Small Business Casual: Content Marketing, Productivity, Customer Experience for Entrepreneurs & Creators

Text Emily!

Working with clients and customers is the ultimate collaboration. And for many of us, the one we encounter most frequently in running our businesses. 

If you’ve ever had a bad client experience or a bad subcontractor experience, this episode is for you! 

We’re going to talk about both sides of the coin as contractors and clients so we can be a little better at helping each other help each other!  

We'll get into how to be a better client and contractor as we explore: 

• Boundaries - respecting and setting them clearly and upfront prevents resentment down the road 
• Willingness/readiness - why it matters
• Communication - why overcommunication is great communication! 
• Respect - what does it even mean and how do we show it? 
• Trust  - that little feeling that is everything! 
• Things to ask/include in your process to play nice with others 
• What to do when things go awry 
• And more! 

Links and Resources Mentioned:
Content with Character Episode on the Four Agreements of Collaboration
She Built This Episode with Kristin Messegee on Trust in Business
Karen Kenney's Episode on The Art of Apology
The Nice Guys on Business Epiode: Stephen M.R. Covey on Unleashing the Greatness in Others

Quotes:
"People who feel you trust them perform better" - Stephen M.R. Covey
"Being a collaborative contractor and a collaborative client is KEY in a successful client relationship." - Me :)
"Overcommunication is good communication." - Lisa Walczak

Connect with Me! I love hearing from you!
Emily Aborn is a Content Copywriter, Speaker, and Podcast Host of Content with Character and She Built This. Since 2014, she’s had experience running brick-and-mortar as well as online businesses. She’s worked with 100+ industries as a copywriter, helping her clients increase their visibility, connect with their audience, and open up to creativity in their content. For fun, she enjoys nerdy word games, reading, listening to podcasts, and hiking in the woods with her husband, Jason, and their dog, Clyde.

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Text Emily!

What is it? 
How do I fix it? 
Can YOU help me fix it? 

Those are three very different questions that people ask at different places in their journey. And by people, I mean YOUR people. Depending on what their level of awareness is, your clients are asking these three different questions and you can’t just answer them all or speak to them all at once. 

In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about the difference between pain, problem, and solution awareness and how it can help you consider your marketing so you can connect and love them no matter where they are now! 

I get into: 

• The difference between pain, problem, and solution awareness
• What your clients are feeling depends on where they are in their journey 
• How to speak to your clients at different levels of awareness 
• Considering where your most recent clients came from 
• Speaking to just one person at a time 
• And more! 

Links and Resources Mentioned:
👉🏻 EXTENDED SHOW NOTES
This month's Episodes: The Four Agreements of Collaboration, Getting Picky About Your Collaborations in Business

Connect with ME! Your loyal host, Emily Aborn
I’m a Copywriter, Speaker, and podcast host. I live in the backwoods of New Hampshire, where I spend my non-working time hiking,  reading, and playing Crib Wars (an intense version of Cribbage IYKYK). 

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Text Emily!

Remember group projects? 

Group projects in school could go really really well, or really really bad. It all depended on who was in your GROUP and how they meshed together. Did you cooperate, communicate, and each pick up some of the workload? Or did everything fall on you or someone else in the group while everyone else sat back and waited for that sweet sweet A+ to fall into their lap without having to lift a finger? 

Collaborations are the group projects of the business world! 

And I’d venture to say that almost every business owner I can think of… has to COLLABORATE in some way somehow somewhere along their journey. 

Collaborations in business include: 

1. Working directly with clients
2. Hiring subcontractors or employees
3. Working with other contractors for a client 
4. Events and special one-offs (summits, workshops, etc.) 
5. Podcast guesting/hosting 
6. Speaking engagements 
7. Partnerships, joint ventures, affiliate marketing, vendors, and more! 

In this episode, we’re going to talk about what goes into choosing collaborations as well as being a GREAT collaborator! I'll get into: 

• Types of collaborations in business 
• Why collaboration in business is so important
• My definition of collaboration 
• Criteria to use when choosing who you collaborate within your business
• How to be a great collaborator in business!
• And more! 

Links and Resources Mentioned: 
Content with Character Episode) Four Out-of-the-Box Ways to Increase Your Visibility
She Built This Episode) Keys to Good Collaborations
She Built This Episode) When Collaborations Go Awry
Blog Article by Emily Aborn) Keys to Collaboration

Connect with ME! Your loyal host, Emily Aborn
I’m Emily Aborn, I’m a Content Copywriter, Speaker, and host of Content with Character, as well as the She Built This podcast. I'm a dog mom to Sir Clyde and wife to Jason, my favorite person in the whole world. Our little family lives in the backwoods of New Hampshire where we spend time hiking,  reading, and collaborating with others every day. :) 

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Text Emily!

You make agreements with yourself and others all the time...

"But the most important agreements are the ones you make with yourself. In these agreements, you tell yourself who you are, what you feel, what you believe, and how to behave throughout your life." (paraphrase of a quote from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz)

In this episode, buckle up because I’m going to apply the four agreements to how we show up as marketers, content creators, collaborators, and business owners. 

The Four Agreements is a book/philosophy by Don Miguel Ruiz and a quick read (to the tune of 138 pages with large text). 

I highly recommend checking it out if you want some simple, actionable, and life-changing perspective. It's packed full of wisdom and serves as a good template for just about anyone who wants to live a better, more honest, conscious, and fulfilling life. 

Today, I'm applying it to us as business owners as I show you how to consider the agreements you have with yourself, with your clients, in your marketing, and with others you're collaborating with.  

We'll answer: 

• What it means to be impeccable with your word
• How to not take things so personally 
• Why business is a whole lot better when we don't make assumptions 
• How to always do your best
• And more! 

Links Mentioned:
Jenny Belanger Website Designer of Jenny B Designs and her Creatively Optimized podcast
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
She Built This Episode "The Four Agreements: In Life and Business"

Connect with ME! Your loyal host, Emily Aborn

I’m Emily Aborn, I’m a Content Copywriter, host of Content with Character, as well as the She Built This podcast. I'm dog mom to Sir Clyde and wife to Jason, my favorite person in the whole world. Our little family lives in the backwoods of New Hampshire where we spend time hiking,  reading, and doing our best every day. :) 

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Text Emily!

Are you in charge of your business' thermostat? Or is someone else that isn't even IN IT in charge of adjusting it from an app far far away? 

We choose the temperature, pick the tempo, and choose our duration.  

You don’t have to sprint just because someone next to you is running a sprint. You don’t have to choose a marathon, you can walk, you can run - you can even push a baby carriage and walk your dog! 

In this episode, we'll take it from analogy to reality and give you some tangibles as to how that looks to choose the tempo and the temperature in your marketing and business. 

In this week's episode: 

• A few quick thoughts on Chat GPT do's/don'ts
• What temperature looks like in your marketing and visibility and how to choose yours 
• How to pick a tempo/intensity that feels right to you 
• Choosing a duration, and re-evaluating it at any time 
• And more! 

Links Mentioned:
My new moon-shaped SAD lamp
Learn more about my NEW Brand Messaging Guides

About Me, Emily Aborn Content Copywriter
Emily Aborn is a Content Copywriter, Speaker, and Podcast Host of Content with Character and She Built This. Since 2014, she’s had experience running brick-and-mortar as well as online businesses. She’s worked with 98+ industries as a copywriter, helping her clients increase their visibility, connect with their audience, and open up to creativity in their content. For fun, she enjoys nerdy word games, reading, listening to podcasts, and hiking in the woods with her husband, Jason, and their dog, Clyde.

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Text Emily!

One of the ways to learn to drag your feet LESS is to become aware of what your procrastination style is in the first place. 

In this episode, we’re going to explore the different types of procrastination so we can start to break unhelpful patterns when it comes to procrastinating in our business. 

We talk about the root of procrastination, how it can impact our lives and business, and some practical ways to start overcoming it when we spot the pattern popping back up. 

I share traits, habits, and tips for each of the six procrastination types 

• The Detailed Perfectionist
• The Dream Chaser 
• The Chronic Avoider
• The Crisis-Maker
• The Rebel with (or without) a Cause
• The Busy Bee 

I would LOVE to hear from you and which one you think YOU are and how it relates to slowing you down or stopping you in your business, marketing, content, and life! 

And if you need help getting out of your own way around procrastination, I'd love to have a strategy session with you and hash out some things that would work for YOU to keep you going and on track and CONSISTENT.

About Me: 

I’m Emily Aborn, I’m a Content Copywriter, host of Content with Character, as well as the She Built This podcast. I'm dog mom to Mr. Clyde and wife to Jason, my favorite person in the whole world. Our little family hails from the backwoods of New Hampshire where we spend time hiking,  reading, and occasionally procrastinating :) 

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Text Emily!

Procrastination is our creative response to not wanting to do something, being too busy to get to something, dreading something, and even needing everything to be perfect before doing it or while doing it. 

Contrary to common belief, it's not "lazy" and in fact, procrastination takes a hefty amount of emotional, mental, and sometimes physical energy.

In this episode, which is Part I of II episodes on overcoming procrastination, we'll talk about the costs of procrastination as well as some ways to start getting clear on what you need to do to overcome it for yourself! 

I'll answer the questions: 

• How can we remove the label from ourselves of being a "procrastinator"? 
• Does being a procrastinator make you lazy? 
• How much time does the average person spend a day/year procrastinating? 
• What are six costs of procrastinating? 
• What do people do when they procrastinate? 
• And more! 

Tune into the next episode of Content with Character where we get into Part II: Six Styles of Procrastination ((Link coming soon!)) 

About Me: 

I’m Emily Aborn, I’m a Content Copywriter, host of Content with Character, as well as the She Built This podcast. I'm dog mom to Mr. Clyde and wife to my favorite person in the whole world, Jason. Our little family lives in the backwoods of New Hampshire where we spend time hiking and investigating fungi in the woods, reading, and sitting on the back porch (when it's not snowing) doing crosswords, word games, and drinking coffee.  

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Text Emily!

When I was a little girl, my parents had a bookshelf full of personality, parenting, and relationship books. I was a little bit of an odd child and I liked digging into these people-focused books and figuring out who I was as well and how I could love others in my life better. I loved learning about what made people tick individually, and how we all fit together as a big picture. 

One of the books that caught my fancy was The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. 

In this episode, I’m going to share with you how you can bring your love language into your content and marketing, and tap into the wisdom of all five love languages to create and connect with others. 

Highlights of the episode: 

• A summary of each of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Gifts, and Quality Time 
• Practical ways to weave your primary love language into your marketing efforts and content creation 
• Ideas to incorporate all the love languages into your strategy to make people feel more seen, heard, and understood 

Experiment with them and play with them a bit! What kinds feel most natural to you? 

Which ones do you want to run for the hills when you try to do it? Where can you get a little help from friends or outsource it to make it effective?

Links Mentioned:
Lisa Zawrotny's Episode on the Five Love Languages and Self-Care 
Lisa Zawrotny's Positively Living Podcast
Gary Chapman's Book The Five Love Languages
EXTENDED SHOW NOTES/BLOG
 
About Me, Emily Aborn
I’m a Small Business Copywriter, podcast host, and consultant. My love language is helping business owners clearly understand what they want to say and write the words that take their message, vision, and expertise into the world! I love helping what makes you YOU and all the gifts, exceptionalness, and talents therein. When I’m not writing for clients or recording podcasts, I’m usually outside in the woods, hanging out with friends, or reading a good book.

Let's Connect:
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Text Emily!

An archetype is defined as, "A very typical example of a certain person or thing". A quintessential or textbook example if you will. And while we’re truly one in eight billion and no one can put us in any one box… 

Discovering your content creator archetype can help you know your patterns and strengths, as well as avoid pitfalls and speedbumps that get in the way of you connecting with your ideal clients and sharing your message. 

In this Content with Character episode, we’ll cover nine content creator archetypes so you can bring MORE of yourself into this world and overcome the challenges you face around marketing and messaging. 

In this episode, we'll get into the strengths, pitfalls, and some tips for navigating your content creator archetype: 

• The Reformer 
• The Caregiver
• The Achiever 
• The Creative Individualist
• The Investigator
• The Problem-Solver 
• The Enthusiast (aka the Party Bus Driver) 
• The Heroic Leader
• The Peacemaker 

Reach out and let me know which archetype YOU are as a Content Creator! Email Me: [email protected] or visit the links belows!

Links Mentioned:
She Built This Episode with Lisa Dadd on Soul Sales Archetypes
Strategy Session with Me, Emily Aborn
EXTENDED SHOW NOTES 

About Me: 

I’m Emily Aborn, I’m a Copywriter, podcast host, and avid reader. I live in the backwoods of New Hampshire where I bide my time hiking, seeking out my next bite of chocolate, and reading.  

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Text Emily!

In this episode, we get into three things that hold many business owners back from content creation, visibility, and marketing themselves.

We talk about perfectionism, time management/organization, and a lack of inspiration or ideas as they relate to your marketing AND how to overcome these things to move forward.

Make this the year you STOP holding yourself back in content creation!

In this episode: 

• How perfectionism can hold you back in content creation and marketing 
• How time management and overcommitment can hold you back in your visibility efforts 
• What to do when you lack inspiration or ideas 
• And more! 

Links Mentioned (in order of appearance):
Mahdi Woodard's Instagram post on perfectionism
Content with Character Episode: Four Questions to Ask Before Taking on a Project
Content with Character Episode: Stop Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall
Lisa Zawrotny's Positively Living Episode with Kylie Ota on How to Figure Out your Planning Style
Content with Character Episode: Creative Dry Spells - ideas to spark creativity and inspiration
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About Me, Your Host Emily Aborn 

• I'm a content copywriter who helps women entrepreneurs bring their messages to LIFE on their websites and blogs! 
• Podcast host of Content with Character and She Built This 
• Dogmom, wife, auntie, sister, daughter, friend, and the tall one in the back of every photo! 
• Blanket-skirt-wearing, puzzle-loving, sock-obsessed lady living in the backwoods of New Hampshire! 

Website: www.emilyaborn.com

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