Writer & Creative Strategist

Hannah
Cole

I help thoughtful brands stop sounding like everyone else — by finding the thread of story that was there all along.

Brooklyn, NY  ·  Est. 2014

I came to this work sideways, the way most good things come. I spent my twenties in editorial — magazines, mostly, then a brief, formative stint at a literary press in Edinburgh where I learned that every word either earns its place or takes up space. It was a harsh education, and also the kindest one I've had.

"The best brand voice isn't invented. It's excavated — usually from conversations no one thought to write down."

When I moved back to New York and started freelancing, I noticed something: the brands I was most drawn to writing for weren't the loudest ones. They were the ones with a genuine point of view, held quietly, not needing to shout. My job, I realised, was to help them find the language for what they already knew.

That's still the work, more than a decade on. I sit with founders, creative directors, and small teams who are brilliant at what they do but describe themselves with the same twelve adjectives everyone else uses. We slow down. We go back to the beginning. We find the real thing — and then we build the words around it.

I work with a small roster of clients at a time, always in proper depth. If you're hoping for a quick content calendar turnaround, I'm probably not your person. If you want someone who will read everything, ask the uncomfortable question, and stay until the copy actually sounds like you — let's talk.

What I stand for

Slow is fast

Good copy takes unhurried attention. I'd rather spend three conversations understanding your work than fill a brief in an afternoon and get it almost right.

Specificity over polish

A precise, slightly imperfect detail is worth ten smooth, generic sentences. I'm always looking for the particular thing — the word only you would use.

Clarity is kindness

Every reader is busy, tired, or distracted. Clear, honest writing is a form of respect for their time. I never write to impress — I write to connect.

Your voice, not mine

I'm a ghost on purpose. The goal is always copy that sounds so much like you that you forget someone else wrote it. That's when we've done our job.

Strategy before sentences

Words without direction are decoration. I want to understand where you're going before I start helping you say things — narrative architecture first, execution second.

Long work over quick wins

I'm most useful to clients building something with real staying power. Short-term thinking produces short-lived copy. I'd rather be part of something that compounds.

The long way round

2024

Brand voice lead, Fieldwork Studio

Embedded with a Brooklyn-based creative studio as their first in-house writer, building a language system used across fourteen client brands in year one.

2021

Creative strategy, solo practice

Expanded from writing into brand strategy — narrative audits, positioning workshops, voice development. Clients across wellness, architecture, and independent publishing.

2018

Senior editor, Aperture Magazine

Led long-form editorial on photography and visual culture. Developed a nose for the tension between an artist's intention and a reader's first impression.

2015

Associate editor, Canongate Books (Edinburgh)

Shaped manuscript-to-print language for literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. Where I learned that revision is the real writing.

2013

BA English Literature, Columbia University

Graduated with honours. Thesis: "The Unreliable Narrator as Brand Voice: Reading Authenticity in Commercial Memoir." Yes, really.

Off the clock

What I'm like
when I'm not working

I find it easier to write about other people's lives than my own — so this section took three drafts and a glass of wine to finish. Consider that context.

I live in Carroll Gardens with my partner Kwame and a cat named Marguerite who has strong opinions about everything, including my working hours.

  • Reading fiction obsessively Currently: Marilynne Robinson, again. Always Marilynne Robinson.
  • Making elaborate Sunday breakfasts I take soft-scrambled eggs entirely too seriously. No apologies.
  • Terrible at ceramics (still going) Six months in and every bowl lists to the left. My teacher calls it "character."
  • Long walks without headphones My best thinking happens somewhere around the third bridge on the Brooklyn waterfront.

Work together

Ready to find
your real voice?

I take on a small number of new clients each quarter. If the timing feels right, tell me about your work and what you're trying to say. I'll be honest about whether I think I can help.

Response time is usually 2–3 business days. I read every message.

hello@hannahcole.co
@hannah.cole on Instagram
Available for projects from Q3 2026