Why Reviews Are Vital for Your Business

This blog post is brought to you by this raspberry and lemon tart.

Why? Upon perusing the cake counter at Saino’s recently, a very insistent old lady told me these tarts are to die for.

I didn’t even want one, but I put it in my basket anyway. Well, because:

1. I felt obliged to (in a terribly and awkwardly British way)
2. She really was bigging the tart up.

Moral of the story? When it comes to marketing, recommendations are the most powerful tool out there. They give instant credibility, backing up all the good things you say about yourself in your website’s ‘About Us’ page. After all, we can all happily big ourselves up ‘til the cows come home (in the name of drumming up extra business), but what really gives your praise a bit of oomph is displaying similar messages from other folks.

I’ve done the same here on my website (which shouts about all the projects I’ve worked on as a Yorkshire copywriter) and dotted testimonials on most pages, as well as creating a dedicated reviews page (click the link above to have a peep).

So, if you're a business owner, ask your clients for some nice words about your services. Or, as a customer, share some nice words about someone else’s.

Oh, and go and get a raspberry and lemon tart from Sainsbury’s: it really was worth the praise.

Until next time…

PS: Want to work with me - a Yorkshire copywriter? Say hello.

How to Write Content for Your Website

Want to know how to write better - and more engaging - content for your website?

If you’re a small or medium-sized business with a copywriting query or two, get in touch.

Want to know the best way to:

* Write your website's 'About Us' page
* Put together a case study
* Sell your services
* Come up with blog post ideas
* Craft an e-newsletter...

...or anything else, for that matter?

Send me your queries (here via my website Copywriter in West Yorkshire - Lauren Holden or over on Instagram) - and in my new 'Copy Doc*' series, I'll answer them here on LinkedIn. You can be anonymous too, if you like - call it online’s answer to TV's Embarrassing Bodies (but for copywriting issues - and it won't be televised!)

My clinic is always open; there's no need to make an appointment. Just send me a message on here or post a question below - and I'll help you get your head around a host of copywriting challenges.

* For transparency's sake, I'm not a real doctor (neither is this a real clinic); just a Huddersfield copywriter trying to help.

Best (try to) get an appointment with your GP if your knee is giving you gyp again.

How do I market my small business online?

Recently set up a business? Congrats! It’s a daunting undertaking but I’m pretty sure it’ll be more than fruitful for you.

When I set up as a Huddersfield copywriter some eight years ago now, I never imagined that I’d be as busy as I am. Or as happy.

Working for yourself, when you work at it, can be hugely rewarding and a great way to spend your days. After all, when you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life - or so the saying goes.

So, you’ve set up a small business online, but how do you go about marketing it to the masses? Below, I share some top tips that worked for me…

Get to Grips with Social Media

Whether you like it or not, social media is big news - and it can also mean big things for your business. So, even if social networking isn’t for you on a personal level, make it work for your company by getting to grips with all the different platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram) and carving out an engaged audience online.

Do some research to see what it is your ideal customer likes and loves - and then create your social posts accordingly.

Network

If your business is service, rather than product-based (for example, you’re a baker rather than a seller of baking goods), the single best thing you can do to market your business when you’re getting off the ground is to network, network, network!

This is especially true if your business only extends to your local area; when you attend networking events in your town, you’ll be chatting directly to your customer base. At the very least, though - and even if networking events don’t pull in any new business - you’ll meet some likeminded folks and have a nice night out.

Take a look online, type in the name of your town followed by ‘business networking events’ and see what comes up. Then bite the bullet and sign up for a meet-and-greet or two. Psst: don’t forget your business cards!

Blog - and Often!

Does your website have a blog? If not, speak to your web developer about the possibility of adding one to the backend of your site. Blogging - and regularly - shows Google that yours is a real, live business producing fresh content your customers are looking for.

So, blogging offers a double whammy of benefits really.

Create a post and market it to your audience by leaving a link to your article on social media. Make sure the blog post includes relevant key words and, in time, you’ll be pushing your site up Google to help people who are searching for your services find you more easily.

Don’t Become Complacent

I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but you probably won’t see an influx of customers to your site overnight. You’ll have to really work at attracting people, via a mixture of the above. Once you’ve reeled in your target market, though, believe me when I say you’ll never look back. Business will soon be booming and it’ll be all down to the hard graft you put in now.

Until next time…

Five Ways a Copywriter Can Give Your Business a Boost

I get it; running a company can be tough - and I’m a firm believer that the busier the business, the more the website needs finessing. Yep, really.

Rushed-off-their-feet company owners often contact me and say something along the lines of:

‘I wrote the content on my website myself years ago and it doesn’t at all reflect who we are or what we now do”

The thing is, when you’re so busy working in your business, it can be hard to find time to work on your business.

So, how can a copywriter help? Here are five things we content writers can tick off your to-do list…

Website Content

Website content is the obvious one, isn’t it? Whether you need your full website writing from scratch, or you’d simple like someone to make some tweaks to your existing content, I can help.

I also offer a convenient ‘Content Audit’ service, whereby I take a look at the text on your site and prepare a document with some hints, tips and minor edits.

I use the Comments function in Microsoft Word to leave you some helpful pointers, allowing you to tweak your own content and saving you the money it costs to have a copywriter like me write your website on your behalf. It also gives you an element of control over how your website sounds, which for many businesses is another plus point.

Get in touch if you think this will work for you.

Social Media Copy

Need someone to plan out your social media strategy in full, or post bitesize snippets of content onto your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds? A copywriter can help you do that too.

Taking another task off your plate, social media content outsourcing makes perfect sense for the time-poor business owner.

Printed Literature

No time to create that flyer ahead of a big business event? Or perhaps you’d like some content for a banner ad? Working alongside some trusted graphic designer pals, I can help create printed literature - from flyers and brochures to company merchandise - that works for you.

Email Newsletters

Email marketing may be another task that falls by the wayside when you’re as busy as you are. So, allow a freelance copywriter to relieve you of the burden of creating the content for your weekly email or monthly digital newsletter.

Press Releases

Want to promote your business to the press? I’ve worked in journalism and copywriting, which puts me in a great position to help you get your message across to local and regional news outlets. Chat to me about my press release writing service by clicking the link below.

Need a helping hand with any of the above? Get in touch with me, a Huddersfield copywriter, by saying hello here.

Until next time…

How to Write Content for Social Media

I’m not going to lie, I’m not a huge fan of writing content for social media. Although it’s a service I offer, social media management can be quite a niggly task, involving lots of regular content in bitesize chunks. It’s probably why a lot of people outsource it, to be fair.

If you don’t have the budget to task a professional to do it for you, though, here are my top tips on writing content for social media…

Engage With Your Audience

Do you know your audience? If not, it’s time to get to know them (not in a stalky way, you understand).

Keep an eye, though, on the comments and feedback from your customers, though - learn what makes them tick, as well as what doesn’t - and try to feed them content you know they will enjoy.

Take time to reply to the comments they leave on your social media pages, too; opening up a dialogue with your customers can help shape your content later down the line.

Keep it Simple

Don’t force content for the sake of it; if you don’t have anything relevant or interesting to say, don’t bother posting.

Your customers’ attention will be being pulled this way and that, so it’s important to keep their interest when they do land on your social media pages. Make your content short and snappy and use relevant imagery to ensure it stands out on their Facebook feed or Twitter timeline.

Collaborate with Similar Businesses

Without linking to direct competitors, it’s always a good idea to create something of a community of followers based on similar social media pages. Link to relevant content and ‘share the love’, as it were, for other creators. It isn’t necessarily about bringing more traffic to your site, but about bringing the right traffic to your site - and giving fellow businesses a pat on the back in the process.

So, for example, if you run a gardening business and you know your followers are also interested in all things interiors, why not team up with a home décor business to create a fun series of social media posts together? As a freelance Yorkshire copywriter, I’m not adverse to pairing up with other people in the same - or similar - arena; connections and collaborations can be key.

Try Something New

If what you’ve been doing so far just isn’t working, try something new - whether that’s asking customers for their opinion on key business decisions (which packaging design should you opt for, for example) or running a promotion or giveaway.

Has this blog post helped you with your social media strategy? Let this friendly Huddersfield copywriter know by commenting below. Or say hello!

Until next time…