Mercury in fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) 
or 1st, 5th and 9th house

Turn It Up: Hyping the crowds!
You express yourself with passion and boldness, getting everyone hyped with your enthusiastic approach. That contagious sense of adventure and possibility is magnetic when applied to the right project. Fire Mercury thinks big and talks even bigger. You may work best in an interactive setting where you get lots of feedback and high-fives. Fire signs are very immediate and need plenty of fuel to keep those big ideas burning. As long as you keep your own flames high, you can keep giving and giving! Your ideal customers may be people who with lots of potential who need someone to boost their confidence and push them forward—like a boot camp instructor or hardcore coach. Your fire Mercury makes you a natural motivator, a booster rocket who can launch people into their highest potential. Just don't forget to "drop off" the shuttle when your mission is complete—you are not meant to travel all the way to Pluto with people and that's okay! Curate your offerings so that you can keep a steady flow of customers in need of a launch, but with a clear understanding that, at some point, the baby bird's gonna have to leave the nest.

Turn It Down: Overpromising.
You'll need to be vigilant about following through on your grand promises, and careful that you don't oversell what you can humanly deliver on. To stay motivated, need a certain amount of excitement and stimulation. Surround yourself with people who believe in your ideas as fervently as you do—but also with a few grounded types (Mercury in earth signs, maybe?) who will keep you from driving off the ledge! Manage people's expectations so they don't become dependent on you as their energy source. Fire is meant to spread. Light their torches then send them running to the finish line. Or, as the saying goes, give a person a fish and they'll eat for a day; teach them to fish and they'll eat for a lifetime.

Mercury in earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) 
or 2nd, 6th and 10th house

Turn it up: Your strategic mind.
Hello, master strategist! Having mindful Mercury in a grounded earth sign gives you common sense and the ability to put things in structured order. If you can't back up an idea with facts and figures, you're not going there! This earns you the trust of your audience, because they know you've thought of everything. They feel safe and trust you to steer them in the right direction. Your ideal customer might be someone who needs your clear-headed guidance to help them prioritize and make important decisions confidently. When creating content, lists, tutorials, how-to posts and guides are your sweet spot. Less is more for the earth-sign Mercury, so drill down to your key points and stick to the script.

Turn it down: Buzzkill-level "realism."
Your linear thinking can be a blessing and a hindrance. While it's great for planning and putting the fundamentals in place, too much practicality can stop you from launching. (Perfectionist much?) With your sensible earth energy, you may forget to add  special touches that delight customers or to put the unique stamp of your personality on a project. Don't get so caught up in the process that you forget to add some flair! If that's not your thing, bring in some fire or air-influenced people to spice up your copy and image. The combination of your impeccable integrity AND a compelling voice could be irresistible. 

Mercury in air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)
or 3rd, 7th and 11th house

Turn It Up: Interactivity.
Mercury in the interactive air element gives you the gift of expression and powerful communication. A natural "idea evangelist," you've got the ability to spread original concepts far and wide. Air Mercury people tend to be early adopters with technology and trends—if not the actual tastemakers themselves. You're always racing off to the next thing, keeping several steps ahead of everyone else. Some of your most compelling content will be created in the moment, as thoughts can strike you like a bolt of lightning. Or, you'll "discover" something that you just HAVE to share—follow that urge! You're often thinking a mile a minute. (In fact, you may be spotted talking to yourself from time to time!) Air Mercury can be amazing writers, orators and teachers. From celebratory toasts to Tweetable quotes, you can be counted on for something interesting to say. There's a sense of surprise and originality to your words that can be quite commanding. Just slow down long enough to record some of those ideas (or keep an observant earth Mercury nearby to capture your brilliant bon mots!). Spotting trends, giving your opinion and rattling off witty wordplays at warp speed could be your specialty. You're a natural problem solver who can connect the dots between disparate ideas or concepts, synthesizing information fast.

Turn It Down: Getting too scattered.
Your ideas are awesome— but will you slow down long enough to implement them? At a certain point, talk only gets you so far. You could risk earning a rep as someone who blows hot air if you don't organize your thoughts. You've always got somewhere to go, a million texts to answer, people to see, and that can leave you scattered. A trail of paper scraps, Post-It notes and half-finished drafts may always be in your wake. Slow down from time to time, and think before you speak! Because air is detached, you can be logical and objective, but not always compassionate. Try to think of how your words might make others feel before you blurt. Or, let people know upfront that you're not going to water down your opinions—and that for you, it's a gesture of respect to tell the truth.

Mercury in water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)
or 4th, 8th and 12th house

Turn It Up: Connecting from the heart.
You feel what they feel—and that's your gift! Communicator Mercury in a compassionate water sign helps you articulate your audience's pain points so accurately, they'll think you're living in their heads. This innate ability to validate, soothe and support is magnetic. Your ideal client may be someone who's going through a transition or processing heavy emotions, even trauma. Mercury helps you "hold space" for them in a non-judgmental and supportive way. Your content and offerings should be balm for their souls, helping them find their voice and feel heard at last. When presenting your own pitches, appeal to people's emotions at a core level—what drives them in a deep-seated way? Your own razor-sharp intuition helps you "go with your gut," which rarely betrays you. However, as you grow your business, it can be hard to articulate your decision-making process to more systematic or strategic types. You could benefit from being "shadowed" for a week (or longer) by someone who has a different Mercury element than yours. As they observe your process, they can make rhyme and reason out of it—and help craft a simplified way to explain that to your support staff.

Turn It Down: Melodrama and moodiness.
Cue the J. Lo: "I ain't your mama!" With Mercury in an empathic water sign, you can lapse into coddling and codependence with your audience and employees. In your content, go easy on words like "healing" and "wounds" if you find yourself over-using them—remember, you want to empower your people, even if you are guiding them through a tough emotional process. Keep your end goal/destination in mind so you don't get swept up in their "story" and leave them stuck in a sense of victimhood—or absorb all of their emotions like a sponge, which will leave you drained and burnt out. Your own moods may dictate how you like to work from day to day, so be careful not to lock yourself into offerings that demand that you're always "on" or around people. (And hire good manager types so you don't drive your team crazy!) You need space to dream and be creative and decompress. Water sign Mercury people may struggle with boundaries and thus have a hard time managing staff members because you're always worried about "hurting" them if you're too direct. A bold fire Mercury or a no-nonsense earth Mercury might make a great project manager for you (delegate away!)—or someone with an air Mercury who is a great communicator but unlike you, can emotionally detach.