How to Write a Case Study

What are case studies and why should you use them?

A case study is a detailed account following the diagnosis and treatment of a particular client. Case studies are used in numerous disciplines including social sciences, psychology, medicine and research. They can also be useful for therapists.

It is a good idea to have a number of case studies on file to use on your website or in printed marketing material as they are an excellent method for showcasing your talents. Case studies are used in a similar way to testimonials, to provide potential clients with evidence that you are an experienced professional who has already helped a number of people and can therefore do the same for them.

Who to use for your case study?

When deciding who to use in a case study, take a look at the typical problems experienced by your existing clients.  Then select your best clients and try to get a variety of different scenarios to show your versatility. Don’t forget to include any obscure cases as these often help spark interest. When interviewing a client try to record the session on your phone or a Dictaphone if you can as it is easy to forget things and miss them out later when writing up. Remember to always ask for a client’s permission before you publish their case study.

How to structure your case study?

Case studies give an example of how you have helped a client and should have a structure similar to the following:

1. A title – this should be fairly descriptive, for example: Alexander Technique used to treat postural impediment.
2. Background on your patient – age, occupation, general health and stress levels.
3. Identify then explore the problem. What was the client’s situation when you first saw them? Talk about the background to their problem and include some information on the nature of the problem itself.
   1. What were the cause and the effect? E.g. working 8 hours a day on a laptop led to RSI or how carrying heavy scaffolding poles resulted in strained back muscles.
   2. How had it impacted on the patient’s life? E.g. their work is suffering or they cannot play the sport they love.
4. Explain how you treated the problem. E.g. what happened during your initial session, what techniques did you employ, did you give them any exercises or homework?
5. Describe the benefits of using this technique. E.g. why you applied that particular treatment.
6. What were the results for the client? E.g. – how did they feel after one session then after several?

When putting together your case study, make sure you include enough detail to keep the reader’s interest and remember that its overall purpose is to demonstrate your ability and inspire your readers to book you.

Happy New Year or the End of the World?

Another year, another prophesy of doom. This time it is the end of the Mayan calendar which according to some foretells the end of the world with fire and brimstone. For others, it is the ushering in of a new era.  Either way it says a lot about the human psyche that we are even contemplating the destruction of our world.

If you look back in history people have been prophesying the end of the world as far back as 2500 BC due to fall in moral standards and unethical business methods (sound familiar?)  Various calculations have been applied and then re-calculated as the end failed to materialise. There seems to be a sense of disappointment for some as the world carries on regardless of doomsday cults.

So what can we learn from all this?

I think you just get on with life and make the most of every day and everything you have – just in case.

A Spot of Networking…

After 21 years living in Bristol I’ve moved back to my home town of Chesterfield where I am re-launching my freelance commercial writing business. One of my marketing jobs is to find networking groups in the local areas, mainly Sheffield as there aren’t many groups in Chesterfield. I will also venture to Derby and Nottingham but am first getting myself established in Sheffield.

The first problem when looking for networking groups is how to find them and then the second and most important, which ones to attend. I ran an internet search on ‘business networking Chesterfield and Sheffield’ which found quite a few sites. Then I checked out their websites to see which group was most appropriate, although not all groups have websites in which case I emailed the named contact. I didn’t want to go to any of the groups where you had to pay a membership so was looking for those where you could come attend whenever you wanted to.

I think for a lot of people the most important decider in which groups to attend is whether you are an owl or a lark. And the networking meetings that get the busiest tend to be the breakfast meetings. By attending in the morning you can have got it out of the way and start work by 9.30 so you still get a full day. Which is great if you are a morning person and don’t mind getting up in time for the 6.45 – 7.00am starts. But if like me, you are a complete zombie before 9.00 then this isn’t always the best time to meet potential new clients or collaborators. Fortunately there are also lunchtime and evening sessions. Lunch time can be a good way to meet people. They are usually between 12.00 and 2.00 but if you are short on time or don’t like having your day split they can take up a big chunk of your day. My preference is for evening events. This way I have got a full day’s work in before going out networking and might even manage a glass of wine too. Again this is fine if you don’t have to cook dinner for your children and it can eat into your free time – or evening working.

I have found the best way to find out about networking groups is to attend a few and ask the people at them which ones they go to and which ones they think are worth attending. I started off with Simply Networking who were just starting a Sheffield group. This was very useful as I heard about a breakfast meeting in Chesterfield by The Firm which was definitely worth going to. Through people at these groups I heard about Sheffield Business Works, Business Biscotti, Wired Reconnected and a couple of business exhibitions. As a member of the FSB I went along to their events too as well as a couple of Chamber of Commerce Network and Nosh lunches.

I takes time to get to know people and to build up relationships and I quite like networking as it also allows you to talk to people who like you who have their own business and discuss marketing methods, accounts hassles and any general problems and joys that come with being self employed.

When is surfing the internet really work and when is it not?

One of my favourite quotes is “Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet.” I don’t know about you but I am definitely distracted by the internet. Like a lot of people I spend all day at my computer and as I work at home for myself I have the distraction of being able to surf the internet as much as I like. This has its advantages in that if I need to look something up I can do it easily, but has the disadvantage that if I allow myself I can spend all day surfing the net and not actually get any work done, which leaves me feeling really annoyed with myself. I can’t just shut off my internet access as I do need it for some work. But what can I legitimately excuse as work and what is definitely time-wasting?

Some things are obvious, checking my Facebook page when I use it mainly for social not work business, or checking the times at my local cinema then reading all the film posts or checking the BBC, Guardian and Telegraph news sites. These are definitely not work related. Things that are legitimately work related include researching an article or other piece of work, finding software for a particular job and reading online blogs and articles related to my industry. But what about those times when I go on Twitter and check the latest Tweets, most of these are work related. Or when I go through my emails and reply to non-work related as well as work, or I just get distracted reading one thing and moving on to some other story that is sort of related.

How do you draw the line at work/play?

I think it helps to see your time terms of what has been achieved. Therefore, if I have spent 30 minutes looking for software that I may only use once on a project but that will net £1000 then it is time well spent. Alternatively, if I have spent 3 hours searching for software for a project where I am lucky to get £50 then it is not time well spent. The main problem here is that often you don’t really know how long it will take to complete a task. The only thing you can do is limit the time you spend on a certain jobs in relation to how much it is worth to you in income.

You also need to make sure you put time aside for keep up with the latest trends and thought leaders in your niche. Lots of this information can be found online. Again decide how much time you want to spend a day or week doing this and make sure you stick to it. If you find you are no good time keeping then use a kitchen timer – it is a really great way of making sure you don’t lose track of time.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with spending time just looking at what is about. I don’t want to stop myself from ever going online to browse, but just to make sure that I only spend five minutes rather than 5 hours reading about my favourite band, keeping up with the news or watching a video about funny cats.

6 Top Tips for Testimonials

Every piece of marketing advice I’ve ever seen states how important it is to have client testimonials, especially on your website, to prove you are a professional, legitimate and competent business. I have a few testimonials collected in the early days of my business but now I am more established I could really do with some more up to date ones.

I was just about to email all my clients in my address book to request testimonials from them but luckily stopped myself. I started to think about what is the best way to go about getting testimonials that really work and show me at my best. This means putting a bit of effort into my emails rather than just spamming everyone I know. That approach is much more likely to get results as people tend to be busy and don’t want to spend a great deal of time thinking about and them writing a testimonial. Therefore, I need to make it as easy as possible for them. From here I came up with these 6 tips to help me gather my testimonials.

1. Who to ask and when?
   This is a bit obvious, but clients who have come back to you for further work, who recommend you to others and who praise your work.
2. When to ask them?
   The best time is when you have just completed work for them and so are fresh in their minds. You can ask them there and then and then email them later to remind them.
3. What length should it be?
   It is handy to have testimonials of all lengths from a couple of sentences to several paragraphs, but I think it is best to leave the length to the writer.
4. 4.    How should a client testimonial be structured?
   To help you client write their testimonial try asking them the following questions.
   1. What was the problem?
   2. How did you help?
   3. What is the outcome?
   4. Would they recommend you?
   5. Is it okay to edit a testimonial?
      If there are any spelling or grammatical errors then correcting them is fine, just make sure you do not change the overall meaning.
   6. Where to use them
      Add testimonials to all your promotional material not just your website.

Finally, never write fake testimonials for yourself. You will know they are phony even if no one else does and you never know when you might be asked to verify them.

Working for yourself v working for others

A recent comment from my mother prompted this blog entry. She asked me if I would prefer to have a ‘proper’ job with a regular salary than work for myself. I didn’t need to think twice about my answer it was ‘no’. Yes it is tough – I’ve just moved from Bristol to Chesterfield and have to find a brand new client base up here but that is part of the job I like, being in control of my working life.

I’ve been a self-employed freelancer for around 3 years now and can’t imagine working for anyone else again except maybe on a short-term contract basis if they paid well enough. But there are some things I miss – not least the regular salary but the sense of freedom more than makes up for it. So I have compiled a short list of what I think are the pros and cons of working for yourself.

Pros:

• No irritating boss/manager
• No office politics
• No dull appraisals or need to lie about where you want to be in 5 years time
• Work your own hours in your own time
• Take a day off when you want to
• No limit to how much you can earn
• You can do work you love (ok, so some people do that working for others too, but most don’t)
• Creating your own job and niche
• You can never be made redundant
• In control your own success

Cons:

• No regular salary
• No shared office camaraderie
• No paid holiday or illness – don’t work, don’t get paid
• You have to find your own work, do your own marketing, accounts etc. (or pay someone else to do it)
• Sometimes you can’t take any days off
• No one to keep you in line

I have noticed that quite a few of these points are opposites of each other, which is interesting. And I’m sure there are lots I have missed out but when it comes down to it whether you work for someone else depends on the sort of person you are, your circumstances and how much you really want to be self-employed.

My feelings are that in the present economic climate with decent jobs so hard to find, creating your own job may be your best bet to finding fulfilling and hopefully reasonably well paid work.

What does anyone else think?

Derbyshire’s Stately Homes

What a great place Derbyshire is to live in.

This last week I got to visit 3 of Derbyshire’s wonderful stately homes all in totally different ways.

The first was Renishaw Hall, which I had never been to before, with the Chesterfield branch of the FSB. What a great old house, it has its own ghost who apparently likes to lie next to the female guests in a particular room. And even though I don’t really believe in ghosts I don’t think I would get any sleep if I stayed there overnight. There is also a scandal involving debt and prison, as well as famous residents like Edith Sitwell.  I was particularly impressed with the amount of alcohol in the smoking room and the books in the study. One old book on cannibalism and pigmies in East Africa certainly caught my eye – for all the wrong reasons!  I could imagine sitting in that study reading books by the fire drinking some of that expensive old whisky.

My second stately home was Haddon Hall, which I have visited before and is probably my favourite house. This time I visited it on the screen when I went to see the latest adaption of Jane Eyre. I recognised Dorothy Vernon’s bridge straight away as well as the kitchen and outside of the house. If you want to see what a 17th century house was really like it is the place to go.

My third house was Chatsworth where I went to see the Beyond Limits modern sculpture exhibition which is always worth a visit. I think this is the best way to see sculptures instead of in some museum but in the garden where they look quite at home.  Obviously you need the right sized garden (and budget) but seeing Damien Hurst’s mythological beasts and Lynn Chadwick’s figures and Nadim Karam’s cat-like creatures among the lakes, rockery and plants has to be the ideal setting. My personal favourite was Ji Yong-Ho’s Lion 2 made out of tyres – spectacular. I’ve included a few photos of my favourites.

New Blog on the Block…

Welcome to my first blog posting. I have just finished creating a new website and decided to start a new blog to go with it.

But why do I want to add to the proliferation of blogs out there and why should anyone want to read my musings?

Well – why not is one reason? I think I am an interesting, multifaceted and talented individual so that is one person!

So who am I and what will I be writing about.

I’m Judith Stafford and I am a writer.  I have recently moved from Bristol back to my home town of Chesterfield not quite starting my business from scratch but not far off. Although hopefully this time I will know have more of a clue about what I am doing and how to go about it.

My writing varies from specialist technical documentation in the software, manufacturing and engineering industries. It also includes web content, online tutorials as well as sales and marketing emails campaigns. I also write magazine articles on diverse subjects like the Green man and other folklore, seasonal recipes and marketing your website. I am also working on a book of short stories based on folklore and mythology.

I will mainly be blogging about my attempts at making a living through writing, hopefully in an informative, amusing and hopefully even controversial way.

I also enjoy making my own wine and liqueurs (as well as drinking them) cosmetics and cooking, as well as music, walking in the countryside and getting out and about visiting historical and cultural sites here and there.

So to vary my posts I will be adding some recipes and accounts of what I have been up to this blog as well as business related posts on writing, marketing and all the ups and downs of running a business.

So there you have it – my first blog post.

Please feel free to leave feedback – I want to know what other people think. All comments are welcome whether you agree with me or not! I am happy for anyone to contact me and for any advice or help I might be able to give them.