Trains: A Bubble of Inspiration for Writers
Sitting on a train is one of the most interesting ways to pass an hour – if you don’t have to do it every day, twice a day, with hours of work in between.
As a novelty, a train trip is a fun chance to people-watch, to listen in, to observe. It’s people living their lives, creating their stories, travelling to places that are new or familiar, telling their tales. Human observation is great fodder for content generation too. There are parallels to be drawn, differences to be observed, and assumptions to be made. All little snippets that can fuel a writer’s brain.
Here’s what I’ve heard today:
“Oh my gawwwd…he’s married now right? Jeez, you’ve got married friends and shit. That’s just freaky. What do married people DO at night and all weekend??”
“Hey mate. It’s all good. The money will be there. I just can’t talk right now, I’m on a train alright?”
“My board’s thicker than yours.” “No way man, I thought mine was the thickest around.” “Nah, I got that nailed.”
“No. I don’t want it. Take it away from me. I just don’t want it anymore now that you’ve done THAT to it.”
“Yeah they all ask about you. Especially Auntie Joyce. She always says ‘How’s that Thai guy?’ And I’m like ‘He’s Cambodian not Thai. How many times do I have to tell you?”
And here’s what I’ve observed:
Perfectly manicured, neat-haired woman in expensive black shift dress and patent pumps peers over her shiny black-rimmed designer glasses with a crease in her brow studying her phone. She’s tapping away with shiny red nails, writing snippets of information in her diary. She feels important. She feels busy and productive and looks good doing so. She’s not interested in smiling at anyone who won’t add some kind of value to her day.
Tanned until she’s orange, mirrored sunnies, bleached blonde hair, eyebrows that have never known a hair out of place, staring incessantly at her phone, tutting every so often, smiling wryly every minute or two (it must be Facebook or Instagram) and chewing her cigarette stained forefinger. She’s beyond cool. She’s untouchable. She spends a lot of time getting ready in the morning so she can bear to go out and be seen in public, and feel vaguely good about herself.
Cambodian 20-something, chats animatedly with red-haired ,17 year old Aussie girl with an American twang. Both are skaters, both share an interest in graphic design and the great big wide world of one day actually maybe getting a real job….
Two 60-something women with cropped grey hair have not stopped talking the entire trip. They act like lifelong partners – maybe they are. There is sharing of boiled sweets, whispers in each other’s ears, throw back the head type laughing, and outfits that emulate each other. They’re intrigued by each other and no one else matters. They could be anywhere right now.
He’s barely 5 feet tall but the cowboy hat adds an extra couple of inches. His skin is grey, his cheeks are hollow, his top lip almost non-existent. He looks tired and so do his jeans. His large duffle bag has many stories to tell.
Making it relevant to your business writing:
Creating a backstory for the people you meet or simply observe is fun. It’s a past time I’ve indulged in since I was a child. It makes doctor’s waiting rooms and bank queues that much more bearable and helps you develop your storytelling skills.
Much the same process can be used for creating personas for your business. Get into the head of those people who like you, know you, interact with you, buy from you, invest in you, partner with you. You’ll learn a lot from them. What you learn will be valuable nuggets of gold that help you craft your message hone your marketing, and therefore increase engagement with your target market.
Inspiration is all around you. You just need to know where to look and how to use the ordinary to become extraordinary. If there are days when you simply can’t get the dots connected and make the story sing, why not jump on a train and take a ride? You never know where it may lead you….
For more content generation inspiration, have a read of this: 5 Great Ways to Inspire Your Inner Author.
5 great ways to inspire your inner author
writer’s block. screwed up paper next to desk.
I often speak to business owners who just don’t think they’re creative enough to write. The message has obviously sunk in about the need to produce regular content to engage their communities and leverage their expertise but they seem to find the process of writing and brainstorming ideas a frustrating one. The process is usually made even more difficult for solopreneurs who don’t have a team of people to bounce ideas off.
I believe, however, that we all possess the potential to use our imaginations for creative pursuits – it’s just that sometimes we have those days where we need a little extra inspiration. Our own thoughts become blockers for any innovative energy we might need.
Next time you’re longing to stir up your creative spark, take a look at these five ideas below.
1. Stop thinking about yourself as ‘non-creative’
The best way to change direction is to fundamentally change what you are currently doing. Do a 180-degree turn. Now. Because staring at a blank piece of paper saying, “I can’t write. I’m not creative enough” over and over in your head is not going to help your cause. You need to change your mindset to one of creativity and joy about the task ahead.
Easier said than done I know. But here’s a way you can do it.
Using a simple mantra, every day, just for 5-10 minutes, can help you to get in the flow of creativity and alter your belief that you’re not creative. Choose one below that resonates for you:
- My imagination will run wild. I am a creative soul.
- Creativity is contagious – pass it on.
- There are no limitations to my creativity – only opportunities to expand it.
- Today I will innovate, create and tempt fate.
- There are people out there, right now, who need my art (writing).
- My work is uniquely my own and unlike anyone else’s.
2. Using visuals as inspiration for your text
If you’re struggling with writing text, why not try mapping out the story you want to tell with visual elements. You might find that the process of piecing together a story in visual form (whether it’s magazine clippings, a Pinterest board, or sketches on a notepad) helps the words to flow. The process of ‘storyboarding’ a longer piece of text by using visuals can encourage the story to take place and therefore allow the words to flow more easily.
3. Step into the shoes of your reader
Another way to stir up the creativity is to think about the end result for your reader once they have digested your story. You should only be writing about stuff that you know – and usually stuff you are passionate about – and typically stuff you want to share with the world because it helps or enlightens people in some way.
So, why not conjure up the feeling that endpoint elicits in your reader and work backwards. Try to sense how they’re feeling before and after reading your content. These feelings can provoke words and ideas you never knew you had – and they’ll be easier to write about when they come as a surprise!
4. Exercise your creative muscle
Even if you have proven to be a successful content creator in the past, it is important to take yourself outside your comfort zone every once in a while to continue challenging your brain.
For instance, instead of wrangling with the keyboard, take your camera, head outside and take photos of random objects, skylines, landscapes, or people that inspire you. Then head back inside and write a caption that immediately comes to mind when you view the image. That caption will often lead to a larger story; it’s a great way to get a sense of how you view things from a visual starting point.
Another fun thing to do is pick up a word puzzle book. Do a crossword, Sudoku, or word-find game. You’ll discover your brain suddenly operates in a different zone than normal and your creativity will be provoked beyond your previously experienced daily limits.
5. Experience art
Take yourself to an art gallery, photography exhibition, costume display or even down an alley covered in graffiti (street-art). The simple process of being amongst creativity can often inspire creativity.
The above tips can be used to help stir up your creative juices and get you writing more freely and confidently. I’d love to hear if you have some success with these ideas – or indeed if you have any other ideas that help inspire your inner author.
Time – a Complex Reality
So here I am on the Gold Coast with 9 other amazing female business owners and our coach/mentor Nicola. We are all at different stages of our businesses and bring with us a diverse range of experiences and a variety of personality types, but we’re all brimming with ideas, enthusiastic to make the most of our time together and supportive of each others’ goals. The energy is palpable, the vibe is great even though there were a few nerves first up about what to expect.
Personally, I’m here for 5 days of full on focus on my business. Five whole days to do nothing but strategise, write, develop content for programs, and make hay while the sun shines….literally shines so beautifully out in a big blue Queensland sky.
I’ve been looking forward to this for many months and can’t quite believe I’m actually sitting here now, rocking and rolling….writing. I’ve been desperate to have some time to just work ON my business and not IN it. I’ve been keen to have some time to focus on me, not on everyone else. I’ve been anxious to have some headspace to start constructing the next stage of my business journey. And here it is.
So now what?
SHIIIT! I ought to do something constructive, right? Time has always been my nemesis. And it’s often my excuse. My procrastinator. I’m always busy but stuff still doesn’t get done. Important stuff. And I’m determined to not let that happen this week. I have checklists and to do lists and a big rocket in the form of a pint-sized mentor who has said to take my goals and times them by 10! And that means take my action and times it by 10 to achieve those goals. Tenfold. Whoa..
But why not, right? It’s only 5 days, why not give it a crack and go hard. Huge energy. Huge effort and hopefully huge results. It’s a great way to change your mindset around goals.
I know time is the killer of many of my clients too. You are working so hard at being brilliant practitioners and business owners and parents and sisters and councillors and board members and sports coaches and partners and aunties that there is often little time to do any one thing particularly well. The hue and cry I hear often: “I just don’t have time to write”….”I keep running out of time before I finish and then I scrap it…”….I can’t make time for marketing…”
So how do we make better use of our time? How can we turn around the “I don’t have time” phrase and make it more positive?
I definitely think taking time out of your normal routine is key, just to shake things up and view your week and your work differently. It’s no use doing the same thing day in day out and expecting a different result. Routine can get dull and predictable and if you don’t have time now you’re not going to suddenly magic more time by doing more of the same.
Secondly, try viewing time differently. Plan for there to always be enough time in your day to complete the tasks you want to complete. Accept time as an abstract and not your enemy. If you think there will be enough time to do what you need to do then there is more likely to be than if you keep saying to yourself “I don’t have time!”
Try chunking up your day into manageable pieces that you can consume more comfortably – 90 minute sessions work well, or even hourly sessions. Give yourself one or two tasks to complete in that chunk of time and write them down. Don’t be too easy on yourself – some stretch is always great – but don’t make the tasks undoable in the time allotted, otherwise you’ll never win. Make sure you incorporate time for a quick stretch or walk around after each chunk of time too.
Try working somewhere differently. If you normally work in a home office, go to the library or a cafe or a park! If you’re anything like me you’re probably distracted by household boo-ha when working and the chores definitely suck time out of your day. Create some clear boundaries between work and home, but if you can’t – go somewhere else.
Get rid of the tasks that take up lots of time in your day – they are most likely the things you don’t like doing anyway. If your BAS statement and invoicing keeps you up until midnight, outsource it. Find a bookkeeper. If writing marketing collateral drives you batty and you can’t get the words right, outsource it. Find a copywriter. Don’t waste time with tasks that suck the life out of you.
Give it a go. Try to make time your friend.
Reading each day – a little or a lot – goes a long way to improving your writing
Investing in your professional education is so important. And as a business owner, marketer, writer, there is nothing more important than reading. Just 15 minutes per day reading some quality stuff will help improve your vocab, your knowledge, your skills.
You probably spent years toiling away at uni or some form of higher education. You may have then have had fits and bursts of learning as a mature adult. But what about now? Now that you are a busy business owner and parent? Do you do something each week to increase your knowledge?
I know I’m guilty of having shelves full of business books that were bought or given to me at various events and speaking gigs, all with good intention in the enthusiastic moment…but then real life kicked in and I was lucky to finish reading a recipe let alone a book!
And then there was the ‘baby-phase’ where all I seemed to read was how to feed, how to wean, what does this sound mean, what does that rash look like, are they walking yet, what are they supposed to be doing now, what does this cry mean, can they use pencil grip, why are they rubbing their ears, what the heck does this tantrum mean???
But now I am back to place where I am comfortably consuming books again. Ok, not quite to the extent of my Literature-major-university-self where I devoured one huge classic per week, but I am reading and learning something new each week.
It’s so important to do something different to get a different result. And reading increases vocab, generates ideas and really can improve your writing. You’ll find out who’s who in your industry and maybe even discover some new techniques that could be implemented into your business. You may also uncover partnerships that could be forged, alliances that could be made, or you may just rediscover your imagination.
So, get on it. Just 15 minutes per day. Browse through reddit. Read a blog article. Start a business book. Pick up a specialist magazine (I’m not sure Kim K’s latest hair colour classifies as a learning experience, so best to leave the trashy mags for a Sunday morning!).
Here are some recommendations from my shelf:
– The Big Leap. Opens your mind to what might be limiting you in creating the best life you can lead.
– Tribes. On my bedside table currently. All about the power of true leadership.
– Small Business Big Brand. Tips and advice on how to get your small biz to stand out.
– http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl – for all things grammatically correct!
Hello ma’am! Filippino business culture thus far….
Manila Jeepney – public transport.
So, here I am in the capital of the Philippines, Manila, working with one of my clients, realesate.ph. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to immerse myself in a different culture for a while as I try to grasp more fully the cultural and commercial differences between Aussie real estate agents and Philippine brokers.
Drawing on my ten years experience at realestate.com.au, I’m also rediscovering my business development and sales management skills as well as my product packaging and marketing expertise. It’s amazing what you retain and how much your brain actually knows. I’ve spun myself out with some of the things coming out of my mouth – and happily they seem to be resonating with the team and clients. I honestly thought having children had wiped out that part of intellectual history for good!
I’ve eaten ox tongue tonight as well as banana heart – traditional Filippino dishes. Not part of my cleansing program (sorry Kristian) but it would have been culturally insensitive to say no….
I’ve learnt that chaos or ‘flow’ is the order of the day in this city. This is particular obvious in the traffic situation – never again will I complain about the traffic in Melbourne. Wow. Nobody is interested in following rules. In fact, there are few rules, so it’s best you make up your own to suit. People aren’t much interest in stress – it’s not cool to be ‘busy’ (as has become my observation at home), there is little rushing about, and there is no desire to be on time or to be worried about being late. In fact, even though Aussie’s consider themselves laconic, laid back and ‘she’ll be right mate’, I’m discovering that we are a much more uptight and ordered nation than we believe ourselves to be. An interesting contrast to our Filippino friends, who with 12 million people in just Metro Manila, and a burgeoning economy fuelled by an inordinately young population, should be more inclined to rushing about and being ‘busy’.
Whilst there is a distinct lack of order about things, there is a rather great interest in hierarchy. Rank and file. Titles. I’m “ma’am” – to everyone. From the 24 year old female web developer to the 60 year old guard with his gun on his hip. “Morning ma’am…!” There are 5 people to do the job of 1 when it comes to official receipting and administration of anything, even shop assistants. There is a uniform and epaulets for everyone. It’s quite extraordinary.
The service industry is what keeps this land afloat and their people are their biggest export. And why not – they are very warm and friendly and nothing is too much trouble for them. Interestingly they have the third highest remittance in all of the world (next to China and Mexico) – meaning their extensive global workforce send plenty of their earnings home, back to the Philippines. Unlike most Aussies, Kiwis, Americans and Poms, whose overseas workforce tend to live it up large and spend big on themselves in their newly adopted country, the Filippinos send home large proportions of their Western wages to their families. This makes for an interesting economy and now a burgeoning real estate industry.
The Philippines is poised for incredible growth over the next few decades. It has a very young population, many of whom are are focused on working hard to change their fortunes. They embrace technology and are open to new ideas. There is an incredible amount of wealth here, as well as some extreme poverty, but the developing middle class is one to watch.
All fascinating stuff.
In the meantime, the shopping is ridiculous – the malls are 10 times the size of anything we are used to in Oz. The food is delicious. The hotels are extravagant. The weather is great – except for the humidity playing havoc with my curls. The beaches (not that I’ve visited) are reportedly the cleanest, and some of the most beautiful in the world ( I really ought to bring the family here on holidays I am told!), and the real estate is cheap cheap cheap by Melbourne standards.
I know I am in a sanitised bubble here in Makati, and I appreciate life in the provinces is different, but it’s been a cool experience thus far to get to know some of the cheeriest people on earth!
The internet in real time
Click the image to see an amazing visual of the craziness that is the speed, power and reach of the internet. I don’t know whether to be excited or alarmed at the amount of information and communication occurring at every second of every day in this modern world of ours. Nutso really.
Awesome weekend: Spy School with Nicola Moras.
I can’t believe it’s taken me a week to write about last weekend…well in fact, longer than a week! But it’s taken that long for my brain to stop leaking out of my head, and for the words and thoughts and To Do list to sink in and start making sense.
It was incredible and awesome and interrupting and draining. And I’d do it all again this weekend if I could!
What is this weekend I speak of? Well, I attended Spy School, run by Nicola Moras, with about 30 other entrepreneurial female business owners from around Australia. I had no idea really what I was in for, but the whole experience really exceeded my expectations.
Now I’m a conference girl from way back. Many corporate years meant many conference gigs, both here and abroad. And I also ran conferences and workshop events for customers during my realestate.com.au days. I love them, loathe them, can’t live without them all at once! They’re hard work, sometimes rewarding, often overwhelming, occasionally uncomfortable, mostly interesting but usually lots of fun.
And so it was with an open mind but a sideways glance that I attended Spy School on my own, without much prior knowledge of the people or organisation running the event. Why would I do that? Because I’m seeking growth and change in my business. There’s only one me and X amount of hours in a week, so I need to learn to leverage my skills and expertise to step up my business to a new level. I love what I do but I want to do more of it and help more clients. I also wanted some new enTHOOsiasm, and I was intrigued by Nicola’s story. How was she doing what she was doing so well – that is, building a business from home using online marketing techniques and Facebook advertising.
Now, I’ve been in the online marketing game a long time and so I could have ignored the call to action and said “there’s nothing new for me to learn here.” But you only know what you suspect you know at any one point in time. And if you don’t get out of your own way to learn new things from new people, you’ll never grow or change. You know, doing the same things and expecting a different answer is kind of crazy right? I’ve always thrived on education. LOVED reading, writing and sometimes even arithmetic! And I’ve never been shy to step up and learn new skills. I also must admit however, that if I don’t know something, I have been guilty of saying I do – but then I make damn sure that as soon as possible I go out and source the answer so that I DO know what it is I pretended to know!
And so off I toddled into the city for 3 days to soak up some new stuff and things. And boy did I! There were some amazing personal challenges on day 1. Some really deep diving into the ‘WHY’, and some checking in with our personal values. A rather disturbing but provocative exercise was where we had to think about our own eulogy; what would we like to hear said about us when we are gone. Quite confronting and thought-provoking.
Day 2 brought to life these emotional challenges in the context of marketing ourselves and our business. Many in the room had a personal brand attached to their business that was undeniably intertwined with their values and the legacy they hoped to leave behind. We formed clear ideas around who we want to help – our perfect client – and we started to shape offers to attract them. Building our lists through opt-ins and consults and then massaging those leads. Facebook advertising was the key engagement tool we discussed.
Day 3 we put our sales hats on and worked out what to do with these leads once we have them. How do we open the conversation so that our prospects effectively sell themselves in to our programs without much coercing? We talked ‘interruption techniques’ and ‘open probes’ as well as the hugely powerful idea of being detached from the outcome when on a sales call.
We were also entertained by Amy-Louise McGregor from Social Synergy talking all things social media, and Rachel Dunn and Michael Hole from Girl Director who presented excellent ideas about the power of video marketing.
It was a powerful weekend of connection: connection between friends, old and new; connection between ourselves and our businesses; and connection between the heart and the head. There were many powerful learnings, some great lightbulb moments, and happily also some ‘yep, I knew that, it’s great to have that reinforced’ type moments.
I’m still digesting my notes and my thoughts and am working hard to keep the buzz and momentum alive. Real life does get in the way, however – a sick husband, a garage sale and mountains of work to do! It’s proving more difficult to implement all I want to as the days zip by, BUT I WILL DO IT. Change is inevitable – so why not steer it in the most successful direction?
Thanks Nic for an ‘awesome’ weekend.
I’m a published author…ner ner ne ner ner
I’m a little bit excited to announce I’m finally in print! Yes! In a book!
Ok, I’m a digital expert (a weeny bit too old to be a digital native, but definitely a digital gal in the professional sense), and I perhaps shouldn’t be as excited as I am to be in a book (puh! those old fashioned paper things!) but I am….
I admit it. I still love books. In fact I love them more now than ever for their sheer vintage quality….and for the fact that pleasurable reading time is pretty much a rare commodity in my week unfortunately. I love books so much I fish around in my old year 12 Literature book box every now and again, just re-reading the copious notes and passages I highlighted to make myself feel clever again and remember the joy those pages once provided me.
Anyway, this book is all about mums in business. And that’s me! So it seemed a reasonable place to try and impart some wisdom through words…It is produced by Peace and Katy from AusMumpreneur and is called “”How to Create your own Successful and Profitable Business from Home.”
You can buy the eBook here for a whole $10 – it’s worth much more than that! I definitely recommend a read.
Now for that novel…..
Support for Mums – a VERY worthy cause
How You Say It was very pleased to be a part of the fabulous Support for Mums Night Out fundraiser in August at the Mornington Golf Club.
Eryka Rhodes from Looking Forward Counselling created a beautiful evening of pampering, laughter and community. Many local businesses contributed to the evening by way of donations of goods and services, sponsorship and support. I was pleased to be able to sponsor a table this year and rally together a group of my gorgeous friends to enjoy the fun with.
Support for Mums is an amazing charity who look after the welfare of families who find themselves in circumstantial crisis. Whether it be due to pre/post natal depression, illness, death, a sick baby, breakdown of a relationship or anything else, the stress brought on by these situations can make day to day living unbearable and normal functioning very tricky. The organisation provides short term practical support and funding to help relieve pressure in this these situations – counselling support, meals, childcare, clothing and so much more. They are a young organisation with a bright future, who provide a very necessary service. It breaks my heart to think that either me or any one of my friends could find ourselves in need of such a service at any moment -but I’m so pleased to know now that there is such a service available.
If you, or anyone you know, may be suffering a crisis please reach out and contact support@supportformums.org.au or call 1300 891 262.
Smile – you’re on camera!
You Tube is one of the largest video platforms in the world and is the second largest search engine. It offers an amazing demographic to marketers, as upwards of 65% of the audience are adults aged 18-49. Video is a great way to differentiate and give your business some real personality.
But, as with any social media platform, it’s all well and good to get views/likes/fans but it’s what you do with those numbers that matters. So how do you convert those YouTube views into sales?
Some tips:
- Keep it short and sweet. A pre roll ad should be no more than 30-45 seconds. If it’s InStream it should be even shorter.
- Target the right audience. Use the filters to ensure your video gets in front of the right eyeballs. You can target by age, gender, keywords, location.
- Make quality videos. Whilst anyone can produce video with their phone these days, you’re better off using a decent quality camera to get a better than average quality video that represents your brand well.
- Use consistent tone. Even if you’re making multiple videos from different viewpoints, your brand should always be represented in a similar fashion with similar language and feel. It helps with brand recall.
- Mix up paid and organic content. Set up a brand channel that people can subscribe to to find all your content.
- Use a variety of styles of content. It’s best to mix up your content types to keep people interested: product guides; news; funny facts; user generated; interviews; DIY guides; FAQs, contests.
- SEO your videos. Title tags and descriptions are just as relevant as on written content. Also try to include a transcript if possible. There’s no point creating awesome content if no one can find it!
There are some great free tools out there to help edit your videos. It’s not too hard, but can be daunting first time round. So, pop the lippy on, practise what you want to say in front of a mirror and get going!!
Go forth and video !
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