Valuable Content Principles
Words and ideas matter
Used well, marketing and comms can help people understand complex issues, build trust, share knowledge and inspire action. Used badly, it creates noise, confusion and cynicism.
If you care about the work you do, ‘marketing’ can sometimes sit uneasily. You want to communicate in a way that feels right: aligned with your values and capable of delivering real results.
The Valuable Content approach was created for people like you.
It is built on a set of simple beliefs: put helping first, listen hard, write for one, share generously, stand for something…
Ideas that come together in the valuable content principles: a manifesto for communication that builds clarity, trust and connection.
Make it valuable
When you share ideas that are genuinely useful, thoughtful and human, something powerful happens. Trust grows. Relationships deepen. Marketing becomes something people appreciate, not something they try to avoid.
This philosophy took shape in the book Valuable Content Marketing, written with Sharon Tanton and published in 2013 and 2015.
Over the years, through work with organisations and independent experts navigating a fast-changing communication landscape, the thinking has continued to evolve.
Developed again with Sharon after a year of research and reflection, the new Valuable Content Principles bring those ideas together for today’s world.
The Valuable Content Manifesto
Belief is back in business.
Trust is the real currency.
We’re done with soulless marketing.
The reset starts here:
Help first
You, you, you – not we, we, we.
Choose conversation
Write for one, serve many.
Listen with love
Slow down and hear what matters.
Be generous
Set your ideas free.
Messy human stories beat polish
Tell the truth.
Neutral is forgettable
Stand for something bigger. Share your perspective.
Create like an artist
Follow your curiosity. Experiment. Play.
Protect your energy
Fewer things with more joy.
Make it valuable
Beyond the transaction.
In the real world.
True to your integrity.
We create work we stand behind.
Because words and ideas can change the world.
Put the principles into practice
These communications principles guide the work I do with organisations and independent experts.
That might include:
clarifying your positioning and message
shaping a sustainable comms and marketing strategy
planning content that helps people understand and trust what you do
developing websites, articles or campaigns that bring your ideas to life
Because when communication becomes clearer, more human and more generous, it helps good work travel further.
Learn more
“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”
— Robin Williams
Let’s talk.
If you're ready to make your message and content more valuable, I’d love to hear from you.