To whom it may concern
Following a tender process, Health Education England awarded Kate a contract to assist the Commission on Education and Training for Patient Safety to write its report. From the beginning I was very impressed with Kate’s flexible approach, the way she immersed herself in this complex subject area and quickly encouraged us to cut through the jargon.
Kate has asked me to write a few words about her working with me on Reconnect magazine (www.reconnectonline.co.uk). In fact, I could point you towards thousands of them – the huge number of stories she wrote and edited for me during my editorship of the magazine, up until I handed the business over to the new owner/editor Scott Williams, at the end of 2016. Kate’s main role was to write stories for the Wellbeing section, usually from notes supplied by therapists and practitioners. On a technical level her work was faultless: all stories were run past the contributors and even those she had needed to completely rewrite were approved, normally without a change. On a more personal level, Kate was a delight to work with: always quick to understand what was required; and always calm and friendly (even when faced with my unreasonable deadlines). Although our professional relationship has ended, Kate and I remain good friends and I wish her every success for the future. She deserves it.
Martin Foster
Former Editor Reconnect Magazine
Reference for Kate Philbin – 08 03 2012
To whom it may concern:
As Director of Leading Workforce Solutions Ltd, I have been working on behalf of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement on a regular basis since 2008 – supporting the Organising for Quality & Value: Delivering Improvement Programme (O4Q&V) as a Programme Facilitator.
In October 2011 I was asked to identify case studies to illustrate the benefits of attending the O4Q&V Programme and have been working with Kate Philbin, Writer and Communications Consultant since then until the current date.
Initial telephone conferences were set up so we could agree how best to transfer recorded interview data, identify the style required and agree working relationships.
Transfer of audio data has been received and translated into the case study format promptly.
Some of the recordings have been very complex but they have been translated into excellent case study format which have been readily approved by the interviewees and their communications teams.
Any queries or changes have been dealt with promptly.
I have no problems recommending Kate for future case study work.
Jackie Younger (Ms)
Director
Leading Workforce Solutions Ltd
28 November 2012
To whom it may concern
Re Kate Philbin
I can confirm that Kate has been a supplier to the NHS Institute of writing services for the past five years.
We have used Kate’s skills to help us develop a wide range of programmes, products and materials, providing writing services for a number of media including manuals, publications, copy for the website etc.
Kate is conscientious and meticulous and has never failed to respond to and fulfill a brief to our complete satisfaction and on time, despite our often demanding timescales and sometimes changing requirements.
Kate is a delightful person, very personable and energetic and I would have no hesitation in recommending Kate’s work or in working with her in the future.
Yours sincerely
Annie M Taylor
Head of Marketing and Communication
Dear Sir / Madam
I have commissioned Kate Philbin on two separate occasions to both develop copy and text for an outline programme booklet, and to transcribe and edit five in-depth case studies. Both of these pieces of work were for the Organising for Quality and Value Programme in the NHS Institute.
On both occasions Kate has delivered very high quality work within the agreed time line. Her main strengths are her ability to efficiently articulate and synthesize information into very readable copy. Kate has demonstrated acuteness for connections across the case study work and has worked well with the interviewer in ensuring detail and correctness for copy across all five studies.
I would recommend her for this type of work.
Yours Faithfully
Alice O’Neill
Programme Lead
Organising for Quality and Value Programme
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
I was taught to write by a tabloid journalist. It’s not something I always share with people because tabloid is a bit of a dirty word. (Journalist can be too, for that matter).
But, as much as I disagree with some of their reporting methods and their content, the fact is that tabloid journalists can write. Not like Shakespeare or Virginia Woolf, but hard-hitting copy for a fast-paced world.
Yuk, you might be thinking.
And I guess if that is your response this blog might not be for you because I’m going to talk about how to “sex up” your content, how to give it pace and punch, how to make your reader want to keep reading.
This last bit is the killer. Because whatever you’re writing about, if your reader doesn’t keep reader, all of your efforts are a bit of a waste of time. So, what is it that makes a reader keep reading?
In journalism (and in PR) we talk about hooking the reader. Imagine a bit fat fish swimming around in a pool with lots of other fish. The only way a fish is going to end up in your net is if you hook it out of the pool. And the only way it’s going to do that is if there is a big fat juicy worm wriggling on the end of your hook.
So, when you write your first paragraph, stop to think “is there a big, fat, juicy worm that I’m dangling in front of the reader that is going to make her bite?” If not, it’s worth giving a bit more thought to your intro. Tell them what the article/blog/webpage is all about at the beginning so they can decide if it is for them or not.
Have you noticed how life just seems to keep getting busier and busier? As well as all of the demands on our time that people have always had – family, children, work, friends – there is now a kind of information overload that comes from living in an online world. That’s why it’s essential to keep your copy short.
Even the most interested reader probably won’t have time to wade through pages of text. If they like what you say and how you say it, the chances are they will come back and visit again. If you can get them to leave their contact details so you know who they are, so much the better.
Until it was pointed out to me I was unaware of the power of three. But now I know about it, I see it everywhere. Our brains like things arranged in threes and the number three is surprisingly ubiquitous right from when we are young – A,B,C; 1,2,3; Father, Son and Holy Ghost, bronze, silver and gold, and so on. Listen out for it and you will hear powerful speakers, writers and politicians use it a lot:
If you look at paragraph three (spooky!) of this blog, I used it here. You will notice that there are three “rules” presented here. The power of three is working away behind the scenes in much of what you read and hear.
It’s worth being aware of it and using it where you can, without forcing it of course.
In conclusion, there are many ways of sexing up your copy, these are just three. I am following my own advice and keeping it short. But, if you’d like to know more sign up for my newsletter. I’ll be giving regular content writing tips and also developing short, invaluable ebooks for anyone who needs to know how to write great content.
Click here to be directed to my sign up page, it only takes two minutes.
These days just about every businesses seems to be blogging for all they’re worth. But, why are they doing it and is it worth the bother?
Ten years ago, most people had never even heard the word blog (a blend word derived from joining together “web” and “log”). These days “blog” is as much part of everyday parlance as another well-known blend word “Brexit” (let’s not even go there).
Businesses are encouraged to blog regularly. It is rare these days to visit a website that doesn’t have a blog. In my work as a copywriter I am increasingly being asked to write blogs for people. A lot of people are putting a lot of effort into blogging
In my opinion, blogs are definitely worth the bother providing you ask yourself three key questions:
If you’re familiar with the principles of marketing, you’ll know that these are the questions you should be asking yourself in relation to any communications activity. This is why.
The why question
Do you know what the purpose of your blog is? It’s important to know because it will determine what you write about and how you write. For example, you might want to:
The who question
You need to know who you are talking to. It is OK to have primary and secondary audiences but it’s good to be clear who they are before you start. For example, if you’re a hospital the primary audience for your blog might be patients but you may also have a secondary goal of showing your CCG how you are improving communications with patients. Knowing who your audiences are will ensure you use the right language and tone. If you’re talking to patients, for example, you will need to use everyday language and avoid being overly clinical.
The what question
Once you know who you’re talking to and why you’re doing it, you can decide what you are going to talk about. A good way to start is to draw up a list of blog topics that your target audience might be interested in. Think about the questions that customers or end users often ask you. Ask yourself, too, how often you feel able to commit to doing a blog. It’s not great to start a blog and then do nothing for months (ahem, guilty as charged. Do as I say not as I do!). It’s better if you can commit to doing one a month or one a week and stick to it. And, who will write the blog? Will someone in the organisation write it or will you ask a professional writer to do it for you based on the topics you choose?
Used well, blogs can be hugely beneficial. They are a platform to share your thoughts, ideas and passions. They can help you to build relationships with end users and build awareness of what you do. They can provide useful content to share on your website and social media.
If you’d like to know more about blogging – how to do it, what makes a good blog, how to choose your blog themes, how to engage readers, the style and tone, and so on, sign up for my newsletter. I’ll be giving regular content writing tips and also developing short, invaluable ebooks for anyone who needs to know how to write great content.
Click here to be directed to my sign up page, it only takes two minutes.
