ABOUT | faultlesscopywriting

How did I end up here?

Like all the best lines mine is wiggly.

In my 20s, I cast myself as a high-powered young executive. Selected from 1500 to be in the final 13 of GE Capital’s fast-track graduate programme, I cut my teeth at GE managing the Harrods Storecard. Then resplendent in my natty trouser suit, Coffee Republic latte in hand, I hot-footed it to Shell UK where I was responsible for Shell’s relationship marketing – think loyalty programmes, Lego promotions and sponsorships.

In fact I was responsible for Shell’s lead sponsorship of the Motor Show at Earl’s Court. I visited Maranello as part of our relationship with Ferrari (it was totally wasted on me, for which I can only apologise). And when Shell moved to continent level (rather than national) management, I landed in the Europe marketing team responsible for the look of the forecourts and all onsite communication Europe-wide. Truth be told, it was prestigious, but it was by far my least favourite job. I spent quite a lot of time negotiating the cost of paper.

At the same time, I was also working at Tesco in their dotcom business. I was extraordinarily lucky to find a management team who embraced my other life. At times it wasn’t clear whether my acting was the side hustle or whether launching the first international dotcom business in Ireland was. I loved the juggle. Both sides of my life made the other better.

I got really good at writing. I got really good at people management. I got really good at hitting stretch commercial targets.

Briefly I became a stand up and loved it. Here's proof.

But that was ok because I was about to take a leap.

At 29 I gave up corporate life, packed my belongings into a little cloth bag on a stick and went to seek my fortune at drama school. My quarter-life crisis told me it was now or never, and I launched my 30s as an actor and writer. In today’s world of side hustles, this was a really cool one. I performed around the London comedy circuit with my double act Faultless and Torrance and we wrote several comedy shows that toured the country. I filmed - amongst other things - The Thick of It, Spy, Lead Balloon and every actor’s staple, EastEnders.

But I knew I couldn’t pursue it because I had another huge idea.

I was going to adopt. And, to gloss over many twists and turns, I did. My beautiful baby boy crawled into my life and heart and turned everything upside down.

This bit will be very recognisable, it's the every-woman story. We all think we’re going to be able to juggle it all only to find a bit of soggy Weetabix in our ears when talking to the boss. No more touring shows around the country. No more sprinting to the tube at 7.35am.

That’s fine, I thought, I’ll just start my own business. And just like that Faultless Copywriting was born. To be honest, with a name like Faultless you have to name something after yourself.

But why this business? Over my two decades in huge multinationals, we’d moved from print to online. We no longer worked with agencies that pulled together print campaigns for us. We promoted through email and the website. We’d toil over the strategy, gaze lovingly at the graphic design and spend no time at all on the words. Why? Why let the whole thing down at the last hurdle.

And whether it’s for your customer or for SEO (and ideally both), words matter. I had twenty years of strategic marking experience. I had a decade of writing. I was good at this. I reckoned I could build a business.

I was right. People needed me. My business grew nicely. But a few years in, I had a problem I could no longer ignore.Typically when briefed, I would ask - why are we writing this? Who's it for? Where are they in the buying process? What's the goal? Standard stuff. But the answers were often a bit woolly. So I'd talk my client through a process that would help us clarifiy the brief. After several hours, I could start writing and start earning. I was giving a shed load of value for free. Which clients loved, but it doesn't put the beans on toast on the table. I realised I had to pull my strategic expertise into my offer. It was just too valuable. So my business grew (vertical integration if you like) to include communication and content strategy and then delivering it with a done-for-you service.

I've made that sound easy. I've actually spent hours and hours (and hours and hours) coming up with a really effective process that gets businesses focused on what matters to their customers. I'm really proud of it.

I’ve absolutely loved the transition. I love that I’ve found away to use my strategic skills.

And that’s how I got here. So how can I help you?

You can contact me here for my help. You can spend a happy hour reading and watching my free resources. Or you see me live, presenting training, seminars and talks. I’m no longer doing stand-up but I’ll throw in a joke or two.

Oh yeah, and I added a dog.