I’m Adam Marek. I’ve been copywriting for charities for over 20 years.
I got my first job in the charity sector in 2000. I was lucky to begin my career in-house at the RSPB because they give their teams excellent training.
I started out as an editorial assistant in the RSPB’s creative team. Over the next ten years, I advance to copywriter, then senior copywriter, then editorial manager. After a year, I stepped back down to senior copywriter because I missed doing creative work.
In 2011, I started my own freelance business copywriting for charities. While I continued to work with the RSPB as a freelancer (and still do today), I wanted to help a wider range of charities tell their stories, to recruit and nurture their supporters, and to fundraise for impactful work.
Since then, I’ve worked with charities doing everything from medical research to international development, from disaster relief to air and sea rescue, and in the service of nature conservation for birds, whales, trees, toads, tigers and Saiga antelopes, in the UK and around the world.
What do I write?
I’ve written every kind of communication you can imagine, for digital and print, including but not limited to: direct mail appeals, websites, multi-channel fundraising campaigns, magazine features, blog posts and newsletters, social media, print and online advertising, legacy materials, speeches, video scripts, email supporter journeys, events promotion, visitor interpretation for nature reserves, annual reviews and product packaging. I’ve applied the principles of good storytelling and persuasive communication to boost the effectiveness of everything from eco-chocolate wrappers to perimeter advertising at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
What audiences do I write for?
I’ve written for audiences from five-year olds and families to major donors and politicians.
Who are my clients?
Charities I’ve worked with include: the RSPB, Kidney Research UK, Alzheimer’s Research UK, the RNLI, Deafblind UK, Autistica, MAGPAS Air Ambulance, Action on Hearing Loss, Red Cross, Heart Foundation, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Woodland Trust, Practical Action, and the National Trust.
As a freelancer, I’ve also written for some of the biggest creative agencies specialising in charities, including Bluefrog, The Good Agency and Arthur in the UK, and Pareto in Australia.
When I’m not copywriting…
I’m an award-winning author, with three short story collections published by the excellent Comma Press. My stories have appeared on BBC Radio 4, and in many magazines and anthologies, including The Penguin Book of the British Short Story. I’m an Arts Foundation Short Story Fellow. I love collaborating with scientists on creative projects, and have worked with researchers from CERN, the Met Office, Jodrell Bank, The Roslin Institute (home of Dolly the Sheep), Manchester University’s sleep lab, and many others. I regularly teach creative writing for the Arvon Foundation. You can find out more about my fiction at www.adammarek.co.uk
I’m also a birder, and love nothing better than being out on the marshes in my home county of Kent.