Writer’s block comes in many flavours. When you’re faced with a blank screen, there’s your basic vanilla procrastination.The ‘I’ll just do this first’, or ‘I need another cup of tea before I start.’

Anyone who’s ever transcribed a real life conversation knows that they rarely read well on paper. They’re often rambling or repetitive or incoherent. And the thing about real life conversations is that there’s more than one person talking. What we mean by conversational writing is a cleaned up and one-sided version of a real life conversation. Writing that feels direct and warm and chatty, with the reader playing the part of the other half of the conversation.

From initial idea to sharing your work, there are seven stages to the writing process. They each require different skills, a different energy, or just a different focus. You might find that some are better suited to different times of day, or even just a different mood. If you can give yourself the time and space to do it, there’s joy to be had at every stage.

How do you keep writing when it feels too hard? The pandemic, the sickness, the tiredness, the ‘when will it bloody end?’ When you try to concentrate but you can’t. Where you used to have ideas but you just feel empty. Tips to help you write when you’re worried.

The most important line in your newsletter is the email subject line. It should include a strong benefit, ask a relevant question, or spark curiosity. Clearly mine had done the job and intrigued him enough to open it. Great! But then I’d lost him for good. Not good.

I wish I’d known that you can’t build a serious amount of writing into your business without redesigning your working life.

Some people achieve freelance, some have freelance thrust upon them.

It wasn’t my decision to work for myself. The decision was made for me when my friend and business partner Sonja called time and went to take up a Head Office role in a big building society.

Writing a first draft can feel like climbing a mountain. It’s strenuous work. Sometimes just putting one word in front of another feels hard, and you resist getting on with it. You have to push through to the finish, and it’s only when you get to the top that you can see how far you’ve come. But what next? Here’s how to turn a messy first draft into lovable copy.

We all want to be remembered and recommended. The best leads come via our contacts, because the ground work is already done; you’ll already have been talked up, so there’s less explaining to do. Your website can be a brilliant referrer too. Here’s how to make yourself memorable.

It’s my birthday and I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learnt about business and about writing, to remind me how far I’ve come. And I’ve written down some of the lessons I keep learning over and over again, to remind myself to keep at it. Some of them might resonate with you. I’d love to know which ones.

Knowing your ‘why’ has become the holy grail of marketing. But for a solo business owner, or a micro business, capturing the ‘why’ can become a stumbling block. Here’s how to overcome it.

What do you do when the words don’t flow? When you can’t keep the goal in sight, you get lost in the document and it’s all an exhausting and frustrating muddle?

Whether it’s due to stress, tiredness, or illness, for most of us there are times when writing doesn’t come easily. So how can you write when you’re not feeling your best?

We worry that no one’s going to want to read what we’ve written. And we worry that if our writing lacks personality, that people will think we’re boring too. It’s a horrible confidence sapping feeling. Here’s how to improve your writing.

Goal setting in business is powerful but the details of those goals are often confined to spreadsheets. And I find it hard to get motivated by numbers on a spreadsheet. So here’s an exercise that combines goal setting with creative writing. It will help you uncover what you really want to achieve, and can help you chart a way to make it happen.

Even if you’re committed to the idea of creating content to build your business, when it comes to actually doing it, writing can feel like a huge chore. We find all kinds of excuses to avoid it. Whether it’s no ideas or no time, or something else entirely, it’s really easy to find a hundred reasons not to write. Here’s how to make content creation easier and more enjoyable.

Developing your own writing rhythm is one of the very best things you can do to ensure that you create the content your business needs. Here’s how I created mine (plus some ideas you can borrow for yours).

If you’re just setting out on your content marketing journey, these tips will get you off on the right foot, and help you avoid some of the key pitfalls that can scupper your success. If you’ve been on the journey for a while it’s good reminder of the principles underlying the valuable content approach.

Just like devouring a bag of salty crunchy crisps, or savouring a bowl of smooth vanilla ice cream, sometimes writing is so delicious, that you can’t help yourself going back for more.

How do you make your writing tastier so that people keep on reading?

The idea of a work-life balance is hard to fathom when you’re running your own business. Especially, if it’s a solo business, and you are it. Tips to make you stronger and lift your spirits.

We might wrap it up as a lack of time, or a lack of direction, or lack of need, but not marketing often boils down to the same thing - the fear of being seen. It’s a mindset thing. Marketing is the way you build a bridge to the business you want to run. Here’s another way of looking at it.