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 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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BlueSky – should you join & what to do if that’s a yes
If you don’t work in the always-on opportunity-seeking worlds of Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Media or Politics, you may have heard of BlueSky by now but not have properly looked at it yet. In brief, it’s one of the newest social media platforms, backed...
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Client News – First NE Fife adult ADHD support group starts soon thanks to St Andrews social enterprise café owner
The first adult ADHD support group for people in North-East Fife starts on December 2 after St Andrews social enterprise café owner Lisa Cathro discovered there was a need for a group for adults in the area. Earlier this year, Lisa, who owns and runs award-winning...
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Should you put an outbound link in a LinkedIn post or the Comments?
If you’re a regular user of LinkedIn, for some time you’ll have seen many users posting links to external websites in the Comments of their post instead of the body. This started because people who study these things reckoned the LinkedIn algorithm is reach-penalising...
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How should I use hashtags on LinkedIn?
If you’re still using hashtags to flag #topics in Linkedin posts to the algorithm, you’ve been wasting your time for months. Hashtags have been used for several years on social platforms to allow users to tell others and the algorithm what topics are in the post – so...
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Client News – Lord of the Rings & Game of Thrones TV shows join Scaramanga’s impressive global entertainment franchise client list
Scottish vintage lifestyle products retailer Scaramanga is celebrating after adding Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings TV prequels House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to its already-extensive list of global entertainment franchise props...
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