Marketing tip: products and services need different types of trust One mistake I see a lot of small businesses make is marketing a service as if it’s a product. But people don’t buy products and services in the same way. 🍪 Product marketing is often low risk If someone buys vegan cookies, skincare, candles, chocolate, or a t-shirt, the decision can be fairly quick. They can look at the product and think: “Do I like the look of it?” “Does it solve the thing I want?” “Is the price okay?” “Can I buy it easily?” The risk is usually quite low. If they don’t love it, they move on. So product marketing often focuses heavily on the thing itself: ✅ the flavour ✅ the ingredients ✅ the packaging ✅ the price ✅ the offer ✅ the delivery ✅ the sensory experience Show the product clearly. Make it look desirable. Make it easy to buy. Simple. 🧑‍💻 Service marketing is different If someone is choosing a coach, consultant, designer, nutritionist, photographer, therapist, VA, accountant, or marketing person, the decision feels much bigger. They’re not just buying “the service”. They’re buying trust. They’re thinking: “Will this person understand me?” “Can I rely on them?” “Will they judge me?” “Will I waste my money?” “Do they actually know what they’re doing?” “Will this feel awkward, stressful, or easy?” That’s why service-based marketing needs to focus much more on the relationship with the person delivering the service. For services, your marketing should reduce risk. That means showing: ✅ what it’s like to work with you ✅ your process ✅ your values ✅ examples of your thinking ✅ client stories ✅ useful advice ✅ your personality ✅ proof that you can help People need to feel safe before they enquire. A product can often be sold with a strong photo and a clear “buy now” button. A service usually needs more warmth, more explanation, and more trust-building. So here’s your tiny action step for today: Look at your latest post and ask yourself: Am I selling the thing, or am I helping people trust the person behind the thing?

One of the simplest ways to improve the search optimization of your website is to stop guessing what people might type into Google, and start paying closer attention to the actual words they use. A lot of vegan business owners describe their offer beautifully, but not always in the language their customers search with. For example, you might describe your business as: plant-based artisan bakes But your customer might be searching for: vegan birthday cake near me dairy-free wedding cake London where to buy vegan cupcakes That gap matters. Because search optimization is not just about getting more words onto your website. It is about making your website easier for the right people to find when they are already looking for what you sell. A few practical ways to do that: 1. Start with real customer language Look at the questions people ask in DMs, emails, comments, chatbot messages, or in person. These are often better than fancy marketing phrases because they show what people genuinely want help with. 2. Use specific phrases, not just broad ones Broad keywords like “vegan bakery” or “vegan skincare” can be useful, but they are often competitive and vague. More specific phrases usually bring better visitors, because they show clearer intent. Think: vegan bakery in Bristol cruelty-free skincare for sensitive skin vegan catering for weddings 3. Think about search intent Some people want information. Some are ready to buy. “how to choose a vegan protein powder” is different from “buy vegan protein powder UK” Both matter, but they belong on different types of pages. 4. Optimise key pages, not just blogs Your home page, product pages, service pages, and location pages all need clear wording too. It is not enough to write one blog post and hope Google figures everything out. 5. Make your wording natural Do not force keywords in awkwardly. The goal is clarity, not stuffing the page with repeated phrases. If your website sounds natural and helpful, that is usually a much stronger foundation.

Google Ads can be brilliant for vegan businesses when you want faster visibility. But a lot of people try PPC, get clicks, spend money, and then feel disappointed because the results are vague, messy, or just not there. Usually, it comes down to four things: 1. Your keywords Are you targeting what people actually type when they are ready to buy, or just broad terms that bring the wrong traffic? 2. Your ad copy Does your ad speak clearly to the person’s need, or is it too generic to stand out? 3. Your landing page When someone clicks, do they land on a page that matches the ad and makes the next step easy? 4. Your tracking Can you actually tell what is working, or are you guessing? Google Ads are not just about “getting to the top of Google.” They are about getting in front of the right people, with the right message, and making it easy for them to take the next step. That is where so many businesses get stuck. Question: Have you ever tried Google Ads for your vegan business, and if so, where do you think the biggest issue was? A) Keywords B) Ad copy C) Landing page D) Tracking E) I have not tried them yet Drop your answer below, and if you want, say what your business sells too. 🌱

A lot of business owners treat all website content the same. But I think it helps to separate it into two clear jobs: 1. Your main website pages - These are there to explain what you sell, who it’s for, and how to buy. 2. Your blog content - This is where you answer the questions people are already typing into Google. That difference matters. Because your main pages can be more sales-focused. They should talk about your products, your services, your process, your values, and why someone should choose you. But blog content often works better when it is less about you, and more about helping the reader. For example: >A sales page might say: We create handmade vegan skincare for sensitive skin >A blog post might say: How to choose vegan skincare for sensitive skin Can you feel the difference? One is about your business. The other is about the reader’s question. And Google often prefers content that gives the clearest answer to the search. That is one reason blogs can be so powerful for search optimisation. They give you space to write helpful, specific content that people are more likely to: - find in search - stay and read - share with others - link to from elsewhere That creates a kind of snowball effect. Helpful content brings traffic. Traffic can bring shares and links. Those signals can help your whole website grow in authority over time. A few practical ways to make this work: Write blog titles as questions Think: - How do I choose the right vegan protein powder? - What makes a skincare brand genuinely cruelty-free? - How much should I charge for vegan catering? Be specific A focused post usually works better than a vague one. Not “vegan food tips” More like “How to store vegan celebration cakes in warm weather” Keep your blog educational, not salesy Answer the question clearly first. You can link to your product or service page afterwards. Link your content together Let your blog posts link to your product pages, service pages, FAQs, or enquiry page. That helps both readers and search engines.

The way people look for vegan businesses is changing fast. They are not always typing short phrases into Google anymore. More and more, they are asking full questions out loud on their phones, like: “Where can I buy vegan cakes near me?” “Who sells cruelty-free skincare in Dorset?” “What’s the best vegan café nearby?” That matters, because if your website and content are not built around real customer questions, you could be missing people who are already looking for exactly what you offer. This really matters for the new age of AI searches on things like ChatGPT. People used to do a simple Google search for "vegan cakes Dorset," but now they ask more complex questions. You need to make sure your website is optimized for these complex AI searches. A few things I think are worth paying attention to: - Answer real questions clearly on your website and in your content - Make sure your business location and offer are easy to understand - Keep your site mobile-friendly and quick to load - Think less about clever wording, and more about being easy to find The big shift here is simple: people want quick, clear answers. The best way to do that is to write detailed blog posts that answer these questions. Question: Are you writing blog posts so you get picked up in the AI searches?