Jim O'Connor

Jim O'Connor

Jim O’Connor has worked in marketing and sales for about 40 years, developing a profound interest in the art of creating successful brand stories.

After gaining a degree in English Literature, he sold advertising space for the Newcastle Evening Chronicle before joining a Tyneside ad agency, only to be headhunted by Saatchi & Saatchi to work in their Charlotte Street offices as an Account Manager.

Years later he moved to an agency in Bristol, this time in the creative department. He then returned to London as a copywriter with Young & Rubicam, working on major brands like Heinz, Colgate-Palmolive, Dairy Crest, Suchard, Air Canada and British Gas.

Whilst dividing his time between freelance copywriting and recruiting, he trained and managed a team of over 400 agents for a major direct selling organisation. For the past 10 years he has concentrated on marketing communications.

He now works with a variety of different companies and brands – from household names to microbusinesses, software developers to finance providers and boutique hotels to leading retailers. Visit www.storiesthatsell.co.uk or read his blog www.storiesthatsell.co.uk/blog

What publishing has done for Jim

‘I have spent many years studying and practising the craft of creating marketing messages and brand stories that work beautifully. I love to see it done well, and hate to see it done badly.

‘I understand just how much pain and effort goes into building a successful business and really feel for people who are giving it their all, but get let down by their marketing.

‘I wrote this book to help them articulate their offering, on their website or in their sales literature, through social media or traditional advertising, in a way that builds a brand they can be proud of and gets the results they want.

‘The world’s most successful brands, and the marketing practitioners who assist them, understand what works, what doesn’t, and why. Sadly, many smaller businesses, and the marketing people they employ, don’t appear to have the benefit of this experience and knowledge.

‘In this book I take some of the best practice you find at the top end of the marketing industry and share it with those lower down. Smaller brands can learn so much from bigger ones and the benefits are huge. Following best practice is not more expensive – quite the reverse in fact.

‘On a more personal note, I hope this book will help me on the next stage of my professional journey. Having amassed a wealth of practical knowledge I now want to find ways of sharing this more widely. I see this book playing an important role alongside my other activities such as blogging, talks, workshops and courses.’

What Jim says about working with SRA Books

‘Publishers generally get bad press from writers – so when I started collaborating with Sue Richardson and her team I expected to be slightly disappointed.

‘I could not have been more wrong. They are highly professional, well organised and hard working. The support I have received has been extremely helpful and practical. Their submission guidelines were brilliant at getting me focused. The editing process certainly improved the book and, production-wise, they are really on the ball. As far as marketing and promotion are concerned I’m really impressed. To cap it all they are unfailingly accessible, responsive and pleasant.’

Authored by Jim O’Connor
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