How and when do we imitate other brands in marketing and advertising? How much copying is okay? And is originality at all costs really worth striving for?

If you run a sustainable business or have an element of sustainability to your business, you’re going to want to write about your values. The trouble is sustainability copywriting isn’t easy. So, here are my top tips for hitting the right note with your purpose paragraphs.

Let’s talk about those little, sometimes hidden, opportunities to sprinkle your brand voice like hundreds and thousands on your ice cream. First, I’ll share some real-life examples. Then I’ll tell you how you can find your own opportunities to make your customer experience just that little bit more memorable and special.

From over 123 clients, I can only count three major slip-ups. Here I share what went wrong and what I do differently as a result. Because these three fails are a big part of how I make every future project a success.

Maybe you’re a business owner who wants to write more confidently for your social media. Perhaps you spend half your working day agonising over an email, wondering why you can’t quite get the words right. Maybe you need to put together a pitch deck or write a winning bid for that funding that will change your company’s trajectory. It’s a bit of a writing cliché that to become a better writer you need to become a better reader. But I’ve certainly found it to be true. So, I thought I’d share my tips on how to read better.

Sometimes, as businesses, we need to break bad news. Maybe an order’s late. Maybe you double-booked a room. Maybe you slept through an important meeting. We all make mistakes. What’s important is what you do about it. Tone of voice is a helpful tool to make your message more palatable and essentially save your bacon.

At some point your business will change. You might cultivate a new target customer, expand into new categories or markets, shake up your pricing, or update your visuals or words. But it isn’t always easy. So, when change is on the cards, what can you do to guide your customers to the other side with confidence?  

Your new tone of voice is ready and you want to start putting it into action. But how do you get your team on board? And where do you begin with updating all your old content? Check out my guide to changing your tone of voice and bringing it to life across your organisation.

Have you ever become completely stuck when you sit down to write for your business? The endless choice and possibilities of what you could write leave you unable to start anything. But it’s the endless choice and possibilities that are the problem. Here's how to use the power of restrictions to save time, boost creativity and produce better work.

Brand values are the beliefs that guide how you run your business. But why do you need them, how do you get them and what do good ones look like? Let’s find out.

Before you go splashing your distinctive tone of voice across every corner of your business...hold your horses. There are certain places and scenarios where your tone of voice could do more harm than good. Find out when and how to flex your tone of voice to keep your customers on side.

When it comes to copy, sometimes, you know exactly what you need. Maybe it’s words for your website or the packaging for your latest product. But sometimes, you’re in need of something less defined. That’s where brand messaging comes in. The trouble is we strategists and marketers have lots of confusing words for the different tools and we don’t always agree on what these words mean and what the tools do. Here, I’ve given explanations, practical uses and real-life examples for each, as well as hints to help you write your own, if you like.

As you may know, I’m all about work-life balance and freelancing to have a more well-rounded existence. Part of that is nailing down processes to make the best use of your time. Stay focused and cover all bases with this list of essential tasks to run a successful freelance business.

As a company of one, brand voice can feel like a nice-to-have rather than a need-right-now. But in a crowded market it can help you stand out and build trust. Here are five tricks that take no time but will help you cement your tone of voice and create consistency in your communication.

You’ve heard fellow business owners and marketing managers talking about brand tone of voice. But how do you know when’s the best time to get it sorted? Here are four ways to tell you’re ready for a tone of voice guide for your business.

Everything you read says you need a regular blog. But something always gets in the way. I get it. Writing a blog for your business can feel like a massive drama. But it doesn’t have to. Here are my top tips for blogging for your business without breaking your back.

For every example of excellent brand voice out there, there are just as many examples of brand voice gone wrong. Luckily those mistakes are easily made but just as easily fixed. Discover seven common mistakes businesses make with their brand voice and how to fix them.

Do you ever find yourself deliberating over a particular phrase or word in your latest LinkedIn post? Do you wish you could talk about your business in a way that would set you apart from your competition? Do you hesitate when deciding what your brand’s stance should be on a particular topic or issue? Do you scroll through your feed and sense a lack of unity and cohesion from post to post?

One of the ways to solve these problems is a brand language.

The dreaded writer’s block: it happens. And it doesn’t make you any less of a writer. The important thing is to have tricks to get you out of the funk. So here it is. A manual to hot-wire your creative engine. Next time you’re struggling to get the juices flowing, give one, some or all of these a try.