The Glue Between

Founder & Content Chief

GDS Group

Responsible for the Group's creative strategy, alongside creative leadership of the company's new SaaS product. Ownership of all copywriting, brand origin & multimedia storytelling, content strategy and live presenting requirements (including mentoring new creative teams).

From strategic design thinking to tactical sales & marketing content, the role encompasses all creative facets of brand and product storytelling. As a Presenter, I work to identify and pilot new use cases for storytelling and engagement opportunities within the platform. As a Copywriter, I own all internal & external brand messaging (both written and rich media). As a Creative Director, I lead the vision of the product's potential across forms of communication, including sales and operations consultancy.

Creative Director

I led the Group's Virtual Showcase product from concept to it's first 12-month cycle – securing £4.1m delivered revenue from 86 live shows in its first year – with studio-production digital broadcasts for a range of Fortune 2000 B2B client profiles and CXO engagements.

Responsible for all operational & production functions – including Design, Video, Presenters, Producers & Technical operators – to execute the activation of content, storytelling levers and digital functionality,  delivering TV-studio broadcast productions that land messages, drive pipeline and engage audiences in a truly unique broadcast format.

Operations Director

Bigg

Bigg is a full-service digital marketing agency, specialising in white-label, scalable SEO packages for the UK's two leading directories and its SME customer base – delivering c. 1200 SEO campaigns per month.

As Bigg's MD, my role was to build on the foundations set as its Operations Director and steady net profit as we moved through the pandemic. Having improved its gross profit by c.30% over a preceding 9 month period by removing third party costs and bringing core services in-house, I was able to successfully secure the required strategic relationships, react to client and market demands for 'pandemic-ready' product pricing and stabilise campaign churn as we headed through 2020/2021. Ultimately, this delivered the board's primary aim and protected both P&L and staff alike.

Managing Director

I led the build of the Group's debut, centralised Client Services function – directing an international team of 14 CSMs – into a new service delivery model for the GDS Group.

Accountable for a mid-to-high touch B2B IT & Marketing tech client portfolio in excess of 150 logo campaigns globally – delivering across the organisation's three core revenue streams (Summits, Roundtables & Live events) – my primary responsibilities nested in:

• Nurturing and growing Tier 1 client relationships 
• Directing the service delivery of net new and growth logos
• Implementing a new CS Journey – moving from reactive client servicing to proactive customer success
• Customer engagement strategy
• Reporting directly into CEO & Chairman

Group Client Services Director

Meet the Boss

As a product owner and the company's CSD, I consulted on pre-sale fulfilment and led the post-sale delivery for a global portfolio of IT & Marketing Technology clients, accountable for a team of 7 CSMs managing a client servicing and communication strategy across concurrent contracts.

From resource forecasting and capacity planning at both internal stakeholder and product levels – to senior stakeholder reporting (internal & external) – the role required exceptional process evolution and divisional leadership & training to ensure superior standards for a CXO audience.

Client Services Director

I led the transformation of the post-sale client servicing strategy for a portfolio of c.50 high-touch accounts, with reach across the brand's digital and physical products. This included building MOPs, training and mentoring a team of CSMs and implementing a new standard of client services across the business – from first-to-last touch of contractual delivery. 

This included commercial risk and issue mitigation; client-facing and branded content creation; product and product delivery evolution; and pre-sales relationship engineering.

Head of Client Services & Operations

Responsible for presenting both live and pre-recorded interviews, group discussions and closed-door events for senior executives across the IT and Marketing tech space – including live studio production and live in-person events. 

During my tenure, I hosted in excess of 250 virtual roundtables, 30 in-person events and 10 live studio shows, with full storytelling ownership – from concept to conversation.

Presenter & Senior Editor

Moving from print to digital content, I led the online editorial strategy and web management for MeettheBoss.TV across organic SEO and marketing-supported campaigns. From short and long form editorial to rich media (infographics and video), I worked closely with the brand's presenters on content strategy and scriptwriting for interviews to link back into the editorial strategy.

Digital Content Manager

Responsible for content strategy, creative and execution for a print portfolio of B2B industry thought leadership magazines for IT and marketing technology providers including Dell, IBM, HP, Cisco, Novartis – with a specific focus on Pharmaceuticals, Energy & Business Transformation.

Working in lock step with the Editor-in-Chief and Sales Director, I had full editorial ownership of cover and copywriting, pagination, feature articles and interview schedules.

Example partnership editorial with Frost & Sullivan's Growth, Innovation & Leadership (GIL) eBulletin: http://bit.ly/2EZhoSO

Editor

Western Morning News

Intern

SilverWood Publishing

B2B Copywriter & Storytelling Strategist | Thought leadership and insights content for creative enterprise marketers

Hi, I'm Nick.

I write long form content for B2B content marketers & agencies who:

1. Need marketing-ready campaign content delivered on time and on budget
2. Want to build authority and trust with their audience
3. Don't have the resource or expertise in-house to do so

With 14+ years' experience delivering for B2B SMEs and large enterprise, I've built a system that allows me to...

- Connect into your operations without the stress
- Discover the right information from you, fast
- Spend more time learning from your audience
- Translate complex topics into confident content
- Deliver long form hero content that leads campaigns

In doing so, I've...

- Delivered Annual Reports for one of the 'Big Four' to a global audience of 4m+
- Produced long-form content for over two-thirds of the world's Fortune 500
- Written over 120 sales and web pages to help deepen brand and product insights

If you're a B2B content marketer or agency AD who needs quality content in a long form world, book an appointment and let's see if we can get your content up in lights...in less time.

2 years ago, I left a six-figure job for a global B2B events company to start my own business.

With a 4-month salary to make it work.

No experience as a business owner.
No idea about corporation tax.
No experience selling my services without the reputation of a big company behind me.

Shit. 

Today, those things are still (definitely) frustrating at times.

But do you know what isn’t?

Talking to new people.
Partnering with dream clients.
Building a new long form content product from scratch…

…and watching it work. 

I still get loads of things wrong.
But that’s okay. 

Because two years ago I was holding my head together.
Now, I’m starting to hold it high.

Nick Pryke

B2B content & copywriter | I create long-form content for resource-squeezed marketers | Campaign assets for enterprise and agencies.

I’ve found the last 3 weeks TOUGH.

I’ve questioned…

🧠 My self
✍ My skills
💪 My resilience

I've wondered whether I'm good enough to do what I do. 
Whether everything I've done was 'just a fluke'.

I've had days where I could take on the world.
I've had days where it could take over me.

This is the reality of running a business.
Of being human and learning about yourself.

👉 I’m still here
👉 Still going
👉 Still ‘squeezing up’

LinkedIn is a shop window for what people want you to see; there's nothing wrong with that. Just remember that the stock room never looks as pretty.

This too shall pass.

That’s what I’m learning every day.



PS – the guy in the photo is a lovely man called Mark. We're friends, I promise 😉 

B2B Content & Copywriter | I create long form content and the conversion copy that drive it. Campaign assets for enterprise and agencies.

In the last 6 weeks, I’ve had 3 big projects blow out.

One was a poor fit.
One was down to budget.
One was moved to another business unit.

Is it a hard pill to swallow? Yes.

But here’s what I've noticed...

➡ I'm more resilient

12 months ago, this would have freaked me out. Now I know it’s just part of the process. Ebbing and flowing. This too shall pass. 

➡ I'm reallocating time well

It frees me up to fine-tune my iLAB content product ahead of next month’s launch. Bonus: One of the three has already requested more info. 

➡ I'm finding new wins 

Diving deeper into existing projects has revealed a new content route that I've raised with a current client.

Focus on what you can control.
Not what you can't.

#B2BMarketing #ContentMarketing

B2B Content & Copywriter | I create long form content and the conversion copy to drive it. Campaign assets for enterprise and agencies.

I had a tough one last week.

So I watched Storm Kathleen in all her glory and jumped straight in the water
(safely, of course).

I’ve been getting into cold water for a few years now:

It stops the noise.
It helps me reset.
It puts me back into a space where I can go again.

Ready for the week ahead.

This isn’t one of those ‘10x your life’ posts.

Just a quick heads up that nature helps you remember you’re human.

Especially when a storm’s a brewing.

Walking on sharp rocks helps, too.

++++++

👌 Nice one, Nick? 
☝  Books are open for May 2024

Freelance B2B copywriter | I create long-form content for resource-squeezed marketers | B2B campaign assets for enterprise & agencies.

Me, walking out of the stormy Devon sea during Storm Kathleen. On the shore are two dogs, Miller (a black lab) and Rufus (a red setter).

Here's how I start every long form content asset...


After the brief.
Before anything gets written.
I map out a delivery timeline and walk it through with the key players.

Sounds obvious, but I bet it doesn't happen as much as you think (in fact, I know it doesn't 🤐 ). 

This is a live example of a hefty new survey report I'm working on.

I build the core actions & deliverables in monday.com.
I add the client in as a guest user.
We set up a quick call and check it all off, revising as we go.

From then on, both and client and I have access to the timeline.
We share the responsibility of keeping to deadlines.
It's my responsibility to keep everything updated in real-time.
The client gets the visibility they need throughout the process.

Things will change. This type of content needs a bit of flexibility. That's fine.

Because when things do, this does all the project thinking for us.

I can focus on delivering.
The client can focus on their day-to-day.

Everyone knows what's going on.
Everyone becomes a little less stressed.
It doesn't need to be complicated. Just clear and agreed.

Job's a goodun.

+++++

#B2BMarketing #ContentMarketing #ContentWriting

👌 Nice one, Nick? 
🔔 Hit the bell for B2B long form content thangs 
👇 Books are open for May 2024

Delivering long form content for a C-suite audience takes time.

It takes patience. 

It takes a LOT of back-and-forth with multiple chefs in many a kitchen before you get anywhere close to an approved draft.

So when you find a client who makes it effortless, you do everything you can to match them.

This was that client. 

Over 6 months, we:

- Orchestrated interviews with 20+ global CEOs and VPs
- Created countless content wireframes, strategic narratives and overviews
- Managed approvals with 23 separate companies
- Delivered a global report for a membership community handling over €4tn in combined sales

We're already lining up our next project together. 

They said it's okay to find some new friends too, though.

Fancy it?

Link at the top of this post. 

++++++++

👌 Nice one, Nick? 
👇 Books are open for May 2024

I spent 3 days at HSE Global Series' Europe Congress event in The Hague, helping them drive more content for their post-event marketing. Here's what we did...

1. Formalise content capture (getting it down)

- Agreed a filming call sheet
- Set interview & testimonial schedules
- Assigned on-site 'content' roles and runners
- Built feedback channels beyond mere event experience

2. Create content templates (getting it ready)

- A daily email snapshot of key takeaways to share
- A branded post event report 
- CEO-led video updates

3. Start mining insights (getting it done)

- To shape long-form industry reports
- To support community content (email & social)
- To storyboard event & speaker videos

We traced every part of the on-site experience.
Identified content opportunities.
And blueprinted the process.

Now the team can focus on what they do best: delivering incredible events.

The content captures itself.

Thanks to Paul Clark, Katie Clark and the entire HSE team for having me down. A phenomenal event, with an energy you just can't buy.

#B2BEvents #Content #HSE


I was walking on the Mendips with my wife and dog on Sunday.

It was walk number 6 of a series of 48 from a book called 'Beyond Bristol' that we're trying to complete this year.

I loaded up the hefty 18km route into my Ordnance Survey app and we got to trudging.

About 4km in, we crossed paths with a tree...and a couple who were staring in our direction. As we got closer, it was clear they were lost.

"Sorry to bother you," the lady with purple hair leant forward with, "I don't suppose you know which direction Velvet Bottom is, do you?"

I didn't, but I knew it was on our route. 

"Sure, it's actually on our map somewhere," I said as I pulled out my phone to show them my OS map app.

"Oh, it's on the app? Don't worry about it," the man interrupted.

Do one. Stay lost then, I thought as a (knee) jerk.

"Sorry," he continued, "it's a very kind offer. It's just I've forgotten my OS paper map, and we like to work it out for ourselves. It's one of those things we like not having technology for."

I nervously chuckled something like, "yeah, I know what you mean," as I desperately agreed with him, hoping he'd somehow know I DID know how to read a map.

We wished them luck and carried on in our app direction; they went with their gut and hooked a right. They weren't wrong.

I kept thinking about that moment for the rest of the schlep. 
About how important owning their own navigation was.
About why that was so important to them.
About how we'd see the same things on our walk, yet our experiences would be completely different.

I was still thinking about it yesterday.
And then it dawned on me.

Perhaps it's about time I allowed myself to get lost a bit more.

+++++++++

👌 Nice one, Nick? 
🔔 Hit the bell for B2B content & storytelling thangs 
👇 Books are open for May 2024

#OS #Experience 

Mind the step.*

The step you don't see.
The step you don't know. 
Mind the step guaranteed
To make you feel low.

Mind the step before that,
and the one that comes after.
Mind the step of quick wins;
Go slow to go faster.

Mind the stepping of toes
That turn friends into foes.
Mind steps that impose,
That expose and suppose.

Mind the step in your mind
That goes beyond think;
To thought, over-thought;
Stop your head with a blink.

Be kind to yourself,
And know this is true:
Nothing else matters -
Mind the step and do you.

* Written while waiting for a very late train

I've spent the past 3 days writing about 5G Post Quantum Networks and cyber security. This morning, I had to Google how many days there are in a year.

#Copywriting 

I’ve interviewed 230+ subject matter experts (SMEs) for long form content.

Here's my process 👇

1. Setup

Sign-off interview questions with Marketing POC and request an email intro to the SME. 'Reply all' with a quick hello and and overview of the interview, attaching the question set to both the email and meeting invite.

2. Pre interview:

Set up an AI note-taker (I use Fathom - AI Meeting Assistant). Go over final prep (product knowledge, people of interest etc) and add key notes to your own version of the question set. Don't overthink it.

3. Interview

Be there first. Say hello and warm them up. Re-affirm the interview's goal and why they’re an important part of the process. Confirm they’re okay with the notetaker (just to check they’re comfortable)...then get to work on digging for gold.

4. Post interview

Send the AI link to the POC. I never send to the interviewee unless they ask. Get a HUMAN to transcribe the interview (for accuracy, especially with accents). I'd highly recommend Harrison Pardoe. Then use the AI notes to navigate the macro and the transcript to pin-point specifics. 

C&V key quotes from the transcript into a draft doc, and get writing 😄

It’s simple.
It’s clear.
And it works.

+++++++++++

👌 Nice one, Nick? 
☝ Books are open for June 2024

I create long-form content for resource-squeezed marketers | B2B campaign assets for enterprise and agencies.

What are some best practices for creating long-form content?

How does Fathom - AI Meeting Assistant work?

Why are subject matter experts important for content creation?

Here's a harsh truth I've had to break a few times: If your eBook isn’t getting traction, it’s because it’s boring. Stop blaming length and language.

It’s not because you called something a ‘solution’ instead of a ‘service’.
It’s not because you could have cut a paragraph on page 4.
It’s not because you didn’t “talk in your audience’s language”.

It’s because you focused too much ‘getting it right’, and not enough on getting it, right?

Step back.
Reset.
Skim it over with your eyes half shut.

When did you get bored?

That’s where to need to restart from.

++++++++

#ContentMarketing #B2BMarketing #B2B

👌 Nice one, Nick? 
☝ Books are open for June 2024

I started working with this STAR-studded (wink wink) B2B brand and their agency back in September 2023.

Since then, we’ve delivered:

254 PPC ads
56 nurture emails
2 playbooks

…all to support a tonne of long form content campaigns in NA and EMEA.

I don’t just love working with them because they leave feedback like this (but it helps).

I love working with them because:

• They trust me to know what they want
• They’re not scared of experimenting
• They know when to challenge and when to collaborate

If you're spending too much much time hand-holding or hair-pulling with your B2B content, let's talk.

Link at the top of this post.

+++++++
#B2BMarketing #Copywriting

👌 Nice one, Nick? 
☝ Books are open for June 2024

Creating long-form content for resource-squeezed marketers | Campaign assets for enterprise and agencies.

A feedback comment in a Google Doc from a copywriting client, saying: "Hi nick@thegluebetween.com, there was overwhelmingly positive feedback on this one. In fact, the EU Head of Marketing said it's made him think we need to tweak all of our emails to match this style. So THANKS as always for your great work."

I’ve been writing long form content for over 13 years.

It needs WAY less:

• Stuffing of every single proof point into a single asset
• Subject matter experts parroting the company line
• Overworked statements from overthinking feedback

And more:

• Specific results and proof points that talk to a problem
• Subject matter experts that have an opinion
• Statements that explore, provoke and ask questions

The first will tick your marketing boxes.

The second will tick your audience boxes.

Which one are you writing for?

++++++

#B2BMarketing #ContentMarketing

👌 Nice one, Nick? 
💥 I write long form content and the direct response copy that supports it
☝ Books are open for May 2024

I was walking an existing client through my new iLAB content package on Friday. Then they said this…

“It’s clever how you’ve niched down into B2B.”

I wasn't quite sure what they meant, so I asked.

"Well, you could be writing for B2C too, but you've chosen not to."

They were looking at it from a B2C > B2B perspective. 

Riiiight. Got it.
I didn't take offence. It clearly wasn't meant that way.

But it did make me think...

I’m not sure I’ve niched down.
In fact, I know I haven’t.

B2B has been my entire career.

As an Editor.
Presenter.
CSD.
Ops Director.
Creative Director...

...and now Owner of The Glue Between.

Sure, I’ve potentially found my niche in long form B2B content. But even that has so many applications, formats, sectors, industries, verticals etc.

I don’t see being in B2B as niching down. 
At all.

If anything, it's only getting bigger.
And I'm only scratching the surface.


#B2BContent #Copywriting 

I wrote an annual report for a community of 423 global CEOs.

It contained some big topics:

Net Zero.
Food Waste.
Human rights.
Plastic waste.

The whole shebang.

It wasn’t an easy thing to do. It took me and a team 6 months to get it published.

But I’m proud of that work.
It’s hard. It’s tiring. But it’s significant.

Projects like this remind me how much I love what I do.

Getting to learn from people doing things far beyond my realm…and then playing my part in telling their story.

A cracking Q1 is under the belt at The Glue Between HQ.

I'm fully booked for May (if we're already talking , know I've got you pencilled in 👌) and taking bookings for June / July with...

- eBooks / reports / guides
- Long form hero content
- Scrollytelling
- ABM campaign assets
- Sales playbooks
- Renditions of Shaggy's 'It Wasn't Me'

I've got one retainer slot starting mid-June.
Everything else is project based.

Give me a shout if you want to get going. 

Shoot me a whisper if you're thinking about it.

✌️

#B2BContent #ABM #DemandGen



When I work with an in-house designer on long form content, there's 3 things I always do (and one thing I never do)...

1️⃣ Get connected ASAP

Either directly or through my POC, I intro myself and get to know the designer early doors. 

🤷‍♂️ Why? It opens up creative comms to share ideas, ways of working, and smoothes any immediate delivery bumps before we get into the thick of it.

2️⃣ Add 'design notes' to the copy draft

I'm offering in-doc comments describing my mind's eye of why I wrote content a specific way for a certain visual, for the designer to understand as they read.

🤷‍♂️ Why? It gives the designer context and removes the guessing game of 'why is this content here?' when working copy into design.

3️⃣ Be open to reworks

Like, really reworking it. It's always about the best possible content in totality. If that means the design is better for reworked copy, that's what gets done. 

🤷‍♂️ Why? Reshaping copy can lift an entire design. I'd expect the same to be done for key messaging. It's about removing egos and finding the sweet spot.

And the one thing I never do?

☠ Tell a designer what to do 😳 

Unless it's been specifically requested by the client that copy is leading and design needs managing (rare, but it can happen) – I'm not here to dictate design. 

I'm here to write content.

Want to talk about yours (or slag a designer off*)? 

Link at the top of this post.

#ContentMarketing #B2Bcontent #Copywriting

* Jokes. I love designers. 

My client was struggling to nail their brand messaging for an imminent relaunch. The problem? They were talking to too many audiences.

Intended audience = clients & partners
Actual audience = clients, partners AND employees 

I helped them solve it with a messaging matrix:

- Stripped everything back to the brand pillars
- Split the audiences
- Identified core values

...and started again.

Except now, we could focus on individual audiences.

- Shape messaging just for them
- Get clear on headline benefits
- Stop square-pegging round holes

You can't read the label from inside the jar.

Sometimes all you need is a fresh pair of eyes...
and a writer's helping hand.

Looking for a pair? Hit the link at the top.

I work with plenty of enterprise marketing leads.

I'm sure this one won't be alien to any of them.

“The gang finally understands the CEO’s feedback”.

#AlwaysSunny #B2B

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