Tell My Story

Feb 15, 2018Mar 15, 2018

This is WHY Your Story Matters…

Stories are powerful.

Let’s say your Mum has been unwell. You want to send her flowers, to cheer her up.

You hit Google, for florists where your Mum lives.

Fred’s and Bob’s pop up:

“At Fred the Florist, we’re known for the finest flowers in town! Our friendly & professional service delivers flowers to you Next Day, for all your special occasions. Covering 20 miles from our store, all our gorgeous bouquets are freshly made. For anniversaries, with sympathy or just because…call us today & we can help!”

Now, this is all completely true. Fred’s service IS excellent. They really ARE known for some of the finest flowers in town.

But compare it to Bob the Florist’s website:

“My love for flowers comes from my Grandma – I remember visiting every school holiday, and her tiny kitchen was always packed full of vases! So when I left school at 16, going into floristry felt like the natural thing to do.

“I qualified as a Floral Designer in 2004. But after several years in London, we were craving a slower pace to life – literally, time to stop & smell the roses! So, in 2010, my wife Lizzie & I moved to Herefordshire, with our black Labrador Banjo.

“And in 2011, we opened the doors of Bob the Florist to our first customers! Every single bouquet we make is different to work on, and I still get a buzz when we deliver them locally & make someone’s day. And it always makes me smile to think they’ll keep flowering away on their kitchen window ledge, a week or more from now!”

Who would you trust, to cheer up your Mum – Fred or Bob?

And that’s what stories do.

They help your customers to get to know you. To like you, and to trust you. And ultimately, to get them to want to buy from YOU – because they buy in to what you’re all about (and not just your product or service).

Ever since we were tiny children, we’ve been conditioned to listen to stories. They helped teach us & explore the world around us. As adults, we may have moved on to Danielle Steel or John Grisham (or J K Rowling, in my case!). But stories entertain us & introduce us to characters that we get to know & love.

There’s a reason John Lewis do it every Christmas (remember the Man on the Moon?).

And the truth is that telling your story is powerful in YOUR business.

How?

Well. To be clear, we’re NOT talking about making stuff up. It’s not fiction.

It’s about digging deep into your business, and uncovering the stories worth telling.

It might be around why you got started. It might be about your passion for your product or service, outside of work. The way you do things in your business, that set you apart from others in your industry. Your vision for the future, or your unique values that you bring to your customers.

Sometimes, for our clients, they’re so busy doing the doing – serving the customers, making the products, delivering the service – that they can’t see their own stories at first. But they are ALWAYS there, just waiting to be drawn out.

2. It’s about crafting your stories into a compelling message for your target customers.

No-one wants to read a boring story.

But a good story – well-told & absorbing & interesting – can engage with your target customers in a way that very little else can.

Especially in a world when we’re all pretty damn fed up of relentless marketing.

Stories are honest and real. They’re about real people – you. And people are ALWAYS interested in people (reality TV, anyone?!).

3. It’s about putting your compelling stories in front of the RIGHT people.

It’s no good spreading the word to people who don’t have any interest in hearing it.

People living in top-floor flats aren’t likely to want lawn care. People without a dog don’t want them walked. People with very low incomes might want great-value clothing, but probably aren’t in the market for luxury handbags.

They just won’t buy from you. It’s a waste of time and effort.

But the right people WILL.

It may be beautifully-written leaflets to the right houses, in the right postcodes. It may be carefully-crafted letters to those companies you’d love to have as clients. It might be highly-targeted Facebook adverts, to reach only the right people (like parents of children at your local school, or local pet owners).

It may be simply building your customer list and talking to them every week, by email & on social media.

Even just re-thinking your ‘About Us’ page on your website can help.

It doesn’t have to be complicated.

But whoever – and wherever – those people are, who would be the perfect fit for your business, is where your stories need to be told.

To turn them into not just customers, but people who really ‘get’ you – and buy from you again and again. Because they know you, like you and trust you.

And if we can help tell YOUR story – or spread the word to your perfect customers – just drop your details in below or email me (laura@tellmystory.uk).

We’re rather obsessed with it all, so always happy to help!

Until next time

Feb 14, 2019Feb 18, 2019

This is why you NEED a Sales Funnel (and how to do it!)

I love a good sales funnel. They’re the BEST way to consistently bring more people onto your email list – so you can nurture your relationship, add value & convert them into buyers.

{Video below – scroll down if you’d rather watch than read!}

And if you believe marketing is simply about helping people – as I deeply believe – then sales funnels are a powerful way to connect with your audience & build trust.

Marketing’s not about who can shout the loudest any more. It’s not about interrupting people; stealing their time & or making over-exaggerated promises.

Instead, it’s about finding new ways to help & serve your audience. To help them solve the problems they’re facing. To make their life easier & help them move one step closer towards the things they really want (whether that’s more time, more money, better relationships or the other deep motivations that drive us all).

When you adopt this marketing mindset, everything gets easier in your business & a whole lot more fun!

You know your audience & your ideal clients. You know their pain points; what keeps them awake at night & what they’re struggling with.

And when you make all your marketing about providing the answers to these problems – creating resources; talking about them in your blogs, emails, social media content & videos – it feels amazing. You’re doing some actual good in the world. And when people engage & are grateful for your help, you get these little endorphin boosts & the movitation to do more & more.

You attract more of your ideal clients to you – the people who value what you do & are happy to pay for it – because they ‘get’ you. They get to know you; like you & trust you, as someone who can help them.

Of course, you have to ask them to buy! Marketing has to drive sales. But when they ARE ready to buy, it’s you they’ll choose. Because it’s you that’s put your time, energy & soul into building those relationships.

It’s not a quick win. But it works. It works for us; for our clients; and for every other business out there, who knows this already.

And this is where sales funnels come in.

The beauty of a sales funnel is that you build it once – and it’s there forever, to consistently build your list.

Once you’ve created the first funnel, you can easily replicate & edit the lead magnet, landing page & automated sequence, to do it again & again.

I don’t know if you have a sales funnel (or several) already? Maybe you do, but it’s not performing as well as you’d like? Or maybe you have no idea what a funnel even is?

There’s a lot of ‘gurus’ & rah-rah crap on social media about funnels at the moment. But in truth, they’re very simple:

Create something that helps solve a problem for your audience (a downloadable PDF; video masterclass etc)
Create a landing page, where people can enter their name & email to get access to your freebie
And then create a series of 5 x emails, where you begin to immerse them in your world, build trust and ask them to buy.

It blows my mind that you can do all this for FREE.

Canva is free, to create your PDF. YouTube is free, to create a video. MailerLite or Mailchimp are free, to build your landing page, send your emails & manage your list. Social media is free, to get it out there to the world.

Of course, you can make your funnel as complex as you like (adding ‘trip wires’ and other stuff). You might need to run Facebook ads etc, to promote it. BUT in reality, they really can be very simple.

Actually, simple is best. Build a very simple funnel first, test it & get it working. And THEN you can always go back in & add more stuff in.

There’s no point investing hours of your life to create a complex, shiny funnel if your basic offering isn’t what your audience wants.

And Facebook ads are really just paid content. If people who already know you don’t want or engage with your freebie, there’s little point putting ad spend behind it (unless it’s to try & reach a whole new type of audience).

So! Grab a notebook – here’s the full LIVE session from our Facebook group, The Copywriting Project.

It’s all about:

How to come up with a ‘lead magnet’ (freebie!) that your audience really wants;
How to create your funnel (a bit of tech);
Writing your email nurture sequence;
And how to get more people into your funnel!

Skip to 1m 30s to forward through the intro chat 🙂

There’s a FREE Cheat Sheet that goes with this session too – the simple, proven structure for writing your nurture email sequence.

To grab your copy, just come over to your (free) Facebook group, The Copywriting Project & you’ll find it there (under ‘files’ – no opt-in required, ironic as we’re talking funnels!).

So! It was a super popular session in the group. And I do hope it’s been a tiny bit helpful for you, too.

I bang on about this stuff like every week – from copywriting basics to getting through the ‘dip’, when it feels like no-one’s reading; no-one’s watching & no-one’s listening to you.

So for more like this, do come join us. It’s turning into a lovely community of people like us & we’d LOVE to welcome you in.

And yes – I do know funnels are a bit of work. BUT when you see more & more people coming onto your email list every day, it feels amazing. They’ve put their hand up & they’re interested in what YOU have to say. Compared to relentless cold ‘hustling’ – who wouldn’t want that?!

Until next time

Feb 7, 2019Feb 11, 2019

Your 30-Day Content Plan!

Content is tricky. We all KNOW we need to be putting more stuff out there – to grow our audience, earn their trust and (ultimately) get more people buying from us.

And it comes up in our Facebook group, time & time again.

What the heck do you talk about?
Should you do weekly emails? Blogs? Videos? Podcasts?
Which social media should you be on?
How do you find the time, to get it all done?

It’s tough.

So this week’s blog is all about Your 30 Day Content Plan.

Here’s a quick taster from our Facebook group – CLICK HERE for the full 40-min LIVE session!

Just to be clear, I do NOT mean rigidly scheduling every single social media post for the next month.

That’s not what I mean by ‘content’ and I don’t think it works anyway, to keep people’s attention & respond to the challenges they’re facing right now.

Instead, it’s about getting clear on the topics you’ll talk about – week by week – to help & serve your audience.

It’s about reducing the overwhelm, so you’re never sitting at your desk feeling like you should be doing something, but not sure what that something is.

It’s about breaking it down into manageable chunks, so you have real clarity. And instead of just posting everywhere randomly, you start creating content with purpose.

So! In a nutshell (there’s more in the live session!), here’s how it works…

ONE topic, every week.

Just one topic that you talk about – week by week – in everything you do.

In your blog posts; emails; videos; FB lives; on your social media. Everywhere.

Your message is 100% consistent. It makes life SO much easier for you, when you know what you’ll be saying in advance. And you save time because you can properly leverage your content (more on that later!).

What are your audience’s pain points? The people that you want to help – what problems does your product or service solve, when they buy from you?

What are their biggest problems? The things they’re struggling with most? Their biggest headaches & challenges? What’s keeping them awake at night?

Brainstorm a list of at least 6-8 things (although you’ll probably think of a ton more!).

If you’re a nutritionist – are they struggling to make healthy choices for lunch, when their boss is stressing them out?
If you’re a coach – are they feeling stuck in their business & not sure how to move forwards?
If you’re a beautician – are they struggling with dry skin, from all the heating / air conditioning?

Let’s take us (Tell My Story) as an example. We write awesome copy & content for business owners who love what they do & care deeply about their clients. All good.

In this blog & FB Live, we’re talking about content. Because I KNOW figuring out what to say, where & how is a massive challenge for lots of us in business!

A brutally honest post – about shame, failure & the stories we tell ourselves…

You are standing alone at the top of a football stand. The auditorium is in darkness – and the lone spotlight is fixed only on you. Silence. There is a sea of faces staring up at you. Hundreds of people in the audience are waiting for you to speak.

And you freeze.

The silence stretches out.

You only have 3 lines. And you cannot think of a single word to say.

The shame. The utter humilitation.

That was me. 15 years old, in a school play. And I have secretly carried it with me like a badge of failure ever since.

I’ve never told anyone this before (why would you?!). But this is the problem with shame. It makes you write stories for yourself that aren’t true – but they become your truth, because you believe them.

My inner story was that I was incapable of standing up in front of people. I’d proved I couldn’t talk to an audience, because I’d freeze. Public speaking was just not for me.

And indeed, this played itself out in my adult life.

When I completed my ILM qualifications 4 years ago, I was asked to speak at the graduation ceremony. I worked on what I’d say but was unable to address my teenage shame. I got back on that stage and – although I didn’t freeze exactly – my mind went utterly blank. I waffled on vaguely for a few mintutes & hurridly scuttled off the stage. The thought of it now makes me cringe.

The story I told myself deepened. Once again, I’d proven that I was not capable of this.

To the point where a 60-second intro at networking would instantly send my heart racing & palms sweating.

So why am I telling you this?

Because last week, I spoke at a big event in central London.

It was held by the amazing Lisa Johnson (who I admire SO much!) – an inspiration day for female entrepreneurs, to raise funds for Bullying UK.

Lisa had seen one of my videos on social media & invited me to speak.

I did not tell Lisa this was my first ‘proper’ public speaking gig. I did not tell her that, although I’m utterly confident on video, I was not capable of speaking on stage without freezing.

I just said yes.

And then spent the weeks leading up to the event feeling like a complete & utter fraud.

The other speakers Lisa had lined up were incredible. People I truly admire, like Shaa Wasmund MBE. How the hell could I possibly consider myself good enough to stand up next to them, with my shameful, failure-ridden past?

In truth, I have no idea what made me say yes. All I know is that I admire Lisa. I wanted her to think well of me (bizarre, I know!). I knew it was a huge opportunity to get more visible, build my personal brand & connect with a new audience, who I might be able to help & add value for (even in a tiny way).

I got to work on my talk, about finding the confidence to put yourself out there. Sharing my journey to becoming more visible over the last year, and the amazing opportunities that come when you stop hiding away.

I studied books & videos (highly recommend Chris Anderson’s book, “TED Talks: The Offical TED Guide to Public Speaking” by the way!).

But the shame, fear & feeling like a fraud still kept me awake at night.

It was getting closer. And I HAD to start telling myself a new story.

So one morning, I took my phone out & wrote everything down that I believed. And then beneath each point, I wrote a new story.

I don’t really believe I can do this.
I CAN DO THIS.

I will freeze on stage.
I WILL BE FINE – IF I LOSE MY PLACE, I WILL JUST TAKE A BREATH AND BE HONEST.

My talk will be the worst of the day.
PEOPLE WILL LOVE MY CONFIDENT & VALUABLE TALK.

The other speakers are all way better than me.
WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE WILL RESONATE WITH PEOPLE IN A DIFFERENT & VALUABLE WAY.

The other speakers will disagree with my point of view in their talks.
ONLY I CAN HAVE MY POINT OF VIEW. IT’S FINE IF OTHER PEOPLE DISAGREE. IT DOES NOT CHANGE WHAT IS TRUE FOR ME + WHAT I KNOW CAN HELP OTHERS.

People will get bored & play with their phones.
I WILL SHOW UP, ADD VALUE & DO WHAT I CAN TO HELP PEOPLE. I AM NOT REPONSIBLE FOR ANYONE’S ACTIONS BUT MY OWN.

You get the drift! But this is exactly what I wrote, on my phone.

Then I read it, over & over. Every time I waited for the kettle to boil. Every time I waited to let the dogs back in. Every few hours, over a few weeks.

And here’s the thing…

It worked.

The microphone was shaking as I walked onto that stage in London. But my mind stayed focused. And after the first few minutes, something incredible happened.

I was actually enjoying public speaking.

Maybe even good at it.

It felt amazing.

My talk 100% was NOT perfect (loads of lessons learnt!). We weren’t using slides & I clung onto my prompt cards like little life rafts. And the people who thought I was crap probably wouldn’t say so anyway.

But afterwards, people started thanking me. Telling me what had resonated with them. Repeating back to me the points that had stuck with them. Saying how it had helped them & inspired them. It carried on, on social media. And even now, a week on, I’m still getting messages from people I’ve never spoken to before, about the inspiration they took from my words.

My words. It makes me feel stupidly proud.

If you know me, you’ll know I’m not into ‘woo-woo’ at all. This whole ‘writing down how you feel’ thing is new & not something I would ever have entertained previously.

And I’m not telling you all this to brag about how super amazingly wonderful I am on stage – but in the hope that if YOU are telling yourself stories that hold you back too, it might help.

I’ve still got a LOT of work to do. Other unhelpful stories I tell myself include:

Money is stressful
You have to work hard & leave your family to make money
I’ve made bad decisions in the past
My audience isn’t growing fast enough
I don’t deserve some things that other people have

etc etc etc.

Our stories come from everywhere – growing up in a household where money was tight & seeing your parents struggle. The things your teachers told you, about what you can & can’t do. Being bullied. Being in relationships that made you feel you weren’t enough, weren’t good enough or somehow weren’t worthy.

I didn’t even know I had written these stories for myself. But I had. And the truth is that you can get your phone out RIGHT NOW & start re-writing the stories you tell yourself too.

It works. Promise.

Anyway!

So far, I’ve been invited & confirmed to speak at 3 more events this year. I can’t bloody wait. My goal is 8 speaking gigs this year. And if you’d told me this even just 12 months ago, I’d have thought you were mad.

I’m utterly determined to never let the stories I tell myself hold me back again.

And if any of this resonates with you, I’d love to hear from you. Here’s where we can connect on LinkedIn – and here’s where I mainly hang out on Facebook, in our group called The Copywriting Project.

This blog feels rather self-centred this week. But thank you for reading. It’s been pretty cathartic to share it with you & get it all out.

Here’s to new stories – and HUGE success for us both in 2019!

Laura

Dec 7, 2018Dec 17, 2018

Those mystical Facebook algorithms? Playing them to YOUR advantage!

A bit different from me this week – because we’re coming LIVE to you, from our Tell My Story Facebook page!

I was away at a marketing event in Birmingham & there was a session all about playing to Facebook’s algorithms, so your content reaches more people.

I did not know this stuff. So I got back & what started as a quick Google turned into a massive research project.

We’re all using Facebook more & more in our businesses, to reach people. Even if you don’t use it as a sales tool, it’s still SO crucial for building our audiences & helping people get to know, like & trust us.

I figure if you’re going to use the platform, it makes sense to know as much as you can about how it works, to get the maximum return. Right?

And once you’ve learnt new stuff, what else are you going to do but go Live on Facebook to share it all 😉

So! Here’s the full FB Live Session for you to watch now (the links mentioned in the video are below for you):

(Sorry for looking like I’m sitting in a dark cupboard – not sure what was going on with our lights that day. The joy of live broadcasts! Link to Sentiment Analysis Tool here.)

Like I say, I’m no FB expert – but it’s been massive food for thought for me. So hope it’s interesting / helpful for you too!

And for more like this, do come over to our Facebook group, The Copywriting Project. Would love for you to join us there!

Until next time

p.s I’m sorry too if the image makes your head swim…just sums up how I feel about Facebook sometimes!

Nov 30, 2018Dec 17, 2018

Your 2019…what do YOU want? And your ‘Build, Nurture, Sell’ strategy to get there!

So! Your 2019. What do you want?

Not just for your business…but from your life?

What needs to happen, to get us to where we want to be? Is that aligned with your business right now?

Now – I don’t profess to be a business coach. BUT there is a strategy that we use, for us & all of our clients, to help us get to where we want to be.

It’s about getting clear on EXACTLY what you want – and then making sure you’re taking enough of the RIGHT action, to get there. Small, consistent steps, every day. And it’s a really powerful thing.

So I just thought I’d share it with you, in this week’s blog.

Here’s the full LIVE session from over in our Facebook group, The Copywriting Project.

And if it’s helpful, do come over & join us for more like this every week.

Enjoy!

Nov 23, 2018Dec 17, 2018

Why sometimes, it really IS ok to quit!

I’m SO fed up with all the ‘never give up’ crap all over social media at the moment.

It feeds this myth that if you stop doing something, you’re a loser. A quitter. There’s something wrong with you. You’re not good enough. You’ve failed. You’re not one of us.

You should be ashamed of yourself for quitting.

You just need to ‘hustle’ harder.

It’s utter bull. Seriously. But more than that, I think it’s properly damaging.

Because you know what? Sometimes, it’s OK to quit.

In fact, if what you are doing is NOT working – sometimes, it’s not just ok to quit, but it’s downright stupid to keep on doing it.

There is ALWAYS a cost to carrying on doing what you’re doing.

Let’s say you have a plan. You’re working towards your goals, you’re crystal clear on what you want – what you want your life to look like, and what your business needs to do for that to happen – and you’re taking consistent action to get there.

You have a set back. Maybe some funding doesn’t come off, you lose a client or you’re just having a tough few weeks. You’ve lost your mojo & you’re pretty fed up.

We all go through it.

In this case, it doesn’t make much sense to give up. It’s a temporary set-back in a bigger picture. You can (and will) get past it – BECAUSE you have a clear, viable plan to success that you’re working towards.

But…

If you haven’t got a plan;
If you know deep-down that your business model (or some part of it) isn’t viable;
If you’ve been battling on for months – or even years – and not getting results (like being able to pull out the money you need);
If you’ve fallen into what you’re doing (whether your overall business or some part of it);
If the way you do things has just happened, rather than been properly planned & designed;
If what you’re doing is negatively impacting your health; your wellbeing & your family…

…then sometimes, it really IS ok to stop.

It’s ok to admit that it’s not working & quit doing it.

Because the cost to keep doing the stuff that’s NOT working, is that you can’t then go off & do something that WILL work. And that can be a huge price to pay.

Honestly? I learnt this the hard way. For 7 years, we worked punishing 100-hour weeks, growing a business with zero margin.

Ok – not zero. But less than 10% gross (!) on our core lines, that made up 90% of our turnover.

So we kept fighting for sales, growing the business, growing the turnover.

It was unbelivably stressful. And there was never any more money left at the end of it.

I went out, got myself into Mastermind groups & educated myself relentlessly. I was convinced there WAS a way to make this work.

Sure, we made progress. Got more sales & grew the turnover. Consolidated our buying; upped our prices; squeezed another few % points of margin. Grew our team & strengthened our culture.

We ‘hustled’ harder than ever.

And it took it’s toll.

When every day is a battle – when you’re not where you want to be & not making the money you need – it sucks the life right out of you.

We had goals for that business. But looking back, they were complete & utter fiction. I was dreaming. We had no viable plan of HOW we were going to get there.

The crashing realisation came one weekend, when we got clear on what we want from our LIVES. What we want to do; the places we want to go; where & how we want to live.

And it became clear that, even if we grew the business to £10million, it would STILL not serve us with what we wanted from our lives.

I know that finding the courage to stop doing something can be really, really hard.

Whether it’s a business overall; a particular product or service that’s not performing; even a marketing strategy you’ve put SO much into.

It’s often easier to keep on going. The harder thing to do is admit it’s not working & quit (100% the case for us).

BUT I truly, truly believe your business should serve you. Not the other way around.

So if there’s parts of it that aren’t working, it’s ok to stop. We don’t have to buy into this social media ‘never give up, fight to the death’ mentality. It’s such utter rubbish.

Just because they’re your dreams, doesn’t mean anyone wants to buy them or that you have a financially viable business. There’s other ways to serve your dreams, if the way you’re doing it now isn’t working.

For us? We could’ve just carried on for another 7 years. Social media would’ve provided a truckload of affirmations & cheerleading. #NeverGiveUp #YouCanDoIt #HustleMonday etc etc etc.

But we’d pay one hell of price. Because we’d NEVER have gone on & built something better.

Now, we have a business that truly fulfils us. That adds huge value for our clients & WAY more people than our old business could ever have served. That generates sustainable, predicatable profit (in a way 10% gross margin could never have done). That gives us the freedom to travel & work from anywhere. I love it.

We had to stop doing was wasn’t working first. So if something’s not working for you, it’s truly ok to let it go, in order to do something better. Something that will serve YOU and the world around you, to live the life YOU want.

So hey! A bit different from me this week – but it there it is.

And if you want to join a proud quitter, come on over to our Facebook group, The Copywriting Project. Would love for you to join us!

Until next time

Nov 11, 2018Dec 17, 2018

The 9 REAL reasons people buy from you (they’re not what you might think…)

A quick question…

Why do people REALLY buy from you?

It’s a question that’s been top of mind a lot for me lately! Because it really IS the key to writing powerful copy, to drive the action you need in your business.

The reasons people tell you they buy (or the reasons you might think) are never the real reasons.

And it truly matters. Because if you can tap into these deeper motivating desires in your writing, your copy gets SO much more powerful – to connect with your audience, create desire & get people to do what you want them to do (like buying from you).

Watch the full video now (with subtitles), from over on our Tell My Story Facebook page!

I know I bang on about this a lot – but it all starts with knowing your ‘who’.

Who are you talking to? And I mean really knowing them. What are their hopes, their dreams & their fears? What do they want? What’s keeping them awake at night? What problems are you solving for them?

Because once you’re clear on this, THEN you can start tapping into those deeper desires.

It’s not about writing copy for a ‘target market’ – but getting clear on the living, breathing human being you’re trying to connect with. So you can choose words to speak directly to that person & resonate with their core desires, in the most powerful way.

So what ARE the real reasons people buy? Here’s the 9 most common motivating desires:

They want to impress people & be more popular (what other people think of us matters hugely – even if most people would never admit that this is a core desire!).
They want life to be easier.
They want more income (and wealth is a BIG one – as it buys everything else we’re talking about).
They want more meaningful relationships.
They want to feel more attractive & desirable.
They want to be more healthy.
They want more time, to do the things they WANT to do.
They want to feel more secure & set up for life (there’s a reason so many people play the lottery every week, despite the ridiculously long odds of ever winning).
They want to feel like they’re making progress towards their goals. Because they imagine how they’ll feel when they’ve got the money or lost the weight.

And when you know your audience inside out, you start to understand which two or three of these real desires is driving their buying decision – so you can start tapping into them in your copy.

(Actually, it might even be four – but your product or service definitely won’t tap into them all. Pick the most relevant ones for you but don’t try to cram them all in!).

Let’s take an example. Let’s say you sell trainers.

Someone might say they want to buy a new pair of trainers, because they want to start running again.

And it’s perfectly true.

But that’s NOT the real reason.

Looking at the list above, we find reasons 6, 5, 9 & maybe 1 come into play:

6) They’re buying the trainers because they want to get healthy. They want to be fit, well & strong. They want to live a long & healthy life. People are afraid of dying.
5) They want to feel more attractive & lose their wobbly thighs or those few extra pounds they’ve put on.
9) They want to make progress towards their goals. They can imagine how they’ll feel when can get back into those old jeans again.
1) And maybe, they’ll spend top-whack on the very latest trainers, because they want to impress people. It makes them feel good to have that designer label on their feet.

Of course, the techinical information – the durable foam midsole & waffle pattern outsole for durable traction – are important details.

BUT when you tap into the emotional element in your copy too, and paint a picture of how their life will look when they have your product, it has the power to create a FAR deeper desire that mere technical details could ever achieve.

Or another example – the Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer.

I REALLY want one (will treat myself when I hit my 90-Day Goal targets!). But I don’t need one.

I’ve got a perfectly good hairdryer, it cost 15 quid & dries my hair just fine.

So why would anyone spend 20 times that, on a new Dyson Supersonic?

Well – reason 2, mainly. I want my life to easier. I hate drying my hair. It’s boring. It’s uncomfortable, blasting your head with hot air for 20 minutes. And my heavy old hairdryer makes my arm ache.

I want to save time. Who wants to spend their life drying their hair?

Reason 5 is also a BIG one here. I want to feel more attractive. I want glossy, shiny, healthy-looking hair.

And of course, reason 1. I want other people to be impressed by my hair (even though I don’t feel good admitting that little bit of vanity!).

Dyson get this. If you look at their marketing, they don’t just talk about the V9 motor or the 26 degree cool shot (although the technical details are important).

BUT they talk about how you will feel when you use their product on your hair. They show you that they understand your frustrations; how their product addresses these problems; and the before-and-after transformation of how your life will look, once you buy their solution.

It’s remarkably powerful stuff. The desire it creates is incredible (as their sales of a stupidly-priced £299 hairdryer proves).

And this is level of emotion that we want to be getting to, in all of our copy.

You can start to use your words to conjure up images & vivid pictures, that help your reader to understand how they will feel (and how their life will look) as a result of buying your product or service.

It creates desire. And when you use your words to get people WANTING what you sell, that’s when your copy gets really powerful. Because then they take the action you want & buy from you. .

Which as business owners, is what we really want, after all (reasons 1, 3 + 9)!

(For more like this, do come join us over in our Facebook group, The Copywriting Project. It’s completely free, with weekly Live sessions – and is turning into a lovely community of like-minded business owners!).

Until next time

Nov 1, 2018Nov 7, 2018

Your 90-Day Goals…a powerful way to make stuff happen!

I love 90-Day Goals. Taking your bigger-picture plans and breaking them down into 90-day chunks is a really powerful way to make stuff happen.

It’s long enough to make real progress (30 days is just too short) – but not so long that your goals start to wander or you start to lose focus.

And then you know exactly what you need to do to make it happen – today; tomorrow; this week and next week. Every single day, for the next 90 days.

For me, having that clarity is brilliant. You never end up staring at your screen, knowing you should be doing something to drive your business forwards, but not quite knowing exactly what that something should be (and ending up doing nothing at all).

Here’s the full Facebook Live session on “Your 90-Day Goals” – from over in our FB group, The Copywriting Project! If you want to skip the pre-amble, start from 30 secs in 😉

And this works for ANY goals you might have – not just for your business, but for personal stuff too (big and small):

Making more money (to do your kitchen / change your car / move house – whatever you want!)
Getting more free time
Finding more customers
Writing a book
Hiring more staff
Launching a new product or service
Building a new website
Rebranding your business
Booking your dream holiday
Loosing weight or getting fit…

…it’s literally endless.

So I thought it might be helpful to share a few examples with you, of how it all works!

One of my goals for 2019 is 8 x big speaking gigs. We’re very clear here at Tell My Story who we love to serve and the difference we make for our clients. I’ve been speaking on stage more and more recently, and we’ve learnt that it’s a great way to reach your target audience, add real value for people and bring your dream clients your way.

But 8 x bookings feels quite a lot (especially when in my head, I really want more than that!). They’re definitely not going to happen by chance.

This is where the power of 90-Day Goals comes in.

What do I need to do – today, tomorrow and over the next 3 months – to get 8 x speaking slots booked for next year? Well:

Go to more networking events (to build relationships & help people understand the value we could bring for their audience)
Reach out to people I know who organise events and tell them I’m available!
Update my speaker bio – ready to send at short notice
Create a new A4 PDF, to send to conference organisers – this is who we are; this is our message; this is how we can serve your audience
Make a spreadsheet of all the events I’d love to speak at; when they take place; and set a reminder to contact them at the appropriate point in the year
Add it to my LinkedIn profile
Work on / plan / write / update my talks!

Which admittedly, is quite a lot of action. BUT at least I’m now clear on what needs to happen. The tiny actions, every single day, to start making progress. Even just 10 minutes a day adds up.

And my first London speaking gig for 2019 is now confirmed for January (yay!).

Which would never have happened without my 90-Day Goals…

Another example – that book you’d love to write. Quite a big goal, no?

But when you chunk in down into 90 days, it becomes way more managable to make it happen.

It takes you 90 minutes / 2 hours to write 1,000 words (it does for my book, anyway!).
The book needs to be 50,000 words long.
So now you know how much time you need to block out every day or every week, over the next 90 days, to get it written.
And if that’s not realistic – because you simply don’t have that much time – your target becomes 30,000 words in 90 days. And you get it finished in your next goal block.

One final example, which lots of us will have in common – you have a new product or service to launch.

We have a new service here at TMS that we’ll be launching in January (can’t wait to share it with you!).

And you need a bigger audience of people who know, like and trust you – so they’ll be ready to buy when you launch.

So your 90-Day Goal becomes getting 1,000 more people on your Facebook page or in your Facebook group, or 500 new people onto your email list. And to add value and nurture those people.

Which then becomes very easy to break down into the action you need to take over the next 90 days. The tiny steps, day-by-day, to make it happen. Like:

You need a new sales funnel to bring 500 new people onto your email list.
So today, you need to starting creating a new lead magnet – “5 Ways to come up with Great Blog Ideas”. You finish that bit by bit, over the next 4 days.
Then you create your Mailchimp landing page, for people to download it from – another 4 days.
Then you set up a new Facebook ad to drive traffic to your new landing page – another 4 days.
Then as people download your lead magnet and come onto your email list, you need to start nuturing them.
So you create new emails; videos; blog posts and articles. Bit by bit, day by day, an hour at a time.
All to get more and more people engaged – so when you do launch your new product or service, they’re ready and hungry to buy from you.

And you really CAN make them teeny, tiny steps. You have a business to run – so it’s about finding that 30 mins or hour, every day, to keep taking small actions and progressing towards your goals.

But it really, really stacks up! Because at the end of your 90 days, you’ve then got those extra people in your audience and you can make the sales you need.

There’s no overwhelm, because you know what you need to do right now. You’ve got a plan. You’re never sitting there, hoping your launch will come off, but not taking the action needed to make it truly successful. You can make the most of every minute of your time.

It’s powerful stuff.

And the best bit? Your reward! You’ve gotta treat yourself to a little reward at the end of each 90 days, when you hit your goals. (I really want a Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer. Not that I’ve fallen for their marketing much 😉 So that will be my reward, at the end of this 90 day period: shampoo-advert-worthy hair. A noble goal, I think you’ll agree).

Anyway! I’ve gone on long enough. But seriously – 90-Day Goals can change your business and your life. They have mine. Let me know if you try it – would love to hear how you on!

(For more like this, join us over in your free Facebook Group , The Copywriting Project. We’re sharing everything we’ve learnt about copywriting – so you get practical tools, tips, inspiration and support to use in everything YOU write!)

Until next time

Oct 25, 2018Nov 7, 2018

Why your website is NOT about you…

It’s just like in real life – that guy you avoid at networking. People banging on endlessly about themselves is boring. It’s a sure-fire way to turn people off.

So WHY do so many businesses do it in their writing?

It’s the single biggest reason that mediocre, ineffectual and boring copy exists the world over.

The truth is that people are interested in themselves. They are looking for a solution to the problem they have. And if you want to your words to spur them into action – to call you; meet with you; buy from you or anything else – you’ve GOT to make it all about them.

Here’s a quick Facebook Live session on “Using You, not I and We” – from over in our FB group, The Copywriting Project!

It’s true for everything you write – emails; blog posts; sales and landing pages; social media content; articles; brochures; client proposals and every other word your business uses.

And it’s especially true for your website copy, because it’s toughest there. It’s natural to talk about your business on your site – your products; your services; your team; your history and your experience. But talking about yourself is unlikely to compel your reader to do what you want.

It’s an easy, easy trap to fall into.

Luckily, there’s a quick and easy check:

Look at the stuff you’ve written. Especially your website copy.
Count how many times you say ‘you’.
And then count how many times you use ‘I’, ‘we’ and ‘us’.

How are those numbers looking?

It’s about your reader. Your words need to speak directly to them. So make sure you’re using ‘you’ at least twice as much as ‘I’, ‘we’ and ‘us’.

And then when you are talking about your business – how can you re-word those sentences, to make them all about your reader instead?

Like:

“We have been established for 25 years”

So what? Your reader couldn’t care less that you’ve been going for 25 years. They care about getting what they ordered on time, because they need it.

So flip it to make it about your reader:

“You can trust us to deliver on time, because we’ve served thousands of happy customers for over 25 years”

Now you’re using ‘we’ to PROVE to your reader that they can trust you, to give them the solution they need. Spell it out and tell them what your 25 years’ trading means for them.

Or how about this common one:

“Our team pride ourselves on our reliability”

So what? Your reader couldn’t care less what your team pride themselves on. They just want someone to solve their problem (let’s say a leaking tap).

Flip it to make it about your reader:

“You can rely on our team to turn up at the right time, on the day we agreed”

Which is all your reader really wants to know. They just want the damn leak fixed, in the easiest possible way.

So when you DO use ‘we’, ‘I’ and ‘us’, you’re talking about your business in a way that shows your reader why it matters and why it’s of benefit to them.

So yeah! A short and sweet blog from us this week.

But it’s possibly the one thing that can have the BIGGEST impact, to drive the action you need from your words and grow your business.

And if you want to play a really fun game – count ‘You’ vs ‘I / We / Us’ on your competitior’s websites. Chances are you’ll see that if you can master this, you’re already several steps ahead of the game…

Until next time

Oct 18, 2018Oct 26, 2018

How to build your audience, attract the RIGHT clients & have more fun!

Because life is better with a pool of people, ready to buy

Here’s the thing…people can’t buy from you, if they don’t know you exist.

It’s impossible.

So as business owners, it’s THE most important thing we can do. Get more people knowing about us – liking us & trusting us – so that when we ask them to buy from us, they do.

Here’s the full Facebook Live session, all about HOW to build your audience:

This FB live happened because the day before, I’d had 3 brilliant meetings with 3 incredible business owners. Seriously – hugely inspiring people, taking massive action & just making stuff happen.

And although their businesses are all very different, the one thing they have in common is that they all need a bigger audience (as do we – and as do you!).

Our job a business owner HAS to be to build the biggest audience we can; to build the best relationship we possibly can with that audience; and then to ask them to buy from us.

I think so many people have this idea of a marketing strategy being really complicated. Something you just write for your business plan & leave in a drawer. Or something you never quite get round to.

But in truth, it really IS that simple:

Build your audience.
Nurture your audience.
Sell to your audience.

Now – there are obviously a million tactics you can then use to do this.

So it’s a case of getting super clear on WHAT you need to do, day-by-day, for the next 90 days, to build, nuture & sell to your audience (I LOVE 90 Day Goals by the way – more on that next week!).

It starts with getting crystal clear on exactly WHO your market is. Who is your perfect customer? Who precisely do you want to attract to work with your business? And then understanding as much as you can about them – where are they? What motivates them? What problems are you solving for them? What keeps them awake at night? What gets them out of bed in the morning?

Because the more you understand that, the more you’re going to be able to add value for them.

(There’s an awesome live session on this – called ‘Who is your WHO?’ over in The Copywriting Project Facebook group, if you want to go a bit deeper!).

And more importantly – you’ll know exactly where they hang out. Wherever their attention is = where you need to be building your audience.

Are they on Facebook? Is Facebook the best platform for you to grow your audience?
Or is it LinkedIn? (Especially if you’re B2B – we have clients who leverage LinkedIn Groups incredibly well!)
Is Instagram where your market is?
What about your email list?

I know there’s a huge temptation for all of us to post everywhere – we feel like we’ve gotta be posting on Facebook/LinkedIn/Instagram/Twitter/Pinterest/YouTube etc, every day.

But for me, this actually slows us down. Because where your focus goes, is where the action will happen.

Concentrating 80% of your energy on one platform – the right platform, where you KNOW your ideal customers are – is such a powerful thing to do. And then you can focus the other 20% on your secondary platform, and building your email list.

So – WHO are your ideal customers? WHERE are they? And WHAT can you do, to start adding some value & attracting them to you?

Video is the big one. (If you’re really don’t love being on camera, you’re so not alone – lots more on this to come!). But if current trends continue, video will make up a whopping 82% of all online traffic by 2021. So as business owners, it really IS a space we need to be in.

And it’s free! Your videos don’t need to perfectly polished; edited & glossy. As long as they add value & feel authentic, people WILL engage. Facebook Live is incredibly powerful for this.

You’re just taking everything that’s in your head – that will be valuable for people in your target audience – and getting it out there on video (in the most engaging way you can!).

I love that video is such a great medium for leveraging your time. Once it’s filmed, you can get it out all over your social media; into a blog post (as we have here!); send it to your email list; use it in an email nurture sequence, to build your list; on your website. Everywhere that works!

And can you create blog content & articles that’ll be valuable for your audience?
Podcasts?
Downloads?
Free ‘How To’ guides?
Practical toolkits & workbooks?
What other resources would they find useful (Canva is an amazing free tool for creating these!).
Weekly emails packed with valuable nuggets?
Write a book (or e-book)?

What would your audience find MOST valuable? What’s most helpful to solve their problems? How can you give more; share more & truly be of service?

And the magic starts to happen!

People see your face, hear your voice & share in your thoughts. They start to feel like they know you (“we’ve never met but I feel like I know you already!” – actual words from a meeting last week!).

They start to like you – and crucially, they start to TRUST you. Because you’re proving you’re someone who really CAN help solve their problems.

So when you ask your audience to buy from you, the sales conversation is SO much easier. They’re already sold on the value you can bring. You’re never starting from scratch.

New clients & customers start coming to you, instead of you chasing them – truly, when you build & nuture your audience, they will! – and life gets SO much better.

And I get this whole ‘build & nurture your audience’ strategy sounds like a lot of work. It is (in truth, not that much – once you get going, it gets easier & easier).

But when choose to invest your time – to build your audience & nurture those relationships – you attract more of the ‘right’ clients to you. The ones you actually want to work with. Your business gets a whole lot more fun, way more satisfying and a lot less stressful. And isn’t that (really) where we all want to be?

(For more tools, tips & support on building YOUR audience – and everything copywriting & marketing! – come join is now, over in your (free!) The Copywriting Project Facebook group!).

Until next time