Words

My journey in storytelling started at school with an essay assignment to write about my life.
It got a high mark and, combined with the results of a careers assessment of my abilities which showed I was good at writing, brought encouragement that I could make a career from writing. Spurred by that, I set myself the goal of becoming a journalist. Nine years later I had achieved that after graduating from Britain’s top journalism school.
I’ve been a professional writer – first a journalist and editor, then a Public Relations practitioner – since 1988, so finding the right words to tell your story is something I have a lot of experience of doing. I’ve written everything from news and features to advertorial and technical features for B2B titles as well as scores of press releases.
So you can be sure your story is being told using the most effective words to communicate your key marketing messages.
If you’d like to see examples of copywriting I’ve done for clients, contact me by email. Meantime, check out my blog.
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PR Explained – Barcelona Principles 4.0 – what they are, what’s new and why PR buyers need to know
In a previous post I explained what Barcelona 3.0 Principles are and why people who pay for Public Relations should understand them and ask if the people they’re paying are using them to properly measure and evaluate the effectiveness, and therefore value, of the...
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PR Explained – 15 things a Public Relations professional brings to your media story you can’t learn on a business support course
For understandable reasons, there’s training around, often free, for owners of small businesses to learn how to use public relations tools to get their business into the media themselves. Most give good basic advice and allow them to pitch their story to media they’d...
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Client News – Summer of tunes, tastes and tries to boost community role starts soon at Strathmore Rugby Club
Four months of tunes, tastes and tries are set to begin soon at Strathmore Rugby Club in Forfar in order to help fund its role as a community hub as well as its rugby. The club began holding an annual Summer Strathmore Sessions club music event and a Lochside 10s...
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Client News – Angus mum’s marathon ‘thank you’ for rugby wellbeing charity
An Angus mum is running this Sunday’s London Marathon to say thank you to an award-winning Angus rugby-based wellbeing charity which has helped hundreds of people including her children. Eilidh McCartney, from Forfar, works as a physiotherapy support worker at...
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Client News – Dream come true for Fife Star Wars fan as new season of Andor set to air with 194 of his firm’s vintage products
A dream will come true tonight for a Fife Star Wars fan when the second season of Star Wars prequel TV show Andor starts on Disney+ in the UK – as it’ll include 194 products from his Scots vintage products firm Scaramanga. The show’s 12 episodes will include vintage...
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PR Explained – Barcelona Principles 3.0 – what they are and why PR buyers should ask if they’re being used
In 2023, a study by Champion Communications found 82% of B2B CEOs felt the PR measurements used in their organisation weren’t useful. But more than half (66%) of senior marketing decision-makers reported their PR measurement was "extremely accurate." So why the...
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My News – Alan’s first article on PR for business school published
ASM Media & PR is delighted to announce the publication of the first in a series of articles on Public Relations for The Open University Business School (OUBS). Its Professional Knowledge Bank is a growing resource of articles, industry knowledge and insights...
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Client News – Kai’s 3D toys ‘thanks’ fundraiser for autism-friendly rugby project
An Angus 11-year-old is so thankful to the autism-friendly rugby project he attends that he’s been raising money for the charity behind it by making and selling fidget toys with his dad’s 3D printer. Kai Coutts (11), from Edzell, has taken part in the autism-friendly...
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PR Case Study – We Are Zest Adult ADHD Group Launch
The Client We Are Zest is a multi-award-winning social enterprise café in St Andrews which supports people with disabilities to help them learn valuable work skills in order to achieve or maintain employment. Zest works alongside Fife Council Supported Employment, Job...
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PR Explained – Will the media publish my business’s story?
This is one of the first things business owners and organisation leaders ask me when we first meet to talk about how Public Relations can help them achieve their goals. The quick answer is it depends how relevant and useful to their readers, listeners or viewers each...
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