KISM – Keep It Simple Mom

As a busy mom, no doubt, you have enough on your plate. Add a business to the mix and things can get pretty wild.

The Internet and technology provide so many ideas for our businesses. From website functionality to personal connections with other online business owners, the opportunities are vast. I’m guilty of this myself. I have often created elaborate projects and had so many ideas to implement. But when I sat down to look at it, it was the basics that made me money…so I’m back to the basics now.

Do yourself a favor – if you want an easier life – keep it simple mom. Remember KISM, at all times!

Keeping it simple means LESS:

• Workload
• Pressure
• Obligations
• Upkeep

Here’s a few tips to keep things to a minimum (and there’s no need to sacrifice profits…complicated often creates more busywork than anything else):

1. Keep your website and business plan simple. When it comes to business, it’s the basics that still work -> marketing, copywriting and selling.
2. You don’t have to network with everyone. Be selective of where and with who you spend your time on forums, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
3. You don’t have to take every JV (Joint Venture) offer, freebie, interview, review…etc, etc. New opportunities come along all the time, so be selective. In fact, don’t feel guilty if you don’t have time to respond to everyone. Put a policy on your site stating you don’t respond to all requests.
4. Hire a small to team to manage day-to-day stuff under your guidance. I’m not talking about hiring a huge staff and making things complicated. Just a virtual assistant to answer emails and do administrative tasks. Then a ghostwriter, tech person and whomever else is key to your business activities.
5. Maximize your opportunities, instead of constantly trying new ones. Make sure you give each project the full attention it deserves in all aspects from development to marketing. Constantly starting over again just gives you more work.

For More Help

Here are some additional resources that you might find handy:

• Free copywriting tips: Receive weekly tips for writing to sell.
• Free advice for outsourcing: Build your team, even if you’re on a budget.

5 Tips to Find Your True Writing Voice

Many people don’t think about their writing voice and those who do consider it, often over think it. Your writing voice can be equated with your speaking voice, it’s how you sound and it is unique to you. Whether you’re trying too hard or not trying hard enough, writing voice can be one of those things that causes your content to fall flat. Try too hard and your voice sounds forced and inconsistent, don’t try hard enough and your voice sounds lifeless and again, often inconsistent.

Voice is important, particularly if you’re a small business owner, because it helps your prospects and customers relate to you. It helps brand your company and it lends to your identity. Give people your voice, your identity, and you’re well on your way to establishing a following who enjoy reading your content, consider you an authority on your chosen subject and will gladly come back to your site again and again.

Here are 5 tips to help you find your true writing voice:

#1 Understand what voice is. Read blog posts and content from writer’s you enjoy. Compare at least 5 different writers. How is their voice different? Do you see how they have a writing style that’s unique to them? This is voice.

#2 Write conversationally. Even the most difficult of topics can be discussed in a conversational manner. That is, to write like you speak. The difference being that your writing won’t have those ums, uhs, and other speech habits we all possess. And when you write like you speak, your voice will naturally come forward.

#3 Don’t edit yourself, at least not until the entire project has been written. And I’m not just talking about not editing the spelling and grammar portion of your content. I’m talking about editing your word choice and sentence structure.

For example, I find that quite often I will use some sort of goofy metaphor when I’m writing. Rather than spend 20 minutes pondering a better metaphor, one that might make me look a little more intelligent or creative or even just a little more interesting, I just leave the metaphor in its place and continue writing. When I go back through the article to clean it up, if a better metaphor comes to mind then great, otherwise I stick with what I wrote originally because it is true to my personal voice and it’s often one that everyone can relate to.

#4 Write your copy as if you’re writing a letter or more likely as if you’re writing an email. This format, which motivates you to let go of any pressure to sound overly structured, authoritative or formal, also lends itself to more conversational and genuine wording and structure. Your personality and voice will shine through.

#5 Finally, forget about your audience. Easier said than done, right? Not really, when you’re excited about your topic, it can be easy to push aside any concerns you have over how you’re presenting yourself and simply write on your chosen topic one you’re hopefully pretty excited about.
Nevertheless, even if you’re not passionate about your topic, in the end your content will sound better if you write it without worrying what other people will think of you. You cannot please everyone anyway and it’s always better to let your voice be heard. You’ll draw more attention, forge a stronger bond with your audience and ultimately build a better and stronger business.

Let go of your inner critic and be yourself when you write. You’ll build a stronger brand and writing will be a more enjoyable business building task.