As business owners, it's important to get the message out there so that you can earn more followers, create more leads and deliver more sales. This mission critical activity can make or break a business, but the mindset you adopt when approaching your messaging could always do with some careful thought and consideration.  Before you dive in to making a new piece of marketing material, you may want to start with these 21 questions. The questions invite you to think about how you might construct your message, how you're going to distribute it and what expectations you have for your audience. I like to think of this as a sanity check before you start. But it can also be a catalyst to develop a higher level of rigour in your processes.

Most of us turn up each day and hope to have a positive impact on our world. We come with the best of intentions, the desire to help others and the willingness to put other people before ourselves. But we cannot be at our best for others if we, ourselves, need help.  In this particularly popular article, I'm going to be discussing a phrase that really resonated with me after the first few years of running my business: "You need to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you can help others".

When we encounter a challenge or problem, it's easy for us to jump to what we believe is the root cause of that problem in order to apply a fix. But what if our perceptions are wrong? Logically, it does make sense for us to look at the problem behind the problem, to find the real root cause, and therefore a real solution. But as human beings, we don't always do this. In this short episode (that was originally a video), I am going to discuss a seemingly innocuous example of mixing music. I'll be discussing how the speakers we listen on and the room we mix in, can have a profound affect on our awareness of the true problem we're experiencing - and therefore, the solution we need to implement.  -- Want to access the original articles and videos? Sign up to The Natives by visiting https://www.nativeorigin.co.uk/join-the-natives

An idea needs the support of others to organically and successfully propagate itself throughout a community.  Often, we may be tempted to reach for the megaphone, turn up the volume, shout louder at people and do this so that we get our audience to take action. The problem with this though, is that our audience are more likely to ignore our message with this approach. The very act of shouting louder can polarise people away from the adoption of the very idea we are trying to share. So, what does the colossal rise of Twitter and the surprising success of family planning in South Korea have in common? Well, in this thrilling episode, I am going to introduce you to the fascinating work of Damon Centola and the surprising ways in which ideas can spread.  -- Want to access the original articles and videos? Sign up to The Natives by visiting https://www.nativeorigin.co.uk/join-the-natives

It goes without saying, as human beings we tend to easily judge the success or failure of something based purely on the number of people engaging with it.  There are two problems with this though. The first, is that popular doesn't neccessarily mean good, and good doesn't necessarily mean popular. Secondly, it takes time for new ideas to gain traction and momentum, so if your marker for success is based purely on the engagement of others (rather than the inherent value, worth or quality of the thing itself) then you are likely to lose heart and give up on your idea quite quickly.  In this episode, I am going to tell you a story about a friend's wedding I went to in Ireland. A very well regarded wedding band was playing at the reception but hardly anybody was dancing along to their music. Does this mean that they weren't any good? Or is there something else going on here... Listen to the episode and see what you think. -- Want to access the original articles and videos? Sign up to The Natives by visiting https://www.nativeorigin.co.uk/join-the-natives

In this first episode for The Natives, the author, James Bussey, questions whether we put too much emphasis on social media when marketing our business or idea.  Due to its popularity, social media is certainly an attractive medium to work in. But when everyone is posting constantly, you may be finding your beautiful content is getting lost in the noise.  What else could you do if you didn't focus all of your attention on social media? In this podcast, I'll ask a few good questions to get you thinking.  -- Want to access the original articles and videos? Sign up to The Natives by visiting https://www.nativeorigin.co.uk/join-the-natives