Issued: 21 November 2023
Would you like £1000 funding FOR FREE?
Small businesses in North Yorkshire are eligible for a share of the ‘UK Shared Prosperity Fund – Rural England Prosperity Fund North Yorkshire Small business grant’. Want to overhaul your website, get some new blogs or freshen up what you have with some Google-friendly SEO? Now’s your chance!
Who is eligible?
The grant is specifically targeted at micro businesses within North Yorkshire, not including the City of York. Unlike other grants, you don’t need to have a minimum number of employees. So you can apply, even if you’re a sole trader.
Is match funding is involved?
No, if you apply for the Small Business Grant of £1,000, you don’t have to provide match funding.
Does website content or social media posts qualify for the Small business grant?
Yes! I’ve double-checked with the fund directly. Here is their reply received on 20 November 2023:
“Yes, companies could apply for funding for copywriter services. Our thinking is that this could lead to a long term, intangible asset for the company and can therefore be classed as capital expenditure.”
My friend the photographer Olivia Brabbs has also had confirmation that the grant can be used for brand photography, if you need pictures instead of words.
My Small Business Grants packages
Bronte website package
Want in-depth help? I can overhaul and freshen up your website content to appeal to Google and customers. Or write new web content from scratch. Find out more in SEO web content.
Total: £1000 for up to 8 pages
Fawkes blogging package
Get some new blogs to go with a bang! They can be targeted to promote specific products/services. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to attract Google and new customers is included. More details in SEO blogs.
Total: £1000 for 5 x 700 word minimum blogs
Ayckbourn blogging package
Want to sprinkle some magic on your existing blogs? Copy-edit and overhaul existing blogs with SEO to appeal to Google and customers. This is a variation of my SEO blogs service.
Total: £1000 for 7 x 1000 maximum word blogs
Dench social media package
Get pithy / witty with a content calendar and tailored posts including emojis and hashtags for Facebook, Instagram and/or Linked In. Check out my social media service for more details.
Total: £1000 for 30 posts and content calendar
Update 30 Nov: A friend has kindly passed on the message that they’ve been told “photography and copywriting projects for use on social media or in email campaigns would not be covered.” So it may be worth emailing the delivery officer first – details below. But bear in mind a good blog should be able to generate at least three social media posts. And these can be ‘evergreen’, so not time-sensitive.
Help with elements of the application form
How’s your constitution?!
The grant application form includes some very specific questions such as:
“If you do not have a registered Charity number or Company number, please provide a copy of your organisation’s constitution.”
Nope, I’ve no idea what that means either. But don’t worry! Their delivery officer has said:
“we’re not expecting sole traders to provide a constitution. The Business Support Officer who makes contact will discuss with the applicant any verification needed in lieu of a Companies House registration, for example a HMRC return or other proof of being in business.”
Questions about insurance and the ICO
Here are two more questions which could put you off:
- “Does your organisation have in place both employers and public liability insurance as legally required?”
- “Is your organisation registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for processing or intending to process personal data?”
You can say No for both of these and still qualify. This is what the delivery officer said:
“We know some organisations do have exemption from ICO registration and/or insurance requirements so, if applicants just fill in the form the best they can, a Business Support Officer will get in touch about anything missing/further info required.”
It sounds like they’re going to be as helpful as possible regarding getting you signed up. Remember, they’ll have targets to sign up businesses. So why not apply?
If your reply is “I hate paperwork”, read on for some short-cuts…
What to write on the form
Filling in forms is always tricky. But I’ve come up with some text you can adapt:
Project Details Commissioning digital content
Project Title Boosting our digital presence
Proposed Start Date asap Proposed End Date 31/03/24
You are applying for the Boosting Productivity: Small Business Grants programme, you are asked:
“Please provide a full description of the proposed project, setting out clearly what it is you would purchase with the grant, why this is needed and what difference this will make to your business, e.g. increased business revenue, increased awareness of your business, expansion or diversification of existing services, etc”
Here are some suggestions:
Bronte package (overhaul web content)
We propose commissioning a professional copywriter to overhaul 8 pages on our website to better appeal to search engines such as Google and to customers. Our website is in desperate need of updating, as we haven’t substantially addressed the content since 20XX. We also wrote the content ourselves, rather than hiring a professional copywriter.
The website is now out of date, as we have since added new products/services/locations.
The process will involved:
- Being interviewed by the copywriter
- The copywriter researching our competitors, our current digital presence and what our ideal customers are searching for on Google
- They will provide a first draft, SEO web content elements and the opportunity to give feedback
- They will then provide the final draft for us as Word documents to pass on to our web developer/for us to implement.
By updating our web content and overhauling the Search Engine Optimisation areas, we aim to achieve better rankings on Google and attract more customers. This should lead to an increased awareness of our business, and positively impact our business revenue.
Fawkes package (new blogs)
We propose commissioning a professional copywriter to write five new blogs to better appeal to search engines such as Google and to customers. The blogs will act as advertorials to subtly promote specific products/services. We haven’t added any new content since 20XX, and we have noticed a drop down the Google rankings.
The process will involved:
- Being interviewed by the copywriter
- The copywriter researching our competitors, our current digital presence and what our ideal customers are searching for on Google
- They will provide a first draft, SEO web content elements, suggested images and the opportunity to give feedback
- They will then provide the final draft for us as Word documents to pass on to our web developer/for us to implement.
By adding new web content, we aim to increase our ranking position on Google and attract more customers. This should lead to an increased awareness of our business, and positively impact our business revenue. We also plan to use the blogs as a source of social media content.
Ayckbourn package (overhaul existing blogs)
We propose commissioning digital content from a professional copywriter to overhaul seven of our existing blogs to better appeal to search engines such as Google and to customers. The blogs will act as advertorials to subtly promote specific products/services.
The process will involved:
- Being interviewed by the copywriter
- The copywriter researching our competitors, our current digital presence and what our ideal customers are searching for on Google
- They will provide a first draft, SEO web content elements, suggested images and the opportunity to give feedback
- They will then provide the final draft for us as Word documents to pass on to our web developer/for us to implement.
By refreshing our online articles, we aim to increase our ranking position on Google and attract more customers. This should lead to an increased awareness of our business, and positively impact our business revenue. We also plan to use the new material in the blogs as a source of social media content.
Dench package (social media)
We propose commissioning a content calendar and 30 social media captions from a professional copywriter to refresh our social media presence on LinkedIn/Instagram/Facebook and gain more followers. The posts will act as advertorials to subtly promote specific products/services.
The process will involved:
- Being interviewed by the copywriter
- The copywriter researching our competitors, our current digital presence and what our ideal customers are searching for on social media
- They will provide a first draft, hashtags, emojis, suggested images and the opportunity to give feedback
- They will then provide the final draft for us as Word documents for us to implement.
- They will provide a content calendar for the year ahead, with the posts
By posting fresh content, we aim to appeal to the social media platform’s algorithm and attract more customers. This should lead to an increased awareness of our business, and positively impact our business revenue.
“Please explain how your project aligns with the aims and objectives of the Small Business Grants programme”
As a small business based in rural North Yorkshire, we struggle to compete with larger, national competitors and their marketing budgets. By investing in our website/social media [delete as applicable], we aim to increase our business growth by reaching more customers online. This includes addressing and improving our Search Engine Optimisation. [include this last sentence if you’ve chosen the Bronte, Fawkes or Ayckbourn package].
Outsourcing our content to a professional copywriter will boost our productivity, as we can spend the time saved focusing on other areas of our business. The content will be designed to be ‘evergreen’, allowing us to repurpose it for future needs such as press releases, journalist packs, advertorials and printed advertisements.
Have a store / location where customers come to see you? Add this:
By focusing on our online presence, we aim to reduce emissions as customers will be able to discover answers / see products without having to travel to us.
Have a lot of off-site meetings with prospective customers? Add this:
By focusing on our online presence, we aim to reduce emissions as we won’t need as many in-person meetings.
“Please explain why grant support is required to enable the project to be delivered and what impact not getting the grant support would have on your business”
As a small business with tight profit margins, it is hard to build up the finances necessary to invest in securing professional online content. This has been particularly challenging in the last year given soaring inflation and energy costs.
Not getting the grant would mean we would not be able to upgrade our online presence, and lead to us falling further behind our competitors. This could threaten our business’s future viability, and impact our local rural economy which we support through sourcing from local suppliers / employing X number of people / sponsoring the local football team / shopping locally. [delete as applicable]
Frequently asked questions
How do I check whether my business is in North Yorkshire?
Type your business postcode into Find your local council to check. City of York businesses sadly do not qualify. I’m gutted, as I’m one of them!
We have a larger project in mind. Where should we look?
Head to UK shared prosperity fund web page for all the details. However match funding is involved for larger projects. This means you will need to contribute 25% of the total cost.
Is there a time limit?
Yes: “all projects will have to be fully completed and invoiced by March 2024”.
I’d strongly advise NOT to leave it until after Christmas. The York Business Voucher Scheme was released in December 2021. But by the New Year, funding had dried up.
Also if you want to work with me, I only have so much time available. This is allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. During the Voucher Scheme, I had to turn clients away, which was frustrating for them and me. So don’t delay!
Your Small Business Grant packages are slightly more than other packages on your website. Why?
I was an official supplier for the York Business Voucher Scheme in 2021/22. It involved far more admin, paperwork and red tape than dealing directly with a client. I’ve therefore assigned a budget within these Small Business Grant packages for the additional hoop-jumping.
Have any more questions or want to apply?
- To apply: check out the UK shared prosperity fund web page and scroll down to the ‘Small business grant application forms’ section.
- Questions about the scheme itself? – email
- Questions about my availability, my packages or how I can help? – call me on 07929 948 743 or email to have a chat. We can see if we ‘click’ and if I’m the right copywriter for you and your business.
Lovely words from happy clients
Wondering what it would be like to work with me? Since 2014, I’ve helped more than 100 businesses and organisations in Yorkshire and beyond thrive online. Check out what my past clients think:
Helen brought marketing clarity to my new website content
“Helen steered me through the creation of my new website content with ease and care and brought marketing clarity to my skills and expertise (especially through my cringe moments of selling myself!)
As an engineer, words are not always my forte so I’ll keep it simple: use Ink Gardener, you’ll be happy with the results!”
Laura Cotter, BStreamlined of Scarborough
Helen made the web copy process simple and enjoyable
“When it came to writing the copy for my website I wasn’t sure where to begin. I wanted something eloquent that spoke to my target audience, but that also contributed towards my SEO.
Helen surpassed all of my expectations, making the process simple and enjoyable. The result is a website that not only ranks highly with Google, but attracts compliments from clients and colleagues.”
Emily Balmer, Director of The Hearing Suite of Harrogate, Ilkley and Wykeham
Amazing social media content
“The posts you’ve provided are as amazing as always, no changes from me. I wanted to let you know two of the posts you wrote performed the best across Facebook and Instagram last month, in comparison to the in-house content. So really great work there.”
Feedback from Senior Account Manager at a London-based agency (NDA applies)
Helen is objective and professional
“Helen has worked on all the Dawnay Estates business websites with brilliant results. She is so objective and professional.”
Katrina Shamel, The Dawnay Estates near Scarborough and Whitby