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Illustration of a back garden at dusk with a circle of empty garden chairs around a glowing fire pit, fairy lights strung overhead and trees behind

Always do this before you post on social media

A DJ watches the room before playing a record. Why the same rule works before you post anything on social media.

Illustration of a beige 1980s desktop computer with a softly glowing blank screen on a wooden desk beside an open notebook, a pen and a mug, lit by a spotlight from above

How to tell stories in your business

Long before slides took over, Steve Jobs held a room with a story about heroes and villains. Five simple ways to use stories in your own business.

Illustration of a single shiny fishing lure dangling on a thin line above dark still water at night, small fish swimming the other way below, with a golden moon reflected on the surface

Stop begging for likes

Business

“Comment hey so Facebook shows me your posts.” Why engagement bait never really worked, and what gets people talking instead.

Illustration of a wooden chopping board on a steel kitchen counter with tomatoes, basil, garlic, cheese and a knife laid out beside one simple finished plate under a warm pendant light

How to avoid death by PowerPoint

Business

We’ve all sat through it. Slide after slide, read out word for word. What great chefs can teach you about giving a talk people remember.

Illustration of an old upright piano in a quiet room with the lid open, worn keys, a metronome on top, blank sheet music on the stand and a well-used stool in golden evening light

Do the verb

Life

If you want to be the noun, you have to do the verb first. Want to be a runner? Run. Want to be a DJ? Play records. There’s no shortcut.

Illustration of a compact travel blender with bananas, blueberries and a bag of spinach on a hotel room desk beside a green smoothie, a suitcase on a luggage rack and city rooftops at sunrise outside

If you don’t know your customers, why should they care about you?

Business

A smoothie photo in a hotel room, a comment from a follower, and a brand that seemed to forget who was buying from it. Why knowing your customers matters.

Illustration of a studio wall at night covered in blank sticky notes joined by string, lit by a desk lamp, with a mug of coffee, pens and an open notebook on the desk below

Stuck for something to post? 14 ideas to borrow

Business

The fourteen-day content challenge I gave business owners after a three-day event. Fourteen kinds of post to borrow when the page is blank.

Illustration of the view from the driver's seat of a car at dusk, a winding country road ahead towards a sunset over water, the steering wheel softly lit and a phone resting in a holder on the dashboard

Don’t go live from behind the wheel

Business

People going live on Facebook while driving was turning up in my feed almost daily. Why it’s illegal, dangerous and terrible for your brand.

Illustration of a home recording corner with a vintage cassette four-track recorder, a stack of blank cassette tapes, a pocket dictaphone and a coiled cable on a wooden table, with a speaker in the background

Record, remix, release: the easy way to make content

Business

Every DJ knows a good record gets remixed. Why the easiest way to make original content is to record what you already do and remix it.

Illustration of a simple world map with no labels pinned to a cork board, a small cluster of golden pins gathered in one area and a few loose pins in a dish on the desk below, in warm lamp light

Which social media platform is best for my business?

Business

The question I get asked more than any other about social media. The numbers change every year, but the answer hasn’t: go where your audience already is.