MY STORY
Hello! Thanks for stopping by to learn more about me.
The Highlights
Here’s the TLDR version: Having always been a dab hand with words, I graduated from the University of Cambridge with an English degree, before working in publishing for a few years.
After that, I ran my own copywriting agency for 16 years. I closed the agency in 2022 to focus on teaching marketing teams how to create content that performs.
Want the longer version? Keep reading!
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The Lowdown
An early obsession with words
I was first bitten by the writing bug* at the age of 7 when I wrote, directed and produced my first play, staged in my parents’ back garden.
(*Yes, sometimes it is OK to use the passive voice in copy.)
This play was also technically my first business endeavour as I raised £36 in ticket sales (not bad for 1989!).
My second business endeavour was my copywriting agency, Write My Site, which I ran from 2006 until 2022. And even though we made more than £36, I still ended up making the difficult decision to close it.
As anyone who's walked away from a business they've built from the ground-up can tell you, it's a very difficult thing to do.
I'd worked with some amazing brands (TripAdvisor, Shure, Henley Business School and Purplebricks to name a few), and some amazing people, including several young people for whom the agency was the first step on their career ladder.
So why shut up shop?
A much-needed career change
There’s no simple answer to that question, but there were several factors. Undeniably, one was financial.
As the cost-of-living crisis hit, I had employees asking for pay rises in tandem with clients cutting their budgets, threatening to wipe out an already-slim profit margin. Generative AI tools like Jasper had already begun meeting the need for high-volume 'cookie cutter' content, although I closed the business a few months before ChatGPT went mainstream.
But, I’d also been doing more or less the same job for 16 years, and I had a gnawing sense that I needed to make a change. Running an agency is inherently stressful: there’s a constant need to sell more work, to be more competitive, and to wear 1,000 hats at the same time. The business I once loved was now keeping me up at night, worrying.
I didn't want to run an agency any more. But what did I want to do instead? After quickly ruling out getting a proper job, I found the answer: I had always loved, and been good at, helping other people to write better-performing copy.
Today, I train in-house marketing teams, support solo copywriters 1-to-1 and teach a range of public courses.
A Trusted Partner
Anyone can set themselves up as a copywriting trainer, but my 10+ years of experience means I'm trusted by two highly respected organisations to develop and run public courses in their name.
I'm a panel tutor at the University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education (PACE). My course, 'Copywriting: getting started' runs four times a year.
I also teach Copywriting for SEO at BrightonSEO, the world's largest search conference. This course runs twice a year in Brighton, and there's an on-demand version available too.
