coaching

May 9, 2012

Blogging made easy

Coaching for Business Blogging

Blogging coaching with Katie Macdonald VA Virtually Does ItToday I have a lovely bit of feedback from Katie Macdonald who was lucky enough to win the prize in my Twitter competition, which was a free 1-hour coaching call for one of my first 100 followers on Twitter. Katie is a virtual assistant (VA) who has just started to work from home. Here’s what she says about our chat:

‘Blogging seems to be the buzzword that never goes out of fashion. Anyone and everyone either has one, follows one, or knows someone who blogs. Blogs are also well thought of as being a key tool to have on a business website to open a more interactive and personal window on that business. Indeed, some business websites are blogs.

‘So, a blog was a must for me on my own website, I liked the idea of being able to write about my business in a way that wasn’t static like a web page, and it would add a different dimension to the site too.

‘I started with great enthusiasm, great topics and was blogging regularly. This was a piece of cake! My blog was fresh, flowing and attracting comments. Then the inevitable happened, I ran out of topics, began to wonder if people actually wanted to read what I had to say about virtual assistance or my ‘Top Tips to be more Organized’. Were they really interested in what I could do? My blog posts dwindled and the blog page became just another web page.

‘Knowing this must change, but not knowing quite how to go about it, and having read so many other blogs on how you should be blogging and still being none the wiser, I was thrilled when a tweet flew in from Andy @seemanaboutblog saying I had won a blog coaching session with him.

‘Think coaching session with a difference! The session was great. Not only is Andy knowledgeable, he is realistic and relates his advice to you, your business and your blog. So it’s not all ‘blogging text book’ stuff, but real, proven ways in which your blog can aid your business development, and your personal development as a business owner. It was so refreshing not to have techie-speak thrown in, and have something that was tailored to me and my style.

‘We spoke about potential topics, different ways to blog, how to link your blog to other platforms as well as how to work on building a community around your blog. We also touched on how a blog helps SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and what to put where to help your rankings. I learnt so much, but the most of all it took me back to basics, and made me think on a far more practical level about what I do in my business. Ideas were flowing and my blogging mojo was on its way back.

‘Andy made my realise that if I blog, people will read and probably far more people than I think will find what I write about useful and informative. The most important thing is to keep it up!

‘So, if you take a look at my blog now, you’ll see the ‘Before Andy’ version, but in a few weeks feel free to pop back and have a look at the ‘After Andy’ version!

‘If your blog needs rescuing from being just another web page, you need to see this man about your a blog!’

You can follow Katie Macdonald on Twitter or check out her ‘Virtually Does It’ website

The same competition is running for one of my next 150 followers so if you fancy getting some great blogging advice for free follow See a Man About a Blog on Twitter.

By Andy Britnell Business Blogging, Shaggy Blog Stories 28 Comments Tags: , , ,

Aug 23, 2011

Six beliefs that affect your blogging performance

Giant Tortoise: blogging - are you a tortoise or a hare I’ve been fascinated by the field of personal development for many years both in my own personal growth and that of others. Whilst doing some co-coaching with a good friend of mine we talked about the beliefs we hold as coaches which help us perform at our best for the client. That conversation got me thinking about the mindset or beliefs that you need as a blogger to help you become as effective as you can.

1. There is no failure only feedback – I shared this with a fellow blogger and he thought that this was a very powerful belief to have. It takes away the fear of failure and it helps you to make mistakes without beating yourself up. You learn more when you mess up as long as you look for the learning rather than keep hold of the emotion.

2. A persons behaviour is just information about them – very often in blogging and social media you can get hooked by seemingly negative comments. It’s said that we like people who are like us – so does that mean we dislike people who are not? You will probably find them challenging because they’ll communicate in different ways to you and what you might find to be rude and pointed may be an attempt to give you some valuable feedback. Someone pointed out in a comment that I needed to provide better navigation in my posts which was puzzling me until I realised I’d done an upgrade on my theme and the links were now not being highlighted. That useful comment made me change the link settings and they are now more in tune with my branding. (Has anyone noticed this?)

3. Your readers want you to succeed – since I’m a trainer and teacher I often need to deliver talks and presentations to audiences. It’s all to easy to imagine that they are waiting to see you slip up, dry up and have a CRAFT moment (Can’t Remember A Flipping Thing). The truth is totally the opposite and it’s the same for people reading your blog. They are looking for inspiration, new ideas, a new nugget of information that will help them break through a technical or emotional block. They want you to provide that for them and over a period of time they’ll know that you can speak to them in your unique voice. Never underestimate the value of your knowledge – sometimes what seems obvious to you is a revelation to others.

4. There is no such thing as an overnight success – a big one here – patience, as I highlight in my post about the 7 reasons why blogs fail, is the key requirement in blogging. Expecting to get quick results or trying to cheat the search engines will end in tears and frustration. When I used Site Build It software to build websites they emphasised the saying that on the net the tortoise beats the hare. Consistency and persistence will eventually help to reach that critical mass of readers and build a community of fans. There are few short cuts on the internet.

5. If someone else can be a successful blogger so can I – there are plenty of bloggers out there who have started from scratch with very little experience of how to use the web. It’s all too easy to get disheartened by following other blogs with masses of visitors and comments a mile long. Notice what they’re doing and emulate them but stay true to your personality and authentic way you communicate. I’ve seen speakers attempting to copy others and the stretch is too much. Steal their ideas and tips and techniques, do it your way and follow belief number six.

6. Always be learning – this is one of my favourites. I love learning which is why I enjoy the internet, making music, and practising Ki Aikido. Like blogging there’s always something else to learn and you can always get better whatever your current expertise. So hunt out those special bloggers who are the teachers in this world – they’ll feed you forever for free.

So those are my first six beliefs about blogging and in the next post I’ll share some more. Nurturing these beliefs and integrating them into your blogging mindset will help you to blog more efficiently, effectively and authentically with less anxiety and fear.

Happy Blogging.

What are your views about what beliefs are helpful to you when blogging?

By Andy Britnell Beliefs, Personal Development, Writing a blog 15 Comments Tags: , , , ,

May 20, 2011

From Fear to Fun – the Blogging Experience

Sally Shalam's Britain - Testimonials for Andy britnell - See a Man About a BlogIf you’ve been wondering why it’s taken me so long to do a post it’s because I’ve been heavily involved in helping one of my clients to set up a great travel blog. What with my current clients, new ones engaging my services, and delivering blogging and social media workshops, I haven’t quite found the time.

What inspires and motivates me most is getting a great idea launched for someone and for them to feel the process has been fun, productive and motivational. I could blab on for ages about what I do, but there is nothing better than unsolicited feedback from satisfied clients.

This one is from Guardian reviewer Sally Shalam who is delighted with her new blog Sally Shalam’s Britain, an independent and personal view of some of the best accommodation and tourist destinations in Britain. It’s early days but I reckon this is going to be extremely popular with people who want a fair and objective review from an expert who has a good eye for what’s cool and contemporary and knows what the discerning traveller is looking for. This is what Sally has to say about working with me:

“If only I’d known how much fun setting up my blog was going to be. Andy has taken me through a step-by-step process at a pace which I am comfortable with.

Much of the setting up is down to him, but our sessions are always part-tutorial so I came away feeling empowered and inspired to contribute myself from day one.

Now I can tackle the things I need to do – from blog posts to SEO – with confidence and manage the blog myself but I know he is on hand when I am too busy or get stuck.

Social media is such vital part of any business but I needed someone to de-mystify it for me.

Thanks Andy, for professionalism without geek-speak, patience without being patronising, and exactly the blog I want. Don’t struggle to get your own blog up and running, just go and See A Man About A Blog.”

By Andy Britnell Shaggy Blog Stories, Writing a blog 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

Jan 31, 2011

Falling into blogging

Falling into blogging. The Red Horse SpeaksI have been helping people with their blogs for about 18 months now in a low key ‘I like what you did with that blog, can you do something similar for me’ sort of way. I find I have fallen into a niche which uses many of my talents and skills from coaching to creativity and from inspiration to IT. So perhaps it is time to publicise my offering to people.

The first blog I developed was for my partner Judy Heminsley who is the Jelly Queen and doyenne of Work from Home Wisdom. i changed the theme to something more contemporary and interactive and put the blog on the home page so the content was always fresh.

A client who came along later was Beth Duff, who has a fantastic business called The Red Horse Speaks using horses to teach us about leadership.

Having asked Beth to complete a questionnaire to see what her goals were we had a few discussions about what she wanted to communicate in the blog. We eventually came up with the idea that it was a vehicle for the horses to share their wisdom, so we called it The Red Horse Blogs. Beth and each horse has a category which allows them to express their particular personality and role in the herd.

It’s very fulfilling to be involved in these unique businesses and use my creativity to help people produce an innovative blog.

What I love about blogging is that, when written in someone’s authentic voice, it provides an insight into the way that they think. The writing and navigation options represent their internal structuring of the subject and take us down interesting paths which we can follow using tags and categories.

So please go and have a look at Beth’s blog – if you love horses you will appreciate the content and how Beth has developed it from the original set-up. Here is what she says about the experience of working with me:

Initially Andy set up my blog from scratch so that all I had to do was to write the posts. Gradually he taught me how to manage the blog site and stayed with me until I was ready to take it over completely. Along the way, he gave me all sorts of invaluable tips, hints and shortcuts and made the whole process fun and enjoyable. Even now, he still helps with the occasional query and continues to offer encouragement and ideas.

Thanks, Beth.

By Andy Britnell Shaggy Blog Stories, Writing a blog 10 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,