Copywriting

For creative agencies, organisations and brands.

What’s in the soil?

  • Clients

    Education, Arts, Culture & Heritage

    University of Edinburgh

    English Heritage

    Gateshead College

    Art Reach

    Scarborough Museums and Galleries Trust

    Virtual Motion Dance Company

    The Farrell Centre

    (Newcastle University)

    Charity, Health & Public Services

    TEWV Mental Health Trust (NHS)

    Durham County Council

    Tyne Housing

    Everyturn (Mental Health Concern)

    Children’s Cancer North

    NowFoster

    NFS Furniture

    Professional Services

    Johnston Carmichael

    Mincoffs Solicitors

    Robertson Simpson

    Keith Pattison Estate Agents

    Northpoint Architects

  • Technology, Engineering

    Construction & Manufacturing

    STANLEY Black & Decker

    Byggfakta Group

    Opencast

    NBS Enterprises

    Low & Bonar

    ITI (Servelec)

    SMD

    Saker

    NELSON Stud Welding

    POP Avdel

    MasterFix

    CribMaster

    Retail, Leisure & Entertainment

    Lookers

    CrossFit Tyneside

    Snackfully

    Geek Fitness

    Scranner’s Arms (Tanner’s Arms)

    Cabbage Patch Bakery

    SeaChange Cafe

    YANA Yoga

    Nature + Nature

  • Services

    Branding & rebranding support.

    Brand research, development & delivery.

    Tone of Voice development & guide writing.

    Brand messaging & storytelling.

    Creative campaigns.

    Brand naming, purpose & values development.

    Employer branding & internal comms.

    Script & animation writing.

    Website landing page copy.

    Agencies

    Altogether, Newcastle.

    Authentic, Newcastle.

    Brand Insiders, Edinburgh

    Bright Side Studio, Edinburgh.

    Common Ground, Gateshead.

    Emperor, Edinburgh.

    Found For Words, Leeds.

    Kudos Creative, Sheffield.

    Sail Creative, Newcastle.

    Studio DMC, Gateshead.

    The Works, Durham.

 

Endorsements.

“Dan is able to take technical and complex products and make them desirable -  writing copy that speaks to our target audiences, in a language they understand.

At the time of writing - landing page, email and brochure copy has contributed towards campaigns which have extended reach, and generated approximately 1.5M in sales.

Dan kept pace with the demands of Stanley Engineered Fastening’s work schedule, always meeting expectations, deadlines and needs. I would use the Word Garden again for copy, and definitely recommend them to others in industry.”

— Alison Davies, Channel Marketing Director - Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

“We’ve worked with Dan on several projects now, from brand values to script writing and he’s like an extended part of the team.

He’s always up for a challenge and seems to just ‘get’ the right tone. We find him collaborative, creative and super passionate.

Dan goes above and beyond to both understand the client and deliver cracking words.”

— Sarah Tempest, Co-Founder & Strategy Director - Altogether

“It was important to SeaChange that we worked with someone who would understand our vision and really bring out our values and ethos in the copy.

Dan went above and beyond what we expected of him, running a tone of voice exercise with the learners and board members here (which was very interesting), meeting the web designer to ensure that the copy and the branding were perfectly aligned, and coming to visit our venue in order to get an actual feel for the place.

Dan was great to collaborate with, kept us in the loop at all times and most importantly, we were blow away by the end results. We will definitely be working with him again.”

— Andrew Forster, co-Founder, SeaChange


a. A Word Gardener

 
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a1. Storytelling

I like to know your roots and love to write about them. Getting right into the soil of what you are, and why.

I build an understanding of what matters most to your audience, then verbalise the difference you make in their language. When writing that story, I focus on the need to engage, inspire and encourage meaningful action.

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a2. Brand Cultivation

Purpose is powerful. Everything that grows, does so with purpose. I can unearth and articulate the core values and aims that shape your brand, cultivate your culture and connect with your audience.

They way you communicate to the world can help build an engaging and memorable brand. I can help you find an authentic tone of voice that is true of your organisation, and speaks to your audiences.

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a3. Creative Campaigns

It is humbling to collaborate with passionate stakeholders in the development of a creative campaign, and rewarding to see it grow towards the light.

Whether it’s linking with your in-house marketing teams, or getting involved in briefs outsourced to external design agencies – I’m dead keen to contribute to as a creative copywriter.

 
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a4. Editing, Condensing & Proofreading

Missing one weed can be costly.

I welcome the responsibility of ensuring that your mail, content and internal communications are error-free, on-brand and purposeful.

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a5. Refresh & Update Existing Content

To promote new growth and vitality, your words may need sprucing up.

I am happy to set time aside to do the necessary pruning and propagating.

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a6. Marketing & Sales Copy

Infuse the personality of your brand and the value you represent – into your brochures, email campaigns and product descriptions.

Whatever challenges you help your audience to overcome can be articulated. I will verbalise your strengths, and make sure they understand the problems you solve – using words that resonate.

 

b. The Roots

I’ve been telling stories for a long time, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA in Creative Writing in 2006. I left with a 2:1 (half decent) but can’t bring myself to re-read a word that I set down back then.

I went on to pen shorts and flash that were published in literary anthologies, as well as being short and longlisted for an international prize (The Fish). It drilled me into the habit of making every word count.

I am at ease when delivering to an audience or facilitating workshops. In the past I’ve taught evening classes in English Literature, Language and Creative Writing. Tutoring in colleges for over a decade, has helped me to develop a good grasp of education practice and learning theory, and made me an old hand at talking in front of tough crowds.

At the Found for Words copywriting agency in Leeds I worked as a Freelance Junior. It was here that I discovered a love for creative collaboration – owing major gratitude to the agency founder, Collette Davis. Col agreed to take on a raw wordsmith, and believed in my ability to pen a good yarn. At Found for Words I contributed to ad campaigns and briefs for the likes of Johnson Carmichael, Low + Bonar, and The University of Edinburgh Business School – in collaboration with the mighty Emperor.

 
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I now keep a humble patch of my own. I’ve told stories and cultivated copy for a diverse array of brands and purposes, including -

Tyne Housing, STANLEY Engineered Fastening, Gateshead College, Keith Pattison Estate Agents, NBS, Avdel, Cabbage Patch Bakery, POP, SeaChange Café, MasterFix, Nature+Nature, ITI, YANA, Authentic, NELSON Stud Welding, Snackfully, Northpoint Architects and CribMaster.

A writer is not an ecosystem.

It is a privilege to have supported, and received support from fellow creatives when collaborating on projects, or when trying to work out how to be better at what I do.

If reminders were trees, these people would be the Mighty Oak of just how lucky I am, to do what I do. Thank you to -

Altogether Creative, Newcastle.

Authentic, Newcastle.

Brand Insiders, Edinburgh.

Bright Side Studio, Edinburgh.

Common Ground, Gateshead.

Emperor, Edinburgh.

Found for Words, Leeds.

Kudos Creative, Sheffield.

Studio DMC, Gateshead.

The Works, Durham.


My gardening experience is also wide-ranging, but probably a story for another time. When not tending word or plant? The Wild. Film. Literature. Music. Football. That incredible story told by a neighbour, or someone in a pub. Or the one keep close to yourself, and learned the most from.