Content Coaching

Experienced Content Coach for Smart, Busy People
(Specializing in High-Tech)

It’s in your head. Let’s get it on your page.

You have enough knowledge, experience, and connections to make real contributions to your professional community. You want to support your followers, gain recognition, and build your reputation. You know the way to do that is to start creating your own content, but you’ve probably run into one or two of these roadblocks.

You can’t capture your ideas

Maybe you have tons of ideas, but when you try to pin them down they skitter across the desk and scatter out the door. Or they mill around in no particular order, cluttering up the place. We can fix that—I’ll show you great techniques for capturing and organizing your thoughts.

You’re afraid your content is flat

Maybe your ideas are in perfectly good order, but when you set them down, it gets too long and isn’t very exciting. We can fix that, too. It’s a matter of establishing stronger rhythms, leading with human anecdotes, developing a more conversational voice, and curbing any tendency to verbosity (such as using words like verbosity).

You don’t think you have enough ideas

Maybe you don’t think you can sustain a regular blog and build a powerful audience. I disagree. You know plenty, and have plenty of experience to draw on—it’s a matter of discovering your themes, breaking them down into building blocks, and presenting your stories from different points of view. You’ll also find that in the course of writing you’ll get more ideas.

You need a second set of eyes

Maybe you already know what you’ve got, how to organize it, what makes a good story, and how to create a sustainable series. You just need a good editor. Fine. I’ll help you make your content really tight.

You don’t have enough time

Having a coach can help in two ways: first by giving you a writing schedule with deadlines; and second by smoothing out any logjams of style and substance. Or just give me your notes and talk me through your ideas. I’ll write it for you.

Right. So why come to me?

I’ve been writing articles, blogs, and marketing materials, and helping other people write and brainstorm articles and other content, for more than two decades.

5 Years as Managing Editor of Critique Magazine

Critique magazine was an award-winning journal on graphic design that changed the game in a crowded field. It’s still being sold on Amazon, Ebay, and so on in the US and UK; and it’s still being used as a text at various colleges. Before Critique, other design magazines published puff pieces on cool people. We published in-depth analyses of design communications, plus articles on best practices. After the first issue I learned not to hire journalists (who only wanted to do puff pieces), and started working with industry experts who weren’t writers—yet. Like you.

 

Co-Founded Neutron LLC

Neutron LLC was a brand consultancy in San Francisco that guided companies like Hewlett Packard and Symantec to define and develop their brands themselves, instead of using outside agencies. I defined our offerings, scripted and co-led workshops, and gained a new respect for the importance of understanding target markets. That respect will help you stay focused on your readers and their needs.

Co-Wrote Critically-Acclaimed book, The Brand Gap

Marty Neumeier and I wrote The Brand Gap to establish our credentials in branding. It was “The surprise book of the year, “ as John Moore of Fast Company said. “Read this book before your competitors do!” said Tom Kelley, General Manager of Ideo, and Co-Author Of The Art Of Innovation

Copywriter in Silicon Valley for Major High-tech Clients

Later on, I worked as a copywriter in Silicon Valley with Larsen Design Office, an agency that developed brands and collateral for mostly high-tech clients like Applied Materials and VMware. With Larsen, I also led brainstorming sessions with designers and account reps. For each client, I dove into highly specialized, technical material and turned it into stories anyone could understand. Which is what you need to do.

I’m Old

I’ve worked with lots of different people over the years, on many different subjects, addressing varied business issues for everything from start-ups to industry behemoths. That breadth and depth will help me understand your world and your stories quicker and better than some young hotshot.

Specialties

• Writing
• Editing
• Interviewing
• Coaching
• Brainstorming
• Content strategy
• Content development
• Custom content
• Social media writing

Deliverables

• Articles
• Updates
• Blog posts
• Website copy
• White papers
• About/bio pages
• Internal communications
• The story of your company or brand

Fee structure

• Hourly at $75 per
• 1,500-word interview-and-notes-based article: $1,500
• Monthly package of four 300- to 500-word blog posts, working back and forth from your drafts: $600
• Package of 20 300- to 500-word posts, including co-developing the list of topics: $3000