Blog

Welcome to my blog. Make yourself at home.

 

You’ll find ideas, inspiration and practical advice to help you use what you write to build a business that you love.

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mindset, writing Sharon Tanton mindset, writing Sharon Tanton

How to say ‘yes’ to writing, even when you don’t feel like it

Sometimes writing is easy. The ideas and the words just flow. You don’t even notice the time passing. Most of the time it feels like work. Eliminate distractions and get into a flow and it goes okay.

However sometimes it feels completely impossible. You have the time and the space, but you don’t have any ideas. Or motivation. Or anything.

This is for that time.

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mindset, writing, content marketing Sharon Tanton mindset, writing, content marketing Sharon Tanton

How to cope with overwhelm. And how to write for people who are feeling it too

I’ve been having lots of conversations recently with people who are feeling overwhelmed. Whether it’s lockdown, work, lack of work, family dramas, fears about the future, there’s something about the restricted way we’re living at the moment that is prompting an uncomfortable feeling of overwhelm. Here’s how to counteract that, and write with kindness and clarity.

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The Irresistible Power of the Founder’s Story

When it comes to telling stories to build your business, the founder or origin story is one of the most powerful. It can be the hook that pulls in investment, and the glow that attracts the best talent. Founder stories can make brands famous, with the owner’s personal story of how and why they started becoming part of business folklore.

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content marketing Sharon Tanton content marketing Sharon Tanton

Which newsletter style is right for you?

Newsletters are a really useful tool in your content marketing toolbox. Probably the most important one. If you’re in the business of expertise you need somewhere to share your ideas with the world so that potential clients can find you.

But how do you create a newsletter that people will welcome and read?

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How to think like a copywriter and strengthen your business

A copywriter asks questions. What’s the most important thing to say here? What do you want people to do when they read this? How do you want people to feel? Good copywriters get inside the head of the ideal reader, just like you want to get inside the head of your ideal client. Think like a copywriter, and you’ll know just what to deliver to the people you serve.

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writing, mindset, business development Sharon Tanton writing, mindset, business development Sharon Tanton

6 things I’ve learnt about my freelance business during lock down

Two months ago I wrote a blog about the first week of being in lock down. I’ve just reread it, anticipating finding different words on the page. Two months seems like an age, and I feel more grounded now, so I was expecting to find something more naive and jittery. But actually it’s pretty sound. I surprised myself.

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writing, mindset, business development Sharon Tanton writing, mindset, business development Sharon Tanton

How to sidestep imposter syndrome and get writing

Imposter Syndrome is everywhere, and it’s got some new guises. There’s the ‘anything I say right now feels irrelevant compared to what’s going on in the world’ version. There’s a debilitating ‘I’ve lost all my confidence’ strain.

If you’re thinking ‘there are real heroes emerging all around us, I’m not expert/brave/important enough to add anything worthwhile’ I’m not surprised that you’re finding it hard to write anything at all.

This might help.

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writing, business development, mindset Sharon Tanton writing, business development, mindset Sharon Tanton

How to make your writing feel like a hug

Our words are a proxy for everything we can’t do at the moment.

We can’t meet people; touch them, hug, laugh, persuade, smile, show, flirt, reassure, explain, commiserate, calm. We can’t just be with each other, passing the time doing nothing in particular, sharing the everyday mundane things that connect us - but our words can do at least some of that for us.

Here’s how to make your writing feel more immediate and alive while you’re isolating.

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writing, content marketing, mindset Sharon Tanton writing, content marketing, mindset Sharon Tanton

Seven types of content worth writing now

I get it. You’re worried about your business, your life, the universe and everything. Emotional, stressed, overtired, trapped, anxious - you’re finding it hard to focus on anything, let alone writing for a business that’s feeling scarily precarious.

But if you want to write now - and there are lots of reasons why you might - here are some pointers on where to put your attention.

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mindset, writing, business development Sharon Tanton mindset, writing, business development Sharon Tanton

Seven things that have made this crazy week slightly better

If you’ve had your fill of corona virus inspired blogs, then this isn’t for you. But if you’re like me, and keen to find out how other people are coping, then this might be helpful. From managing anxiety to feeling cheered by seeing other people’s piles of washing, here’s what’s helped this week.

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business development, content marketing Sharon Tanton business development, content marketing Sharon Tanton

How to listen better and strengthen your business

Businesses that really connect with people put their clients and customers at the centre of all they do. How do you do that? By talking to the people you serve; asking them the right questions and listening hard. The single most useful thing that you can do to inform your marketing, and indeed your whole business, is to invest in customer feedback.

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story, mindset, content marketing Sharon Tanton story, mindset, content marketing Sharon Tanton

How to make the most of the compelling power of consistency

Building a reputation depends upon getting known. Do one thing well, draw a community around it and you’ll be on your way to building a brand.

But getting known for one thing depends upon you talking about that one thing, not just once, but for weeks and months and years. How can you do that without boring your audience, or, just as importantly, without boring yourself!

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