About me
I am an expert copywriter who has provided content for corporate giants, retail outlets and charities.
Recent clients include the United
Nations, the World Health Organisation, CapGemini, Volvo, Barings Asset Management, Slater and Gordon, Eastpak, CITB, Forever 21, Clarks and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Before becoming a freelance copywriter I was an award-winning national newspaper journalist.
I was a reporter and news editor at the Evening Standard for a decade and also wrote for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Telegraph, The Sun, The BBC, The Mirror and a range of women's magazines.
My journalistic training has given me an enviable ability to produce excellent, accurate copy to extremely tight deadlines. I am also fully trained in media law.
In addition, I have a fabulous contacts book bursting with useful names and numbers for PR and publicity purposes.
I have worked alongside a number of PR firms in recent years and have won awards for my content-led PR campaigns.
Work history
Director & Copywriter
I have worked as a freelance copywriter since 2012 but formed my company in 2015.
Recent client work includes:
The United Nations and World Health Organisation
I have a three-year contract with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS. My role involves researching, writing and editing regular web feature stories highlighting UNAIDS projects, activities, news, events, new tools and publications.
Capgemini
I wrote a comprehensive career guide to showcase complex career structures and competency models. The copy has been used across the business and provided a framework of reference which has helped with in-house training and career development assessments.
Barings Asset Management
With my journalistic background, I carried out a series of interviews with staff at the Barings offices in the UK, Asia and US to create an employee newsletter to improve staff engagement.
Slater and Gordon
The law firm was undergoing a major brand re-design and wanted all of its 700 lawyers to have website profiles which conformed to a specific style guidelines document.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity
I wrote web content for children and their parents on a variety of medical conditions. The work was used across the hospital site and charity site. As a result I won a Guild of Health Writer’s Award for the content supplied on mental health and teenage cancer.
Volvo IT
I wrote a number of case studies as part of a major change programme. This involved simplifying key messages to reach 9,000 employees in the Volvo IT division of the Volvo Group.
Vattenfall
I provided all content for the Vattenfall Communications Excellence Academy. This included a number of training modules for the company, one of Europe's leading generators of electricity and heat. Training was carried out in Stockholm, Berlin, Hamburg and Amsterdam.
Lapido Media
I created a brochure for this charity, edited two textbooks, handled the book launch events, assisted with PR and am in the process of providing content for a major web redesign.
ISG
ISG is an international construction services company which also runs an academy – an educational resource helping to train employees and offer support to employers. I wrote a glossy brochure and web text to showcase a range of courses, training programmes and educational resources.
The Hoffman Institute
I redesigned the Hoffman Magazine, produced a new style guide for content and subedited a wide selection of articles provided by a range of different individuals. The work involved a great deal of sensitive subject matter but as a trained journalist, I could ensure there were no legal issues with the copy.
Other copywriting clients include: Bibby Financial Services, Eastpak, Forever 21, Poppy Nursing Services, Flippie, Countryside Properties, CITB, EELGA, Inform Direct, Echo Barrier, Scoff Club, Treatt, Sunsquare and Red Thread Solutions.
In addition, I have supported a number of PR agencies with content and campaign strategy in the last four years. One content-led campaign led to a Gold standard PR award from the CIPR.
I continue to write for newspapers around the UK - this contact allows me to maintain connections with other working journalists which helps with PR client work.
Among my ongoing journalism work is a weekly column on family life published by the East Anglian Daily Times. I have been nominated for Columnist of the Year three years in a row for this work and was recently awarded a Mumpreneur Award in the Voice category - a national award scheme recognising exceptional working mothers.
Journalist
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I was a reporter and news editor at the Evening Standard and also wrote for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Telegraph, The Sun, The BBC, The Mirror and a range of women's magazines.
During my career as a journalist I have covered important court cases, terrorist atrocities, human interest stories and political and celebrity scandals.
Skills
- Marketing PR
- Writing
- Copywriting
- Editing
- Lifestyle
- Blogs
- Online
- Creative
- News
- Web Content
- Media
- Word
- Content and Media Writing
- Copywriting
Education
Journalism
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NCTJ accredited course with merit
100 wpm shorthand
media law
English
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Awards
Mumpreneur Award
A national award scheme recognising exceptional working mothers. I was highly commended in the Voice category for a weekly newspaper column I write on family life.
http://www.eadt.co.uk/ea-life/opinion/ellen-widdupYoung Journalist of the Year
A regional award scheme recognising the best new talent in journalism