“In search of my mother’s garden, I found my own.”
~ Alice Walker
Hey, friend. I'm Melissa, mental health copywriter and Squarespace website designer for small businesses.
Writing and websites are—not to put too fine a point on it—my jam.
I started writing “stories” long before I hit the double digits. Back when you had to open your pink-type-on-a-black-background word processing program by typing a command into MS-DOS.
And like most Oregon Trail Millennials, I grew up enamored with the internet. I learned to code websites at 13 and started my first online newsletter at 14. I’ve spent all the years since type-type-typing away for all kinds of purposes:
Nonprofit promotion? Donor communications? ✔️
Writing about mental health and trauma? ✔️
Just-plain-fun stuff about music, tv and movies? ✔️
Copywriting + spurring people to action?
Even though I didn’t know that kind of writing even had a name?
Check, check, and check.
Enter: Me combining it all to become a copywriter and Squarespace website designer for small businesses. 🎉
Two points for each one we have in common…
I’m often asked why I’m a mental health copywriter and website designer for small businesses.
Is it just because I get to hang out at home with my furry crew and wear comfy pants all day? Or maybe because I just didn’t want to work for anyone else anymore?
Those things are nice, but… Not even close.
I’m a mental health copywriter and website designer for small businesses because I know how transformational the right business in the right community can be. I know what it’s like to benefit from that great fit as a client, a customer, and a community member.
I also know, from my years doing this work, how striking a connection and seeing a happy client can make your heart swell with happiness. How it can give you a sense of purpose, meaning, and fulfillment.
Mental health services are more in-demand than ever before.
And with good reason—I don’t know if you’ve noticed, friend, but it’s rough out there.
Small businesses are the heart of communities, and they make a lot of people happy. They fill gaps in their communities, provide much-needed services, and give people somewhere to go for personalized, friendly service.
That’s a BIG deal. Small business owners and therapists deserve those moments of heart-swelling happiness when they realize what a difference they make.
You deserve a business full of people who get you, appreciate what you do, and remind you why you love it everyday.
I have nearly four years of independent experience supporting the inbound marketing efforts of small businesses, including mental health providers and nonprofit organizations.
My blogs have consistently ranked on the first page of Google for targeted keywords, and I’ve perfected the art of mind-melding* with my clients to make sure it’s 100 percent their voice appearing on their website pages.
*Not really, but my years of copyediting experience have made me really good at writing in voices that aren’t necessarily my own. Those years also mean I can spot a typo and stare it down from across the room.
The Official Stuff
Before opening Calm Creative (formerly Em Gee Ink), I was an executive director, programs superstar, communications guru, and—reluctant, tbh—fundraising professional. (Aren’t we all? #nonprofitproblems)
I have a BA in Communications Studies from Manhattanville College, and I’ve done grad-level coursework in social work, public health, and digital marketing.
I’m also a BIG fan of certificate courses, and I jump at the chance to expand my knowledge base and take new skills for a test drive whenever I can.
You can check out my LinkedIn profile, if you’re into that sort of thing.
My background is in the nonprofit sector.
Should we work together?
We’re a good fit if you are:
A woman who is a small businesses owner, mental health provider or science-based wellness coach.
A community-serving nonprofit.
Openly affirming of the LGBTQIA+ community 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ and ready to shout BLACK LIVES MATTER ✊ from the rooftops.
And last but not least…
You’re ready to dig into who your ideal client truly is and what your voice really sounds like.
Show up in your business… Unapologetically yourself.
Showing up as myself is something I used to dream about a lot. Like—all the time. I spent years trying to figure out how my quirky, neurodivergent personality could fit into environments chock-full of traditional professional expectations and still, somehow, thrive.
I wasn’t very good at it.
Don’t get me wrong—I was always a team player. I loved my coworkers! Great times were had. But at the end of the day, it didn’t matter…
Because when I sat down at that desk, at that traditional 9-5, I just didn’t fit in.
In every job I had, I just wanted to be helpful.
I wanted to use my talents and all the scrappy skills I’d developed after years of leadership positions in small nonprofits and odds-and-ends jobs to make life a little easier for the people around me. I just didn’t know how to show up.
The truth? That struggle over how much of our personality to show in business is by design. Women are told in all kinds of ways to stay quiet, stay nice and take up as little space as possible.
I don’t buy it.
And I don’t think you do, either.
Let’s make your voice shine, friend. Trust me—it makes a world of difference.