The Blog
The emotions, actions and thought processes of my creative work.
This is where I share what I’m doing and why, how I’m thrashing out problems and what I’m trying to achieve.
Postcards From Bruges, A Slow Travel Guide
We got the train to Bruges, an affair infinitely more civilised than air travel. Although the Eurostar trains are sleek are modern, there is still a hint of the golden age of travel in the air as, laden with luggage, you saunter along the platform toward your cross-continental journey (this is not the ‘stick your elbows out to get a seat’ train travel we’re used to on the West Coast mainline).
Blogging vs Podcasting: Which Is Better For Your Marketing?
In October last year, marketing guru Seth Godin published a piece announcing that “podcasting is the new blogging”. Cue the sound of marketing plans being ripped up and podcast microphone order confirmations hitting inboxes around the world.
2018 Year Review: The Crazy First Full Year In Business
2018 was a big year for Simple & Season by anyone’s standards. I made the equivalent of my old salary…and then doubled it. I won the Blogosphere Business Influencer of the Year award.
Getting Through An Identity Crisis In My Business
I’ve been having an identity crisis in my business. I can’t pinpoint precisely when it started, but for about the last six months something’s felt…off. Like I wasn’t doing what was right, like I was building something that worked for everyone but me.
How I Deal With Comparison Online
There will never be a time when the title of this post isn’t relevant. Whether you’re busy or quiet, positive or frustrated, focused or distracted, comparison can jump on you at any given moment.
What Is Outreach and Why Do You Need It?
Next week my new course, Smoke Signals, all about outreach starts – but what even is outreach? Essentially, it’s any activity where you are getting onto a channel that you don’t own to talk about your business, thereby getting in front of new and broader audiences where they are already consuming information and positioning you as an expert in your field.
Is There A Place For Hustle In Slow Marketing?
For me, when I think of hustle I see pink, marble and #girlboss; I think of aggressive sales techniques, webinars with no value, numbers with the letter ‘k’ after them. I think of the glossy, successful women who have absolutely everything together and are constantly striving for more, all whilst having the perfect morning routine.
Inside A Failure
We need to talk about failure. We need to normalise it, to take away that paralysing fear of it. We live in a world where gurus leap at any chance to talk about sold out launches and six figure businesses, where the most visible people and products are the traditionally “successful” ones, and where success is publicly ranked by numbers next to a username and underneath a photograph.
A Letter To Those Who Think 'That's Not For People Like Me'
Come join me out here on the balcony. Not just the physical one (although you’d be very welcome), but the metaphorical one too – a romanticised space, jutting out on a limb from the ‘normal’ structure where faith and trust is needed that when you step out there it will hold you aloft and not send you falling to the floor.
How To Plan Your Content
We all know that we need to be publishing quality content consistently in order to be discoverable, valuable and remind people that we exist online. But man is that easier said than done! In between struggling to find time and inspiration not striking we have lots of hurdles to jump in order to get content out there. For me, having a simple and clear content plan is the key to keeping on top of your content, allowing you to show up consistently with quality content for your people.
Where To Focus And Prioritise Your Attention In Your Business
Whenever I open up a call for questions, I get lots which are along a similar theme: what do I first, what’s the most important thing, where should I be focusing? We all want a specific place to start in order to know that we’re doing all the right things in all the right places.
How To Pursue A Big Idea
How many of us are not pursuing our big ideas and dreams out of…well, out of a number of reasons. Fear of failing, worry over what people will think, lack of support, low confidence, all the ‘who am I to do this?’ feelings. But you know what? Very often these come down to just not knowing where to start. If you don’t know where to start with something, and the subsequent steps you’ll need to take, it becomes overwhelming easier for all those other fears to creep in.
5 Tips And Habits For An Autumn Of Action
know it’s not officially autumn for another 20 or so days, but for me it really ceases to be summer on September 1st. As I look out of my window I can see the first hints of auburn in the leaves, and yesterday I wore woolly socks. Certainly here in the UK for the first eighteen years of your life summer freedom ends as the calendar hits September, and that’s some pretty hard conditioning to shake off. Not in a bad way; just that come September I’m ready for routine, for work.
Four Things I’m Only Doing Because I Think I Should, And How I'm Letting Them Go
If you’ve been listening to Grow With Soul (and if not, why not? 😉) you’ll know that I have a mix of solo, coaching and interview shows. I’m happy with the solo and coaching formats, but I know that I’m not hitting my own high standards with the interviews. While my guests have been great and had really valuable things to say, my skills (or lack of) as an interviewer has been letting them down somewhat.
Overcoming Money Myths
I tapped the figures of my paid invoice into the spreadsheet where I track my income, and, before pressing Enter, shifted my gaze down to the cell marked ‘Annual total’ where the formula would automatically update. I wanted to see it tick over with my own eyes, and in nano-seconds, it did.
On Being Brave In Your Work
In the middle of June I went to the Blogtacular conference in London, an opportunity to go listen to some talks and meet some online chums. As always, in the break after sessions people ask what talk you’ve just been to and whether it was any good.
Instagram Photography Tips: How To Compose Your Photos
There is no doubt that my business has been built off the back of my photographs. Yes, my blog and content has been vital too, but almost always my photos on Instagram are the first thing that people find, and draw them in to learn more. And really, I’m an amateur photographer – I shoot on Auto (and previously, an old iPhone) and, to be honest, find the technical stuff a bit boring and, well, technical.
5 Simple Living Shifts For Summer
What kind of a season is summer? With it's endless, cloudless days, sticky drips of ice cream and overhead buzz and flutter of transient birds and insects? It's a season, to me, of both rest and projects. After a spring of 'hustle' and growth there is now space and opportunity to enjoy the fruits of that labour, while this same space reinvigorates inspiration and creativity and brings new ideas to the fore.
Creative Crossroads: Choosing A New Direction For Your Business
What kind of a season is summer? With it's endless, cloudless days, sticky drips of ice cream and overhead buzz and flutter of transient birds and insects? It's a season, to me, of both rest and projects. After a spring of 'hustle' and growth there is now space and opportunity to enjoy the fruits of that labour, while this same space reinvigorates inspiration and creativity and brings new ideas to the fore.