Blog – Madeline Littlejohns Photography

Oct

2024

11 CTAs to include in your blog posts as a small business

I have a quick but hopefully helpful one for you today. A list of CTAs (Calls To Action) that you can use in your blog posts as a small business owner to build your audience, boost your engagement, and get more sales.

So here are some types of CTA that you might want to include in your blog posts (either as a button or just a text link), and some examples of the wording you could use:

1. Encourage email sign-ups

If you have an email list then chances are you’re always looking to add more people to it. So if you mention the benefits of signing up to your email newsletter in a blog post, then include a CTA at the bottom to encourage people to hand over their details.

Examples:

“Sign me up!”
“I’m in!”
“Keep me in the loop”
“Sign up for weekly tips”

2. Encourage social media shares

Ask people who read your blog post to share it on social media.

Examples:

“Share this post”
“Spread the word!”
“Share this with someone who would love it”

3. Promote a product or service

If you’re selling something, either a product or a service, then make it easy for them to buy.

Examples:

“Buy now”
“Book now”
“Grab yours today!”
“Yes, I need this!”

4. Lead people to related content

Keep readers on your site by directing them to more relevant content at the end of your blog post.

Examples:

“Read this next”
“Unlock more tips here!”
“Discover more insights!”

5. Ask for comments or feedback

Boost engagement on your content by asking readers to share their thoughts.

Examples:

“Leave me a comment”
“What do you think?”
“Share your thoughts!”
“Do you agree or disagree?”
“Anything else you’d like to know?”

6. Share a free download or resource

If you have a free resource or download that would be useful to people reading your blog post, then encourage them to grab it!

Examples:

“Download now”
“Get your free guide!”
“Yes, send me the ebook!”

7. Encourage people to contact you

If you’re a service-based business and have written a post about how you can help people, then encourage them to get in touch or book a consultation with you at the end.

Examples:

“Contact us”
“Let’s talk!”
“Schedule your free consultation”
“Let’s start something together”

8. Promote your free trial

For businesses offering software or subscription services, encourage users to try before they buy.

Examples:

“Start your free trial”
“Try it for free!”
“Experience it for yourself!”
“Get started for free”
“Join free for a month”

9. Shout about a discount or special offer

If your blog post mentions a discount code or a special offer you have running then add a call to action at the end to encourage readers to take advantage of it.

Examples:

“Get the deal”
“Unlock your discount”
“Gimme the savings”
“Sign up and save”

10. Ask for a review

If your blog posts talks about your products or services, then ask people who’ve already tried them to leave a review in the comments.

Examples:

“Leave a review”
“Share your experience”
“Tell us what you think!”
“Love it? Hate it? Let me know!”

11. Encourage people to follow you on social media

Drive traffic to your social media accounts to boost your following and engagement.

Examples:

“Follow us on Facebook”
“Stay connected”
“Get more on LinkedIn”

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Oct

2024

5 productivity tips to help you steal back an hour a day

I have to admit, I feel like a bit of a fraud writing this post. Ok, a lot of a fraud. Because I struggle a lot with productivity.

A lot of my issues I think come from just being easily distracted, going off on side quests when I really need to just get my head down and focus on the job that I need to get done.

So one tiny thing that is actually really helpful for keeping me productive is keeping a notebook on my desk when I’m working. That way any time a thought pops in my head of something else I should do I can write it down so I’ll remember to do it later. Which is far better than my normal practice of stopping what I’m doing to go and do that thing now, before I forget about it.

If you need a bit more than that little tip, then here are 5 more things you can try that’ll help boost your productivity and claim back an hour of your day for things you enjoy:

1. Set up systems

If you do the same tasks a lot for your business then set up systems to make them easier and more efficient.

This could look like creating templates in Canva for your social media posts, so you don’t waste precious time coming up with new designs each time you need to post something.

2. Outsource

If you can afford it then outsourcing certain tasks to a freelancer can free up at least an hour of your day to focus on other things.

You could hire a VA to handle your admin, a social media manager to take care of that side of your marketing, or an accountant to handle the financial side of things.

Think about the little things that you struggle with in your business, the things you don’t enjoy doing and that end up eating up your time because you don’t really want to do them. These are the kinds of things to try and outsource if you can!

3. Don’t multitask

I think a lot of us were brought up to believe that multitasking was the goal. Getting three things done at once has to be super productive, right?

Well sometimes yes, but most of the time trying to multitask actually makes us less productive because we never fully focus on each task.

So each one takes longer than if we just did it on its own.

There are times when it works to multitask, like writing out your shopping list when you’re in the queue at the post office. But most of the time, just don’t do it!

4. Batch Tasks

Instead of multitasking try batching your tasks instead.

So for me with writing blog posts this looks like planning all the posts for the next week/month in one session, writing them in another, and creating graphics for them in another session again.

This way when I’m in the flow of writing I can keep going, instead of chopping and changing between that and brainstorming other content and designing graphics.

5. Repurpose your content

If one of the biggest time sucks in your business is creating content to share on social media then you can easily steal back an hour a day by repurposing content you already have.

Let’s say you can write one blog post a week for your small business. Once you have this done you can easily pull out quotes and key points to share on your social media channels. If the post is one like this, with 5 main tips, then you can use those points that you’ve already thought of to create a reel or a carousel for Insta.

You can reuse your images too, instead of sourcing new ones for every social media channel. Just make sure you resize them (which is really easy to do if you have a Canva pro account by using the magic resize tool).

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Oct

2024

The Sunday Seven

One of things I want to do with this blog is to show a bit more of who I am, beyond a writer and a photographer, so that hopefully people can get to know me and from there decide if I’m someone they’d actually want to help them in some way when it comes to words and picture for their small business.

So what I’ve come up with is this round up of seven things from the past week that I’ve done, enjoyed, found, used, etc. The content will change each week; so sometimes it might have more things related to by work and others it could be completely full of things that have made me laugh on TikTok.

But hopefully each time it’ll let you get to see a bit more about the person behind the business.

So here we go with this week’s Sunday Seven:

1. This week I have mostly been thankful for antibiotics! My daughter has had a nasty case of tonsillitis that completely wiped her out for a few days and I’m so glad we were able to get her some medicine quickly to help her fight off the infection.

2. It was my husband’s birthday in the week and one of things Nerys picked out for him was a pack of these LCD doodle pads. He has a habit of doodling on his giant mouse mat when he’s sitting at his desk, so these are a brilliant, fun alternative!

3. I’ve been getting to grips with the Canva glow-up over the last week or two, and I think I’m starting to like it. It took awhile to work out where a few things have been moved to, but I’m enjoying using it which I’m relieved about because Canva in general is one of my favourite tools that I use for work.

4. It’s almost time for me to start my autumn rewatch of Gilmore Girls, but in the meantime I’ve been enjoying watching Once Upon A Time again. I’ll admit it is a ridiculous show, but it’s brilliant for having on in the background when I’m working and I love remembering all the crazy connections between the characters that I’ve forgotten about since I last watched it! Henry is somehow his own step-great-uncle? I mean, that’s just fantastic!

5. I always used to make a chocolate cake for birthdays, using a recipe my late granny gave me, but recently my family have asked for a Victoria Sponge instead. So that’s what we’ve all been enjoying this week for my husband’s birthday. I use this recipe from Sarah’s Slice and it comes out perfectly every single time.

6. Both my children go to climbing lessons at Flashpoint in Swansea and it’s amazing to watch them take on new challenges and master new skills. My son’s been going for a year now but my daughter only started a few weeks ago, and this week she managed a climb that she really struggled with the week before and it’s incredible how it’s impacted her self-confidence.

7. I’m trying to get a blog post published every day this month both on here and on my family lifestyle blog, This glorious life, and one of the things that’s been a massive help in keeping me on track so far is the WordPress calendar plugin.

It’s meant I can pretty much plan out the month in advance, with posts scheduled in for each day in a really lovely clear calendar so I can easily see what content I need to create. It’s also really easy to drag and drop posts into different days if I change my mind about what I want to write about on any given day. Perfect for someone like me who likes to plan but also needs the freedom to change things up depending on my mood!

Oct

2024

Quick blog posts you can knock up in an afternoon

If you know you need to get a blog post written for your small business but only have a few hours to spare, don’t worry.

It’s absolutely possible to knock out a good post that’ll benefit your business without sitting in front of your computer for hours on end. You just need to know what to write about!

So here’s a list of blog posts you can write for your small business that’ll hardly take you any time at all to put together:

A list of useful resources

Put together a list of resources (with links) that will be helpful to people reading your blog.

So if your business is aimed at parents you could write a list of useful websites where they can find information on things like sleep, weaning, play ideas etc.

A list of people to follow

In the same vein, write a list of people that your customers or clients should be following for inspiration (or just for fun).

So if you sell skincare products then you could write a list of beauty bloggers and TikTok influencers who share useful information on taking care of your skin.

Or if your brand is fun and a bit off the wall then you could share a list of YouTubers who make skits and comedy videos.

A weekly round up

If all you have time for is 1 blog post a week then think about creating a weekly round-up of what’s been going on in your business, what’s happened in your industry, a new product or app you’ve used and loved, etc.

A quick tip or trick

Keep a running list in your notes app of ways that people can get the most out of your products or services, and then when you have time to quickly put together a blog post you can pick one to write about.

Host a guest post

Reach out to other business owners or influencers who are related to your field but aren’t your direct competitors and ask them if they’d like to write a guest post for you.

You get the benefit of their knowledge and they get the benefit of getting in front of your audience. Win win.

A ‘how-to’ guide

Write a quick step-by-step guide to something that you know how to do (that relates to your business) that most people don’t know how to do.

A photographer could write a post on how to frame a photo well.

A stylist could write about how to style a particular dress for 3 different occasions.

A bakery could write a guide on getting the perfect rise on a cake every time.

You get the idea!

A list of your top products or service

Write a round up of your best-selling products or your favourite services that you offer.

Include details of who they’d be good for, the best ways to enjoy/use them, and add in a link to the page on your website where people can buy/contact you.

A list of the questions you get asked the most

Repurpose your FAQ page into a quick blog post listing (and answering) the questions you get asked the most about your business.

If you don’t already have this information then think about the sorts of things your customers/clients would want to know. This could include things like:

Prices
Delivery costs and times
How to use your products
How to prepare for working with you
How to contact you
If your products are eco-friendly/vegan/gentle etc

A list of quick tips that are useful to your customers (or clients)

These don’t have to be directly related to your products or services, just relevant to your ideal customers.

So if you sell baby products you could write a list of tips to help new parents adjust to life with a baby, or if you own a café you could offer tips on the best drinks to try each season.

Oct

2024

3 brilliant reasons to include props in your personal brand photos

If you’re thinking of taking some personal brand photos for your business then one thing you need to be considering is what props you could include in your photos.

Don’t panic though, when I say props I just mean things you can hold and interact with, or have near you in the photos to tell a bit more of your story.

So think about including things that you use most days as part of your work, like a yoga mat or blocks if you’re a yoga teacher, and things that reflect a bit about who you are as a person, like a green juice if you’re a health nut or a copy of your favourite book.

The kind of props I would use in my own brand photos include my camera, my laptop, my favourite coffee mugs, and brightly coloured notebooks.

If you’re still not sure on the benefit of including props in your brand photos then here are 3 reasons that might convince you:

1. They give you something to do with your hands

It’s completely normal to feel a bit awkward and stiff in front of the camera, especially for the first few photos.

So having a prop like a coffee cup, your laptop, or your phone to hold is brilliant for giving you something to do with your hands.

And holding something familiar has a strange way of helping you feel more relaxed, so your posing relaxes too and you can get some really lovely, natural photos.

2. They give you more variety in your photos

Adding a few different props to your photo session means you can get a bigger variety of images that you can then use across your website and on your social media pages.

When they’re meaningful to you and what you do, you don’t even really need to be in all the photos with the props! You can crop closely to your hands holding them, use them in flatlays, and take close-up lifestyle images of them.

These kinds of photos can be great for social media in particular, overlaid with text to share something about your business.

3. They can help tell your story.

Adding tools that you use in your work, products you sell, and things you love, in your brand photos can really help to tell the story of who you are and what you do.

If you’re a florist, for example, and your brand photos include lots of gorgeous bouquets, pretty ribbons, and stunning single blooms, then it’s immediately clear to anyone who sees them that you’re someone who knows a lot about what they do!

The more personal items like mugs and books can tell more of the story of who you are a person, which helps potential clients and customers build that know, like, trust factor that you need to grow your business.

So before you get in front of the camera spend some time thinking about what it is you want your photos to say about you and your small business, and pick out some props that will help with that.

And consider having a few different types of props to change up the types of photos you get. So you could include your laptop and notebooks in some pictures for a more businessy feel, and then swap them out for a drink, a cupcake, or a fun scarf or hat that you can just have some fun with.

Just make sure whatever you chose feels authentic to who you are and what your business is.

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Oct

2024

5 reasons to hire a copywriter to write blog posts for your small business

If you’re still on the fence about whether to hire a copywriter to write blog posts for your small business or if you’d be better off doing it yourself, there are a few things to think about that might help you make up your mind.

I’ve already written about 5 reasons you might want to write your blog posts yourself, so now it’s time to look at the other side and consider the reasons you might be want to hire someone (like me) to write them for you:

1. You don’t enjoy writing

If the idea of sitting down and writing a blog post sounds like an absolute nightmare to you, then maybe just let someone else do it for you!

Keep in mind too that it’s not just about writing. You also need to proofread your posts, edit them so they flow properly, check them for grammar and spelling mistakes, and more. So if all of that sounds like your worst nightmare then you might be best delegating it all to a freelance writer.

2. You don’t have much time to spare

If your working week is already jam-packed then the chances of you finding time to write regular blog posts for your small business are pretty non-existent.

So you might be better off handing the job to a writer who can create them for you, then send them back to you ready to be published to keep your blog updated with consistent fresh content.

3. You can afford it

If you have the money in your budget and you don’t love writing then it’s well worth considering hiring a writer to handle your blog posts rather than doing them yourself.

It’ll free up a lot of your valuable time and give you one less thing to think about.

4. You don’t understand SEO

If SEO is pretty much nonsense to you then you’ll quite likely be better off getting a writer on board who actually understands it.

They’ll be able to write blog content for you that will actually help you attract your ideal clients by using the right keywords, optimizing for search engines, and making sure your content aligns with the latest SEO trends.

5. You need an outside perspective

One more thing to consider is how close you are to your business. If you’re a one-man-band then chances are you’re really close to it, and generally that’s a really good thing! But it can also mean that you’re so focused on your business goals that you can’t always see things from the point of view of your customers.

Hiring a copywriter to write your blog posts for you means that they can give you a fresh, outside perspective on things and help you come up with topics and content that your customers will be looking for that you might not be able to think of.

There’s definitely no right or wrong answer about whether you should write your content yourself or hire someone to do it for you. And what’s right for you now might not still be right for you in the future. But that’s fine, you can try one way and try the other and see over time what works best for you.