Nicola Balkind

Community Leader

Portfolio: Guildhall Alumni Magazine

By

Working with the Guildhall School

This past Autumn, I worked closely with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. I led on the copywriting for the Autumn-Winter edition of the university’s alumni magazine called Play.

The project included writing features, news, interview pieces, and obituaries for the magazine. Preparatory work included interviewing former alumni and partners and independent research. I also contributed to the editing and proofreading process along with the in-house Guildhall team.
 
 

Read the PLAY Alumni Magazine

You can also download a copy directly from the Guildhall website, here.

Find out more about my copywriting services here, and view my portfolio here. Want to discuss a potential copywriting project? Go ahead and email me!

Update: I’ve Relocated to California!

By

Nicola Balkind: 2016 Update

Welcome Back!

It’s been quiet on this blog lately, hasn’t it? I think it’s about time I gave you an update.

2016 So Far

2016 has been super busy for me – which is always promising for a freelancer! I’ve worked with some fantastic returning clients, including the Small is Beautiful conference for microbusinesses, which took place in June. This summer, I hosted a social media workshop for authors with my old friends at the Scottish Book Trust. I’ve also been writing regular book columns for The Big Issue Magazine throughout the year.

This year has also brought me some fantastic new collaborators. I’ve been working with the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, writing this Autumn’s edition of their alumni magazine called PLAY. I’ve also been writing case studies and marketing copy for another new client: the lovely Russwood flooring and cladding company in the Scottish Highlands.

Sadly, the move means that I will no longer be able to contribute film reviews on the Janice Forsyth Show on BBC Radio Scotland. However, I have been and will continue to publish audio and video content on my podcast, Bookish Blether, and my YouTube channel. (You might even be able to convince me to review films there, too.)

I hope your first half of the year has been kind to you, too.

What’s Next?

As email subscribers will know, I recently moved from Scotland to California. I’m now located in Central California, but will continue to work with clients all over the world. (After 11 years doing this long-distance travel-work-life thing, I’m really good at working ahead of deadlines and across time-zones.)

Whether you need to update your social media strategy, want to learn how to improve your writing online, or are ready to launch a new campaign, I’m here to help.

As always, click through to read more about my services and examples of my work – the pages are freshly updated – and feel free to get in touch with any queries you may have.

I’m currently booking projects for October – December 2016. I look forward to working with you soon!

Investing in Your Microbusiness

By

Microbusiness might sound small, but working lean is a fantastic way to get farther, quicker, avoid bureaucratic slovenliness. Not to mention the freedom to do things the way you want!

Whether you’re bootstrapping or have a little investment behind you, chances are you’re running a streamlined enterprise and keeping your overheads low.

And guess what? There’s no better time to innovate.

But are you investing everything that you can into your business? Are you cutting corners to keep overheads low in areas thy might actually improve your business processes, work flow, or client retention?

Don’t feel guilty about investing a little money into the areas that matter.

Is business slow? Maybe it’s time to spruce up your website to capture the would-be clients who are out off by some sloppy navigation. Maybe you need to put some more time into your newsletter. Or perhaps it’s time to pony up for a new microphone or camera to make your audio-visual content really shine.

If you’re holing back on going “all in” on your big ideas, here’s more helpful information and inspriation from Natalie McNeil at She Takes on The World!

 

What could you improve with a little time or cash injection? Have you been holding back on investing in your business?

—

This blog post was originally published on the Small is Beautiful blog.

Categories