services
marketing copy
Marketing copy can take many forms; website content, a 30-second elevator pitch, an introductory letter or brochure, or a bona fide advertisement. The best kind is clear, concise, and meaningful to the right people. Sometimes the lines between informative text, technical writing, shameless promotion, and pure entertainment are blurred, and that’s as it should be. It shows respect for your audience to give them something they can use or enjoy in addition to, or even sometimes instead of, a sales pitch.
ghostwriting
Using a ghostwriter is not cheating, it’s a realistic solution to a problem. You have a compelling story, a cause, or useful expertise to share but you’re not a writer and have no intention of becoming one, so instead you and I collaborate. Think of it like using a translator, or hiring a professional painter to actually apply the colors and patterns you’ve chosen to the walls of your living room. Lady Bird Johnson still gets and deserves all the credit for her exceptional flower gardens, even though it’s doubtful that she was the one who shoveled the mulch.
website content
Reading a screen page is not the same experience as reading a printed page. Web content needs to be elegantly simple while making it easy for visitors to get around without losing their bearings or losing the thread of your message. Good web content also sells stuff.
bios and interviews
Do you excel at introducing yourself and your business to strangers? If not, a comprehensive bio that conveys the real you can work wonders. It can also be the source material for your article or book author blurbs, brochures, speaker introductions, press releases, and the “about” section of your website. As a bonus, I’ll help you turn your bio content into talking points for interviews and introductions that don’t sound like canned pitches.
editing
Proofreading is checking a finished document against the changes that were supposed to be made to it. Copyediting is the fine-toothed-comb check for spelling, grammar, usage, punctuation, spacing and dumb mistakes that all humans make but only word geeks know the rules about. Editing is a serious analysis and reworking of content that may involve big revisions and reorganization. Not sure which one you need? You don’t have to be; helping you figure that out is my job.
book-writing coach
Writing a book is one of the world’s best ways to establish your credibility as an expert in your field. It’s also a life-changing event to complete an accomplishment that most people only dream of or talk about or put off, year after year. Through leading a series of workshops, I’ve developed systems and processes to get you started and keep you on track from concept to draft to completed manuscript, with the built-in structure and accountability that helps you really make it happen.
marketing consultant
Any good writer can deliver a press release here, a white paper there, or a quick one-off script on demand. But marketing that really gets results is based on an overall strategy that conveys your brand’s voice and style and image. I’ll work with you to make sure all the touch points build on each other, are clear and consistent, and work together to get exactly the right message to exactly the right people.
case studies
We all love success stories. Let me help you put yours in writing and demonstrate how your business saved the day for some lucky customer savvy enough to hire you.
white papers
Different sources have different definitions for the term “white paper.” In my lexicon, it is typically an informational document offered as a free handout or download to help potential and existing customers solve a problem, get useful information, and get a tangible sample of your company’s services and personality. A white paper is not a sales pitch, but instead earns credibility points by being objective.
scripts and storyboards
Some copy is meant to be heard and not seen. Videos, podcasts, and voice-overs need to sound like a real person having a real conversation with the real people in the audience.
