Rachel Kerr (Welcome Words)

What do writing good words for your business and writing entertaining stories have in common?

More than you might think.

You don't enjoy a book that says 'they met, they married, they had a few problems and it was touch and go for a while but it turned out okay in the end'. So why would you expect your prospective customers to engage with your website or flyer when all it says is 'we do X, ring us now'? 

Stories are the key to capturing people's imaginations and giving them something to remember. Here's a few examples. The stories have been so effective over time that I only have to write a couple of words and immediately you'll start to replay them in your head.

Hovis
Heinz Baked Beans 
Guinness
BT

Welcome Words never forgets that the people you want to buy or buy into your product or service are just that. People. They have desires, fears and longings and senses of humour too. But they're not stupid. We can't just shout a message at them and expect them to fall at our feet. But it's great when we find just the right words to welcome them into a story they recognise as their own - the one they could be in, if they bought what you've got to offer. 

Are you searching for the right way to make a bigger impact on your new and existing customers? Maybe your new website is languishing, beautifully designed but still waiting for your words? Perhaps you’ve battled your way through late night after late night to come up with a load of words for your brochure or newsletter only to realise that they just don’t cut the mustard? And all the time this is happening, you’re losing vital time you could be spending on running your business. Sound familiar? That's where we come in.

It's our belief that writing for marketing communications is one part technique and ten parts empathy and we have both in bucket loads. If we can, we like to speak to you AND your customers to find out what makes each of you tick - you might be surprised! - before writing the words that will really make the difference for you. Customer case studies are a speciality – it’s all about telling the story of how you enhance your customers' lives so it’s easier for new customers to get on board and join the story. Done regularly, it’s also a pretty nifty way of keeping your website refreshed and interesting and  Google-friendly.

Are you ready to become your customers' fairy godmother and make a positive impact on both them and your business? Give Rachel a call on 0781 681 6180.

Welcome Words is run by Rachel Kerr, who has 24+ years' experience of handling marketing communications and has managed hundreds of design/publishing projects. Importantly for you, she has worked at senior level in business, education and the charity sector, which means she knows where you’re coming from and is great at interpreting your brief, even when you're not exactly sure what it is you're after.

Hello, I'm Rachel.

Born in Sunderland, brought up in extremely rural south west Scotland, now living in Apperley Bridge, Bradford. Beautiful canal-side walks.

At school, I was the responsible, brainy one. I did my homework on time, I got top marks and teachers liked me. Never one of the 'in-crowd', I would gather up all the odd waifs and strays who didn't quite fit in anywhere else. We were a real motley crew. I think I got away with it because I was brainy without being geeky. No-one ever gave me any trouble, anyway. When I went to Oxford, I spent as much time producing radio programmes for the local hospital radio service as I did studying English. The highlight was interviewing Santa Claus in Debenhams. When I said 'I'd like to do this interview as if you really are Santa Claus' he gave me the kind of withering look normally reserved for the naughtiest elf in the toy room. I bet you didn't know the real Santa Claus has a west country accent, did you?

What's that got to do with anything today? Well, I reckon all that standing on the margins made me objective and able to look at things a little differently. Gathering up the waifs and strays gave me empathy with different people in different circumstances. Getting top marks gave me a taste for doing a good job. And all that broadcasting taught me how to turn my hand to something useful and welcome in the real world. All helpful qualities when you decide to make your living as writer.

Good writing is a bit like music. It employs rhythm and pattern. So it's no surprise that I was also in the choir, played Mr Wilson's Fender Stratocaster in the school musical, and won the Dumfries Folk Festival with my guitar partner, Hilda. I did a bit of piano too. All sadly fallen by the wayside now, though I still have a penchant for guitar music, particularly flamenco. 

After Oxford, I trained to be an English teacher then promptly went into public relations! A bit of events management at the Gateshead National Garden Festival was followed by a fast and furious time as Features Editor for the Gateshead Post. All extremely good practice - and boy, was I pleased I'd taught myself to touch type with all my fingers and thumbs! Newcastle Building Society managed to hang onto me for 10 years, during which I established their Corporate Communications department. And then I moved 'south' to West Yorkshire and a senior position in charge of marketing and external relations for Leeds Grammar School. After seeing them through their merger with Leeds Girls' High School, I decided to 'go it alone' and Welcome Words was born. I still keep my hand in with the education sector though, currently with some communications work for the Girls' Schools Association. Funny how things have a habit of coming full circle, isn't it?

I love to dance - mainly jive though I'll have a go at anything if my partner knows what he's going! I enjoy poetry (reading and writing it) and also have a bit of a thing for illustrated children's books - check out the illustrations of eastern European fairytales by Jan Pienkowski in my 'favourite links'.

My lovely man Mick is a Chemistry teacher and private tutor. We met in 2011 and fell in love instantly. Honest. It does happen. Through the internet and everything :)))

As well as Welcome Words I run life-story-writing services through Story Harvesters. Check it out - www.facebook.com/StoryHarvesters