We are all writers in the online space.
And our words matter.
Writing Coach for Healers, Helpers, and other heart-centred entrepreneurs
What if writing for your website was less about trying to persuade someone to buy something from you…and more about cultivating a community of like-minded individuals?
I know it’s possible.
Hi there, I’m Susan.
Writer. Teacher.
Collaboratrix.
I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted by traditional marketing practices based on shame, blame, and pain. As business owners, we can lead by example by treating each other with respect, and that includes respectful communication.
Part catalyst, part confidante, part “website therapist”, I’ll help you hone and clarify your website’s messaging until your own writer’s voice shines through. You already know what to say, we just need to bring it out onto the page.
I’m here to help you gain clarity on what to write on your website so you can build connections with your ideal clients.
I’m here to help you define exactly what your ideal clients need to know so they can make the best decision for themselves about working with you (or not).
And I’m here to celebrate with you as you gain the confidence to share your unique message with the world.
When I collaborate on your website, my approach is to take what you’ve already written, and help you transform it into what you meant to write in the first place. Maybe your writing just needs a little freshening up, a few tweaks here and there- or maybe it needs an overhaul.
Either way, you have options. You can do this, and I’d love to help you make it happen!
Here’s how we can work together:
Copy Audits
This is a good way to get started. The website copy audit gives you an idea about what’s working, what’s not, and what to do about it. From there, the choice is yours: do the work yourself; work with me 1:1 to get things moving; or take a course.
1:1 Coaching
This is my favourite way to work! Mentor? Coach? Teacher? Collaborator! Whatever your needs are, I’m here to show you the options, hold you accountable, cheer you on, and help you write from the heart.
DIY Courses
Courses are a great way to learn how to do something on your own time, at your own pace. The courses I build are designed to get you from A to B with as little fuss as possible…and maybe have a few laughs along the way!
Are we a good fit?
I`ve said it before and I`ll say it again- if you`re a service provider, you don`t want to convince someone to work with you....you want them to make their own decisions about what`s best for themselves.
Do you like it when someone tells you what`s best for you? Probably not. Nobody else likes it either.
#ethicalcopywriting #peoplearedecisionmakers
#writingcoach #smallbusinesslove #loveyourwebsite #websitecopywriting #wearethecreativeeconomy #tellthetruth
This book has been following me around for close to 25 years now, and I have never gotten beyond the morning pages ( which I do pretty consistently and love), and the occasional artist’s date, where I take my creative self somewhere fun, to stoke the fires. So I’ve decided to call in some favours and am looking for folks to join me in working all the way through this 12 week creative recovery and discovery. If this sounds like something you want to know more about, DM me and I’ll fill you in. Xo #creative #theartistsway #creativewriting
I saw this poem while drinking my coffee this morning, and it made me stop scrolling and pay attention. It seems written just for me, but since it wasn`t, maybe there are others out there who need this message today, too.
We are fed this idea that to be an artist, a creative, is going to be really hard. We will have to struggle. We will be hungry. It will suck.
But what if that`s not true at all? What if being creative is what we`re here for, in this precious life?
What if the definition of artistic, and creative, is too limited?
What if Art is about doing what you love and by being whole-heartedly yourself? What if Art is about self-expression, in whatever form it takes?
For me, I`m realizing that being an entrepreneur is my Art. How I approach a project, how I interact with clients, how I hold space for others to feel safe with their writing- that`s my art. The values I bring to my biz, the self-expression that is available to me, and how passion is a big part of what keeps me showing up each day- all that is born of creativity, and of bringing into the light that which comes naturally to me.
What is your Art?
#creativeprocess #morningpages #writingcoach #wearethecreativeeconomy #bethechangeyouwanttosee #websitecoach
Nope, I`m not a surfer (though I lived among them for many years).
And this post isn`t about surfing...
It`s about paddling against the current.
In that first image, the arrow is pointing into the "wash", which is pretty much as turbulent as it looks. Water up your nose, sand in your shorts, a board to the head if the spin cycle is stronger than you are. 😵💫
The second arrow points to the place beyond the "break", where the water is calmer, the waves roll in more evenly, and you can kinda see what`s coming your way. There`s more predictability, less choppy water, less sand in places it shouldn`t be. 👙
To get to the break, you have to either paddle through the wash, or learn to "duck dive" under it (see, I know all the right lingo! ✌️). But whether you go through it the easy way, or the hard way, you still have to go through it. Until you do, you`ll never really catch a wave.
Lesson to be gleaned...paddle, dear ones, or dive in deep, so you can come out the other side into calmer waters.
💛
#writingcoach #smallbusinesslove #solopreneurlife #creativeeconomy
Blaze a trail....what does that mean to you?
For me it means one foot in front of the other, steady progress.
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It means sticking with my values as I grow my business.
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It means showing up in service where I see a need in my community.
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It means learning to unblock my own creativity so I can use it in the service of my vision for the world.
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It means sharing my skills.
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It means staying curious about the path I`m on, and what lies just around the next bend.
What lights the path forward for you?
xo be well.
#wearethecreativeeconomy #loveyourwebsite #writingcoach #writingcoaching #femaleentrepreneurship #creativitycoach #heartbasedbusiness
Sage advice, Scott Galloway.
It might not be as glamorous as "the dream", but the transformation possible when we bring to light the things that flow naturally for us is hard to beat.
Maybe part of following the dream so closely is the idea of it has to be hard if it`s going to be any good....the trope of the starving artist, which kills so much creativity in the world.
Does it really have to be hard?
What talent do you have that could one day become your passion?
#shineyourlight #wearethecreativeeconomy #lifteachotherup #writingcoach #b2bwritingcoach
I`m not one to quote the bible....but you won`t find Thomas in there anyway, so I figure this is fair game.
I`ve been thinking a whole lot about creativity lately, and the ways it wants to come forward in our lives, and especially through our efforts at content creation.
I don`t know if I`d go quite so far as Thomas and tell you that unexpressed creativity will leads to bad outcomes....but I can say with personal experience that letting our creativity lead us where it wants to go once in a while can certainly lead to good ones!
I think there`s a lot of self-censorship that goes along with trying to figure out our brand voice and message, especially at the early stages of our journey when we`re still listening to mainstream marketing and trying to figure out how to mimic it. There`s no shame in that.
But eventually your own true voice will probably have something else to say, that maybe even goes against the status quo.
I say chase that voice! Follow your own heart in business, and stay curious about where it will lead you. Only then can what is deep within you start to shine.
Be kind to each other out there, and good luck!
#bekindtoeachother #shewrites #femalebusinessowners #smallbusinesslife #writingcoach #copywritersofinstagram #heartcentredbusiness
My tools of the trade in recent weeks have included some of my old favorites....including my trusty Dewalt chop saw! Nothing fancy, just for cutting the trim boards...but it makes quite an impressive noise for the neighbours!
I`ve been doing a little bit of renovation on the House, turning a small walk-in closet into a home office, and then turning my old office "alcove" into a closet.
It has required me to be creative, innovative, to see things from a new perspective, to make a happy mess, and to stretch my ideas about what taking up space means.
There are tons of metaphors I can pull out of there, but the main thing for me is that I was reminded of how much I love to take things apart and put them back together in better shape. Sometimes you have to take things apart in order to see the true potential.
Like closets...and websites!
If this sounds like you, DM me and let`s talk about it. I promise not to use my saw...
#loveyourwebsite #writingcoach #ethicalcopywriting #diycopywriting #doityourself #wearethecreativeeconomy #womenintech #femalebusinessowners
I think writing for our businesses can be really hard because we expect our writing to flow onto the page fully developed, making perfect sense the first time we write it.
I’ve got news for you.
💛 It`s very rare that any piece of writing comes out fully formed, and it’s not a reflection on your skillset, or aptitude for writing.
First drafts aren’t meant to be perfect, they are meant to be playful. Anne Lamott calls them the child’s draft, full of curiosity and exploration. Let it be that! Drop the expectations of instant clarity, and let your ideas wander around. Get out of the way and just let yourself do it.
💛 And the good news: there is almost always a glimmer of genius in the first draft!
What I see happening, for myself and many of the other small business writers I work with, is that we get the cart before the horse. We’re in a rush, we have a zillion other plates in the air, and we need to get that blog post on the website today, or the newsletter is already late, or something something something…we forget to play. We forget that the muse can’t be rushed, and that the first draft needs to sit and simmer a wee bit before we can find the glimmer within it. This forgetting gets us all riled up, stressed, and panicky. We get down on ourselves, we start to hate writing, we wonder if we can actually handle all the writing in our business….this downward spiral happens to me, too, and I love writing!
The antidote is simple: plan ahead. Draft one is loose and playful. Draft two brings to light the glimmer of genius there, and the third draft is the polishing part. Rushing the process doesn’t actually speed it up….only practice does that.
Honing your message takes time, and it also takes an element of playfulness. We want all the answers to be right there in front of us, we want clarity, we want to know what our brand message actually is before we start to write it. But that kind of clarity belongs to only a few mountaintop-dwelling mystics…the rest of us need to write it more than once.
Want some help finding the glimmer in that first draft? They are my favourite thing to read! Follow the links in the bio, let`s chat.
#firstdraft #writingcoach
I love making stuff! Today I’m putting up a simple pine ceiling in my new tiny office. It’s about 30 square feet….I’m chasing the muse!
