When you’re writing marketing copy, explaining an idea, or trying to persuade someone, “actually” seems like a harmless word. Until your listener hears you use it twice in one sentence. Here’s the thing: overusing “actually” can do more harm than good. While it might feel ... Keep reading... The post “Actually” Is Undermining Your Message appeared first on Work Better, Not Harder ..read more

In a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we do content marketing, small business owners stand at a crossroads. How do we harness this technology without losing the personal touch that defines our brands? And how do we continue to stand out as experts when everyone has AI at their fingertips? I’ve been both excited and dismayed at the impact and possibilities of AI on my life and business. It’s been a rollercoaster of love and hate, frustration and amazement. But I haven’t wanted to write about it on my blog because, well, it’s so BIG and I’m still experimenting and a lit ..read more

I used to do production scheduling for batches of bleach in a chemical plant. Well, lots more than bleach but that’s what I always smelled like after work according to my boyfriend at the time. Fast forward 30 years and the scheduling I do now is so much simpler. Back in the day, I used Lotus 123 spreadsheets; now I have fancy apps. I had to be concerned with raw material supply from multiple sources; now I just have to write the blog post. I used to have to communicate and coordinate with lots of different people every day; now I just “set and forget”. If you have evergreen content that you’r ..read more

Stolen from Ann Handley’s newsletter, when I saw this, I really did LOL. Credit image & Art Director: Julius Tuvenvall I’m not suggesting you buy a billboard but if you think people don’t sign up for newsletters anymore, you’d be wrong. Here are some reasons why people (including me and you) continue to sign up for newsletters: Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): It’s simple – we don’t want to miss out on the good stuff. Whether it’s the latest news, trends, or a flash sale, signing up for a newsletter keeps us in the loop. Exclusive Content: Everyone likes to feel special. Newsletters can offer ..read more

We can get so caught up in all the details of what we do that it’s often hard to see our businesses from the outside as customers and potential customers. It’s that “too much knowledge” thing. Our brains naturally fill in blanks to create a beautiful vision. But we don’t realize there are puzzle pieces missing for those that don’t live inside our brains ? It’s those big missing puzzle pieces we need to pay attention to. And that leads me to a discussion about features and benefits because it’s so very easy to confuse them. Let’s start with features since they are most definitely the easiest. F ..read more

It’s so easy to get distracted when doing our own marketing work. Even when we have a plan and the supporting processes in place, losing focus is a daily challenge. Recently while masterminding with a friend, we were reviewing an email automation that she’s been running for a few months. We were getting hung up on whether to shift a specific call-to-action to a different point in the sequence, repeat it, or… hmm. That’s when we realized we were tweaking without the end goal in mind. When I asked for a reminder of the specific goal for that automation, she told me it was to generate consulting ..read more

Since last fall, I’d been noticing unfavourable trends in open rates. It was disheartening because email has been my thing for so many years. Today I’m so (so so) happy to report that it’s not a real problem – people are still opening emails as much as they ever were. So what caused the drop in open rates across the industry? We have Apple to thank for that. After much public pressure about privacy, the new iOS was introduced last fall with a setting for ‘privacy blocking’. And a heads up… Google will be doing the same thing. Privacy blocking isn’t new. There have always been email apps which ..read more

Now that you’ve got a start with your first and second posts, let’s tackle a listicle (a list turned into an article). Grab a pen and notepad and we’ll get started. The “What You Need to Know” Article Listicles are my favourite blog posts to write because they don’t require too much deep thinking or creative editing. They can be short and fun, and it’s easy to start one and finish it later. STEP #1 You’re enjoying coffee with your ideal client (just pretend). There’s something about what you do that they just don’t get. You implore, “Here’s what you need to know about …………………” Now fill in the ..read more

Following on from Small Business Blogging: Your First Post, this time you’ll be thinking about the future of your business. In fact, you’re going to do a brainstorming exercise to help potential customers find you by internet search. (If you haven’t done the first post exercise, it’s a better place to start than here.) Are you going to draft this blog post as you read? Then grab a pen and paper. (If you like worksheets, you can print this one.) The “#1 Question” Article This post will serve you well in many ways, especially to get you thinking about search engine optimization. STEP #1 Think: I ..read more

A recent comment on Twitter reminded me again that each person has their own challenges when it comes to creating marketing content. But if you run a business, there’s always something to say. Ideation, like writing, gets easier with practice. But if you really don’t know what to say, you’re in the right place because I’m going to tell you. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been able to teach in person (no kidding!). But when I taught ‘Beginner Business Blogging’, part of the curriculum was to guide participants in creating their first blog posts… and I’ll share how to do that here on my ..read more