to sign up for your mailing list. That could be a tips post that helps them achieve something, or even a list of your favourite resources. If you’ve got a series of posts that you can put together to make something more substantial, you could even turn it into a paid product. When you’ve put time and effort into creating a blog it’s worth considering what else you could use it for.

If you’re ready to start a business blog but would rather hand it over, I’m here to help. Click here to find out more about my blogging packages. If you’d rather just have a chat, you can book your no obligation discovery call here. Or, you could just sign up for writing and marketing tips straight to your inbox every month, using the form below.

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How you can use your blog to create more content

Create new content from your blog
Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels

Creating a blog can feel like a lot of hard work, especially if you spend hours on it and end up with something that feels a bit underwhelming. Paying someone else to do it for you can also seem like a lot of money for one piece of content a month. The good news is that your blog can go a lot further than that. Get into recycling and your blog could help you create a whole load of new marketing posts. Here’s how to get started.

Break it down

A good blog should have a few subheadings so you don’t end up with a chunk of text that your audience will struggle to read. Each subheading, or even each paragraph, could be a social media post on its’ own. You can post a section with an image or create a graphic with text on it. The copy might need editing a bit but it’s quicker than creating something from scratch. You can also add a link to your blog so more people find it.

This works really well if your blog is a series of tips (like this one). Write a blog with five tips and you’ve got five separate posts.

Create video content

I know that the idea of doing video causes a lot of you to have a wobble, but it doesn’t have to. There are ways to use video that don’t involve you being on screen. If you’ve already created images for individual paragraphs you can use them in a video. Just add some text if the image doesn’t already have it. I do this using Canva.com or try Ripl.com if you prefer a paid version.

If you’re up for doing a live or video with you in it, you can give a quick summary of your topic and send viewers to a link in the comments if they’d like to read more.

Use the theme as inspiration

Coming up with new things to say on social media can take up a ridiculous amount of time. Reusing your existing content will help, but you can also cut down on the thinking time by talking about your theme in different ways. You can share a motivational meme that’s relevant to your audience or choose a quote that gives a different perspective on the topic. Asking questions can be a great way to find out what your audience think, or what they struggle with. It can get people talking and give you insights that could help you to develop new products and services in the future.

Reuse your blog in your emails

You might think that your email subscribers will follow you on social media so will have seen all of your stuff already. Not necessarily. Nobody will see everything you post. Your subscribers have signed up because they’re interested in what you have to say so there’s nothing wrong with sending them something you think they’ll find useful. Just make sure you write something that’s just for them too. It’s also worth remembering that subscribers are more likely to buy from you than anyone else. Showing them content that shows them why a particular product or service is helpful means they’re more likely to become a customer.

Do you need help creating your blog or coming up with ways to reuse it to create more content? Book your discovery call now and we can have a chat. Alternatively, sign up to my email list for blogging and marketing tips straight to your inbox every month.

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Content marketing: what are you posting?

Content marketing

Content marketing can get overwhelming at the best of times. Even when you’ve got a clear idea of who your customer is and what kind of content they’ll like, there are still lots of decisions to be made. Your marketing could be a full time job, but you haven’t got time for that (even I haven’t). I’m a big believer in repurposing the content you’ve already created. It’s a bit like recycling except it won’t have any significant impact on climate change. Here’s how I approach getting as much use out of my content as I can.

Write a blog

Writing a blog can seem like a massive effort, particularly when you’re struggling with it. If you’ve ever sat down and tried to write a blog only to end up with something you’re not happy with, you’re not alone. However, it is worth persevering. (Or getting someone like me to write one for you.)

A blog is a big, chunky piece of content in comparison to virtually anything else you’ll create. You can take the topics you’ve chosen and use them to inspire other posts. You can even lift phrases straight out of your blog and use them on social media.

Sharing tips

One of the best things you can do in your blog is to share tips and advice with your audience. These will vary depending on what you’re talking about. For example, I write about reasons why you might want to blog and what the benefits are. I’ll also talk about ways to get started or come up with topics.

If you’ve written a blog with multiple tips, separate them and create images with one tip on each. You can share these on multiple platforms so they go further. You can also create videos – and no, you don’t have to be in them if you don’t want to! Facebook lives tend to get better reach than other types of video so I’d recommend doing some if you can. However, you don’t have to go face to face with the camera. You could just show your hands demonstrating a tip or use computer screen capture. I also create tip videos using images with overlaid text.

Motivational content

Unless you’re in the habit of writing motivational quotes or meme-worthy copy in your blog, this one will involve going off on a bit of a tangent. Take your blog topic and use it to search for related quotes. You don’t necessarily have to stick exactly to the topic if you find something that will resonate with your audience. For instance, I wrote a blog about finding time to blog and one of the quotes I found was this:

Not directly relevant to the topic, but certainly something that would get lots of us nodding our heads. You can use the same approach with memes, particularly if you search on Pinterest. I post a fair bit of stuff that isn’t directly related to writing but which I know my audience will enjoy. However, I often find this type of content when I’m just doing my own social media scrolling so don’t worry if the repurposing/search approach doesn’t work well for you here.

There’s also a different kind of motivation you can offer. Helping your audience to gain expertise (or realise that they know more than they thought) is really worthwhile. You can do this by sharing useful resources or by asking questions about their experiences. This helps them to share their knowledge and also helps you get to know them better.

Further resources

If you’d like some hints and tips on writing your blog, start here.

My favourite video capture tools:

Screencast-o-matic for screen capture videos.

Ripl to animate your images with overlaid text.