I’m thrilled to connect with you today regarding the highly anticipated Southern Enterprise Awards 2024, proudly hosted by SME News.
As we now enter the 7th Edition of these prestigious awards, I’m delighted to share the exciting news that your 2024 nomination has been successful, and Nicola Talbot T/A Firebird has been awarded:
BestContentConsultancy2024 – SouthEast
I really hope this news is well received!
This is my second ‘award’ from SME News. I won a UK Enterprise Award in 2022 for ‘Most Innovative SaaS Company UX Writer and Content Designer’ (they’re super niche, I guess so they can award more of ‘em).
They got in touch over the summer to ask if I was happy to be nominated, I said fine. Then they sent me a questionnaire for ‘supporting information’, which I didn’t fill in. Given I didn’t pay for a promo package last time I’m surprised to win another one!
I won’t lie. I was chuffed to win – it’s nice to be recognised, and it cheered me up this week.
After a scoop by RollOnFriday, they revoked the award. But how the heck did he win a prize if he’d not practised for eight years? I did a bit more digging and found this explainer on ROF. Apparently, the research team had questioned its legitimacy, but “another individual had missed the note and had neglected to take action accordingly”. They’ve had words to make sure it doesn’t happen again and “retraining is being provided.”
We’ve all been there.
They’re also listed on Wikipedia as ‘an organiser of vanity awards and publisher of online magazines.” I don’t agree with that, though, as it’s not pay-to-win. As they say in this ROF piece: “There is absolutely no link between a customer’s opportunity to win an award and their ability to pay for it. We do offer marketing materials for our winners as we realise there is significant value in promoting the news, but there is no obligation.”
Hmm, I thought I’d better gather more intel.
Hi X
Thank you, appreciated.
Just following up with a couple of questions as I’m curious about how this works.
Who nominated me?
Who is on the judging panel?
Is there a supporting statement / comment from the judges?
I wasn’t expecting a reply, but I got this email back the next day, explaining how it works.
“Our team run an extremely thorough process to arrive at this point, starting with the all-important voting and marketing stage.”
You can self-nominate, or a third party / the publisher can nominate on your behalf (they did).
They contact you to check you’re happy to take part (they did).
They send a supporting questionnaire so you can add more info about your biz (they did – food for thought).
Their in-house research team (all named here on the website) put together a case file on you (i.e. any info in the public domain).
They use an internal panel (the same folks probably) for the judging process – “who have been doing this for over 12 years for the company, and they know our standard and exactly what to look for!”
OK, so that’s me told. I was sniffy and suspicious but I’ve changed my mind. It’s not prestigious – no glitzy ceremony – and they’re giving out lots of awards. But it’s not a scam as it’s not pay-to-win. It’s a bit of publicity so why not? Gotta celebrate your wins!
I’ll take the free package (press release, entry into the winners’ directory + a 100-word profile), but I won’t be paying for any trophies or magazine articles, though clearly a lot of people do (or maybe have money to spend at the end of the tax year). Their business model is working.
I thought I’d have some fun with it and see how many awards I can win. I’m going for the hat trick…
It shows how crazy the awards circuit is though – it’s a real cottage industry! What does ‘award-winning’ mean these days?
Have you won an award with SME News or similar?Tell me more.
I did an awards newsletter for a client this week. Some glam photos from the night, which made it look fab. That’s the real value of awards – having nice visuals to use in your marketing.
Here’s a tip from the judges on how to craft a winning entry. “Entries that tell a full in-depth story with detail and evidence tend to be better received.” We need that human connection. ‘Feeling part of the journey’ also came up in the comments.
▶️TeuxDeux app. A to-do list that’s as simple to use as a piece of paper. Enjoying this – it’s the most elegant productivity tool I’ve used.
QuoteoftheWeek
You’re not going to create good content if you’re not excited and having fun doing it. It seems basic, but there are a lot of people who hate the content they’re creating. And it’s not gonna work.
Forget the best practices; forget what everyone else is telling you to do. Go create something you’re excited to create. – Josh Spector.
Since 1999, I’ve been writing online and interviewing creative folks I admire about courage and craft. I love learning from others’ journeys & experiences and want to help more ambitious solo entrepreneurs—especially women—impact the world with their personal stories. And make a shit ton of money!
Inspired by the book ‘Bold Types: how Australia’s first women journalists blazed a trail’ in the fight for gender equality, I’ve launched the Bold Types Q&A series.
Christin is editor-in-chief of The Salvation Army in the western US, where she tells stories about people making an impact for good and prompts others to action. She holds a master’s degree in specialized journalism from the University of Southern California, has taught journalism, and helps creatives simplify their content strategies on Substack.
Welcome, Christin! ✨
What problem is ‘The Content Brief’ solving?
I help creatives simplify their content. Anything we create and share is an invitation to connect, and I want people to have a plan and a workflow that is exciting to show up for.
I hold a master’s in specialized journalism, have worked for nearly two decades leading a content marketing team for an international nonprofit, and taught journalism and communications as an adjunct professor. Content is what I eat, sleep and breathe if you will.
After helping friends strategize how they could better connect with the right people online around their makeup artistry, barbershop and even psychology practice, I saw how overwhelming this world of content is to people who aren’t necessarily in it daily. I enjoy helping people break it down into something more tangible, sustainable, and real-life approved, so I’ve taken up doing so here on Substack.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, frazzled, and frustrated with how you show up online… If you want to better connect (and convert) people to your ideas and your work…
The Content Brief is for you. I’ll help you take control of your content so you can stay in your zone of genius.
What’s always on your desk?
At my full-time gig, coffee, water, a Blackwing and my Airpods. At home, I’m often typing straight into my Notes app between baseball practice or bath time.
With three boys under six, I love and live by the Julia Cameron quote:
The ‘if I had time’ lie is a convenient way to ignore the fact that novels require being written and that writing happens a sentence at a time. Sentences can happen in a moment. Enough stolen moments, enough stolen sentences, and a novel is born—without the luxury of time.
I also printed out a screenshot of my first-ever paid subscription and put it in a little frame to remind myself I might be onto something, to keep going, and to keep finding ways to be helpful as I build this community.
What are you struggling with right now?
Time! I have so many ideas, but we all only have so much time, so I’m constantly reminding myself to focus on what moves the needle. This week, I am largely wrestling with delivering a virtual summit I’m hosting: The Content Spark Summit.
This free full-day event on Substack June 27 is meant to help you spark meaningful connection with your content. From understanding the importance of engagement to creating a content strategy you can’t wait to show up for to fostering genuine connection and leveraging your unique expertise and experience, 14 expert speakers will share what they know.
Just this other day, I saw this quote from Seneca: “You must match time’s swiftness with your speed in using it, and you must drink quickly as though from a rapid stream that will not always flow.”
He may have been a Roman philosopher, but the advice holds today:
Keep a bias toward action. It’s easy to hide behind planning, plotting, and perfecting (I know!), but the impact you want to make can never take hold until you actually take action.
Tell me about your newsletter strategy, its value to your business, and how you measure success.
Right now, I’m in an awareness-building phase, focusing on free subscribers, which is part of the strategy behind the summit.
There are three ways to engage with me at The Content Brief:
As a paid member, you get access to my quarterly content planning party, where I’ll help you plot out your next three months of content. The next one happens in August and will help you create a plan to show up consistently, with intention.
And as a paid member of The Briefing Room (the founding member tier), which I’m just about to launch, you get exactly what you need to design or redesign your newsletter content strategy with ease, including my exact simple content system, an all-in-one dashboard workspace, and a monthly brief on one specific thing to reset to keep your strategy fresh. It’s all designed to save you a lot of time and frustration so you can have a bigger impact with your newsletter.
I’m also building in ways to collaborate and share with other creatives. I hope The Content Brief becomes a vibrant community that supports each other in what can sometimes be a lonely endeavor.
What important truth do very few people agree with you on? Or your ‘spiky point of view,’ Wes Kao calls it.
Providing value doesn’t mean having all the answers.
Creative work that inspires an audience and builds a community (and business) doesn’t require anything stunt-like, viral or wildly innovative.
We don’t have to show up as “experts,” with all the answers ready to guide others to the big transformation. Trying to do so often leads to becoming another faceless creator of tips & tricks and *value* in some Wikipedia-esque, robot-generated “I have it all figured out” status quo.
And the problem is…that says nothing of the journey.
You could have the most well-researched writing in the world, but if it feels like nothing more than a robot production, it won’t get read.
Conversely, you could write about your life as a dog walker, and if you’re asking questions that take us on a journey and leading a conversation from your perspective, every word will get read.
To provide value, you need curiosity, questions, and a yearning to explore. It means being willing to lead the conversation and invite us on the journey of an idea in real time through your content. People don’t want to see processes, deliverables, skills. We want to see perspective, relationship, transformation—and that means your point of view, personality and perspective.
Last week, I wrote about why I hate the word ‘content’. It’s become a catchall term for everything we make—words, video, audio—invading everyday talk and devaluing the creative process. What’s your take on it?
This is SUCH an interesting question and a sentiment I’ve seen pop up recently. I’ve never thought of it negatively. I think of it like the word “box”—a catchall term that encompasses so many different specific things but one word that gives you the gist.
I’m sure some of the negative vibes toward the word come from the push for “top ranking” and “click-worthy” content that doesn’t deliver, but for me, it’s just a succinct way to describe the many ways we invite people to connect with us.
That’s what content is, in my view, whether it’s a newsletter, podcast, social post, and so on.
When you create and share something, you invite others to connect with you about your ideas and work. Of course, if you are specifically a podcaster or a novelist, say that. Lean into concrete specifics over summary words whenever you can.
How have you shifted from ‘creating content’ to ‘building community’ on Substack?
With a relatively new newsletter on Substack, I came in knowing I wanted to build a community. I love to plan parties. I love to build everything around a specific purpose. To carefully word the invite. To think through the menu. To find the right party favor. To design the table. To welcome everyone in. To surprise and delight. To make them feel loved.
I feel the same about crafting my own little club right here on Substack. Building a newsletter and community is the ultimate gathering. And I’m here to party. 🎉
Can you recommend some resources for entrepreneurs?
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White—I love this illustrated version of the classic go-to guide for writers on how to “make every word tell.” (It’s also one of my favorite gifts for the creative types!)
Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller—The best how-to I’ve seen on using words to talk about your product or service. It’ll help you define a clear message on how you can help potential customers. Worth re-reading annually. (Here’s my full list of favorite books to improve your writing for more.)
Hype Yourself, for learning how to generate your own buzz.
Are you using AI tools? If so, how are they helping you work better/save time?
Yes! I call Chat GPT my intern. I love using it to prompt my thinking, research subjects, synthesize interviews, and spot holes in them. It also helps repurpose my hero content into supporting pieces.
My goal is to create one Substack post a week and then repurpose it into snippets and teasers for my supporting platforms. To help save time prepping those shorter pieces, here’s a basic starter prompt I use:
I am a [what do you do], and I need to create a social media post based off a newsletter I previously wrote. The audience is composed of [your audience.]
Use this text to write 3-5 short-form teaser pieces of content for [platform] that highlight the main points, benefits or offers of this newsletter. Ensure the tone is [your tone].
Include a CTA at the end to subscribe to my newsletter, [your newsletter name].
Not bad for a first pass. I always edit the intern’s work for quality and to sound more like me, but the beauty is you’re not starting from scratch.
Best coffee & coworking in your town?
I haven’t done any local coworking, but my favorite coffee shop to work in is The Boy & The Bear in Redondo Beach, California. It has an aesthetically pleasing dark, earthy, “let’s get to work” vibe and good coffee. Win-win.
I’m struggling to get my tax return done. It’s been in the diary for ages, but I’ve let (more interesting) things take priority this week.
I want it done so I can take a break in August. I’m normally on it as soon as the new tax year starts — like to do it early, so I know how much I have to pay.
I realise I need to do it before school’s out on July 21st. I’m not as focused with a teenager in the house. The energy is different, and my attention is split between work and domestics.
Also, the heat is making me restless. I want to be outside. Long walks. Runs. Hanging out. Living in Hastings is like being on permanent holiday 🤩 🌊
Time to revisit my systems and processes. Look at what I do every day — personally and professionally, and work out how I can maximise my output with minimal effort.
I want to work on my business and myself in August — reading, travelling, studying, and the bigger picture. Set some goals for September — the new year.
Designing better systems will give me more headspace and freedom to be present in the moment — whether I’m writing an email, talking to a friend or shopping with Julieta. It will also help me see what I can outsource.
It’s a mix of digital and physical:
• Notebook and pen (handwriting activates the brain and boosts creativity)
• Trello boards (to plan, move things around, inspirational backgrounds — a visual reminder of where I want to go next)
• Templates for newsletters, emails, and reports I do regularly
• Calendly — set times for calls with an automated Zoom link
• Batching tasks, e.g., Marketing Monday, Fridays for creative writing and personal projects, checking emails at set times
• Hootsuite for social media scheduling (5 x daily posts on the free version)
• Groove app for 50-minute focus sprints — just 4 of us; I love how intimate this feels. One task at a time. Writing an email, making dinner, sorting the garage — it’s all work
• GrowthDay — the first all-in-one personal development app. Underpins it all. Brendon’s energy is infectious! ( here’s my link)
Listen to an audio version of the article on this episode of The 21st Century Creative podcast, starting at 7’’18.
Learn to Thrive as a Creative Pro: get the FREE 26-week course. It will help you look at your creative career’s bigger picture. Do something new every week to develop your skills.
Happy holidays! See you in September 😎
As always, get in touch if you have something to share, a link suggestion, or just want to say hi 👋
Thousands of UK workers started a 4-day week on Monday with no loss of pay, in the world’s biggest trial of the new working style.
The pilot is running for 6 months and is being organised by 4 Day Week Global.
It’s based on the 100:80:100 model – 100% pay for 80% of the time, with a commitment to 100% productivity.
I can’t wait to see the results. It’s exciting to see the variety of companies on board – local chippies, software firms, recruitment agencies, tax specialists, Charity Bank.
Researchers will be measuring the impact on business and productivity, stress and burnout, life satisfaction, gender equality, and the environment.
As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognising that the new frontier for competition is quality of life.
Joe O’Connor, 4 Day Week Global
As with output-focused working, this will give companies a competitive edge.
Wacky office perks don’t cut it. Life is for living, and we want our time back. As you get older, you don’t want to waste your time on things or people that don’t make you feel good.
📚The Practical Magic of the 5-hour Workday, by Trevor G. Blake. Read the free pdf and pass it on. Trev has built and sold three startups for $600 million in a decade. All while never working more than 5 hours daily from a casita at home.
He shares his personal work schedule for enhanced creativity and revenue generation, and the history and science behind the rationale for never working more than 5 hours a day (viaDo Lectures).
The Medieval workday was no more than 6 hours, nature-driven, and in the hamlet. We now have the tools and tech to get back to that with remote working and less commuting, but we’ve gone too far the other way, working even longer hours.
We have a steady stream of information. Drip, drip, drip. It’s hard to switch off when your phone is an extension of your hand.
If you run a company of one and work remotely, you already have a competitive edge. You’re agile, committed to your cause, and you run your own schedule.
Getting more done in less time is down to discipline, deep work, mono-tasking – and delegating what you can!
📚 Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. How active rest and deep play – walking, hobbies, sports, good conversation – are the keys to happiness and success. That’s when we come up with those crazy, creative ideas.
Alex points out that a four-day week creates an entire year of extra free time every five years 👀
What would you do with that extra year? Imagine the problems we could fix!
Bikini on and soak up the summer 🏖 😎 🙏 We had Ziggy Marley on Hastings Pier tonight – doing a live tribute to his papa!
Written by Nika Talbot, founder of award-winning Firebird Studio. Content designer and UX writer. Based near Brighton, heart in Italy 🇮🇹
Something to share, or just want to say hello? Send me a note: nika@nikatalbot.io.
Welcome to the Sunday Shift: a weekly-ish newsletter rethinking how we live, work and play.
★ This week: Productive morning routines; The great American road trip, CEO style from an Airstream; Europe’s largest remote work conference; Sync vs Async communication; wrkfrce’s Playbook Project; The Great Resignation; 5G: A short course.
As the saying goes, if you “win the morning, you win the day”.
Tim Ferris has talked to many successful people about their morning rituals and shared the five things he does to set himself up for a day of positive momentum and minimum distraction – including making his bed and journaling.
I love the reference in this episode to “the bookends of the day” – pay attention to the small stuff like making your bed, and the big stuff will sort itself out.
Last August, Chris Reeves set up the group #WTMWTD after hearing the phrase on a podcast about getting out of your comfort zone to help with the stress and mental health decline amidst COVID-19. They meet first thing in the morning for a walk or swim, coffee and a chat, and it’s been transformational for many. A movement with global groups springing up and a Facebook group with 3K followers.
It’s less about productivity and the to-do list and more about putting yourself first, so you’ve achieved something no matter how the rest of the day goes. He says it works because:
It’s free, I’m not selling anything, and it’s a welcoming environment for anyone who wants to step outside their comfort zone. I don’t like the sea. I don’t like cold water. But the reason I do this is that it sets me outside my comfort zone.
All good as long as you’ve had enough sleep!
And a big shoutout to Chase Warrington for this chat with the founder and CEO of wrkfrce, Jesse Chambers, about morning routines, mental health, and the future of work. Jesse and his wife left San Francisco to hit the road in a vintage Airstream while founding a company and managing a global remote team. Wrkfrce is an excellent one-stop shop for remote work, and great to see it has a dedicated Wellness section.
Chase has also written this piece on having a more productive morning routine by “paying yourself first”. Some personal finance advice on putting your “non-negotiables” before work obligations.
How you work is just as important as the work you’re doing.
Follow the plan, not the mood 😁
– Nicci
🛠🖐5 Things
★ Repeople Conference 2021 – Europe’s largest remote work conference onsite + virtual. Debating the top five topics around the future of work, managing distributed teams, digital marketing, live VR work experience. Nomad City has rebranded as ‘Repeople’ (repopulate) to reflect the growing number of remote workers. Contributing to the remote work ecosystem in the Canaries.
★ Synchronous vs Asynchronous Communication: How to find the right balance for your team. Top organisations like Doist, Gitlab and Buffer have become more productive by cutting back on meetings and learning how to embrace async comms.The pros and cons of both forms, when to use them, and how to make the most of them.
★ wrkfrce’s Playbook Project – the global rise of reactive remote work in 2020 spawned a proliferation of playbooks by many leading remote-first companies, which open-sourced the knowledge they’ve gained to help other businesses. Trouble is, they’re loooooong. Here’s wrkfrce’s condensed CliffsNotes versions with the most useful, actionable insights to help make working remotely rock for you.
★ Do we have to work? RSA replay. What does work mean in the 21st century? It allows us to pay the bills – but it’s become about more than that – finding purpose, identity, and meaningful work for many people. Digging into The Great Resignation, production vs consumption, and what needs to change in the new era of work: UBI, zero or low-cost economy, and the growth of self-employment and portfolio working.
★ 5G: A short course from Axios. 5G is cast as a technology that will revolutionise cities, transportation, education and more, but it faces hurdles. A five-part video intro into how it might apply to your life and work and the debates surrounding it. “What we’re facing is the possibility of a global surveillance machine.”
Nika Talbot 