I’m a prolific dreamer. Literally. I can scatter my family members from the breakfast table with the simple utterance of “Whoa…just remembered my weird dream last night…” Their main complaint is that my dreams are rambling, epic and nonsensical. I’ve been under the weather recently so my dreams have been a little more off the […]
How your competitors boost business by turning customers away
Turning customers away in a recession – insane no? Well, yes and no. Take two fictitious characters, Focused Fred and Pleasing Polly. They’ve both decided to start up their own businesses making tailored clothes. (I have no experience tailoring clothes so I may be rusty with some of the terminology – but should still work) […]
Time Management Book Recommendations
Evening guys and gals, Well I’m stuck inside with a stiff neck wearing a scarf which makes me look incredibly chic and, until I try to move and said stiff neck just makes me look clumsy. So, I figure I’ll keep this post short and sweet. It works for me and it’s probably good for […]
Published in The People's Friend Story Magazine
Just a quick update to say that my short story for the People’s Friend magazine can be found in the 31st of October edition (in W H Smith’s from today I think). The title is “One of The Lads”. For anyone who catches it, I hope you enjoy!
A Three Minute Introduction to Keyword Research
If you’ve ignored the phrase “keyword analysis” because it sounds like it might induce a headache or boredom at the least, you could also be ignoring a valuable opportunity to attract new customers. That doesn’t sound good. By the end of this post, (in approximately 2 minutes 50 seconds) you will be on your way […]
Celebrate BEFORE you get hit by a bus
Life is busy, particularly if you’re self employed or launching a new business. Down time can feel like wasted time and shutting off can seem impossible when there are proposals to prepare, research to do, statistics to analysis and numbers to crunch. This is a simple post to urge you to remember to take some […]
Why Copyblogger's marketing is like finding "Good Vibrations" on a compilation of jingles…
My father is every pushy salesperson’s nightmare…I’ve experienced it firsthand, cringing from the next aisle as my dad verbally slays anyone trying to sell him something he doesn’t want. Growing up I learned to be suspicious of gimmicks, brightly coloured labels, and promises. As well as a love for George Jones, my father gave me […]
Rejected = Selected
Life is funny, I don’t know whether I believe in fate, but I do sometimes feel the universe sends us little signals – or perhaps we just end up seeing what we want… I was sending my brother a text this week about my latest story rejected, and as I typed in “rejected” the predictive […]
Article Writing Inspiration from Charles Bukowski (and My Brother)
One of the websites that influenced me to become a freelance writer at the end of last year was Lateral Action. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon the site, but found it to be a wealth of practical and inspirational advice for not just creative people, but creative professionals. The articles questioned conventional creative […]
How Country Music Makes Me A Better Copywriter
I love country music. As a kid growing up in East Yorkshire such a passion was a rarity and despite the concerns for my social development my dad kept feeding me country music till that fateful day that I started buying my own. He sat back in his armchair with a sigh of contentment; his […]