The Case Study Practice

11/02/2022

Some days it’s hard to grind out the draft story, other days the words simply flow.

One thing is always true: it’s much easier once you’ve spoken directly to the people featured in the case study.

Their reflections on the success of the work make or break a story!

09/12/2021

Are you regularly sharing your client testimonials? If so, we’ve got a few tips to get more eyes on them… We’d strongly encourage you to be proud of your successes. But… before you put that post up, please think:

➡️ Who do you want to read them?
➡️ Why will they be interested, what problem was your client facing before the success?
➡️ What difference will it make to the readers and followers in your network?
➡️ How will you phrase a hook to get their attention?
➡️ Which lines or questions will you use to start a conversation and get comments on the post?

Otherwise, all you’ll have is people scrolling past thinking, “that’s nice” or worse, a groan that it’s another testimonial post!

Share your favourite testimonial below with me and my network if you’d like to… but please do tell us why it matters.

26/11/2021

Were you thinking about getting some case studies written, but need your marketing strategy sorted first?

We’re delighted to be teaming up with Co-creation Marketing who offer a strategic marketing service, to build out your proposition as well as deliver your marketing.

You can find out more on their website…

09/10/2021

Meeting on the beach at Weston - what a perfect place to work those grey cells for a while and then relax.

20/09/2021

When Natalie Trice finished writing her second book, she wanted to get it out there as quickly as possible. Having had a conventional publishing deal for her first book, she opted for self-publishing the second one.

The story of her publishing journey is now live on the SilverWood Books website. (I’ll pop a link in below too)

01/09/2021

Are you interested in renewable energy home heating systems?

Thanks to Gregor Heating, their client was able to switch from oil heating to an air source heat pump, install solar panels and they also bought an electric car - powered by solar for some of their journeys.

To read the full story, do visit their website.

It was a pleasure to interview their client to write this one.

22/07/2021

What could you do if you haven’t got any great case studies of your work? Three simple ways to get started:

1. Ask your clients if they’re willing to take part
2. Offer a discount to your next three prospects with the proviso that they will take part
3. Talk to your suppliers - could you take part in their case studies instead?

And if your budget won’t stretch to hire a professional writer for the stories, please do download my free five-step guide. (Link below)

I’m happy to offer a consultation on writing the questionnaire, so you get rich feedback from the phone calls with the clients.

(Yes, the phone works much better than an email survey!)

What else might stop you from celebrating your successes?

19/07/2021

Do you work in a particular niche? Having worked for over 20 years in marketing, I’ve heard a lot of arguments for and against creating a tight niche. So, how well does it work for you?

Lots of small to medium size businesses say they can’t afford to niche too tightly because it involves turning good potential clients away.

But if you look at the micro businesses, they often thrive on picking a tiny segment of the market and winning enough business to help them thrive. (And, the economy really needs those sole traders because they’re the ones who spend when they’re doing well.)

So if you’re thinking about a niche, you might need to think more like a micro business would.

For example, your case studies can help you set the boundaries of the markets you want to work in.

I’m so delighted to be writing two more case studies for the renewable energy market.

And earlier this year, I finished two that were renewable tech and a passive house design.

I know for sure that will be my favourite niche to write about in future.

Do drop me a message if you want to talk about your niche or your success stories.

21/03/2021

I saw this picture for sale earlier and it really does reflect how I feel about my case study interviews... hearing your client’s feedback and turning into a compelling story to attract more like them... it’s really transformational for any business to really listen!

26/02/2021

Do you hit moments of doubt when writing and sharing new content? How will you know if it’ll get results? We’ve done a quick summary on the blog this week to look at 11 types of content which build trust and help you get results. In it, I do recommend you share the heart and soul of your business, especially your values. Visit our website to read the full article

25/02/2021

Have you hit moments of doubt when preparing new content? You're spending time creating blogs and posts, but they don't seem to get much engagement... Organic reach has dropped on all your social media... And your website traffic isn't growing either...

On this month's blog we've got a list of 11 ideas to help... these are the content types which will help win business... and some encouragement to keep going with your content!

Make it relevant, make it interesting and put your clients at the heart of what you write.

31/01/2021

Last week, I was talking about web pages for case studies with another agency, because we need to help our mutual client with the best way to present their case studies.

Just so you know, PDFs CAN work in your favour for positive SEO. Here’s how:

Google can crawl, index, and rank PDFs. However, SEO for PDFs requires a different set of tactics. These 13 tips will help your PDFs gain more traffic.