Blog: Wordsmithery
News and views from me, Charlie Hobson, about all things Wordsmithy-related.
From copywriting and comms trends to grammar pedantry, things I’ve learned from our latest client projects to inspiring people and resources, I’ll share it here in my fairly frequent, shortish blog posts. I hope they help you get to know me better.
Storytelling… put simply
Eight great practical tips for brands and businesses. Storytelling has been on my mind: I've been thinking for a few months about how to come up with an original, informative post about how to do it well. Then I came across Carly Stringer's excellent blog post and...
How to get the balance right: writing about yourself in professional communications
Can’t stop talking about yourself? Or can’t start? 6 steps to finding the balance in professional communications We all know someone who loves talking about themselves. It’s not usually a good thing. Most of us try to avoid giving the impression of being...
Mostly good news for Christmas
Mostly good news for Christmas 2018 Here's some good news for you. You won't be receiving a Christmas card from The Wordsmithy to clutter up your desk, nor a festive gif from The Wordsmithy to clutter up your email inbox. That's good news for me too, because it saves...
My Friday Four
Four people who’ve inspired me – thank you! Having 20+ years of a marketing and writing career behind me is a mixed blessing. I used to long to be able to say “a decade’s experience” on my bio. Nowadays I wonder if “over two decades” is beginning to sound a bit… well…...
Where Wordsmithy’s clients come from
A confession: I hate networking. Another confession: In authentic writerly style, I know that really it’s the term ‘networking’ that I hate. In fact, most of my work has always come to me through people I know – aka my network of contacts. As a one-person band, it’s...
The winding road that led to The Wordsmithy: a career story
Once upon a time a graduate in modern languages left Cambridge University, threw aside her Doc Martens and dungarees, bought a decent suit from M&S and embarked on a career in marketing. She didn’t have much idea about what that entailed, but she’d experienced...
My secret business life: community entrepreneurship
Here’s something that’s quite different from when I started The Wordsmithy: the number of local small and micro-business owners I know. Fifteen years ago, I felt like a daring (and often terrified) pioneer as I set up my limited company and tried to get to grips with...
Who, what, why and where: 10 Wordsmithy Q&As
1. Where is The Wordsmithy? I work from my home office in Twyford, between Reading and Maidenhead, Berkshire. 2. Have you always been there? No. I founded the business in 2003 from my then home in Central Reading. I'm originally from Cheshire but I've also lived and...
The story of The Wordsmithy… once upon a time in 2003
2018 is a milestone year for me. It's 15 years since The Wordsmithy was born - the company name registered, the website set up, the email account created. Open for business! I sat at my desk in Reading in 2003, chewing the end of my pencil and watching tumbleweed blow...