Testimonials are so important.

After all, doesn’t matter how amazing the Airbnb, if it doesn’t have a Trip Advisor or Trust Pilot review, no-one’s going to book it… People trust what other people have to say. Even if they don’t know it.

With that in mind, I’m going to grit my teeth and share some kind words from people I’ve worked with, on here.

Starting with these from my amazing Instagram client @stephenhallwoodmusic. Go visit his grid and check out that voice!

And if you’re planning a wedding, Christening or event where you need a Bluesy-folk tunesmith to provide musical chills then Stephen is your man.

See, I find it so much easier blowing someone’s else’s trumpet than my own. (You know what I mean.)

What makes great copy? ✍⠀
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First up, rule #1 and the bedrock of great copywriting: don’t tell your customers how great you are, tell them what you’ll do for them.⠀
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Because as consumers that’s ultimately what we care about, right? How a product or service will add value to our lives. ⠀
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Sofa? Sell the ultimate night in, not the sprung seating. ⠀
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Bed? Sell sweet dreams, not the memory foam mattress. 🛌⠀
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Talk about the things your customers care about – what goes on in their day-to-day lives, their pain points, their hopes and dreams – and you’re on to a winner. ⠀

I don’t actually mean the best copy is the copy written in the smallest font, of course.

I mean the best kind of copy is the copy that doesn’t draw attention to itself. ⠀ ⠀

The kind of copy you don’t even realise you’re reading until you’ve read it. ⠀ ⠀

The kind of copy that lets the story you’re telling, breeeeeath, rather than suffocating it under a tonne of long words and sub-clauses.⠀ ⠀

My advice is: keep your sentences short and your words simple – just like you do when you’re having a chat with someone in real life.⠀ ⠀

Because a reader can spot a writer who’s trying to show off from a mile away – and that’s not good copy because it’s taken the reader out of the story.⠀ ⠀

Same rules apply, whether you’re writing ad copy, product descriptions, a newsletter or a novel.

We’ve all been there, wanting to impress our reader with our favourite new long word, finding excuses to shorhorn it into our copy – but I’ve learnt from experience that actually, keeping it short, is keeping it sweet!

HIRING A SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER WILL SAVE YOU MORE THAN JUST TIME

I’m often asked: ‘Why should I hire a social media consultant for my small business? Can’t I just send out a few tweets and Facebook posts, myself?’

And I’m like, ‘Well, yeeeah, in theory, of course you could but…'

And then come all the 'buts’…

But (oh there’s another one), in the interests of saving you time (I have a tendency to wax lyrical on this topic), here is my quick top-line answer.

You should hire a social media manager because… in a nutshell, they’ll provide long-term success for your small biz. Not only will you have a consistent active social media presence (so, so important), you will have someone who knows your brand, your customers and competitors inside-out; who’ll create the perfect strategy off the back of that; who will improve your customer service, optimise your branding, generate new customers, create engaging content, report back to you with all your wildly improved metrics and who will… save you time on top.

So why waste any more time thinking about it ;)

10 GEMS FROM THE DIGITAL WOMEN EVENT 2019

Digital Women is an online/real-life community, created by digital guru Lucy Hall, with the aim of empowering 1 million women through digital skills.

The first Digital Women Live event took place on 11 March, 2019, in London, and saw 250 people fill the NatWest Conference Centre for a full day of talks and workshops – and leave armed with big smiles, new-found knowledge and loadsa new LinkedIn contacts.

Here are my favourite takeouts from the event:

THE THING WITH JOHN…
‘There are more men called John sitting on corporate boards than there are women’ – Liz Norton, Business trainer and speaker

Depressing but together we can change it, right??

THE INSTAGRAM RULE OF 6
2 in 3 people who visit your Instagram page aren’t followers. Therefore, your first SIX instagram posts need to be Totally On Point. ‘Think about what those first six posts convey, what do they say about you and your business?’ Lucia Banjo, Facebook Account Strategist

HASHTAG SELF-CARE
Practise self care. ‘Don’t work around the clock, don’t burn yourself out. Having time to look after yourself is vital. An hour meditating or even an hour sitting on the sofa is time well spent.’ Amy McManus, MD of AM Marketing

SAY HI TO A.I.
Don’t be afraid of AI. ‘Think of it as Augmented Intelligence with a human heart. It has the potential to be a game changer and can help with everything from gang warfare and discrimination to cancer diagnoses’ Katie King, CEO of AI In Marketing and TEDx speaker

SEO RULE OF 4
The number of SEO components to focus on in your biz: Technical integrity, on-page content, keywords, and brand & trust. Rebecca Carey, Outreach and Content Lead at Found

SWEET 14
‘If you’re running your own business… Don’t over-service, don’t under-value your services, don’t say yes to everything, invoice right away with 14-day payment terms’ Becky Simms, Founder, Reflect Digital

60,000
‘The amount of times faster you process an image over copy on social media’. Give yourself a head start by downloading pic and video apps, Snapseed and MoShow. Amber Vellacott, Senior Brand & Marketing Executive, Giant Campus and Sleeping Giant Media

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Buy a ring light and get yourself on camera. ‘Video accounts for 81% of all online content. If you’re not strutting your stuff on social, you’re not visible’ Lucy Griffiths, Video strategist and entrepreneur trainer

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
‘Engage. Engage. Engage. Share more of the content you know works. Show an interest in your community. Join Twitter chats. Engage with your audience’s content. Go live.’ Nicola Osborne, Social Media, founder of Lollipop Social

BE AUTHENTIC
Have fun. ‘Have a vision, work hard, make friends, be kind, have fun and be authentic because women are amazing together’ Katie King

With women only making up 21% of the Digital Marketing industry, events like these couldn’t be more vital and timely – so if you fancy joining the Digital Women group and helping it reach its million members aim, head to the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/digitalwomens/