Telling your story online

Hi! I’m Helen Reynolds, a freelance web content writer and copywriter. I live in the beautiful city of York, working with clients across the UK and beyond.

My story

I’ve always been a bookworm and writer. This led to studying English at Cambridge University. Tough essay deadlines meant I had to absorb huge amounts of information quickly and pinpoint key themes.

For 11 years I managed the Lake District National Park’s websites, including two commercial sites. I also set up their Twitter and Facebook accounts, taking them from zero to thousands of followers.

Before that I was the lead e-commerce editor at First Choice Holidays, based at Gatwick. For fun, I’m writing a historical action adventure series. I’m also a Top Contributor for TripAdvisor.

Why I love being a freelance web content writer

I founded Ink Gardener Copywriting in 2014 and have never looked back. There’s nothing more satisfying than taking what a client says, then organising and polishing their words into professional, reassuring and friendly content.

Memberships and accreditations

The Clever Copywriting Community – a global directory of copywriters

The Professional Copywriters’ Network – also known as the Alliance of Commercial Writers.

Selected as a founder member of the Hiscox Business Club in York

Graduate of The Recipe for SEO Success intensive nine-week course with Australia’s leading copywriter Kate Toon

Awards and nominations

The Clever Copywriting School Copywriter of the Year nominee 2022

Digital Enterprise Top 100

In the news

• York copywriter Helen Reynolds ‘incredibly chuffed’ with FSB award nomination – The Yorkshire Post
• York businesswoman, Ink Gardener, finalist in FSB awards – The York Press

Corporate responsibility

Every year I volunteer or work at a reduced rate for charities and not-for-profit organisations close to my heart. This year’s quota is full.

Organisations I volunteer for:

• Historical Novel Society
• Some Voices

Speaker for:

• Hiscox Business Club in York
• Women In Rural Enterprise
• Business Ladies Around Harrogate

If you’d like me to delver talk to your business networking group, please get in contact.

The Good Business Charter

I’m a proud member of the Good Business Charter initiative, committing to paying invoices quickly and my fair share of tax.

Customer commitment

As a member of GBC, I am committed to providing an exemplary level of service, with opportunities for feedback throughout projects. I also encourage clients to provide feedback by leaving reviews on LinkedIn and Google.

Why ‘Ink Gardener’?

My career catchphrase is “a website is like a garden”. You can’t just open the website gates to the public and then ignore it. To keep things looking good, you need to mow the virtual lawn, trim the roses and thin out the veggies.

I also love to garden in real-life, and am a sucker for the Dutch 17th century botanical style of painting. I’m ‘Ink Gardener’ as a nod to my ink-stained fingers. I’m left-handed, so tend to smudge!

Overwhelmed? We’ve got you!

Boosting your digital presence can be quite the undertaking. If you’re looking for a team to help, I’m part of a women-led collective of professional associates here in York.

It’s a win-win for us all. You save time by not having to source suppliers. We save time by liaising directly with each other. By being on the same page, it means everything from your photography to your social media is consistent.

Think of us like a relay team, handing on the baton of your project between us, but always keeping the finish line in sight.

Our team

Designer/developer: Lucy Rigley– exemplary WordPress web design, coding, hosting, apps, branding and logos, animations, branding templates, affiliate marketing, and email templates. Her BBC background means not much fazes her!

Photographer: Paula Duck– stand-out personal and commercial brand photography for branding, personal branding, interiors, people and products. Her home studio has excellent natural and whitebox lighting. Or Paula can visit your location.

Social media expert: Rebecca Mason – practical in-house training and strategies for Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. Rebecca’s background is in business development, so she’ll make sure everything is done for good reason!

Copy and content writer: me, Helen Reynolds – human and Google-friendly SEO web content, blogs and plug and play social media posts.

I can liaise with Lucy to tweak content to better fit into her design. Seeing Paula’s photography will help me develop your brand’s ‘word palette’. And I can take my cue for any social media post or blog content from Rebecca’s no-nonsense strategies.

Feel free to contact us individually. Or we can pass your details between us if you mention you’re interested in any other services.

Full video transcript

“Hi! I’m Helen Reynolds. I’m a freelance writer based in York. I help businesses across the UK boost their profits through fresh words. Gardeners work with plants to bring in a harvest and I use words to attract customers for my clients.

I’ve always loved to write. My degree was in English from Cambridge University and I’ve just finished my first novel. I started writing websites in 1997 so I’ve got a pretty good idea how they work.

What I do

I write Google-friendly web content. I can write this from scratch having talked to a business or I can hack back and prune existing content to show off products and services.

I’m also a social media… consultant’s not the right word, more therapist for people who’ve set up their Facebook Business Pages and their Twitter feeds but they don’t know what to do next. I’ve coached inventors, florists, animal behaviourists… I do this through one-to-one coaching and also through workshops.

Web content

A website can look stunning but if it’s too wordy or it’s not helpful, people will go elsewhere. I write friendly, pithy content that keeps Google happy as well. I really enjoy getting feedback from my clients. I love how their websites are now earning their keep. They act like mini-auditions, 24/7 across the world.

Social media content

My hothouse social media programme is also working really well. For one client, we got Twitter followers up by 78% in two months. For Facebook more than 9,000 people were reached in a month and that was without paying for ads.

Updated: I no longer offer my hothouse social media programme because of lack of capacity.  But I still supply tailored social media posts and train others on how to manage their social media channels.

Want professional words? Hire a professional copywriter

As maths isn’t my strong point, I hire an accountant to deal with business finances. If you struggle to tell the world about your business, why not hire me for your words?

Get in touch

Please contact me on or call 07929 948 743. I’ve also lots of free advice on my website. I really look forward to hearing from you!”