Your small business might benefit when the brand is YOU…but you need to know your audience and set a goal for the blog. Recently I came across a post on a social marketing site: “I’m hearing great things about blogging. But is it really worth the time?” As usual, the…

Small business owners often find content creation gets harder after they’ve reached a certain success level. — I still remember the first time I performed standup comedy at a club’s open mic standup. I didn’t know enough to be scared. After many years as a college professor, I was used to speaking to all kinds of audiences. Sure enough, my first performance went great, and the next…

“Rockstar” copywriters don’t come cheap. They’re not answering ads. And do you really need one, anyway? A business owner was complaining, “I need to hire a freelance copywriter. I know there are many hungry copywriters out there…but they’re not responding to my ads.” Why was this business owner getting such…

Addressing 2 criticisms of storytelling (which are at least partly justified). Business owners have been told, “Go find a good story.” Now some consultants and coaches are saying, “no — stop! Don’t tell more stories!” In an earlier article, I asked the question, “Is business storytelling a fad?” Now I…

So now you’re ready to plan your next offer — a program or product. Some business owners get an idea and dive right in. I’m in this category. We execute fast…and wish we’d taken more time to plan. Often the “next step” seems so obvious we can’t resist making it…

Before I understood the dynamics of storytelling, I followed the advice to “let people get to know you.” I’d just started my first website, which was focused on midlife career change. I had studied metaphors but wasn’t aware of the power of storytelling for business. Somewhere I picked up the…

Entrepreneurs benefit from writing case studies — and so do their clients. When business owners consider writing case studies, one concern they raise is, “Won’t it bother my clients if I create a case study around them?” Case studies can be so helpful to building your business…but you might fear…

A marketer I follow, Tara McMullin, recommended a podcast by Willa Paskin “How Storytelling Became A Product.” It’s an episode of the Decoder Ring podcast. Willa shows how storytelling went from being something people “just did” to becoming “ the thing.” It got me thinking. She opens with a story…

Business storytelling can be a powerful tool for entrepreneurship, especially for branding and business growth. But…is it everything? — Many years ago, I took my first copywriting course with Lorrie Morgan of Red Hot Copy. At the time I was living in a small town in New Mexico, so I had time and motivation to dive in and absorb everything. Wow. Copywriting was the greatest thing since sliced bread.