Making savings and mortgages easier to understand.
Across 2023 and 2024, I wrote much of Coventry Building Society’s Knowledge Centre: practical content on saving, ISAs, mortgages, first-time buying and owning a home. I also wrote for Coventry for Intermediaries.
RESULT
Striking the right tone for retail – it’s not rocket science if you’re trying to be genuinely helpful.
The way I spoke to members could make the difference between them taking out a mortgage with CBS, or not. The content I produced helped readers make sense of savings, ISAs, mortgages and buying a home, leading to real account openings and mortgage deals. But it only did that because of a tone that was positive, supportive and helpful.
2
Knowledge Centres
2mn+
member audience
6.5mn
UK adults have low financial capability. Source: FCA Financial Lives 2024.
TONE OF VOICE
You can never write something that’s too easy to understand.
Words from a former boss of mine. The tone of voice was scrutinised by Coventry, and rightly so.
MEMBER KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
For people who may not feel confident about money
You can never write something that’s too easy to understand. Terms were introduced before they were used, longer processes were broken into steps and worked examples made financial concepts real.
- Plain definitions
- Questions we have proof customers actually ask
- Steps, tables, analogies and stories
- Calls to action that don’t ask for too much too soon
COVENTRY FOR INTERMEDIARIES
For brokers who need to be properly equipped to help members.
The intermediaries needed market context and support in their roles (e.g. advising a member on options to achieve home ownership). Just because they’re experts, doesn’t mean the copy should be jargon-y.
- Market evidence and product detail
- Client types and practical use cases
- How to use digital strategies
- Clear next steps for the broker
CHECK OUT THE WORK
From saving to buying a first home
These examples show the range of my writing for Coventry.
MEMBER KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
Savings and ISAs
Goals, budgets, tax allowances and account choices were explained in familiar language, with examples that showed what the numbers meant in ordinary life.
MEMBER KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
First-time buying
Deposit, affordability, mortgage types, legal work, surveys, offers and moving costs all had to appear in the order a first-time buyer would meet them.
COVENTRY FOR INTERMEDIARIES
Content aimed at brokers
The broker work joined product mechanics to real client situations, market evidence and practical checks. It gave the reader something to use, not just another product summary.
Selected pages are still live. Some have been updated with changes to products and service offerings, and the tax system, since my 2023–24 assignment, so the current versions may not reproduce my original copy word for word.
MEMBER CONTENT IN ACTION
Making sense of ISAs guide
ISAs show the approach I took to tone. The guide begins with the questions a first-time saver would ask: what’s an ISA, why should I care, and which type would I get if I was interested?
Coventry’s flexible ISA is then explained as four jars, so the reader can see what happens to the balance and allowance when money is withdrawn, replaced and added.
- Question-led contents
- Worked examples with real amounts
- Articles, a guide, a quiz and short videos
HOW I WORKED
Helping CBS with better content processes
Sometimes you need to help your client to help you. If a team is open, I can share my experience with other clients, including what has worked well and what hasn’t. Often, that leads to faster approvals, better content “hygiene” and less stress for everyone.
At CBS, briefs had a habit of shifting and several people could review the same piece without having been there for the original commissioning of the work.
I helped CBS with a signed briefing template, workable lead times and advice around marking up Word Docs. That was probably my more important legacy.
My part of the job
- Work from product and subject-matter input
- Match Coventry’s tone across formats
- Check claims, caveats, examples and links
- Consolidate feedback around the reader’s needs
- Advise on briefs, reviews and lead times
The copy was researched, drafted and edited by hand. No generative AI was used.
NEED SOMETHING SIMILAR?
Consumer financial content
I write savings, mortgage and personal-finance content that makes regulated subjects easier to follow.
OTHER WORK IN FINANCIAL SERVICES
High net worth guides (life stages)
Helping clients make sense of the financial decisions that change as wealth, priorities and life move on.
