This online business malarkey, it’s all about building relationships, getting influential people to respect and refer you, getting your twitter count up, and building a following who adore you and want to buy your products, right? Wrong. It’s all about you. There is excellent (and free) advice on the Internet about how to get started […]
Goals Bonus Article: Get Ready For Your Calling
This bonus article is inspired by a good friend of mine who popped round for a cup of tea the other day before returning to Texas after a visit to Brighton to graduate from her degree course. We were talking about the (not so) New Year, our plans for 2010, and we got onto the […]
Goals Day One: What To Do When You're Stuck On The Start Block
Article Series: Goals… (Goals)! Always Believe In Your Soul… It wouldn’t be January without a furore of goal setting. The blogosphere is alight with how to set and achieve your goals in 2010. We’re feeling enthused, excited and ready to take on the world. However, there are still plenty of obstacles out there to try […]
10 Things I Learned From a Year of Freelancing
Happy National Freelancers Day! I have it on good authority that today is National Freelancers Day from The Professional Association Supporting Freelancers, Contractors and Consultants (PCG). I must confess I only stumbled upon this resource and in fact this special day at the tail end of last week, but it does sound interesting. The PCG […]
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
Why A Good Freelance Copywriter Is Like A Ninja And The Best Savings Account A Bank Can't Give You
Businesses that have found a great freelance copywriter to work with long term know they have something special. They understand that great copy gives a business the edge over the competition, especially when it’s written by a freakishly passionate, reliable ninja. So why are more businesses reaching out to these freelance specialists? Most Businesses Don’t […]
What's The Worst Thing That Could Happen (If You Try To Be Yourself?)
I’ve just returned from having lunch with a friend who is training to be a life coach. We’ve known each other over 10 years and we always laugh whether we’re lunching, coffee-ing or out drinking. I love our chats of late which are usually about self improvement and making fools of ourselves. Interestingly we were […]
Are You Heading Towards Your End Goal?
If we had to take a trip to New York, we could probably do it. Money aside, the physical action of getting ourselves from one place to another is relatively straight forward to most people. We would need to get ourselves to the airport, get on a flight to New York and there we would […]