Optimising your writing for AI
Richard Hollins2026-03-22T21:49:46+00:00Eleven easy to follow principles for ensuring that AI models can easily understand and summarise your writing.
Rethinking the annual report
Richard Hollins2025-04-09T17:11:58+01:00How we helped our client to rethink its annual report, to create a clear and compelling narrative for shareholders. Your annual report should ‘tell your story’ Since it first produced guidance on writing a strategic report in 2014, the Financial Reporting Council has been encouraging companies to use the [...]
Workforce corporate reporting
Richard Hollins2020-07-13T14:52:43+01:00Earlier this year, the Financial Reporting Council released a report from its Financial Reporting Lab on workforce-related corporate reporting. It turns out that current annual reports are not giving investors what they want when it comes to describing what is often a company's most important asset and its largest single [...]
How to write a s172(1) statement
Richard Hollins2020-03-26T11:13:29+00:00This post – about the s172(1) statement – is our second covering the new annual report disclosure requirements for 2019. Our first post explained the purpose of purpose, and how it fits within your annual report. The new reporting requirements are effective for December 2019 year ends. They arise [...]
What’s the purpose of purpose?
Richard Hollins2019-10-31T22:23:04+00:00The 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code requires the board to establish the company's purpose. This post discusses what a good purpose looks like and why it's so important for running your company.
Business writing in a low-trust, post-truth world
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T16:36:35+01:00Our politicians have declared the fact extinct. You can say what you want, disparage the experts and claim to be an anti-establishment billionaire. It doesn’t matter. They know we’re living in a post-truth world. Politicians lie because in the short term, it’s effective. In the same way that fun [...]
Is your annual report shrouded in FOG?
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T16:53:57+01:00Annual report season is approaching fast for December year ends. Most companies will be looking to improve on last year, to communicate more clearly and concisely what they’re trying to do and how well they’re doing it. Often, that process focuses on the technicalities of corporate reporting: linking strategy [...]
How to write an annual report
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T16:44:09+01:00Many people come to this site looking for advice on how to write an annual report. This post is for you. We’ve assumed that you’re writing it for a UK public company but most of the principles here apply to any kind of organisation. You should have started weeks ago... [...]
Eight steps for writing a successful white paper | Copywriting tips
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T13:23:13+01:00A successful white paper needs careful planning if it’s to achieve your business goals. Here we outline eight key steps to pain-free white paper copywriting. Step 1: Identify your audience All good communication is tailored to its audience, so you need to know who you're writing for. This may [...]
Writing a strategic report | Annual report copywriting
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T17:05:57+01:00The strategic report is the critical part of your annual report. It's where you set out what your business does, what you're looking to achieve and how well you're progressing. This makes the strategic report fundamental to your investors' understanding of why they should own shares in your company. In this post, we've [...]
Three reasons that pie charts suck | Financial copywriting tips
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T16:57:45+01:00Blog post: three compelling reasons why pie charts are never the best option for presenting your data.
Choose the right financial disclosures | Financial copywriting tips
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T16:57:19+01:00Blog post: be sure you know what you're doing when you choose your financial disclosures. You'll have to live with them for years to come.
How buyers buy – the lessons for companies and copywriters | Copywriting tips
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T13:46:31+01:00Blog post: the stages buyers go through when they're deciding what to buy and how copywriters can help clients - and themselves - to persuade customers to purchase.
Tautology – so good you said it twice | Copywriting tips
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T13:50:48+01:00Blog post: why tautology in business copywriting hurts your credibility and makes you look lazy, insecure or confused.
Inspirational copywriting: if you want to inspire, you need a great story
Richard Hollins2018-10-24T13:53:40+01:00Blog post: inspirational copywriting isn't about the words you use - it's about having a great story.