Does someone suggesting you get back to / start telling your business story have you pulling this face?
Getting back into the swing of telling your business story after a hiatus is hard. Getting started in the first place is hard. Writing for your business is both a habit (worth keeping) and a practice, that TAKES PRACTICE. This blog post will help you to JFDI and get writing, whether you’re starting out from scratch or re-starting after a break. The tips and steps included in this post are just as relevant wherever you are in your storytelling journey.
Tricky things when you're new or returning to writing for your business
- Knowing why you need to be writing for your business in the first place.
- Knowing what the f*** to write about.
- Knowing how to structure the thing.
These blockers stump even the most seasoned writers at one point or another. If you’re seeing content marketing and copywriting for your business as a “should” or another task on your to-do list, you’re probably unclear of WHY it’s so important. If you’re scratching your head, staring at a blank page and whimpering quietly into your cup of coffee over having “nothing interesting to say”, you’re probably unclear of WHY your writing is so important – and WHO it’s for. And if you’re looking at what seems to be a stream of consciousness / waffle / word salad and puzzling over how anyone could find this useful, you probably need a little bit of a steer on structure.
What you need to remember about writing for your business
- Your WHY is your mission. What have you set out to achieve in the world through your business? How do you want people to FEEL? What are the challenges you are helping your soulmate clients to overcome? Content creates change – through reading the things you have written, your soulmate clients are already well on the road to the incredible transformation you envisage for them.
- This is a conversation. You are adding value. You are helping your ideal clients to solve their biggest challenges and achieve their dream lives. If you’re stuck, go to answerthepublic.com and search for words you think your soulmate clients are using around their challenges and find the questions they are asking the internet that YOU can be answering. Your FAQs section of your website is also a great jumping off point.
- Adding to the noise of the digital space or having a “Dear Diary” moment is not what your content is about. It’s about value.
- Keep it simple. Make it easy. Big blocks of text are ugly and hard to read. Use lots of headings, numbered sections and pull out quotes. keep your story flow in line with your intention for how you want your soulmate client to feel and what action you want them to take off the back of it. Following the thread of the point you set out to make (and not trailing off) does take practice, keep at it.
The 7 steps to get back in the swing of things
Someone recently asked the hive mind of LinkedIn for opinions on how to return to socials and other online marketing after a break, “should you just crack on as before, like nothing happened, or do you come back and explain where you’ve been?” was essentially the crux of the debate. You might be wondering the same thing.But you’re probably not wondering that if you’re just getting started, because “Hi, I’m the new kid…” feels a bit icky doesn’t it?
As someone who has had a hiatus or two from telling their own business story, I’m not going to tell you which of those options is best for you. Only you can decide that.
I am here to help you get back in the swing of things if you’ve had a creative break. Because maintaining a habit is easy, starting one is the hard part. So, if you’ve taken your foot off the gas in telling your business story and then felt stuck, these tips are for you.
Step 1 – Accept that you took a break, quit kicking yourself over it, and get back to it.
Step 2 – Brew a pot of tea, clear your desk, put on some soothing sounds (this playlist works for me)
Then you have 2 pathways – get back to a strategic habit OR try a new way of approaching storytelling
If you take the strategic habit route:
Step 3 – Get organised. Review the channels you are using for your storytelling – where are your ideal clients and what’s worked for you previously? Define these and stick to them.
In my case that’s: mailing list, blogs on my website, LinkedIn (plus Pulse articles), Pinterest (for SEO), Medium articles, word of mouth / relationship building stuff.
Open up your content calendar document (if you don’t have one of these, you need to read this blog post) – I bet there’s a whole heck of a heap of perfectly reusable social posts in there already, to get you back into the swing of things.
You should also grab snippets from your previous newsletters and get the most out of them. Make sure you have a tab in your sheet that has the location of all your blogs, guest blogs, podcast features etc. so you can grab and go on the quick.
Step 4 – Still an organisation one. Make sure you have access to some kind of scheduling tool (I use Buffer), if ad hoc posting on socials is your downfall. Consistency is key, remember. Your email newsletter service should also give you the option to set up sends in advance to help you with scheduling (one of the reasons I use Mailierlite is that this function is part of their free offering).
Step 5 – Pull together all of your scribbles of blog post ideas, social posts you have been dying to get out there, newsletter themes, new product / marketing offerings (i.e. if you’ve been hankering after running a giveaway, that sort fo thing) and start putting them in order of priority. I use Trello boards for this.
Step 6 – Build out your content plan using your content calendar (if you get brainwaves whilst mapping, you can pop them into something like a Trello card if that’s what you are using as your pipeline – that’s how *this* newsletter got written!)
If you opt for a new approach to storytelling:
Step 7 – Block out a solid window of time, take yourself to a different area of the house (or out on a writing date at your favourite cafe) and get writing. You’ll be amazed at how much can pour out with just a couple of hours’ space. Try journalling (you have freebie from me for that), an entirely new-to-you form of writing (I did NaNoWriMo in November and April for that) like writing a novel or short story, or try using oracle cards as free-writing inspiration (pick a card from your deck and write everything that it makes you feel / how it relates to your life and business / what actions you might take forward through your day).
This is going to get your creativity flowing and you’ll have tonnes of writing in the bank. And with your bank of existing content, reusable posts and the stuff you’ve newly created, you’ll be well and truly back on track.
Feeling inspired to tell your business story?
Let me know how you’re feeling about writing for your business, right now. As always, there is no need to stay stuck, help is at hand! I help heart-led business owners like you to start conscious conversations with soulmate clients through storytelling. Take a look at my offerings or book in a FREE clarity call to chat through your storytelling blocks.
