Why is writing about ourselves always the hardest thing to do? I stepped in to help Sue and Ben refresh the website for Big On Writing, the collective I've been a part of for over a decade.

We wanted it to reflect our expertise in enterprise-level websites, from the planning to the strategy, SEO, writing, writing direction and more. We truly believe there's no other company in Australasia who has the experience and expertise to manage these large-scale jobs like we can – and it's an area of big website creation or refresh that is often overlooked. Believe us, having a team to manage things like the business case, content audit, page briefs, copywriting, editing and writing direction is essential.

Take a look at our simplified diagram to explain the website content process we like to follow:

Well, in 2021 the rest of you finally got on board with what I've been saying for years: working from home is the BOMB. Okay, not the first take-away we think of from 2021, but it doesn't need spelling out what a strange year it was, does it?

In many ways 2021 was business as usual for me, although I had some NEW opportunities to try out my hand at writing for the television industry when my book Not That I'd Kiss A Girl was optioned by one of New Zealand's largest production companies, South Pacific Pictures, and they let me in the writer's room to do some storylining with a fantastic team of other women. Highlight of the year for me, as I am a pop culture and TV nut and have the 1994 Shortland Street cover of Kirsty and Lionel's wedding to prove it.

I also continued on with writer's festival events to promote the book around New Zealand, culminating in speaking with one of New Zealand's most prolific novelists, Charlotte Grimshaw, at the Auckland Writers Festival.

It was also another year of great copywriting challenges: 

• Working with my friend Claire Mance for her agency Talk Communications, writing some cool things for community groups, and reading scientific papers to write case studies for a cool NZ company battling COVID-19 with clinical trials.
  
  
• Getting stuck into some Immigration NZ comms, teaching them how to communicate clearly and with empathy – super important with all the visa hold-ups due to COVID-19.

 

• ​When the anti-vaccination community heard a rumour that AA was going to mandate vaccinations for their Roadside Assistance staff, they bombarded the AA with hundreds of emails in the space of just a few days! I was there to craft some responses to the more – ahem – passionate missives, and write some templated copy to help their staff with the wider responses.

 

• Tag Singapore came calling, and I banged out some case studies for their client Tableau, who do data visualisation.

 

• Pairing with Ghost Partners, I helped their client Education NZ with comms for their online events platform: refining their complicated email journeys and tidying up website copy, with scripts to come.

 

• And while all this was going on, I kept up my part-time contract with Fisher & Paykel Appliances, moving onto their Haier brand and helping them give it a lot more love, with everything from more robust product copy, to tone of voice guidelines and more.

Can't wait to see what 2022 will bring... get in touch if you have a project you need a hand with.

When my fantastic friend and one of the best Project Managers (now business owner) I've ever worked with, Claire Mance, asked me to help turn a clinical studies paper into some PR for her client at Talk Creative, I gulped and said yes. Claire and I have worked on some tricky scientific/technical jobs before, such as AlphaImpactRx, and turning difficult scientific language into clear content had been a really rewarding challenge. 'Challenge' being a key word.

The task

A small New Zealand software company with a focus on clinical trials software had grown rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to their involvement in a very complex clinical trial to study effective treatments for COVID. They wanted a long-form piece, a blog post and a press release that explained why the clinical trial(s) had been so groundbreaking. In language that could be understood by everyone.

The process

After battling my way through the paper published about the trial, I went straight to the source, chatting to two Kiwi researchers and doctors who had set up the trial. Their interviews revealed fantastic human insights into why this was so important, and it boiled down to: people who signed up to their trial were more likely to receive an effective treatment than if they didn't. That mean real lives saved. I had my human angle.

But I also needed to understand what Spiral's platform did, why it was unprecedented, how the trial worked, and interpret that – and make it newsworthy. There were a number of ways to talk about it, and this is reflected in the three pieces that were about the same study, but placed emphasis on different angles. I will post all below, but here is the long piece on Medium:

COVID-19, the world's most complex clinical trial, and the small New Zealand company who made it possible.

As an interior design and technology nerd, it's almost painful working at Fisher & Paykel appliances amongst all these beautiful refrigerators, washing machines and ranges. I want all of them!

Since I began a contract with F&P – one of New Zealand's most recognisable brands – I've learned so much not just about this brand and its products but also about the process of building such a massive website with e-commerce and hundreds of products on it.

​From writing brand copy to product descriptions, I'm loving the experience, and have really enjoyed learning more about agile working too. Let's be honest, I'd rather be in that kind of a scrum than in this one...

iAnd you can't beat a freshly sliced lamb sandwich eaten with a backdrop of Rangitoto.

That's right, I've officially arrived back in Auckland, New Zealand after a two year stint in crazy old New York. Since I've been back I've been working in-house with Westpac, helping them with some major web projects. (Check out their new Everyday Money section.)

I'm keen to get stuck in with Kiwi clients and can work remotely or on site, so hit me up at [email protected].

.... but we're all getting lots of practice writing protest signs here in America.

​Thanks to the sponsorship of Westpac, I got to ask three kick-ass Kiwi women who're living and working in New York about their experiences. Is it what people think it is? What's it like being a woman in your field in New York? What do you love here, what's been... well, crap about it? 

Part one - with musician Sarah Gibson from the band Streets of Laredo – is up now. on Westpac's REDNews hub.

Part two – with Creative Director Beth O'Brien from R/GA. 

Part three – with Director Sally Tran from Ghost Robot.

​Some of the industries I've worked in this year:

• Finance
• Insurance
• Industrial - Bathroom products and sleep aids
• Government - Education
• Technical - Web hosting
• FMCG - Cereal
• Airlines (Air New Zealand - THE best)

This has included everything from writing workshops to letters, brochures and product sheets – and a massive ongoing web project with NZQA that will involve everything from research and strategy to UX/IA, tone of voice, copywriting and more.

I know this is a relatively boring post, so here are some delightfully naughty pandas to make up for it.

I'm writing a couple of posts for Westpac New Zealand's REDNews – a digital hub of great content – and the first one's about chucking out the idea of "networking" and focusing on building real connections with other professionals.




Read it here: www.westpac.co.nz/rednews/women/networking-with-heart-building-real-connections/