Storytelling and feature writing services
Telling your story or that of your customers
is at the heart of a memorable piece of writing.
01
The need for stories
So, what IS storytelling?
Storytelling is about marrying an idea or message with an emotion. Here’s why it can be so effective.
- Using stories, including someone’s lived experience in your copy or content, is powerful stuff
- A good story isn’t just engaging – it also helps you understand others and their perspectives
- Stories can be evocative and far more memorable than other ways to present information
- Storytelling can document the struggle, the journey, the triumph and the tragedy
- It can also amuse, entertain, convince and convert (so yep, it’s a great marketing tool as well)
- Good storytelling is a skill, as is coaxing stories out of your subjects. Not everyone can do it!
In a copywriting or content writing context, this requires a lot of preparation. Research of the subject. Writing questions. Knowing how to let an interview unfold, to create a pace; knowing how to rephrase questions to get to the heart of the story. (I also think a good storyteller is also a good listener, and someone with life experience, self-knowledge and an innate, never-say-die curiosity about other people.)
02
How I work
A quick FAQ about my storytelling services
And what I might need to produce a crackin’ yarn for your magazine, website or brand.
Quotes + contracts
Each new client I take on receives a quote for the work, a contract outlining what’s included – and an invoice (I charge a 50 percent commencement fee). There’s more about how I work on my FAQ page.
Types of stories I write
I’m a senior journalist adept at producing all kinds of stories, from interview-led features for magazines to posts for content marketing clients. I also write case studies, interview movers’n’shakers for ghost-written content, and am an adept podcaster who has interviewed all kinds of guests.
Sources - yours or mine?
Whether you need a notoriously-difficult-to-pin-down organisation head, an expert medico or a salt-of-the-earth case study who’s never spoken to a journalist, I can find ’em. Often, a client will have a specific source for me to interview. Other times, I’ll be asked to track down a specific source (a skill in itself, especially if the person is high profile). I also have a super valuable contact book of sources I’ve used on different stories and nurtured for many years, which saves an enormous amount of time.
Here are a few I prepared earlier
I’ve interviewed hundreds of people over the years. My stories have appeared in magazines, on websites, in content marketing pieces and on podcasts. Here are just a few of my stories (you’ll find a lot more in my portfolio).
