About Me
It’s not what a copywriter says. It’s what he whispers.
People who know me often joke that I make a living by ‘pushing words about a bit’. There’s some truth in that. The trick is knowing which words to push where, which ones to leave alone and which ones to get rid of altogether. I’ve been doing that since sick meant feeling unwell and a tablet was something you took to feel better.
The product of a conventionally dull middle-class childhood in 70s south London and a grisly public school education, I studied journalism before joining the sports desk at The News of the World. After two years of watching goalless draws on cold, rainy Monday nights, I moved to The Mirror as a music correspondent, where the company improved considerably and my LP collection grew considerably faster.
Next came central government communications, including writing speeches for Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Journalism had taught me to find the story. Government taught me to turn negatives into positives. Both turned out to be useful preparation for life as a copywriter.
Eventually, I swapped the noise of London for country air and went freelance. Since then, I’ve helped some of the world’s most recognisable brands and businesses find the right words for just about every audience, purpose and platform imaginable.
Along the way, my copy has mobilised emergency relief, driven car sales, filled holiday resorts, soothed troubled minds, sold widgets by the million, inspired the next generation of engineers, guided patients through life-changing diagnoses, demystified complex science and sparked children’s imaginations.
It’s an eclectic list, but that’s the point. One of the pleasures of being a copywriter is never quite knowing what you’ll be writing about next. The job is to get under the skin of a subject, work out what matters and find the right way to communicate it to the people who need to know.
I work directly with businesses and organisations, as well as collaborating with design, marketing and branding agencies. I can join a project at any stage of the creative process – brainstorming concepts, interrogating a brief, writing from scratch, reshaping existing copy or stepping in when a deadline has become rather more pressing than anyone intended.
I’m a member of the creative communities at 26 and ProCopywriters, and have worked with creative and strategic agencies in the UK and internationally. As well as copywriting, I’m a published author and speechwriter, and an occasional contributor to magazines and blogs.
That’s probably enough about me. If you’d like to know more, explore my copywriting services, take a look at the sectors I write about and the clients I’ve worked with, or find out how I work.
TESTIMONIALS
Tom is an exceptional copywriter who can take a blueprint and quickly bring a property to life through words.
Melanie Omirou, Acorn Property Group
Tom is an incredibly useful copy resource and provides great content in a well-managed process of creation, development and delivery.
Martin Pope, DesignReligion
Tom’s empathetic writing style and deep audience understanding have significantly enhanced our brand’s voice.
Amanda Holgate, Anchor
Tom has been our go-to copywriter for several years. He writes informative and engaging press releases and case studies that never fail to get coverage.
Ginny Murphy, The Wheel Specialist
His creativity, foresight and attention to detail has brought our message to life in a way that truly resonates with our clients and the wider aerospace market.
Ryan Macneice, AliceBluAero
Tom’s work was even better than we’d imagined. He understood our culture, the issue and objective from the start and just ran with it.
Sarah Newland, Serco
More testimonials
Tom’s knack for crafting compelling narratives that resonate with our target audience is unparalleled. His creativity and research skills have been invaluable to our marketing efforts.
Maria Pagano, Bombardier
Tom can always be relied upon to deliver quality content. Highly professional, always personable, easy to work with and always there with an apposite description to bring the page to life.
Rob Tate, Velocity
We’re thrilled with our latest ESG Report. Tom took the information and created an informative and engaging narrative that spoke to each of our stakeholders.
Nancy Lotane, Bain Capital
Tom has been a great resource for us over many years, helping to create outstanding content at scale across a wide product range and target audience.
Duncan Morris, O2 Telefonica
Tom’s ability to convert a garbled brief into perfect prose is quite amazing.
Leigh Hammans, Dunk Design
Tom is a highly experienced copywriter who consistently delivers exceptional content that surpasses our expectations. His professionalism and dedication make him an invaluable asset.
Rod Manley, Burberry
Tom’s exceptional copywriting skills have significantly enhanced our brand’s messaging. His professionalism and dedication are truly commendable.
Tom Foulkes, McLaren
If anyone understands the power of words better, I’ve yet to meet them.
Will Tomlinson, Victoria Met Albert
Tom’s expertise in crafting persuasive copy has led to a noticeable increase in our customer engagement. I would highly recommend his services.
Dominic Dawes, Mercedes-Benz Trucks
He speaks our language, understands our target market and creates copy that hits the mark with laser-like precision.
Ceren Wende, Volvo
As EP began to transform urban landscapes across the country, it was Tom’s words that shone a light on the opportunities and attracted unheralded levels of inward investment.
Anthony Dunnett, English Partnerships
We’ve worked with Tom for over five years on a range of web, brochure and branding projects. He is insightful, creative and flexible.
Chris Norris, McCann Health
Tom’s ability to quickly grasp complex subjects and produce compelling content is impressive. His work has been instrumental in driving our cause forward.
Julie Tucker, Meningitis Research Foundation
Tom’s expertise in crafting persuasive copy has led to a noticeable increase in our customer engagement. I would highly recommend his services.
Dominic Dawes, Mercedes-Benz Trucks
Tom writes in a style that keeps you reading. When I need an informative, engaging and dynamic content, Tom is my first person I call.
Judith Barnard, National Autistic Society
Tom’s exceptional creativity and meticulous research skills consistently deliver compelling, audience-focused copy that resonates deeply.
Stephanie Bonnett, EDF Energy
Tom’s ability to quickly grasp complex subjects and produce informative, engaging content under tight deadlines is impressive.
Rachel Woods, BP
We’ve worked with Tom successfully for over 10 years on a variety of projects including brochures, adverts, websites and reports.
Harriet Wright, GSK
Tom has been our go-to copywriter for the past decade, and to be honest, when you have access to the best in the business, why would you look elsewhere.
Grant Bowden, Deep Design
Working with Tom has made our marketing and communication projects easier to deliver because of the quality and professionalism he brings.
Nouaman Mohamad, Islamic Development Bank
Tom has written our last two ESG Reports and played a pivotal role in changing the format, style, tone and narrative.
Sonia Thimmiah, Heineken
Tom is a consummate professional who delivers high-quality web content that consistently resonates with our target audience and enhance our brand.
Gavin Bailey, CitySuites
Tom’s ability to meet tight deadlines without compromising quality is remarkable. His creativity and research skills shine through in every piece of content he delivers.
Sanjeev Kumar Soosaipillai, Prax Group
Tom’s diligent work ethic and problem-solving skills were instrumental during our website revamp. His ethical approach and commitment to excellence has greatly benefited our business.
Adam Lee, Barclays
Tom is a talented storyteller who I would highly recommend to any charity.
Rebecca Mauger, Barnardo’s
Tom’s input into the vision document for Curzon Wharf played a pivotal role in envisioning the regeneration of this part of Birmingham.
Tani Dulay, Woodbourne Group
Without doubt, the best copywriter I’ve met.
Graham Brooke, Castlemore Homes
His strategic and creative approach to content development resulted in our most compelling case for support yet.
Anna Hayman, Diabetes UK
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info@tomrigby.com
+44 (0) 7715 171286