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1208, 2020
  • content writer

Hiring a content writer vs doing it in-house

The people inside a business are the ones who know what makes it tick. But are they best placed to promote everything that business has to offer? Not necessarily. If your business is blessed with someone who knows what makes [...]

1307, 2020
  • communities

Heartened and humbled by lockdown response

It’s been a pleasure over the last couple of months to discover more about how communities have rallied to help those most in need. From the Cumbrian coast to the Pennine hills and from the border to the South Lakes [...]

105, 2020

Business comms in the time of coronavirus

Many businesses are understandably unsure about how best to communicate in these uncertain times. The impacts of Covid-19 are being felt the world over. Virtually every sector of business is hit. And no one wants to come across as [...]

1203, 2020

Trio launch workshop to improve presentation skills

A new workshop for those wanting to improve their public speaking and presentation skills has been launched by a trio of Cumbria-based communicators. BBC trainer and journalist Tom Speight, Give A Day to the City founder Andy Fearon and media [...]

502, 2020

Save an hour a day in your business

What would you do with an extra hour every day in your business? And what if you could save an hour every day in your business  - for you and all your colleagues - without extending the working day or [...]

1301, 2020
  • Press release writing advice

Great advice for writing – 75 years on

George Orwell makes a regular appearance in one of my training courses. It may be almost 75 years since the author’s, Politics and the English Language, was published. But, like most good advice, it’s stood the test of time. The [...]

1404, 2019

Securing media coverage for your business

You’re convinced your company has an amazing story to tell. All you need do is fire off your press release and, hey-presto, guaranteed media coverage? Not quite so fast, and not quite so simple. Newsrooms and journalists are inundated every [...]

2810, 2018
  • PR | Public Relations | Helliwell Media | Cumbria

Smile – you’re on camera!

We’ve recently added a new element to our presentation training – and it’s a game changer. There’s great value and learning to be had from a mix of theory and practise. But the latest addition significantly ups the performance and [...]

608, 2018
  • Helliwell Media PR logo

Using multi-media PR to catch a wide audience

Using a full range of media is vital when you're trying to catch the attention of a wide variety of businesses and individuals. The five local authority partners in the recent Borderlands Conference wanted to appeal to as large a [...]

607, 2018
  • PR | Public Relations | Helliwell Media | Cumbria

Why press releases should be part of marketing your business

In this day and age even the smallest of businesses has a website and access to its own social media channels. This allows them to promote their products and services directly – good, bad or indifferently – to potential customers. [...]

304, 2018
  • Back page headline 'Broken Men'

Businesses can learn from Australian cricket about crisis communications

There’s much businesses can learn about handling crisis communications from the recent ball-tampering scandal that has engulfed Australian cricket. The incident has reverberated right through the sport and around the world and had far-reaching consequences. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull [...]

701, 2018
  • Helliwell Media | Media | Carlisle, Cumbria

7 reasons business should engage with mainstream media

Who would look to mainstream media for business promotion in this day and age? Newspapers? Dinosaurs. Living on past glories with plunging circulations. An irrelevance. TV? Unless it’s on Netflix or YouTube, I’m not watching. Radio? Who listens to that? [...]

2710, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Crisis Communications | Carlisle, Cumbria

Crisis communications and your business

“Ok, let me explain how things work. There’s no such thing as the ‘lunchtime news’ any more…what it is now, ok, is basically one long avalanche of s#@! happening in real time…with 24-hour live shovelling.” A comedic but recognisable assessment [...]

1610, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Social Media | Carlisle, Cumbria

Social media policy, The New York Times and you

How’s your company’s social media policy standing up in the ever-developing online world? It’s doing a good job, no issues… Think it’s ok but maybe someone should have a look to see if people are still using it… What social [...]

1809, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Crisis Management | Carlisle, Cumbria

Getting ahead of the crisis

One of the aspects of crisis management hardest for businesses to get their heads round is being the one to break bad news to customers. Some businesses would prefer to front up only when necessary. They want to ride it [...]

2908, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Media Training | Carlisle, Cumbria

How was your holiday?

If you've been lucky enough to have a holiday this summer hopefully it's left you refreshed and raring to go again. Most of us need to take that opportunity to wind down and recharge our batteries. However impossible the mounting [...]

2408, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Media Training | Carlisle, Cumbria

This is how you do community advertising

I know the focus and precision of targeted advertising on social media. I love some of the high impact, big graphic, quality audio of broadcast ads. And as someone who spent many a year fighting to keep advertisers in newspapers [...]

1007, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Sam Quek | Carlisle, Cumbria

Things I learned this week

While it takes talent, determination and guts to become an Olympic champion, achieving that goal and reaping the plaudits doesn't have to stop you being a grounded individual. Pleasure to meet gold medal-winning hockey player Sam Quek, using her fame [...]

2706, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Media | Carlisle, Cumbria

Hey media, notice me!

You’ve expanded your range, are now offering a better service or have just hired a whizz-kid who’s going to help transform your business. All good. But unless you tell people about the new you, how will they know about all [...]

806, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Training & Communications | Carlisle, Cumbria

Election 2017: Campaign of the gaffe

They may have just spent the last seven weeks persuading us to keep them in work, but seriously, who’d be a politician? Ok, the pay’s not bad and there’s a certain kudos to it, but having to be constantly on [...]

1005, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Political Wrapper | Carlisle, Cumbria

Political wraps on newspapers, what’s all the fuss?

Local newspapers up and down the country have recently run political wraparounds of their publications - and some people are getting very hot under the collar about it. Those titles who’ve accepted the ads - owned by a range of [...]

1005, 2017
  • Helliwell Media | Editors Chair | Carlisle, Cumbria

Just like George? That first day in the editor’s chair

It’s true I didn’t have to negotiate a crowd of photographers blocking the way to my opening day in charge of the first newspaper I edited. Neither as I stepped into the newsroom was I potentially preoccupied with the problems [...]