Get More Customers With An Effective About Us Page

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

Your About Us Page

I’ve recently been asked for help with another About Us page, I love writing these. This is an excellent opportunity for your customers to get to know you. Clearly your website should reflect the nature of your business and it is horses for courses. I have recently had the necessity to spend time choosing a funeral directors. Coming across a fun-packed page showing comical images of the staff wouldn’t have been appropriate, it’s a serious business. That said, showing their human side via their About Us page would be entirely fitting and would have induced me to trust them with the arrangements I now need to make.

Begin the Relationship Well

Bearing the above in mind and always keeping your professionalism and competence in the foreground, your About Us page is your chance to show your personality, strengths, quirks and some interesting facts that will reach out to a wider audience and solicit  trust. About Us pages are the most frequently read pages on most websites, make yours work hard and bring more customers into your site.

Top Tips To Create An Effective About Us Page

  • Have a look at your competitors’ pages, note what you like and don’t like
  • Never copy somebody else’s content, yours must be unique to you
  • Include clear images of your faces making eye contact with the lens
  • Optimise those images for SEO (Sorry, couldn’t stop myself from putting that one in)
  • Provide a name with each image
  • Tell your audience what each person is responsible for and how they can help
  • Give an interesting and quirky fact, make it fun/light-hearted 
  • Give Examples of how each individual has helped to provide a great product or service
  • Remember, whilst it is an ‘About Us’ page, like with all pages, your potential customer is interested in how you can help them.
  • Step back, how does it look? Inviting?
  • Keep it updated
Copywriter Content Writer Cambridge Copywriting service My Words Work For You

Nicola – Content Writer, Responsible for producing unique page content for SMEs and occasional tummy rubs for two Springer Spaniels

 

Let me Know if you would like any help

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How to Gain Trust

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

Gain Trust to Gain Customers

Would you buy off someone you just didn’t trust? No? Neither would I. What makes you trust someone enough to do business with them?

There are so many ways that you can garner trust in you and your business, I won’t cover them all here but I love a list so here goes:

  1. Be trustworthy, in everything you do
  2. Make sure your site is secure with an SSL certificate
  3. Fulfil your obligations to each and every customer
  4. Provide AT LEAST the exact product or service you promise
  5. Ask for reviews, and act and react to every one, good or bad
  6. When things go wrong, make the most of your chance to shine
  7. Have a clear and up to date privacy policy conforming to the latest GDPR
  8. Be transparent
  9. Let your customers/clients get to know you, make the most of your About Us page, have some fun.
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You Matter, They Matter, It Matters

Building relationships is the fun part, build them well and they will remain solid now and in the future.

 

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Collapse of Toys R Us

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

Today we hear that Toys R Us is closing its stores in the UK. 3000 People lose their jobs. Toys R Us are one of a long list of retailers to go across a wide range of industries, giants and ‘household names’ disappear as we stare at our screens looking for the next bargain.

Why Shop Online

We know the answer to this really. Last night alone, I ordered two things online, one was flowers and chocolates for a friend, the other was windscreen wipers, they were almost half the price of the one I had bought from a well known retailer last week. It was easy, I didn’t have to go out and I could do it when I was free. Why would I pay £12 for something that I could buy for £7?

The Changing Face of Retail

A few short years ago I worked within the toy industry, providing content marketing. It was a small business and I soon found myself responsible for buying and ordering of stock as well as content writing, marketing etc etc. With a pedantic approach to the control and monitoring of stock and of course, cleverly written content and marketing materials, the company saw an impressive increase in sales and customers. Suppliers were very happy with the upturn in business.

Like many others, this magical, quirky toy store was pitching itself like David & Goliath against the mighty Amazon. Not only that, high rents and rates were the heavy price of having a retail presence. Fast forward a couple of years and this business is now online only and their business model has undergone drastic reconstruction to adapt to an ever changing market place.

Spending Habits

So back to Toys R Us. It isn’t the case that we are no longer buying toys for children, is it? We all know that many children are now spending less time actually playing and more time in front of a screen but they still have toys surely? Where are we buying them from if not from toy shops?

Adapting to Change

What’s to blame? How have your shopping habits changed? When you search for something online, what’s the first place you go to? (That one is rhetorical, we know the answer).

Small Business Owners

If you are a business owner, what changes have you noticed? What changes have you made? I wrote more on this subject in Adopt Adapt Improve and more of my guilty secrets are talked about here.

If you are ‘David’ facing Goliath, all is not lost. Online is a presence you have a right to and with clever content marketing, you can earn your place alongside the giants. Let’s not forget, David actually won. Contact me for help, stones, and a great slingshot.

 

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SEO – Keyword Research

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

Keyword Research

Keywords matter, they always have, they still do. They have a vital place within your unique, pragmatic and well-written content to help prospective customers find you. You are aiming to help your customers, to add value and to answer their queries by offering appropriate and relevant solutions.

Think about your offering:

  • What service/product do you provide?
  • What do your prospective searchers call it? What might they search for?
  • Do your research, use a keyword research tool such as: Google Keyword Planner, Keyword Explorer from Moz, SEMrush
  • Carefully compose titles and meta descriptions that clearly and accurately describe what your page is about.

How to Get Found by The Right Customers

Ultimately, search engines are like dating websites. It is a dating game, you want:

  • The people that find you to actually be looking for you, are you ‘the one’?
  • To be found by the right people for you
  • Then to fall in love with each other, forevermore

In order to do that, they have to find you first, it’s up to you to make that easy.

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Unique Page Content – Why Bother?

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

Why is Unique Page Content So Important?

Simply put, Google does not like copying. Remember your school days when the teacher had a couple of kids up at the front of the class, holding their homework aloft, ‘Who copied whom?’

Just like your teacher, Google is not impressed. The difference here is that Google knows who wrote the original, and who chose to copy it. Don’t be thinking that it’s fine to take somebody else’s hard work and change it around a bit either, Google knows that too.

Producing Unique Page Content

So you could use something that somebody else has written and stick it on your site, easy right? Well yes it is, but expect to get penalised.

Or…

You could create unique, extraordinary content that grabs your readers by the neurones and scintillates their senses. Its evocative style and passionate voice will hold your audience in an unforgettable embrace leaving them wanting, and slightly in love. 

Why Produce Unique Content

Yesterday I had a meeting with a client who confidently told me that the two articles I had written for their website are generating more traffic, more leads and more conversions than any other thing the company has ever done. That’s why.

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Optimise Your Images For SEO

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

Image Optimisation in 5 Easy Steps

Images present a valuable opportunity to capture Google’s attention. Let’s face it, we need all the brownie points we can get to earn a place on Google’s first page. In terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), images are low hanging fruit. Block some regular time out for image optimisation, the results are worth it.

For each and every image on your website:

  1. Check that you have the rights to use it, if not replace it.
  2. Is each image relevant and purposeful, does it add value?
  3. Check it’s size, large images will slow your page loading speed
  4. Give it an appropriate title that will work hard for you
  5. ALT text is essential for SEO, it describes the image content for the visually impaired and for times when it cannot be viewed. Describe the image followed by information about its relevance, include relevant keywords e.g. Chart to show ROI of a content marketing strategy Content Marketing My Words Work For You

Enjoy!

 

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Inbound Links Improve Performance

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

Playing the Google Game – SEO

Google just loves to see links to your site from relevant websites with high Page Authority. If Google sees that ‘big players’ are linking to your site, it is far more likely to notice you and show your page in search results. Typically, high ranking sites include .gov .ac .edu.

How Do I Get Links To My Website?

  1. Think about relevant contacts: Suppliers, publications, customers, clients etc.
  2. Think about ways to create a valid, justifiable and relevant link from their site to yours:
  • Produce a relevant and purposeful article for publication on their site
  • Create an exclusive offer
  • Provide a service
  • Publicise an activity/news

Give Them Something They Want/Need

Pick up the phone and make contact. Speak to the decision maker and explain your plan. Be open and honest, in carrying out this action for them, you would also like to create a link to the relevant page of your site. Ask them exactly what they would need you to do, i.e. how exactly you need to produce your content for their site. Remember, you are producing something to help them, the benefit to you is that you gain a link from their website to yours.

As part of my content marketing service, I have obtained some impressive links for clients by creating purposeful, relevant and useful content. If you don’t ask, you don’t get; it IS worth the effort.

 

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Are You a Small Business Owner?

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

If you are the owner of a small business…

It is easy to get lost in the detail and forget where you are heading. Ask yourself…

What are your biggest challenges?

What is working well?

What could be improved? 

What changes could be made easily to improve your bottom line?

Websites could always perform better, how could yours be working harder for you?

How is your content? Is it speaking to your target audience? Is it provoking the reaction you need?

In terms of goals, what would you like to be achieving? 

Be a harsh, and honest critic, or better still, ask someone else to be honest with you and provide a critique, you can take it. Someone asked me to do that once and it sparked an exponential rise in his business.

I hope answering these questions will re-focus attention and add value. Get in touch if you’d like to chat.

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Do What You Love

Posted on February 3, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

In a bizarre turn of events this week, I was given a part as an extra in a new TV series. This isn’t a particular ambition of mine, and I don’t think I shall be shopping for a dress for the Oscars anytime soon, but it’s a new experience

Do What You Love

I am going through a ‘phase’. I’m approaching a significant birthday and find myself reviewing life choices and considering future choices. The over-riding feeling is:

We are only here once.

Working with a client in London last week I awoke to see this outside my hotel window…

Do What You Love Hotel view Content Writer My Words Work For You

For you, and for those around you

Work-Life Balance

I am lucky, for the most part, I am doing what I love. I work with some awesome clients who value what I do and appreciate the impact it has on their businesses. I am also fortunate that I manage my time and I’m master of my ship. For me, it is not about the money, it is about the quality of the life I am leading, and the balance.

It’s Not About The Money

I like to give back, I am volunteering to help children read at the local primary school. Why? I have seen first-hand the impact of poor literacy in the workplace, and on individuals. I am also at liberty to choose to take part in the filming of this upcoming series, having the choice is important to me.

A Positive Impact

We are only here once and I choose to make it count. I choose to grasp every new experience and to make a positive impact on the people and places around me. I want to look back with a smile and know that I treated myself and others well.

To quote the words of Heather Small, I will ask myself daily,

“What have you done today to make you feel proud?”

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Amazon Go, Is It The Way To Go?

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

Today in Seattle, Amazon Go has opened what could be, our shopping future. Grab a bag and pop down to 7th Avenue, no need to take your wallet/purse.

How Does It Work?

On entry to the store you add an app to your device; from that point on, ‘Big Amazon is watching you’. The store is lined with security cameras covering every angle and every move you make is being tracked. There are no checkouts, whatever you leave with is instantly billed to your Amazon account and your electronic receipt will arrive as you exit the store through its security barriers.

Is This The Future?

Let’s ignore the fact that this is another, even easier, way to line Amazon’s ever-increasing pocket. Let’s even ignore the fact we might not like it, but we would probably all do it if there was one in our vicinity. This is an inspired idea that makes great business sense. Limited staff costs in the long term will quickly over-ride the initial outlay for added tech and security. People love convenience and let’s face it, that feeling of not actually spending money will make customers spend more, not less.

Is There A Place For Old-Fashioned Retail?

As I walk in to my local butchers I am greeted by name. I am on first name terms with my extraordinarily efficient milkman, Tim. The local greengrocer insists on carefully packing my fruit and veg and always offers to carry my bags to the car. The Co-op store in my village gives tremendous community support. It will never be appropriate for these retailers to have no staff. The big question is,

What will become of them if we all start shopping at Amazon?

The 'future of retail'_Content Marketing Small Business Support My Words Work For You

More articles to support small businesses throughout my Blog. If you are a small business in need of support, get in touch.

 

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