Clifton Creative · Work With Me
A small roster.
Real attention for everyone on it.
I take on a limited number of engagements at a time. Not because I can’t handle more — because every client on the roster deserves someone who actually reads their content, asks the uncomfortable questions, and tells them the truth about what’s working. That requires attention, not scale.
The ways we can work together
What an engagement looks like.
Fractional Managing Editor
The editorial standard your content operation is missing.
An ongoing retainer engagement where I function as the editorial director your content team doesn’t have. I set and maintain the standard — reviewing content before it publishes, developing voice documentation, managing the intersection of editorial quality and SEO performance, and making the calls your team keeps deferring.
Right for: brands with an active content operation that keeps producing without a clear standard. Agencies that need editorial authority behind their client work. Founders who want their expertise to show in the content without doing the writing themselves.
Content Strategy
The plan that tells you why, not just when.
A defined-scope project engagement: we audit what you have, identify what’s working and what’s costing you, and build the strategy that tells you what to make, who it’s for, and how to know if it’s working. The deliverable is a content strategy you can actually use — not a 60-slide deck with no implementation path.
Right for: organizations that have been publishing without a strategy, brands preparing to invest seriously in content for the first time, teams that have a plan but aren’t sure if it’s the right one.
The Content Audit
A diagnosis, not a report card.
A structured diagnostic engagement that tells you what your content library is actually doing — what’s driving traffic and conversions, what’s dead weight, what’s actively hurting you, and what’s missing. Delivered as a tiered action plan: what to fix this week, this quarter, and next planning cycle.
Right for: brands that have been publishing for a year or more without a clear picture of what’s working. Any content operation before a strategic reset or significant investment.
Editorial Writing & Brand Voice
Content that sounds like a person, not a content operation.
Writing and ghostwriting engagements for brands and executives who need content that reflects genuine expertise — not the industry consensus view presented in a slightly different order. I write the posts, the newsletter, the founder’s LinkedIn column. The words are mine. The ideas, the expertise, the perspective: yours.
Right for: executives who want to publish under their own name, brands that have been sounding like everyone else and are ready to stop, organizations that need consistent output without a full-time editorial hire.
Who this is right for
The clients Clifton Creative works best with.
The clients who get the most from working with me have a few things in common. They know their subject. They have genuine expertise, real experience, a specific perspective — and they’re frustrated that the content they’re producing doesn’t reflect any of it. They’ve been sold on volume as a strategy and it hasn’t worked. They want to be taken seriously by the right audience, and they’re ready to have honest conversations about what’s in the way.
They’re also ready to hear the uncomfortable answer. I’m not here to validate a bad content strategy. I’m here to tell you what I actually think and help you build something worth having.
Good fit
- B2B brands that publish regularly but aren’t seeing results
- Founders and executives building personal authority
- Agencies that need editorial direction for their clients
- Organizations preparing for a content investment
- Teams with writers but no editorial leadership
Less right for
- Brands looking for high-volume, low-cost content production
- Teams that need an executor, not a strategic voice
- Organizations not ready for honest assessment of what’s working
- Anyone looking for an SEO agency that happens to write
How to start
The first conversation is a diagnostic, not a pitch.
The first call is 30 minutes. I’ll ask about what you’ve tried, what’s happened, and what you actually want to accomplish. You’ll ask what I’d do about it. By the end, we’ll both know whether there’s a real engagement here — and if there is, what it looks like.
No deck, no proposal template, no “onboarding package.” Just a conversation about whether I can actually help.
Or reach out directly: jacob@cliftoncreative.agency