Hi. I'm Ben, and this is my Substack.

I'm a writer. I've published one non-fiction book, and am working on a couple of others. 

As a new author trying to make your way, one of the common themes – amongst the avalanche of advice that follows any Google search – is that you need to develop and communicate a brand.

I’ve read the websites, bought the books, and sometimes even get to the point of understanding why this might be important and what I should do next, only to find myself mere moments later in a state of complete disengagement, unable to remember, follow, or action any brand-related activities. 

I'm also not on social media, for all of the reasons outlined by lifestyle articles about looking after your mental health that you read in the middle of the night on your phone because you can’t sleep, although I’m also pretty rubbish at it, so it’s no great loss – either to me, or the wider digital world. 

If I do have a personal brand, part of it would certainly involve being slightly facetious about things like this when I would probably be better advised to take them a bit more seriously. 

Hence my decision to name this Substack in such a way that misleadingly suggests I might be able to provide serious advice to ambitious people on the topics of running a business, online influencing, personal fitness goals and success (general). 

What you’ll get instead is a regular dose of my writing on comparatively less high-octane and irrelevant topics. Because another aspect of my brand is probably to write the kinds of things that I would like to read myself, about things that I know about and am interested in.

It might not be the most eye-catching manifesto for urgent and essential #content, but it’s a start at least. 

Such things include, but are not limited to: comedy, books, TV and possibly sport (but don't let that last one put you off). You probably won't find much in the way of topical hot takes: I’ve made a special effort with my first piece, but more often than not I'll be rummaging around in the recent past for things to write about.

If all of this sounds a bit like a recipe for a blog from 2006 that gets abandoned quite quickly, fear not! That is emphatically Not My Brand. Expect a new post of around 1,500-2,000 words every two weeks, and more often than that when possible. 

At the moment, there’s no plan for paid content. I’m grateful for any and all readers, and plan to do my very best for you. (Although if you’d like to support my work, you could consider purchasing my book). 

Thanks very much for reading!