(Re)Introducing our new Editor in Chief: Clare Dodd!

Drumroll please... we have a brand-new Editor in Chief (sort of)! The team at Articulate Marketing is very pleased to announce Clare Dodd is stepping into this new and important role.

If that name sounds familiar, Clare was with us for several years right at the beginning of our journey as an agency. She is returning, the conquering hero, to take up this new mantle.

So, welcome back, Clare!

A storied history

Clare’s love affair with copywriting began during her studies of English and American literature. Wrangling with obtuse texts written by stuffy academics, she found, by contrast, her passion for clear, concise and accessible writing. This led her to an internship with Articulate Marketing in 2012 — then, a young company consisting of just two people. Now, we are 20 strong.

During her tenure at Articulate, Clare helped to build our reputation as the go-to agency for B2B tech copywriting. She researched and developed core training methods, remote working processes and copywriting standards that have carried through in our culture over the years. We’ve her to thank for our first project management ‘home’, Basecamp, where we spent over five glorious years (before we finally outgrew it last year).

‘Clare was a big part of the foundational DNA of the agency. Some of our top-performing blog posts were written by her back in the day, and they continue to be popular and useful for our readers. She also contributed to some of our best and most impactful client work. Her return to Articulate completes a circle that started nearly a decade ago and I’m very happy to welcome her back.’ — Matthew Stibbe, CEO, Articulate Marketing

For four years, Clare worked her way to the position of Senior Marketing Copywriter. During this time she wore many hats — in the customary start-up fashion — from team leader to account manager. But, most of all, she honed her skills as a killer copywriter and kick-ass marketer.

A wealth of experience

In 2016, we bid Clare farewell as she moved on to new pastures.

Her ambitions took her to the world of academic publishing with a stint as a Content Manager at Taylor and Francis, then on to work as the International Digital Manager for Taylor Wessing, law firm.

In these roles, she climbed steep learning curves and took on challenging responsibilities. These included strategic initiatives for targeted, large-scale campaigns, co-ordinated with teams across the globe. She brings this expertise back into our business.

An auspicious return

‘Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.’ — Terry Pratchett, author

Happily, Clare has now returned to the company to take on a new role: Editor in Chief.

With our recent growth trajectory, we’re moving forward with real momentum, energy and ambition. A lot has changed. In all this activity it can be easy to lose sight of what matters, but Clare is here to keep us on the right track. She will be returning to her roots, this time focused entirely on quality, quality, quality, at all stages of the content creation process.

Editor in Chief: ‘Epiphany-inducing copy’

Clare says she is looking forward to the process of producing ‘epiphany-inducing copy’ for our clients, from strategy to implementation. She isn’t just here to edit the minutiae, the spelling, the grammar, and so on, but to nurture skills and ideas, and to make a creative and productive studio.

We want Articulate Marketing to be a place the best copywriters want to work. When people see that a writer works at Articulate, we want peers to say ‘wow, you work there!’. We want clients to see the difference between Articulate’s genius work - our mission to ‘inform, connect and inspire’ - and me-too, blah-blah copy that their competitors are getting by hiring a freelancer or a generic content mill.

Copywriting is a huge part of our differentiation and a critical component in our work for clients. In this new chapter with Articulate, Clare will help us build a flourishing culture and practice of world-class copywriting.

Recommended reading:

• The Elements of Style - William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
• Writing to Deadline: The Journalist at Work - Donald M. Murray
• Anything by Nora Ephron, E.B White, or, indeed, anything from The New Yorker

Examples of Clare’s past work:

• 50 words that will improve your writing
• How to make a successful presentation: 5 easy steps to perfection
• Selling technology: The secret is not to talk about technology