Cracking Content Podcast

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

This week I will be talking about how to write a compelling media pitch. First of all, I imagine you're asking what is a media pitch? It is something that you send to a journalist when you're pitching a story idea, or putting yourself forward as an expert at what you do, so you can comment on a topical or trending news story. It's a great way to get you and your business out into the press.

Episode Highlights:

• {0:55} How to start your email when sending it to journalists
• {1:40} General etiquette when pitching to a particular media outlet or person
• {2:23} Claire explains why you should know about the publication you're sending your media to.
• {3:24} How important it is to pre-plan and get all the annual key dates in your calendar.
• {5:31} How online is different and you can pitch about trending stories.
• {6:33} Follow #journorequest on Twitter for stories that journalists are actively looking for input.
• {7:24} Make sure you have all the relevant media assets easily available for journalists.
• {8:39} Don't forget to follow up your email.
• {9:32} It's important to build a positive relationship with the journalists you're working with.
• {10:35} Make sure you are media ready.

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

To get your content sorted join the Cracking Content Club Membership for just £35 a month: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

This week I have the fabulous Dan Greef, who is the founder of Deliciously Guilt Free, and the podcast host of UK Low Carb. We'll be talking about Dan's inspiration behind Deliciously Guilt Free, it's phenomenal growth in the last year and why he loves to share his customers' stories on his super successful podcast UK Low Carb. We also talk about why it's important to share your business story and why creating mission-led content is a strength.

Episode Highlights:

• {1:02} Dan explains why he started Deliciously Guilt Free
• {2:26} Dan talks about sharing people's stories on his podcast, UK Low Carb
• {3:24} On why content marketing is important for an e-commerce business
• {4:27} On why you should share the personal side of you and your business
• {7:30} Dan describes why brand building is actually creating a relationship with your customers
• {15:25} Claire reinforces why it's so important to repurpose your content
• {19:35} Dan explains why it's important for him to have and to repeat his mission statement

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

To get your content sorted join the Cracking Content Club Membership for just £35 a month: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

Connect with Dan:

Website: https://deliciouslyguiltfree.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deliciouslyguiltfree/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deliciouslyguiltfree/

UK Low Carb Podcast Website: https://www.uklowcarb.com/

Uk Low Carb Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uklowcarbpod/

Uk Low Carb Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UKLowCarbPodcast

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

This week I am delighted to be talking to Nicole Higgins, who's the buyer and retail coach. We'll be talking about using physical products, even if you're a service-based industry or entrepreneur, how people have got new product lines and of course how Nicole uses content in her business.

Episode Highlights:

• {1:34} Nicole takes about her change in career and why she set up The Buyer & Retail Coach in 2019.
• {2:33} On how people have had to pivot their businesses during lockdown and had the time to think about how they want their businesses to grow.
• {4:14} On the products service-based businesses can offer to their clients.
• {4:16} On how launching products can create great content.
• {8:06} Tips on how to create and release products for your business.
• {11:10} Nicole describes the types of content she likes creating.
• {13:58} On why repurposing your content is really helpful and important for your business.
• {17:06} On why you should outsource so you can save time and stay motivated.

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

To get your content sorted join the Cracking Content Club Membership for just £35 a month: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

About Nicole:

The Buyer and Retail Coach

Nicole is a retail expert with over 18 years experience working in the fashion industry as a buyer for big blue chip retail developing and sourcing product from all over the world and working on product strategy for big business. She now brings that expertise to entrepreneurs & SME and helps them make their product ideas a reality and works with them to increase sales & profits.

Connect with Nicole:

Website: www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

In this episode, I'm going to be talking to Becca Heaps, the founder of Tentshare, and also the curator of Tentival 2021. It is really exciting to have Becca on the podcast for lots of reasons; we've worked together, she's been a client of mine, she's done some of my courses, and also does coaching with me. But I'm more excited about her new project, Tentival 2021.

{1:09} Rebecca: I'm Rebecca, founder of Tentshare, which is a people to people, tent lending platform. So, the idea is that if you've got a tent, it's an asset. So, you can pop it on the Tentshare website and rent it out to someone local to you, and make a bit of extra money at the weekend. But also if you'd like to go camping and you don't want to invest in a big old tent, or invest in a tent that you may only use once or twice, you can go onto the Tentshare website and rent the tent that would be appropriate for your camping trip.

{2:00} Rebecca: From that has grown Tentival. I hosted and curated Tentival last year, 10 days after lock down. Because I was absolutely gutted that there was going to be no more festivals, plus I'd launched Tentshare, and I wanted people to pitch up their tents and have a lovely day looking at each other's tents, and having a glorious day outside. So, that's how Tentival started. And this year, I'm bring Tentival 2021, which is coming back bigger, and better, and brighter, and more sparkly than before.

{3:09} Rebecca: There are a lot of virtual festivals and events being streamed online. But the thing that's very different about Tentival is it is interactive.

{5:01} Rebecca: So, the idea is that you pitch up a tent in your garden, or you go to a park, maybe take a picnic, bring a device. As long as you've got a device and the internet, you can access this festival from anywhere.

{10:04} Claire: Can you tell us a bit about your content marketing journey with this business?

Rebecca: I launched it February 2020, and then a really lovely friend gifted me a four-week course, Pitch the Press course, which happened to be yours Claire. And it landed in my lap at just the right time. And I went on that four-week course, and my goodness, what a lot of information I learned. And by the end of it, I had pitched. I'd been in The Mirror. I'd had an interview on BBC Radio Kent and I've been in a camping magazine.

{12:04} Claire: It's just been phenomenal watching you grow your business and grow awareness about what you're doing. And obviously, you're really active on Clubhouse as well, and you've made some great connections there, which has enabled you to take Tentival to the next level.

{12:25} Rebecca: You invited me into Clubhouse. And whoa, it's just been incredible. The contacts that I've made, and the people. And once you're in there and you find your people, and you're all like-minded and in alignment with all your ethos, it's just incredible. It's been great finding people who, at last, I feel like I have a voice, where I haven't felt I've had a voice before. So, it's been wonderful. So, I've got you to thank for that as well, Claire.

{12:59} Claire: I think that is probably my mission. I've been redefining it, and it is, it's like helping women amplify their reach, and find their true, authentic voice and share it with the world. I think it's needed more than ever.

{16:17} Rebecca: For every ticket sold, we're going to plant a tree. We've teamed up with Tree Sisters, and they do an amazing initiative planting trees where they're most needed and where they're most effective. And tickets are pay as you can. So, we don't want wealth or lack of wealth, especially coming out of COVID, when people haven't been able to work and such, to be a barrier to coming to the festival.

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

To get your content sorted join the Cracking Content Club Membership for just £35 a month: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

About Rebecca:

Rebecca's passion project is Tentshare (www.tentshare.co.uk), a pioneering peer-to peer tent-lending platform. Tentshare offers a more sustainable and cost-effective solution for campers. Tentshare is committed to building a community of campers and novice campers sharing tents, equipment, and knowledge. During the Covoid-19 crisis, Rebecca curated and hosted the first lockdown, virtual festival, Tentival 2020.

Rebecca also has a wide range of skills and experiences garnered over a career that has taken in more than 10 years as a primary school teacher in the borough of Hackney and a Stage, Lighting and Sound manager for several theatre and entertainment project. She is currently director of a successful family property development business, Hippo Holdings Ltd.

• Tentival 2021 June 12th - Find out more and purchase a 'pay-as-you-can' ticket here: https://www.tentshare.co.uk/tentival-2021/
• For further information, images, or interviews, please contact Rebecca Heaps, Tentshare Founder: 07940469284; [email protected]; https://www.tentshare.co.uk/

Connect with Rebecca:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tent_share/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tentshare.co.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tentshare1

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

In this episode, we've got the amazing Catherine Gladwyn, who is a bestselling author and business mentor. We love to talk to solopreneurs and people who've got bigger teams about how content has made a difference to their business.

{1:51} Claire Winter: Can you tell us which bits of content you like creating and what's made the biggest difference in your business Catherine?

{1:57} Catherine Gladwin: The kind of content I like creating is honest and fun. So I've always been very authentic. I think that's a word that I've brought into my life a little bit more since I started my business, but I am just me online. If anybody follows me, if anybody looks at my posts, they'll know that I speak exactly as I write.

{2:24} Catherine Gladwin: I'm very upfront about things. I'm going through some health issues at the moment, and I've been sharing that online, and that's always worked. That's worked for me. That's enabled me, importantly, to attract the people that I'm going to get on best with because there's no airs and graces. They know exactly what they're getting into if they want to work with me.

{2:58} Catherine Gladwin: I also blog. I do blog quite regularly. It's mostly giving advice to help people in their business. And I've got to say, I'm really surprised that I do it regularly, but they're never very long, and I don't sit there thinking about them. They were actually massively important to enable me to write my books because I used a lot of the content from my blogs in my books. Repurposing.

{5:17} Catherine Gladwin: Social media should never be relied on as the only form of marketing.

{6:03} Catherine Gladwin: I started to write my first book, which is quite niche, it's how to be a virtual assistant, I started to write it and I planned out all the chapters and I thought, "Actually, I'm kind of talking about things that I've covered a little bit already in my blog." So I went through my blogs and pulled the content out.

{7:35} Catherine Gladwin: The second book is the 20% rule. I came up with the 20% rule. No one client should take up more than 20% of your time or your income because then if you lose them, it doesn't matter. The whole book covers how to ensure your business is sustainable and safe and more importantly profitable as well.

{12:55} Claire Winter: What content do you like consuming?

{13:00} Catherine Gladwin: I go for authenticity. I like to read things. I enjoy reading posts from people that make me laugh. That add humor to their stuff, don't take things too seriously, don't talk in corporate speak. That's not really for me. I've never enjoyed that. Even when I was in the corporate world I never enjoyed that. And people that resonate with me.

{14:36} Claire Winter: The other thing that you've had a lot of success with is sharing your story. Your personal story, but also your business story, with the media. How have you found doing that?

{14:48} Catherine Gladwin: Well, the first time I did it, I think my first story was about my health, I get pituitary tumors and I've got Addison's disease, so I talk about that to raise awareness because they're both rare diseases. The first story I did was in The Daily Mail and I was so scared because we all know what The Daily Mail is like. And I was convinced that I'd have paparazzi on the front door and they'd find out about that penny chew that I nicked when I was nine years old. And there was a slight incident with somebody's number plate once and I thought they're going to unearth everything, but of course they're just not interested.

{16:00} Catherine Gladwin: I've got another piece coming out in The Guardian shortly as well. And the way I get them is just by asking. So a little bit of tenacity. I follow the Journo Request on Twitter so keep an eye on that.

{18:59} Catherine Gladwin: They're not going to contact you. So you've got to put your elbows out and say, "Look at me." And it's scary. If you were to meet me face to face I'd rather be quiet. I am an introvert. I'd rather be quiet and sit quietly but yeah, online it's a lot easier to just put your elbows out and say to somebody, "Whoo, over here, I can help with that."

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

To get your content sorted join the Cracking Content Club Membership for just £35 a month: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

About Catherine:

Catherine Gladwyn, is an expert business mentor and multi-award winning #1 bestselling author of two business books. In 2018 The Independent newspaper listed her first book as one of ten best business books written by women and since then she has gone on to be featured in many national publications including The Guardian, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, etc. Most of the women she mentors are the main breadwinners in their family and those who aren't don't want to be. That's the beauty of her mentoring, it's tailored to the individual.

Connect with Catherine:

Website: https://catherinegladwyn.co.uk/

Buy her book, The 20% Rule: https://www.amazon.co.uk/20-Rule%C2%AE-business-sustainable-profitable/dp/1912009455/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1616084516&refinements=p_27%3ACatherine+Gladwyn&s=books&sr=1-1,

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/delegateva

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

In this episode, we'll be talking about how to brainstorm new content ideas. In a previous episode, I talked about how to deal with content overwhelm. And part of that problem is people generating new ideas for their business. They get stuck and they procrastinate and they spend hours trying to write a blog or social media posts for their business. Writer's block can happen to all of us, but there are many different ways you can fight the frustration. Whether you need content for blog posts, podcasts, or even e-books, here are some tips on how to generate new ideas.

{1:06 } Make sure you dedicate time for brainstorming. It's easy to think you can sit down and write new content and the ideas will just flow out of nowhere, but it's not realistic. It'd be much better to have a whole list of ideas stored away just when you need them. Go for a walk before you do it. Your creative output can go up by as much as 62%, according to a Stanford University study.

{1:49} So choose a time every week to get brainstorming, do relevant research, and write the ideas down, so you can have a whole bank of ideas when you come to creating your content.

{2:01} Planning and batching content also really helps. So once you've brainstormed, map out the content you want to share in the next three months. Think about the key messages you want to share with your audience.

{3:01} You can look at your competitors and see what they're doing and improve upon it, or maybe do the complete opposite, but it's absolutely fine to be inspired for an idea, but do not copy.

{3:15} Find out what other popular topics people are talking about in your niche. You can do that by Googling it, looking on Instagram, following hashtags, going into Facebook groups and seeing what people are talking about. You can even pose the question with your audience, do a poll.

{3:41} So trust that your message and content will resonate with your audience and that you don't need to copy anyone, but you can get inspired.

{3:49} Another great, easy way to get ideas is to use Google. Use Google search suggestions. If you have a general topic in mind, start typing it into Google. Loads of suggested ideas will pop up, including further related searches at the bottom of the page. This is a clever way of gaining idea inspiration that is aligned with your audience, but also SEO friendly since you source them through Google.

{4:16} Listen or watch something new. Is there a new book that you've read or a podcast that you really love? The more content you consume, the greater the possibility of new ideas. There are endless books, podcasts, videos, and creative content that you can consume.

{4:50} Start storytelling. We love listening to stories and we love telling stories. And the best part is all your stories with their intricate details are unique to you. No one else can tell them. So if all else fails, tell your audience about something that happened to you. It could be a success story or a time you made a mistake. What did you learn from it? How is it relevant to your audience?

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free Content Calendar here: https://clairewinter.info/freebies/2021content-planner/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

In today's episode, I'm going to talk about how to make your content stand out. There are billions of articles on the internet. It's more difficult than ever to gain visibility in a sea of endless content. Whilst you can create engaging content by focusing on high-quality writing, informative information, and original ideas, sometimes you still need to put in that extra effort. So to compete for your standout place in the online world, why not try some of these tips?

{1:05} Own your voice. With endless articles on the same idea. It's easy for content to merge into one another. What do you stand for? What do you believe in? What unusual take can you give to a mainstream idea? You need to draw attention to your words. How can you make them stand out? How can you disrupt the scroll? What will make someone sit up and listen? Don't be afraid to have an opinion.

{1:34} You don't want to attract everyone. You want to attract your ideal client. By people understanding what you stand for and what you stand against will allow you to filter out the people that you don't want to work with. It's great to be clear on who you do want to work with. It's also good to be clear about who you don't want to work with.

{2:36} Make actionable content, make it easy for someone to buy from you. Sometimes people get lost in their own content and the same with the content that they put out on social media. They don't give an actionable call to action.

{3:57} I talk about this probably nearly every episode, but update and repurpose content that's worked for you. That's why I always say it's great to use a Dropbox or a Google Drive, where you store all your content in one place. So you can look at the content you created last year at the same time and see if any of that you can repurpose. You should also be looking at your analytics to see which ones got the most reach and the most engagement.

{5:23} The other thing that people forget to do is that they create these brilliant bits of content, or they get mentioned by the BBC or in the Daily Mirror. And they tell their audience once. There's nothing wrong with going back to when there's a relevant theme or topic people are talking about on social media going, "Oh, it was amazing when we got mentioned by the Daily Mirror last year."

{6:25} Get clear on your brand intentions. Again, I've talked about this at the beginning. What are your values? What problems do you solve for your customers? What inspired you to start your business in the first place? When you're aligned closely with your brand, it will shine through in the content you produce.

{6:49} If you can weave your values like a story within your work, potential customers are much more likely to resonate and jump on board.

{7:11} Think about something that is going to make someone stop what they're doing and listen to you, watch your video, or read your blog. We can't play it safe when it comes to content marketing. It's often easier to sit back and sit in your area of expertise and not stretch yourself. But it's only when we step out of our comfort zone that we open ourselves to new opportunities.

{7:53} It does involve a bit of trial and error, but if you improve your content, you can improve your traffic, site authority, and sales as a result. So be patient, open-minded, and really drill down on your brand story and values. Growth takes time, but it is well worth the hard work. And trust me, it's just around the corner.

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

To get your content sorted join the Cracking Content Club Membership for just £35 a month: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

In this week's podcast I have got an amazing guest for you, Suz Chadwick, who is a personal branding expert.

{0:55} Suz: I am a personal branding coach and a business coach and a speaker coach. So all the things. But for me, it's really about supporting women to become bold and powerful voices in their industry and claim their space with confidence. And so really taking a look at how are they developing their brand, what are they known for? How are they becoming more vocal and visible?

{01:46} Claire: So which content do you like creating the best?

Suz: For me, I have to say that I've actually built my business on Instagram Stories. I always joke around and say I built a multi six-figure business with a cat filter on.

{2:35} Suz: So for me, it's amazing at engaging my audience, but it also has been able to kind of boost the engagement and the reach on my Instagram in general. And then I find that when I get clients and I ask them why they decided to go with me or how they found me, they're like, "I listen to your podcast and I watch you on Stories just about every day and I feel like I know you."

{3:39} Suz: It's sharing that content as well in so many different avenues and forms, but it's just making sure that that message is always consistent.

{3:50} Claire: Being consistent with the message so people know exactly who you are and how you can help them is absolutely key.

{4:01} Claire:I think what's interesting about Clubhouse is that they're real time conversations. And in fact, we met on Clubhouse. I think it's been a great place to network and a great way to grow an audience quickly.

{6:10} Suz: Clubhouse has allowed me to expand my network on a global basis at a speed that I haven't seen in any other social platform before in a free platform. And so, yes, I can pay for ads to get into the US and the UK and wherever else, but I can literally go into a room and I've got people from all over the world. And now my network in the US is so much bigger than it was, which is amazing. And something that was a real goal of mine actually in the last year was to break into the US and build my network and my brand there. And I feel like Clubhouse is really allowing me to start to do that as well, which is fantastic. So, yeah, it's super interesting. Plus, once you start getting clients from it, once again, it does become a little bit addictive. You're like, "Maybe I should get back on."

{8:19} Claire: That is the cool thing about Clubhouse, isn't it, is that you can listen like radio? So you can be doing other things.

{10:43} Claire: What's made a difference to your business life, if you think of content creators or content that you've consumed?

Suz: I would have to say podcasts would be the number one thing. So when I'm not working, when I'm out for a walk, going shopping, doing the dishes, cooking, whatever it is, I'm listening to a podcast. And it can be a podcast on feminism. It could be a podcast on business. It could be anything. But podcasts for me as far as content creation goes because it's on the go and it's something I can do anywhere.

{13:40} Claire: So when it comes to the things that have made the biggest impact on your business, you've shared that your own podcast and stories. What else have you done that's made a really big difference?

Suz: Speaking, 100% speaking. So when I speak, and I used to be a debater in school. So I started speaking when I was 16. And then when I was in corporate, they used to roll me out for corporate conferences because everybody else was like, "I'm not speaking." I'd be like, "I'll do it." And then when I got into my own business, it was so interesting. I talk about this all the time, as well, is that I think a lot of people wait for opportunities to come to them. And so I was like, "Well, I want to be a speaker." So I just ran my own events and guess who the keynote speaker was? Me. Imagine that? I'm headlining. And so I just have always created my own opportunities.

{20:38} Suz: I think that to the point of content when you create great content, I call it the content ecosystem, which I'm sure you're similar. Is that when you create something where people can consume you in different formats and in different ways, I just think it builds that trust. It builds the excitement and the engagement as well.

{21:26} Claire: Choose the platforms you love and enjoy and that you're going to have fun on, and that energy will draw in the right people. We're not in this game not to enjoy what we're doing.

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

About Suz:

Suz Chadwick is a BOLD Business, Branding & Speaker Coach taking your brand from basic biscuits to delectable 'got to have' goodness.

If you want to be the go-to person in your industry or you want clients clambering for your brand of awesome sauce and saying – "You're the only person I want to work with" – then you're in luck!

With over 10 years as a brand consultant working with global brands as well as solopreneurs, Suz knows what works when it comes to creating a business & personal brand to connects and stand out.

Recognised as a Top 10 Branding Coach by Yahoo! Finance and contributor to Entrepreneur.com, Savvy SME, and many other business publications, Suz is also the author of Play Big, Brand Bold, host of the popular Brand Builder's Lab podcast, and the creator of Brand Builder's Academy, The Bold Speaker's Collective & Brand Leader's Lounge.

Suz works with savvy women in businesses to create confidently bold brands & profitable businesses without the burnout.

Connect with Suz:

Website: https://www.suzchadwick.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzchadwick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuzChadwick

Podcast: https://brandbuilderslab.podbean.com/

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

Today, I'm going to be addressing a problem that comes up time and time again, and it's something I talk about quite a lot in this podcast, is how to prevent getting overwhelmed when creating content.

{0:53} The first thing I need to tell you is you don't have to be everywhere. You just need to be intentional with your content, understand who your ideal customer is, and what platforms they like hanging out on and how they like to consume content.

{2:01} You need to be creating content with purpose, intentional content that's scheduled and goes out at optimum times, which is why you need to look at your analytics and see when people are online and when they're engaging and commenting on your content and looking at what content works well. So you've had a little deep dive into what's working well for you and when people are online and when you're going to make the most impact.

{2:51} But having a plan in place is the key thing, even if you have to adjust the plan, which we all had to do this year, and we may have to do going into 2021 and '22. It's a plan with flexibility. So if you create a content calendar or schedule, it'll give you a bird's eye view of the whole process from start to finish. It'll give you a guideline of what content is going out and when and makes you focus on what I like to call core bits of content.

{3:37} When you start working with a team, you might start having an operations manager or a VA working with you as your business builds and grows, and they will all know what content is going out and when and help you with that content creating process. So wherever you are in your business, this is a useful thing to have in place.

{3:59} Secondly, make sure you make the most out of the content that you've already created. Look back, like I've said, at what worked well and what didn't. Pull out the bits of content that you know people have engaged on and repurpose them. You don't need to be creating content 24/7. There aren't enough hours in the day to be doing that.

{4:53} Think about what your target audience would like to see and how you can give them content that they've previously loved but with an added twist.

{5:02} Thirdly, and I talk about this a lot as well, but I love to reiterate what's really important, give your audience what they want. If you're feeling like your content isn't as well-received as you'd hoped, writing about what you're passionate about is important, but don't forget to look at the results too. Look at what's working. If you don't know what your audience wants, ask them.

{7:00} Sometimes, it is about creating content to educate people and make them understand the problem that they've got and how they can solve it. So there's lots of different ways of doing that, blogging, podcasting, videos, Facebook lives. You'll find the area that you like doing the most.

{7:34} Getting people on your email list should be part of that process. So whether that's asking people to sign up to a free download in your show notes if you're podcasting, or make it a question when someone enters your free Facebook group, you get to ask three questions, make sure one of them is, would you like to hear from me regularly from my e-newsletter, please leave your email here.

{8:18} You don't need to think about volume. You need to think about value. So ignore volume and increase the value of what you create. It's much more important to create quality content that really, really engages your ideal customer and gets them thinking about their problem and how they need to solve it or to know, like, and trust you so that when they need your expertise, they know who to turn to.

{9:23} So creating educational content that will provide real value to their lives, focusing on a few relevant and actionable posts rather than a myriad of meaningless information is the way to go.

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free Content Calendar here: https://clairewinter.info/freebies/2021content-planner/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

Ep. 035 How To Create Content That Connects And Converts

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

In this podcast, I'm going to be talking about how to create content that connects and converts. Creating valuable and impactful content is a challenge, let alone content that inspires and connects with its desired audience, sparking a conversation, traffic, and those are all-important conversions. The truth is, around 87% of content writers are still struggling to create content that engages their customers. So, what can you do to make your content connect and create conversations?

{1:00} First of all, you need to really understand your audience. If you don't understand who you're marketing to, how can you expect to grab their attention? Embrace a distinct brand voice and personality, and let it shine through your content, using intentional word choices and adopting your audience's beliefs and worldview. Ask yourself, what do I stand for? What do I stand against?

{1:34} Notice what content your audience is connecting to most and think about why that is. What are they reacting to? What are they commenting on? Use this to produce more effective results. Often telling a personal story, engaging those people, telling them about a challenge you faced, using those stories to really connect and engage with your customers will make all the difference.

{2:00} Remember to be human. We all like to hear about triumph over adversity, but also those funny tales where things went wrong, particularly when you're an entrepreneur. One of my favourite things to say is, learn to fail well and learn from those mistakes that you've made. So, again, think about a brand whose content you really admire. How do they speak and how does their content make you feel? Chances are that your favourite content creators are those that are authentic, real, and use genuine emotion to inspire.

{2:31} It's no surprise that we connect to those who are most relatable to us. So, don't let a screen get in the way of you and your audience. Evoke emotion to create impactful and long-lasting content. Certainly, for me, the things that I love consuming are people's stories, learning about how they've built their businesses, and what's inspired them along the way.

{3:05} Encourage conversation. Increasing likes and comments is all well and good, but if no one is actively participating in a meaningful conversation, how much impact is your business really making? Let people know that you value their opinion and their voice. Ask questions, host a poll, or even organize a competition.

{3:27} Building trust is valuable for creating a community of people who genuinely love you and your business. And that's why setting up things like a Facebook group like mine, which is called Cracking Content where people can engage and talk to each other and also consume your content are really valuable.

{4:18} Make sure that you allocate time, not only to create and post content but have conversations on channels as well.

{4:26} Don't just tell, show. There are only so many times you can talk about a product or service before your customer might just have had enough. Instead, switch up your content to give real-life examples. This can involve anything from building a story around your brand and why it came to exist to simply sharing fantastic customer testimonials.

{5.35} Last but not least, don't forget the visuals. As much as written content is important, the visuals are often what the customer sees first and can be just as important. Aesthetic often plays a significant role in the consumer's decision to stick around for more content or simply move on. So, make sure you include photos in your content at the very least. And video and infographics are also good attention stoppers.

Connect with Claire:

You can download my free PR guide here https://clairewinter.info/freebies/be-your-own-pr/

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Website: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/