Journalist | Audience Development Consultant
Audience development
My consultancy work involves helping organisations better understand and connect with their audiences, including through newsletters, social media, their websites and PR. Clients I have helped include North Yorkshire Open Studios, the University of Lancashire's Media Innovation Studio, The University of Liverpool, the Scottish Beacon, Open Culture, Wirral Arts & Culture Community Land Trust and the Independent Community News Network. I am also the Founding Director of Raised Voices CIC, which empowers people to tell their own stories.
I was previously Senior Editor (Customer) North West and North Wales for Reach Plc, devising and implementing audience development strategies including newsletters and social media for two of the UK’s biggest regional news brands, the Liverpool Echo and the Manchester Evening News. I am a graduate of the University of Lancashire's Journalism Innovation and Leadership Programme, during which I focussed on newsletter strategy for independent news publishers, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
​
Some of the things I can help you with include:
​
-
Developing a newsletter strategy, increasing your subscriber numbers, improving open rates, running re-engagement. campaigns and advising on GDPR best practice.
-
​Public, audience and stakeholder consultation through workshops, surveys and interviews.
-
Helping you identify useful OKRs and KPIs to build a content strategy that will engage your audience.
-
Drawing up SEO strategies and content plans to increase page views referred by Google.
-
Running training sessions on newsletter strategy, pitching ideas to the media and SEO.
-
Putting together PR plans that focus on getting compelling stories to the right journalists and publishers.​​​​​
​
Get in touch to discuss how we can work together - or book a consultancy session with me below.
Consultancy Sessions
Power Hour
This 60-minute session is a dedicated space for us to get stuck into your ideas together. I’m here to be your sounding board - bringing fresh energy to your plans and helping you find those small, nuanced changes that make a huge difference to your community
​
Strategy Session
If you’re looking for a bit more structure, the Strategy Session will help you create a clear, actionable plan. It’s perfect if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the options and want to know exactly where to put your energy over the next few months.
​
Extended consultation
Over the course of four weeks, we’ll work together to get your audience plans into shape.
We’ll start with a proper look at your data and channels, then meet once a week to work through the changes. You get a audit of your current channels, four 60-minute calls and a clear 90-day plan to follow once we’re done.
​
Previous projects
The UK's Favourite Place
Campaign run across Reach's regional and national websites, including the Mirror, Express, Star and OK!, to find the UK's Favourite Place voted by readers, which I managed as Special Projects and Relationships Editor for the organisation's niche websites. This aimed to drive subscriptions to Reach's 2Chill website as well as to the company's What's on newsletters,
TeamDogs' virtual dog show
Virtual dog show for Reach's niche site TeamDogs to build reader registrations and engagement. I project-managed the campaign, which ran across social media as well as on the company's regional and national websites.
Pyjama Party Liverpool
A Liverpool Echo campaign run online, in print and on social media supporting a community group collecting Christmas pyjamas for homeless children. The campaign ran for two years, with 10,000 pairs being donated in the first year.
​
Light a Christmas Candle
Microsite inviting readers across all Reach sites to remember a loved one by adding a virtual candle to a map of remembrance during Christmas 2022.
​