About Using Words For Good

Who We Are

Using Words for Good, LLC is a content creation firm that specializes in crafting words to encourage, uplift and inspire others. That’s true whether we’re bearing our soul in blog posts that speak to life’s mountains and valleys, designing heartfelt greeting cards or working closely with clients to bring their content vision to life.

What We Believe

We believe that words have the power to build up and tear down. Proverbs 12:25 (NIV) makes that clear: “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” We believe that encouraging words uplift those who share them and those who receive them.

What We Do

We specialize in using words to encourage and invite people to take small, intentional steps to live out their God-given purpose every day. Our areas of focus fit into three main categories.

Content

Our readers receive faith-based encouragement to help them practically navigate everyday issues, ranging from overcoming fear to enjoying and celebrating their unique journeys in life.

Products

We provide an assortment of encouraging greeting cards for life’s many occasions. These keepsakes are meant to be cherished and enjoyed over and over again.

Services

We assist clients with their content-related business needs, including writing custom content for websites, creating bios, editing and more.

Why We Do It

We create content based on the belief that life-giving words transform individuals, families, communities and nations for generations to come. The ability to give encouragement is a gift that we want to share with you and everyone who engages with our content and our team.

About Our Chief Encouragement Officer

I'm Nicole Blake Johnson, and it's a pleasure to meet you virtually. I'm an encourager, wife, mother and friend, and I'm passionate about using words for good. Over the past decade, I've used words to tell stories about governments, neighborhood schools, tragedies, families, equity, businesses of all sizes and more.

I launched Using Words For Good, LLC in April 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic. Who does that? Well, it felt like a natural next step for me. I've been helping individuals and organizations tell their stories, and now it's time to tell my own too. I use my voice and my words to encourage friends, family, colleagues and complete strangers because these are the kinds of investments that I cherish and value.

My passion for people led me here. Whether you need some encouragement for your soul or help to tell your story, I'm happy to have you. Stick around for a while, browse and reach out if there's anything I can help with.

Short Bio

Nicole is the Founder and Chief Encouragement Officer at Using Words For Good, LLC. She is a storyteller and encourager at her core. She’s the kind of person who browses the greeting card aisle for fun and saves every note, card and inspirational text message, because why not? And, yes, she has a stash of homemade cards for every occasion in her various craft boxes around the house.

Fun fact: The notes app on her phone is filled with unpublished stories that she updates based on life’s experiences, some of which she shares via (near) daily encouraging text messages to close friends and family.

Speaking life into others comes naturally to Nicole, and launching Using Words For Good has been years in the making, long before she considered formalizing her passion and calling. Founding this company is much like a homecoming that celebrates Nicole’s God-given talents and desire to see those around her cherishing and honoring their journey, their uniqueness and their value.

Professional Experience

Nicole is a trained journalist and editor who has covered a variety of topics throughout her 13-year career, including K-12 education, business and finance, local communities, and technology policy and workforce management in government. Most recently, she served as the managing editor at a media company before forging a new path in May 2022. Nicole is now the Director of Employee Communications and Engagement at a global tech company.

She has also helped to shape and tell the stories of countless companies, ranging from startups to multi-billion dollar organizations, that seek to provide thought-leadership content to different audiences and explain how their products and services ultimately help meet the public’s needs.

Whether she's writing about cybersecurity trends or equity in the workplace, her goal is to demystify complex topics and make them personal for readers. She believes in the power of empathy, which is one of the reasons why people choose to share their stories with her.

You can learn more about her background via LinkedIn.

Personal life

Life is a journey, and Nicole is taking it one day at a time. Some days, it truly is moment by moment, filled with lots of flexibility, grace and laughter. She spent 2020 quarantining with her husband, Troy, then 4-year-old son, Devin, and her mom.

She’s learning how to be gentle with herself as she navigates home, work and the intricacies of launching her own business. Outside of work, she is a proud room parent at her son's elementary school, an active volunteer at her local church, and a beginner guitarist.

She is a firm believer in finding time — no matter how short — to be still, think and reflect. When Nicole isn’t writing or sending words of encouragement, you can find her on a morning walk with her husband, cheering her son on at his basketball games, sending silly messages in her family group chat or lounging in the backyard.