Scientific Content Writing

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Nicola Dunklin

A busy time at My Words Work For You. I have spent the last couple of weeks (including Christmas) buried in a variety of scientific articles discussing some impressive, cutting-edge research.

Why am I telling you this? Well honestly, I wanted to tell you that it scared me. At some points I was truly terrified at the level of difficulty. But tonight, after much fine-tuning, I submitted my work to my client.

Face Your Fears

It has been a long time since I have had to wade through scientific writing as complex as this. The research has been carried out by some of the brightest stars of the scientific world on equipment so technologically advanced I would hardly dare touch it. The researchers talk in this language all of the time, I don’t. It took a few read throughs, lots of cups of tea, and plenty of highlighter pen ink before it began to sink in. I am sitting here now, about to begin my weekend having done it.

Benefits of Leaving One’s Comfort Zone

Believe me, there were times in the last couple of weeks that I had to quash a rising sense of panic and just hold on. It was worth putting myself through it.

  • I have learned something new
  • My brain has had a great workout
  • I have developed as a content writer
  • I will be faster
  • Having faced my fears I have learned I can do it again
  • The dogs are well groomed (displacement activity)

At this juncture, I’ll ask you the question…

What would you do if you weren't afraid__Face Your Fears My Words Work For You

Face Your Fears

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Merry Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

A big thank you to you all for reading, liking, following, commenting and sharing my Blog content this year, every single click has meant a lot.

Looking forward to the new year with you by my side. Let me know what you would like to see more of or less of and I’ll bear it in mind when planning my content writing.

Merry Christmas from My Words Work For You

 

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Learn Lower Body Muscles Through Song

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

I’ll add images to this when I get chance but here’s one I wrote earlier! Feel free to share with any educators but please ensure you credit me as author. Could also be interesting at the office party.

MUSCLES OF THE LOWER BODY
(To the tune of ‘On the first day of Christmas’)
On the front of the thigh is where the quadriceps will be
Flex the hip, extension of the knee

(Two turtle doves)
From the top of the femur and from the hip as well.
To below the knee
and flex the hip, extension of the knee

(Three French hens)
On the On the back of the thigh are the powerful hamstrings
Start at the hip
To below the knee
And extend the thigh and flexion of the knee

(Four calling birds)
On the thigh the sartorius goes diagonally
Starts outside the hip
Ends inside the knee
Flex the hip and knee
and it helps us cross our legs so easily

(Five gold Rings)
On the inside of the thigh is where the adductors will be
To adduct the leg
Starts inside the hip
to the femur
flexion of the hip
And they all rotate the thigh out laterally

(Six geese-a-laying)
On the outside of the thigh is where the abductors will be
From outside the hip
Right down the leg
to the tibia
French and the femur
Flexion of the hip
And abduct the hip and help us walk with ease

(Seven swans-a-swimming)
On the calf of the leg gastrocnemius will be
Starts above the knee
ends at the heel
nice chunky calf
Flexion of the knee
as well as
plantar flexion of the foot
and the gastrocnemius is more chunky

(Eight maids-a-milking)
On the back of lower leg is where soleus can be seen
deep to gastrocnemius
from tibia and fibula
Down to the heel
Plantar flex your foot
Nearly at the end
Just two more
Try to keep it up
And remember all your muscles easily

(Nine ladies dancing)
On the shin tibialis anterior will be
Starts outside the tibia
Ends inside the foot
At the front of the shin
Inversion of the foot
Dor-si flexion
Nearly at the end
Just one more
Are you keeping up?
And the tibialis goes diagonally

(Ten lords -a-leaping)
We shall end with the buttocks divided into 3
They mobilise the hip joint
Gluteus medius
Gluteus minimus
Both abduct the thigh
And rotate it in
Me-dial-ly
Now we have just one
Glu-te-us
Maximus
Which extends the thigh, rotates it laterally

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Why Accountability Drives Achievement

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

** Update ** Today I swam 100 lengths, 2.5 KM. Hurrah!

Work has been busy recently, hence, less time on my website and I had allowed myself to become a sloth. Apart from daily dog walks, I had very little exercise, not happy.

One of my clients, a fitness guru, called to thank me for some work I had done. Towards the end of the chat he asked,

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

My reply was something along the lines of, I know what I need to be doing, I just need to be doing it. He spotted it straight away and came back like a well functioning boomerang,

“It sounds like you just need some accountability.”

Bam! he was right. I know how to swim, I know how to exercise, I also know I need more than my weekly Pilates class. So why wasn’t I doing it? I had no one to answer to, that’s why.

The Result of Accountability

So, three weeks ago my new mentor suggested three activities a week, I began swimming. It was cold, dark and damp, I can tell you now, the only thing that made me go was the thought of phoning him to explain why I hadn’t bothered, it was enough. That first time, every single one of the 30 lengths was tough, it has been a while. What kept me going? The thought that I would be telling him how I did. Fast forward three weeks and I have just got home from 60 lengths. Four more lengths and I will be swimming a mile. Each length is now feels easier and, dare I say it, I am smiling inside. I have achieved all of that because of accountability.

Nicola Swimming Accountability in Business Works Content Writer My Words Work For You cambridge

Take the plunge, you can do it

How Can Accountability Help You?

I know you are busy, I know there is always something more pressing, I know next week I am going to have to exercise discipline to get through the content writing mountain and get my swimming in. I also know I will do it. I will do it because of the positive effect of accountability. I feel proud of myself when I tell Chris how I am doing and I feel a whole lot better having done it.

Make Yourself Accountable

Are you struggling with tasks that are:

  • Boring?
  • Difficult?
  • Enormous?
  • Not in your skill-set?

The message is,  make yourself accountable to someone, it’s a great motivator.

A big shout out to Chris from Innerfit for his encouragement, I am very glad you are there.

** Update** I have swum the mile, hurrah!

** Update No 2** Today I swam 100 lengths, 2.5 km

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Sustainable Business with a Conscience

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

£9000 a Year Tuition Fees Does Not Guarantee Employment

Let’s get it out there straight away, it is my own, amazingly talented daughter who is President of Enactus Nottingham.  While doing her BA she has worked tirelessly to make an impact on the world around her. Is this nepotism? maybe, I’ll take that, but I am not writing this post for any reason other than to raise awareness of the work done by the team of ‘Millennials’ at Enactus. My daughter doesn’t need my help, she is a strong, capable woman in her own right.

It Is Not Just About The Money

Across the UK, Enactus students create and develop businesses that benefit communities around the world. As well as empowering people and doing social good, the businesses must be sustainable. The byproduct is, these students are gaining real-life experience of developing and running businesses and all that that entails. They are leaving university complete with skills for the workplace.

Make A Difference

Two years ago, after reading shocking statistics about food waste, the idea of Foodprint was born. It is of course sad that there is a need for social supermarkets, foodbanks and charitable donations to allow families to eat, but rather than reading about it and lamenting the injustice, Enactus are doing something about it that benefits all involved. The cycle is continuous, once each business is up and running, it is handed over to people in the community who need employment and a new business is created to take its place.

Bravo Enactus! From a proud mum and impressed supporter of businesses.

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SEO Website Checklist for Dummies

Posted on November 15, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Today alone I have had three separate emails offering SEO services for my website. Apparently, whilst my website ‘is great’, it has, ‘a lot of scope for getting optimised’ and ‘making me lots of money’. Each email was littered with spelling and grammatical errors and betrayed the fact they knew nothing about me or my business; that’ll be a ‘no’ from me then, thank you.

DIY SEO?

If you are a small business, you are already flat out, running your business. You possibly don’t have the time, knowledge or resources to manage your online presence. As the internet becomes flooded with content and with organisations offering ‘to get you to the top of page one’, how do you know who to trust? A step in the wrong direction could wipe out hard earned profits and get you precisely nowhere. If you have the skills, you can take care of the basics yourself for little or no cost.

Website Optimisation Basic Checklist

Open your website

  1. Tab – Hover over the tab at the top of the page, what does it say? This is a great chance to shout out to Google. Have a look at mine for an idea of how hard it could work for you https://mywordsworkforyou.co.uk/ 
  2. Title – Go ingognito (Ctrl+Shift+N), search for your business on Google or other search engine. What comes up on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page)? The title should describe your offering in an accurate and unique way.
    SEO Search Results Content Marketing My Words Work For You

    Enter your business name in the search bar, what results do you see?

  3. Meta Description – The Meta description beneath the title should tell potential customers exactly what they will find if they click, while enticing them to do just that. Think like a customer, what would make you want to click?
  4. User Experience – Think like a customer, ask impartial contacts to trawl through your site, is it a good experience? Is everything easy to find? Is it aesthetically pleasing? If you have pop-ups, are they relevant/helpful? Is it easy to read? Does it add value? Does it show all you have to offer in a dynamic and enticing way? What is your main CTA (Call to Action)? Are there plenty of opportunities for your visitors to click/call/buy?
  5. Content – Content is King. Of course I would say that, but as it happens, so does Google. Is your content: relevant, unique, purposeful, useful? Is it written in a clear, natural way that suits the audience? Does it enhance the user experience? Does it bring your products/services to life? Does it develop a relationship with the reader? Does it evoke feelings of trust in you?
  6. Images – Hover over each image, what size is it? What description appears? Images need to be sized in a way that will not reduce your site’s loading speed. Each image should have an ALT tag that describes what is in the image as well as a title.
  7. Links – Gone are the days of spurious links to your website from random directories. Foster inbound links from relevant sources/pages. How? Produce well-written, well-researched articles for relevant businesses/publications, ask customers and/or suppliers to include meaningful links to your website.

Play To Your Strengths

Running a small business is a labour of love. Long hours, multi-tasking, decision-making, constant juggling to keep the balls in the air… My advice is, play to your strengths. If your skill set is not in one specific area, invest in someone with those skills who will add value to the business.

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Writing Compelling, Emotive Copy For Your Website

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

It’s that time of year again. Inboxes are flooded with marketing emails, everybody has a ‘limited time special offer‘, everyone wants you to ‘buy now‘. Like never before we are bombarded with cries for attention, every trick in the book is deployed by highly sophisticated teams of marketeers. Does any of it work for you?

Define Your Goals

I have recently been working with a client to re-define his marketing goals. He had a meeting scheduled with a design team at the end of last week. This acted as the deadline to create a crystal clear vision of where the business was heading and how it was going to get there.

Be Clear on Your Offering, For You and Your Customers

The process was iterative, at times almost uncomfortable. A lot of searching questions from me resulted in a lot of soul searching for my client. By the end, we had a very clear idea of the mission and manifesto, I was able to articulate my client’s thoughts in to compelling statements. Walking out of the meeting he sent me these messages….

“Just finished with the design chap”

” He LOVES it!!!”

“Genuinely evoked emotion when he read it”

Which brings me to the point.

Compelling Content That Evokes Emotion

I asked you at the beginning if any of the marketing you are bombarded with actually works. The chances are, it doesn’t. When writing content for any client I aim to evoke emotion in the reader. Emotive copy will inspire people to pause, to think, to act. In a sea of emotionless but ‘clever’ marketing materials, the ‘stuff’ that stands out is the content that sparks emotion in the audience.

Compelling Content Writing

I could pull up thousands of examples. I will pluck one from one of my first clients.

Original Copy – “Our wooden name train is handcut from sustainable rubber wood. If you want a fantastic quality wooden train at a reasonable price, look no further.” 

Did that stir emotions, childhood memories, a desire to share the magic? Probably not.

My Words Work For You Copy – “Imagine that! A wooden name train made of your very own name… This is a top quality wooden train to love, play with and cherish. Picture their faces when they open this.”

Original Product Page Content Writing My Words Work For You

Original product page before content was re-written

Product Page Re-Written Content Writing My Words Work For You

New product page re-written and re-designed

Content Writing Matters

Content writing is far more than product descriptions that capture the attention of the search engines. Great quality content must capture the hearts and minds of your reader, and inspire them to act.

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Small Business Survival Tips – Repurpose Your Assets

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Last night we decided to find a country pub and eat out. I had visions of a roaring fire, steak and ale pie and a small glass of red. We decided on a village nearby and set off.

No Food at The Inn

Pulling up into an empty car park didn’t bode well. As the door creaked open we were greeted by the bar-person with a cheery, but faintly desperate smile. It had been so quiet they had stopped doing food (probably sent the chef home). It was a sorry sight. We stayed for a drink in the empty bar but quickly headed off in search of pie.

The overheads are still there, staff need to be paid, food needs to be bought, the rent has to be met…but there were no paying customers. I know pubs have it tough, large breweries are not the most supportive of landlords. Austerity and lifestyle have enforced changes in habits, punters have neither the time nor money to prop up the bar for the evening.

So What’s the Solution?

We sat discussing that very topic. There sits a beautiful building with kitchen, tables, chairs, utilities, space and space outdoors. There are myriad needs in the community that could be served. Think outside the box, how could the space be adapted throughout the day in a way that serves a need and provides an income? Off the top of my head:

  • Bingo Hall
  • Community groups
  • Craft Sessions
  • Local small businesses selling their wares
  • Skills teaching
  • Workshops
  • Meeting rooms
  • Citizens advice
  • Playgroups
  • Music facility
  • Education

Room At The Inn

The rent being paid is for 24 hours, it seems a shame to have that usable, versatile space lying dormant when there must be so many ways it could be filled. Public houses could re-invent themselves, utilise their assets, provide a service and become a thriving business within the community. This doesn’t only apply to pubs, what assets do you have assets that could be utilised in other ways? I’ve talked about repurposing before here in terms of content. Any bright ideas?

Candle flame supporting small businesses and public houses Content Writer for Small business My Words Work For You

Breathe Life Into The Flickering Flame

Spread the word. 

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Supporting Local Businesses

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

When you open the front door and it is clearly someone selling something, what’s your initial reaction? Yes, mine too. I was calculating my ‘exit strategy’ as this chap said something that caught my attention and stopped me. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Customer Relationship Management

And so it transpired, Tim is a milkman, not just an ordinary milkman, Tim can deliver a plethora of groceries, direct from the farm. In fact, Tim captured my attention by telling me the milk he would be quietly placing on my doorstep at 5am will have left the cow approximately 10 hours beforehand. he assured me he is the quietest milkman in the country and that all he hoped, was that I would support his local farm and give the relationship a chance. He vowed to do everything he could to make it work for me. I am in.

Supporting Small Business

Apart from being a staunch advocate of supporting small businesses, my rationale was that I would also be saving money. This fresh milk is delivered to my door as I need it, sparing me the ordeal of needing to nip in to the supermarket for milk but leaving an hour later with a trolley full of shopping.

Getting it Right

It gets better, this milkman has recognised the need to adopt, adapt and improve and has transformed his offering. Along with a well-written letter introducing me to Tim and his family, I was provided with a two side ‘menu’ of products to choose from. Tim Davis Dairies are able to provide me with meats, cheeses, bread (made at the farm), drinks etc. All at a reasonable price.

Tim Davies Dairies product list Small Business Support Content Writer My Words Work For You

Providing a service that wins customers

Customer Loyalty

I am already a convert. I have chosen to support this milkman who knocked on my door at 6pm on a Saturday evening. Tim has made the effort and ‘introduced’ me to himself and his family, I feel a bond and I trust that he will be true to his word and he’ll work hard to make it work. He hasn’t promised me the moon and stars, I am not expecting my own personal cow, I am expecting that Tim will work hard to make me want to stay. Well done Tim, so far, you are getting it right and in the words of Tony Hsieh, you are Delivering Happiness by looking after your customers, one by one. I am right behind you, but maybe not at 5am!

Evidence of how I have supported small businesses to thrive, here.

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SEO Image Optimisation

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Nicola Dunklin

Search Engine Optimisation Urgently Required

My client’s website had been set up in 2014. It had minimal online presence, no Page Authority and extremely poor functionality in terms of conversions. The site was costing my client money each month but was adding no value to the business. This website had massive potential to increase awareness, drive traffic to the business and to become an additional revenue stream.

The Brief

To overhaul the website by writing new, unique content throughout and identify opportunities for search engine optimisation. Discuss the findings with the business owner and optimise site content including text and images.

The Action

I wrote unique and compelling content for every page using an appropriate ‘voice’ for the business. As well as fostering inbound links from suppliers and reviews from customers, I created and added a Favicon and wrote a meta title and description. Next steps: Optimisation of existing images within the site:

  • Each image resized if necessary
  • Optimised alt text added
  • Title added to each image
  • Captions added where appropriate for user experience

Correct optimisation of images improves performance in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and enhances the user experience. I have discussed with the owner a list of new and unique images to be added to the site that will add value and enhance the content. This is taking place in the next phase of the process.

The Result

I have been recording site statistics to measure the impact. The stats show an upturn in site traffic and engagement, more people are visiting the site and contacting the business. The owner reports an increase in foot-fall from the ‘public’ sector buying products from the business. The owner is very happy with the new site and the results it is already achieving.

increase-upward-trend-arrow-growth-Content Marketing for small business My Words Work For You

An upward trend in visitors, conversions and revenue
Image credit: Jemome

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