Author
Helen Croydon
Writing Coach
Ghostwriter
Personal Brand Consultant
Thought Leadership Writing
If your business is the most progressive in your industry, but you can't capture in words what you do, no one will understand your value.
Using my journalistic nose, I develop compelling narratives, and authoritative content to enable businesses and entrepreneurs to get noticed and strengthen their brand.
What is thought leadership writing?
Thought leadership writing is any written content which imparts expertise and offers an answer to a reader’s problem. The most common forms of thought leadership content are 1. A white paper, usually produced by a business or think tank summarising exclusive research; 2. A contributor article in a specialised media outlet, usually from a professional outlining their fresh insights on an industry hot topic.
Many people refer to blogs as a piece of thought leadership. In my view, true thought leadership has much substance. Blogs tend to be written for the purpose of driving traffic and therefore prioritise the placement of specific key words and phrases for SEO. Thought leadership, on the other hand, is produced to provide genuine, useful, actionable and current advice.
Therefore, writing such high calibre content is a skill few PRs and marketing professionals can truly deliver. This is not to say their writing is of a lesser standard! It serves a different purpose.
​
A content creator is likely to use buzz words that tap into a consumer’s buying psyche (this is why you’ll see cliched phrases like ‘Our product is perfect for…’ Or “We are committed to…). When it comes to writing articles fit for mainstream media to publish, or white papers fit for executive-level leaders to take seriously, a different genre of writing is required. I wrote about this for Forbes, in an article, The difference between writing for marketing and writing for the media.
With 15 years as a journalist, and another five years running an agency, Thought Leadership PR, which specialised in thought leadership content, it’s in the DNA of my fingers to make every word I type count.
What is the difference between content writing and thought leadership writing?
Case Studies and Testimonials
White papers
Andrew White, Director of Research at Said Business School, University of Oxford, and Founder of Transcend.Space was conducting research in collaboration with Earnst & Young to produce a white paper about navigating turning points in business transformation programmes.
With a tight deadline, I collaborated with other writers to structure the complex research into a digestible and credible guide to be distributed to c-suite executives globally.
"Helen stepped in, when we had a short deadline, to help my team structure, draft and then polish the wording for a white paper, collaborating with other writers and researchers with different areas of expertise.
It was a true team effort, not just for the writing but in interpreting data and establishing which parts would be of most value to our readers. Helen worked with other members of my team across different time zones, to make it happen.”
Book synopsis
Anita was in the middle of writing her second book when I worked with her for general personal branding advice. She asked me for advice in creating a synopsis to test the water with traditional publishing.
Using my experience as a three-time published author, I produced a professional synopsis, with her input, comprising chapter summaries, blurb and similar title research.
"I have enjoyed access to the various organisations in publishing, podcasting and radio, ultimately helping me to form new relationships. A professional service which has been thoroughly engaging, and more importantly, encouraging me to enhance and enrich my brand. Thank you Helen."
