Tough to stay Healthy

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

I have been working in Chicago for one week, one week to go, it’s been amazing. Each working day is spent in a viewing facility; we have to send out for food selected from a vast range of options. Each evening we are dining out, again from a vast choice of restaurants. The problem is, in spite of time spent at the gym, after just a week my clothes are feeling tighter than they did in the UK. We are trying, but…

Making Healthy Choices

It is very difficult to eat healthily over here. It is very easy to over-eat and it feels like almost every ingredient is somehow coated in sugar. We have ordered Waldorf salad with walnuts coated in honey; bacon covered in maple syrup, potatoes coated in cheese, oatmeal with strawberries coated in a sugar glaze, it tastes amazing but, really?! If this is the usual offering, tastebuds will quickly become accustomed to it and anything less will soon taste bland.

Chance to Cleanse The System

Last night we decided to have a night off, the client had flown back to  the UK so there was no need to eat out. We found a supermarket and bought the healthiest options we could find then settled in front of the TV for a movie night, this morning I feel so much better.Healthy Eating Copywriter content writer Small business support My Words Work For You

Product Availability

In spite of the huge agricultural space available here, it seems that fresh fruit and veg are only available to buy at a premium, a corn dog, or  churro are cheap (and ubiquitous) by comparison. I can completely understand how I am encountering so many people with serious health issues; making healthy choices here is not easy. I love Chicago, but I am looking forwad to taking control of my eating again.

So if I can’t start a fruit and veg/pure food business in the United States, maybe I’ll become a fitness guru…it’s got legs (if you’ll excuse the pun)

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Get Fit to Fly

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

A New Dawn

Since My Words Work For You began in 2013, I have spent a lot of time supporting other people’s businesses. It has given me great pleasure. I have encouraged business owners to get/stay fit, physically and mentally, it can make the difference between failure and success. Here’s one I wrote earlier… Running a business is like running a marathon, it’s a test of fitness and stamina; and you need to be fit enough to stay the course.

Time Spent Productively

So, another eight hours and forty minutes on a plane to reach Chicago, what to do… Unusually for me, this flight began with an audio book. Ordinarily I avoid ‘get rich quick’ books, it has never been about the money for me, but the choice was fairly limited. For some reason, I chose one, I’m glad I did. The focus was on, doing the thing you are best at, then being the best you can be whilst doing it.

Two hours well spent.

Chicago Dawn Content Marketing My Words Work For You

Sunrise in Chicago. Let’s make each day glorious

Be the Best You Can Be

  • Step one – focus on what you are naturally good at.
  • Step two – aim for excellence.

Content Marketing is an ever-changing environment, staying still means being left behind. My clients deserve the best I can give, so, alongside focusing on developing their businesses, I need to continuously develop mine. I, like most of us, need to assign time to upskill, to stay ahead of the curve.  So research begins, I need to spend time wisely, achieve the maximum gain. The aim is to help my clients achieve their goals.

Physically Fit For Business

Listening to my audiobook reminded me that if I want to be the best at what I do, I also need to stay physically fit. I have focused on writing content, Google’s algorithms, Search Engine Optimisation, content marketing, copywriting etc. all from my office chair. I need to get myself back into the habit of working out. No time like the present so, taking advantage of being up at ridiculous o’clock, I headed for the hotel gym, incentivised by breathtaking views.

Mind and body Fitness Small Business Mentor My Words Work For You

A leisurely jog, enhanced by the view

Gym - A great way to start the day Small Business Support My Words Work For You

Joining the early birds at the Hyatt gym

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Re You Doing? (As they say in the U.S.)

Are you doing what you are best at?

Are you doing everything you can to be excellent?

According to the audiobook, it’ll make you rich, I’m not making any promises about that, but it would surely make you feel more fulfilled.

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7 Steps to Writing Content That Works

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Content writing has to perform, and perform well, if it is going to work for you. Words must cut through millions of pages, push past the competition and leap onto the podium, basking in glory for all to survey. It’s a tricky business. There’s a lot to consider and whilst writing well may come naturally, the ever-changing dark art of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), must be learned, and practised continuously. The best words in the world are no good at all if they are sat at the back of the crowd.

1. What’s your purpose?

As with any writing, keep the purpose at the forefront of your mind, in fact, keep it on a post it note stuck to the top of your screen. If you aren’t clear, how will your reader be. Why are you writing? What is your point? Get to the point quickly, and stay there.

2.  Who are you writing for?

Know your audience, I mean, really know them. How old are they? What do they like? What do they not like? Where do they shop? What do they buy? How much time do they have? What are their interests? What do they need? As in any conversation, your tone and style will change according to whom you are speaking with.

3. What are you writing about?

Know your products/services ‘like the back of your hand’, your audience needs to trust you and trust that you know what you are talking about. Bring it to life, make it shine.

4. Speak with your audience

Make your writing about them, about the benefits they will gain by choosing what you are offering. Speak with them as individuals, make them feel you are talking only to them. Ask questions, attract them to your words and make them want to stay (I told you it was tricky). They need to feel engaged, entertained, informed, wanted and at least a little bit loved.

5. Address the need

Illustrate through words and beautiful images exactly how your offering addresses their need. How does it provide the solution they are looking for. This isn’t just a case of listing a pile of benefits, this is about using words to place a product firmly into the reader’s hands and letting them FEEL the reasons why they MUST have it.

6. Close the deal

Remembering the purpose, make it easy for your reader to take the next step, ‘walk with them’ to the ‘buy now’ button (which could be called so many other things) or give them every chance to pick up the phone, you are there for them. Their life would be improved if they do (assuming you are indeed, speaking to the right audience!).

7. Check it, re-check it, check it again

Poor spelling and grammar will make you look more than a bit silly. The trust you have built up with your audience will come crashing down with the furst silly speeling misteak. Rightly or wrongly, errors like this look unprofessional and give the impression you don’t know what you are doing. You might be brilliant at what you do, it’s a shame to lose customers for such a silly reason as looking amateur.

7 Steps to Content Writing That Works My Words Work For You

Running a business is tough; new challenges arise everyday and it is an increasingly competitive market place. Play to your strengths and spend your valuable time wisely. If writing content is ‘not your thing’, give that job to a specialist, it’s an investment in your future.

I am very content while writing about content: Words Need to Work For You, Content Writing to Attract an Audience, 9 Simple Steps to Content Writing, Content Writing, it’s Easier With a Clear Mind.

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A Relaxed Approach To Marketing

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

We are approaching the end of two weeks spent in deepest France. Wherever we have gone we have encountered French people who do not speak English, I love it. We have fumbled our way around shops, restaurants and places of interest with our school-book French, hilarious!

Open For Business?

Travelling with two ‘young adults’ has meant that early starts have been rare; we frequently find ourselves arriving in towns that are ‘closed’ for siesta time. Shutters are down, signs displayed in doorways.

Du lundi au vendredi – 09:00 à 12:00 – 14:30 à 22:00

Businesses Surviving With No Effort?

Ambling joyfully around empty shops selling locally produced artisanal product

French Shopping Street Marketing Strategy My Words Work For You

Buy, if you can find me

s it occurs to us, where is everyone? Shops are hidden away in winding passages, no sign that they are there until you are in the door. No fluorescent signs directing you ‘this way’, no ‘SALE’ posters, just a doorway recessed in a wall. It feels as though these hidden gems want to stay hidden, how are they surviving? Are the rents extremely low?  Are business rates so reasonable that businesses don’t need to fight hard for the trade? The owners don’t have that look of desperation as you browse, far from it; it’s baffling but beautiful, so relaxing for us and them.

No Pressure!

I love a pottery, we discovered the cutest one I’ve ever seen in Caylus, just down the road from our holiday farmhouse. ‘Bonjour’ I announce and the old boy begins to chat in French, it doesn’t take long for him to realise we need the help of his wife, who speaks some English! It transpires that this dear old couple design, make and decorate everything in their shop, a treasure trove that even in today’s economic climate is affordable for us Brits; we shopped till we dropped, Monsieur et Madame were just happy to see us. Madame told me how they used to make soaps by hand but have stopped as ‘there aren’t the people now’, my heart went out to her but she seemed tres content.

Pottery in France business Support My Words Work For You

Hidden Gem Remaining Hidden ‘Qui le trouvera?’

Marketing Strategy

For a British business my instinct would be to create a website, begin publicising this unique treasure, think of its USP, create a Facebook page, form alliances with local businesses, create publicity… the list is endless, for this business, and for this area of France it feels as though it would all be unwelcome, and unnecessary. The locals are happy with their lifestyle, they enjoy their siesta, if silly tourists insist on arriving ‘a midi’ they’ll just have to wait, or not, c’est la vie.

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Increasing Sales, Revenue and Loyalty

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

An Ailing Website

When I was first approached by this client, the record for consecutive days of sales was nine. In the years preceding my input there had rarely ever been more than one sale a day, visits to the website were brief, bounce rate high and despite a range of products being on offer, only one product was selling with any regularity.

The Brief

The owner had reached the limits of his content writing, re time and ability. Existing pages provided information but not inspiration. I began with the most important page, the ‘About Us’ page then quickly followed this with the ‘Home’ page, then on to the products. Every product needed to be completely re-written in the ‘voice’ of the business, engaging customers, increasing trust and fostering loyalty. Alongside, I re-wrote every existing communication keeping the brand message and tone consistent.

The Action

It was easy to bring the business to life, speaking with the audience and allowing the benefits of each product to shine out from the page. I created a story around the products, placing them into the customers’ minds and lives. The aim was that each customer felt the need to have the product; they didn’t have to think of the reasons why they should buy it, my words took care of that part. The content I created across the site was unique, quirky, fun and engaging, perfect for the company’s brand. I re-wrote every page of the website, every product and added hundreds more products along the way. At this point, I was also choosing the new products and managing stock to ensure we had enough to meet the increased demand.

The Result

This ailing website was now thriving, loved, trusted and was now completely ‘on brand’. A customer called to ask the owner who wrote the copy and to tell me it was ‘the best copy she had ever seen’. As if that wasn’t enough, she went on to say she worked for the leading international advertising agency, Wieden + Kennedy I’ll take that!  Needless to say, my details weren’t passed on to her! You can see a few of the statistics that the owner shared with me a couple of months after I began, here

Here’s a summary:

  • The previous record of nine consecutive days of sales was somewhere around 450+ (including Christmas Day) and counting
  • Products dramatically climbed in the search engine rankings
  • Sales increased, often reaching 30-40 a day
  • The average basket value significantly increased
  • Multiple purchases became normal
  • Sales were up by hundreds of percent each month compared to previous years
  • Traffic to the website grew exponentially
  • Revenue increased, profits rose

I love this little graph, the effect was so dramatic, and instantaneous, the power of good content writing is displayed so clearly as these were the only changes being made within the company at this point. With every trend on the increase, the company was now in a position to flourish.

Power of professional content writing graph SEO Small Business Support My Words Work For You

The Power of Good Content Writing Alone, No Other Changes Were Made Within The Business

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Content Writing – Words Need to Work For You

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

So here I am, whiling away long, lazy days in the South of France. The biggest stressors for two whole weeks are the odd butterfly rescue from the pool and avoiding sunburn in the hellish rays. Someone has to do it.

Why did I choose to holiday here?

Holiday Home Copywriter Content Writer My Words Work For You

Rustic charm, imagine you are here

Need I explain? Well I guess it is a blog post…This is the French holiday home of a wonderful family I have the privilege to call friends. This home has been loved by them for years, since our last visit we have seen its evolution into a jewel nestled in deepest French countryside. It isn’t flash, or ostentatious, it has rustic charm oozing out of every nook and cranny and has been nurtured, as estate agents would say, ‘sympathetically’, it is not trying to be anything it isn’t, it is simply being the best it was born to be. I have been working hard, we all have, we needed time to recharge, regroup and refresh, this is the perfect place.

Hammock in france farmhouse France Copywriter My Words Work For You

Climb in, rest, restore yourself

Relaxing Reading Small Business Support Content Writer My Words Work For You

OK, maybe a little bit of work is allowed

So why is it not booked up for years to come?

I’ve asked myself this question, and asked the owner, and I think I’ve worked it out. Whilst I am one of the lucky few who knows about this haven, the other poor souls have to wade through the treacle pool that is Google in order to find it. When they do, it has to grab them and hold them there. So if the owner wants people to be in on the secret and enjoy time here, what is she to do?

It’s More Than Just SEO

Have a look on the website, the house is accurately described; it really is an idyllic rural farmhouse, and it is near Tarn Et-Garonne. There are great images of house and garden too, but there is something lacking. The words don’t evoke emotion, they don’t grab the reader by their needs and provide the answer they are looking for by plunging their minds into this perfect place. But how? Rather than describing a three-bedroomed house that sleeps 8-10 people with a pool, conjure up a picture of precious family time, seclusion and privacy providing the freedom to sing, dance, play games, laugh and get to know each other better than ever before. Describe the 10 meter pool as the perfect place for cooling off in the glorious sunshine, skinny-dipping with only the birds watching. The garden is a place for al fresco dining, boules, twitching (kites, nightingales, turtle doves) and lepidoptery (scarce swallowtail, cleopatra, adonis blue et al). What this house offers is a haven, enrichment, food for the soul and precious memories just waiting to be created.

Fifteenth Century Gate in France Farmhouse Copywriter on holiday My Words Work For You

Enter, come and experience this magical place

Content Writing Works its Magic

Above and beyond the usual content marketing and SEO, to get a website to appear high in the rankings, words need to work their magic and make the reader want, or even need to choose you. So dear reader, enter, come and enjoy this magical place, your journey awaits. I shall end here and go and join my son in a game of boules, to the beautiful sound of the nightingale that watches us play.

https://youtu.be/INzqozVbYL8

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Adopt Adapt Improve

Posted on June 30, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Today brings the first half of 2017 to a close. How has it been for you? If you look back now, is it with satisfaction? It should be, even if things have not gone to plan, there will be opportunities to learn and improve so the second half of the year can be on a different tangent.

Keeping Up With Google

For me the year has been dynamic, enjoyable and at times I’ve found myself in unfamiliar territory as I learned new skills for new clients. This is never a bad thing, I love learning and it keeps the grey matter functioning. In the business of keeping up with Google, learning is a necessity. Unique content that is written with a specific audience in mind is key to success but that content must be underpinned with knowledge of SEO and some understanding of Google’s algorithms.

Plan to Improve

So, as we enter ‘part two’ of the year, take time to reflect:

  • What went well?
  • What could be improved upon?
  • What changes could be made to achieve the desired results?

If you can, take a day out to reflect and plan ahead, it could place you in a far better place as you begin next year.

Time Out

I have loved the first half or 2017, I am working with a client base I am very happy with which has stretched me, taken me to new countries and  steered me in the direction I would like. Scientific copywriting, research, business support among others while in the background I have been, albeit slowly, developing my website. I can’t complain. A few more hours in London with a client then I have an important trip to take some time by a pool in the middle of nowhere, well, in France actually. I’ll be reflecting as I enjoy a glass of wine and a nice hunk of Brie.

france Farmhouse Small Business Support Content Writer Cambridge My Words Work For You

Time to reflect en France

Adopt Adapt Improve

So what could you adopt to bring about improvements? What could be adapted that exists already? What could you improve? It takes a clear head, vision and determination but it begins with a list… In another post I wrote about being fit enough to succeed, it’s worth a read.

 

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The Irony of ‘Dear Valued Customer’

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

When opening those ‘Dear Valued Customer’  emails, how do you feel? Valued? Probably not. Would you email a friend with, ‘Dear person I like’? I think not.

As a customer, if I have chosen to offer my details to a company, it is with good reason:

  • I love their products
  • I love what they do
  • I believe in them

I may not wish to buy from them regularly, unless it’s sustenance I probably won’t, but I am happy to hear from them, if they do it well I might even enjoy doing so. Please don’t write to me as ‘Dear Valued Customer’, clearly I am not valued, you can’t even be bothered to use my name. If I have made that choice to subscribe to a mailing list, I am showing loyalty, that deserves some reward, or at the very least, effort.

Managing CRM – Customer Relationship Management

It’s worth the effort! A database of customer details is like gold dust and should be treated with the respect it deserves. Here’s a company’s opportunity to build relationships, to understand, to show customers that they made a good choice and that this company is exactly what the customer needs. In providing details, customers are making a commitment; they want to choose you again, maybe not regularly, maybe once in a blue moon, but it is you they choose, because they like you.

Marketing Strategy

It’s horses for courses. One size does not fit all.

  1. First, segment your list logically, this will depend on your offering but it could be by one or more: gender, age, buying frequency, product choices, geography, interests, needs…The list is by no means exhaustive.
  2. Market specifically to each sector. Your marketing strategy should be to target each sector according to their needs, speak to them as individuals, open a dialogue, demonstrate that you understand them and are there to help.
  3. Address them by name!

Relevant, Timely, Tailored

Think of your circle of friends, how often do you get in touch with

Email Marketing Strategy Content Marketing My Words Work For You

Email Marketing – It’s ‘Horses for Courses’

your ‘inner circle’? How about those you hardly ever see? Could you imagine writing to them every day? What effect would it have? For ‘sporadic’ subscribers who only buy once or twice a year, a monthly reminder places you in their mind, reminds them how good you are, and keeps them ‘in the loop’…and it doesn’t annoy them so much that they unsubscribe. For more regular customers, more regular emails, hitting the right spot, making them feel included and part of something special. If they are only interested in a specific range of products, bombarding them with irrelevant info is not going to end well. Show them you care, you know who they are, they matter. Well written emails (enter Content Writer), will be aspirational, evoking the desire to be in that inner circle. In the main, people like to be part of something good.

Build Your Database

Nurture your customer datase as you would your friends, you never know when you might need them or when they might need you. In another article I wrote about treating your customers as friends, I talk about the ‘long game’, building relationships with customers based on trust, they are the only relationships that last. If I trust someone with my details, they need to deserve that trust, don’t bombard me with irrelevant, nameless, pointless emails, I deserve better. Remind me why I chose you and I’ll be there for the long game.

More relevant articles: ‘Are Your Customer Relationships Flying High?‘ Do People Believe in You?

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Content Writing to Attract an Audience

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

I have a theory. For some years now I have created content for a wide range of clients. Obviously, I keep the audience uppermost in my mind and ‘speak to them’ as I write. My aim is to engage them on an appropriate level and make the copy memorable, bringing products and services to life.

Psychology of Content Writing My Words Work For You

Content writing – reaching the audience on a deeper level

Scientific Content Writing

When writing content for scientific companies I am writing for an audience of PhD and above. This audience is carrying out research that could save lives, that’s no laughing matter and there is no place for humour. Researchers are faced with a multitude of companies offering the best supplies to obtain the most reliable and accurate data. Making an informed choice can be like wading through a treacle dictionary.

How do I make my clients stand out from the crowd?  

Think About Your Audience

Another intrinsic part of what I do is to ‘get into the heads’ of my audience. Studying psychology at degree level has contributed to that process, for me it’s essential. Thinking of the reader/customer/potential customer…

  • Who are they?
  • What do they need?
  • How is their day?
  • What are the challenges?
  • What are the pain points?
  • How can I make things easier?
  • What would make them believe in my client?

So here’s my theory… When producing scientific content writing I can make things easier for them by writing clearly. Researchers spend their working day trying to digest articles and information that requires higher level knowledge and understanding; it’s hard work! If I write clearly, concisely and accurately my feeling is, as they come to my writing it will feel like an oasis in an otherwise arid desert of information.

Long term Aims

Subliminally, my target audience will begin to gravitate to my clients’ websites as they find the experience quicker, easier and less stressful. My long term aim is for my clients to become the ‘go to’ suppliers of their particular scientific products. Clearly, the content I write must be scientifically accurate and in no way disdainful, these guys deserve respect. What I would like to do is to provide some respite from the challenging level of information that comes as standard in the scientific world. The by-product for my clients should be an increase in sales as more customers choose to visit their websites.

Aswell as providing a better user experience, in the face of stiff competition, it pays to be different…

STAND OUT 

Here’s one I made earlier about mosquito borne disease research.

And here’s a fascinating insight into clever little liposomes

Honestly? It’s been a long time since my science degree so writing articles in plain English sits very comfortably with me! I am loving the experience.

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Stately Customer Service

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

It’s early morning, I am sitting in my hotel room in Chicago with a mint tea, admiring my view…

Chicago View Small Business Support My Words Work For You

Good morning, how are you today?

I am over here working for a client, ‘someone has to do it’. In spite of two long working days, and a bit of eating and sleeping, I’ve slightly fallen in love with this wonderful city. Ahead of me today is the ‘jolly’ day, a free day to soak up the city (literally, as the forecast is rain), and see the sights. The experience so far has been fantastic.

The Journey Begins…

At Heathrow, after a ridiculously early start to avoid the dreaded M25 rush, our compensation was breakfast at Heathrow. ensconced in the terminal 5 restaurant we awaited our order, taken by the rather unhappy looking waitress. Clearly she was not having a good day, she wasn’t doing much to improve ours either. The food arrived. This isn’t going to be good, watery porridge, one strawberry sliced in half in place of the promised ‘sliced banana’, my smoked salmon had turned into ham…the list goes on. Now none of this would stop the world turning, no lives are affected but my issue was this breakfast that had little to do with its description was delivered with no explanation, no apology, and no smile.

Let’s see how they do it in Chicago

The following morning we are enjoying a quite frankly amazing breakfast. The staff here can speak to you in 45 different languages, you are greeted with genuine smiles and they are falling over themselves to make your experience the best it can be. Frankly, the food could have been poor and I would still have left with a smile, it wasn’t.

Healthy Breakfast Customer Service Small business support My Words Work For You

A great start to the day

My cup was constantly filled, several waiters cleared every used item on the table, replenished stocks, checked we have everything we could possibly need and generally brightened our day.

Customer Service Hyatt Chicago Small Business Support My Words Work For You

Customer Service Excellence

Customer Service

The restaurant at Terminal 5 don’t rely on repeat business, there’s a constant and guaranteed stream. There is another option so when I find myself there in a few weeks time, I’ll be taking it. I don’t know what was happening in the world of the young lady who served us, and I hope it was nothing bad, but she is working in a service industry and there is a lot of room for improvement. The contrast could not have been more stark, a complete dichotomy between the two restaurants, in fact between the two cities. Almost every person we have encountered here has brightened our day in some way, Eddie on security in the building we are working in wants us to go to his church to ‘get everybody singing, for sure’ Amy in the bar, who spent time marvelling at our NHS.

STAND OUT, be memorable for all the right reasons

It isn’t about resources, or gimmicks, it is about simple good service. As you go through your week, take note of the interactions you have throughout, what works, what doesn’t, how does it make you feel and what impact does it have on the outcome? If you are a customer, would you choose to go back? I know how I felt after being greeted by Eddie yesterday, on top of the world.

Have a read of a few related articles in my Blog… Flying High? 

Or maybe…Treating your customers like friends?

I must go for breakfast…whatever you are doing, ‘Have a nice day’

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