Blog - Coastal Content - Page 3 of 10

Why I still find writing and editing interesting

I’ve been writing professionally for about twenty years. That’s long enough to have outlasted several trends, a handful of employers and at least one complete reinvention of what “content” is supposed to mean. People don’t usually ask whether I still…

How to brief AI so it actually has something to say

In the last post, we established that AI content is bad for one reason above all others, it has no original ideas, because nobody gave it any. That post was the diagnosis. This one is the prescription. It’s also slightly…

The prompt I use when I don’t know what I think yet

Most of what gets written about AI and writing is about AI doing the writing. Which makes sense. It’s the obvious use case, it’s what the demos show and it’s what makes people either excited or furious depending on their…

AI content isn’t bad because AI wrote it

When people say AI content is bad, they’re usually diagnosing the wrong patient. “It sounds robotic.” Sure, sometimes. “It’s full of errors.” Yes, that happens. “It’s soulless.” Okay, fair, but also a bit much. These are symptoms, not the disease.…

The writer I was trying to sound like (and when I stopped)

There was a period in my early thirties when every sentence I wrote had a slight lean to it. Not my lean. Someone else’s. I’d been reading Nick Hornby obsessively, the way you read someone when you’re young and think…

Writing for an internet that’s already annoyed before you’ve finished the sentence

Let me set the scene. You’ve written something. It’s good. Balanced, considered, reasonably well-punctuated. You’ve made a point without being aggressive about it. You’ve acknowledged nuance exists. You’ve even, at one stage, written a sentence that starts with “to be…

What a content strategy actually looks like

I spent part of this week with a startup that had been told, in no uncertain terms, that they needed a content strategy. The person who told them this was a marketer. A confident one. The kind who uses phrases…

That moment a client says “make it pop” and what happens next

I want to tell you about a phrase. It’s not a long phrase. It’s not demanding. It arrives softly, wedged between “we love the direction” and “could you just,” like a tiny grenade wearing a cardigan. “Make it pop.” I’ve…

A corporate Carol: Three ghosts, one warning and a company that should have known better

I’m going to tell you a story. The names have been changed to protect the guilty, the oblivious and the middle managers who genuinely believe that a town hall with a slide deck counts as communication. It starts, as most…

So you want to get into marketing?

I was asked the other day, “What advice would you give someone thinking of entering marketing straight from university?” I paused. Not because I think marketing is doomed. It isn’t. It’s very alive. Loud. Busy. Slightly deranged at times. I…

I was asked if I could create a fully automated AI blog posting system

Yes. I could. Next question. Oh, you want more than that. Fine. A few weeks ago, someone asked me, with the bright-eyed energy of a person who has just discovered that technology exists, whether I could set up a system…

Adapt or die: The uncomfortable future of the general marketer

I tried to write this gently, I really did. I started with something soothing like, “Marketing is evolving.” Then I deleted it because that sounds like a corporate meditation app. Let’s say it plainly. Marketing is alive and kicking. It’s…

Why I still find writing and editing interesting

How to brief AI so it actually has something to say

The prompt I use when I don’t know what I think yet

AI content isn’t bad because AI wrote it

The writer I was trying to sound like (and when I stopped)

Writing for an internet that’s already annoyed before you’ve finished the sentence

What a content strategy actually looks like

That moment a client says “make it pop” and what happens next

A corporate Carol: Three ghosts, one warning and a company that should have known better

So you want to get into marketing?

I was asked if I could create a fully automated AI blog posting system

Adapt or die: The uncomfortable future of the general marketer

Why speed is a terrible content strategy

How we built a 12-month content strategy for a tech startup blog from scratch

How much does a freelance content editor cost in the UK?

Like what you see?

Twenty years of writing, editing and helping clients communicate. Based in Northumberland. Available everywhere.

Like what you see?

Twenty years of writing, editing and helping clients communicate. Based in Northumberland. Available everywhere.

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