Author
Writing Coach
Ghostwriter
Helen Croydon
Personal Brand Consultant
Thought Leadership &
Corporate 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 media publication, usually from an experienced professional outlining fresh insights on an industry hot topic.
Many people refer to blogs as pieces of thought leadership. But true thought leadership has much more substance. Blogs tend to be written for the purpose of driving traffic. They 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.
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 just serves a different purpose.
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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…'). But when it comes to writing articles fit for the mainstream media to publish; or white papers fit for executive-level leaders to take seriously, a different genre of writing is required.
I explained more about the difference between writing for marketing and writing thought leadership in this article for Forbes Councils.
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What is the difference between content writing and thought leadership writing?
Case Studies and Testimonials
White Paper Writing
The Brief:
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 two other writers to structure complex research into this 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.” April 2024
Thought Leadership Writing
The Brief:
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Tae Hea Nahm and Bob Tinker, a duo of entrepreneur and investor, were writing the second book in their Survival to Thrival series, for tech entrepreneurs.
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They sought my help to develop articles and other formats taken from themes in the book. I wrote, and placed these articles in publications such as TechCrunch and Sifted.
"Helen has been the missing link for me becoming a thought leader for building enterprise leaders. Helen complemented my domain expertise by driving awareness and branding. She got me a high-profile speaking engagement at Collision and helped me write articles around my books and placed them in publications targeting entrepreneurs. I enjoy my weekly call with Helen and am impressed by her follow through." September 2022
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Thought Leadership Consultancy
Wendy Rose, a Master Certified Coach with 20 years’ experience, wanted to make her credentials more widely known and be found by new potential clients. By understanding her niche as a coach, I advised her on article topics suitable to place in the media, then edited her drafts to make them 'media ready'.
"Thank you Helen! With published articles now averaging one a month, I couldn't be happier with the help that you've given me. From helping me realise that I do have things I want to say, mentoring me to do that in ways that are interesting and useful to others and for steering me in the direction of the right editors, you've helped me every step of the way. I couldn't have done any of it without you!" July 2022
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