Follower counts are a tricky thing. The real truth is, your follower count says nothing about your business. I check accounts for established businesses that I know are brilliantly successful, and they have a few hundred followers. Other accounts can have 1000s and not be doing anything for the business they were set up for. It isn’t how many people are following you that counts, it is what...
I love the podcast Serial. I remember when I first heard it. From the first moment, and the dulcet tones of Sarah Koenig, I was hooked. From This American Life and WBEZ Chicago, it’s Serial. One story. Told week by week. To start with, the good thing was that I was behind. I listened to episode after episode, headphones in at all times, ignoring my family, drinking in this story. And then I...
As a business of one, it often feels like my main role is just to get the work done. Client work is what is keeping my business running, what makes me a freelancer and gives me the business in the first place. So, for the first four years of my business journey, it has been my main focus. Recently, a lot has changed. Which is strange, because really nothing has changed. I’m still here...
**Full disclosure – I have received payment for writing this blog. I will be wearing a pair of Buffer socks with pride, in exchange for a few words about how and why I use Buffer! A fair swap I feel. And part of my growing SaaS sock collection alongside my MailChimp socks.** Beginning my Buffer journey I remember when I first heard about Buffer. I was at an event listening to a talk about...
Being a digital nomad, working from a co-working space, taking your laptop with you onto the beach. The remote working life promises so much. But does it deliver? And how can you be sure you are up to it? Here are a few key areas that you might want to consider before taking the plunge. Work Remotely from any Timezone So, where in the world are you working from this week? Or more importantly...
I think it goes without saying that when something is your area of expertise, that doesn’t mean you have it all sorted. So, with some trepidation, I will admit I’ve made my share of social media mistakes. Although I work on strategy for startups and SMEs across content, social media, SEO and marketing, I’m sure that my own set up lacks a few of the ingredients I talk to clients...
When I first started out freelancing I organised coffees with some of my friends who I knew worked in the kind of industries and sectors I was interested in. I felt a bit nervous and thought that just having a chat with some people I already knew about something work-related would be a good place to start. And it was. I met up with a friend of mine who is a CTO. He was really encouraging, stating...
I’ve always loved this picture explaining social media through the medium of doughnuts. As you can see it is a little out of date – FourSquare has since pivoted its business model – but I’ve often thought that adding ‘doughnut eating’ as a skill on LinkedIn is a sure fire winner! For a long time Instagram was, to me, just a load of vintage/filtered pictures. It...
One of the things that I’ve consciously done since I started freelancing is to build my own virtual watercooler. As you can see from my previous posts, I was never the natural networker. In fact, I now often describe my networking at previous office-based jobs as ‘whatever events were offering free cake and time out of the office.’ As you can probably tell, I didn’t see...
I love a good productivity read. Whether it’s a book or a blog, I’m there. 5 tips for a better morning routine. Yep. 5 tips to stop you checking your phone every 10 seconds. Click. 10 things all those people you want to be do before 5am. Check. I know that it is click bait, but I can’t help it, I’ll click every time. I don’t know what it is. I think I know myself pretty well, I think I’m self...