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Built environment, Moderating, Regeneration, Retail & Leisure property

MIPIM UK: The future of retail and town centres under the spotlight

Screenshot 2019-05-29 at 11.14.21I’ve been writing a lot about the future of retail and town centre for clients in recent months so I’m really excited to be involved with this panel session at MIPIM UK in October.

It will be an opportunity to explore some of the solutions with a brilliant panel of experts (more panellists to be announced soon).

The key things I’ve learned from talking to people in the industry is that retail certainly isn’t dead, it’s evolving and while there will continue to be casualties, there will also be winners.
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content engagement, Content strategy, Content writing

Why engagement is an important part of content marketing

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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Producing meaningful and engaging content doesn’t just mean writing native posts but also what you share and how you comment on others content.

Content helps with visibility but so does engagement with what others are producing and the two need to go hand in hand, particularly here on LinkedIn.

Liking and naked sharing – sharing without comment – will only get you so far as will writing ‘empty’ comments on posts.

There is a place for saying something encouraging or congratulatory, of course.

Missing a trick

However, if you are sharing and commenting without qualifying the reason for the share or adding value with your comment then you are missing a trick. Continue reading “Why engagement is an important part of content marketing” →

Content writing, copywriting

Why you should park the ego when writing B2B content

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Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

B2B content writing is an exercise in parking the ego.

There’s a lot of talk about content that adds value but in order to add value, you need to focus on your target audience and what is valuable and interesting to them.

It’s not about putting yourself and business first but putting your audience – and the point of interest – first.

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Content strategy, Content writing, copywriting, freelancing, Moderating, PORTFOLIO, Training, writing for the web

How I got a portfolio career

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Last year when I was exploring what I wanted to do next in my career I met with a careers advisor who suggested a ‘portfolio career’ might be the direction to go.

I wasn’t entirely sure what a portfolio career was and how you approached getting one but looking back over the past 12 months of self-employment I now know.

It’s happened by stealth rather than design, people asking me if I can take on certain work.

My ‘portfolio’ of work to date covers a lot that is obvious but also many areas I hadn’t initially considered as a freelance:

• Content writing

• Copywriting

• Ideas generation/content strategy

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Content strategy, Content writing, copywriting, SEO, writing for the web

How to avoid writing fluffy content

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Photo by Evie S. on Unsplash

I got asked recently how you avoid writing fluffy content.

You know the sort of thing, a piece full of padding and little value.

I’m an advocate of quality over quantity so my instinct would be if you don’t have something interesting or of value to share then don’t waste your time.

Pressure to produce

But there is so much pressure on businesses to produce content now, particularly as regular content is good for SEO, so there may be occasions when you just have to produce something.

My first tip is to take a different approach. Is there a human story that could add weight, an experience to share or how someone felt?

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