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Freelance content writer & brand messaging strategist

Your whole content program, written by one person.

Today that means a brand messaging framework

I’m Alex Macksoud. For more than a decade I’ve written web copy, articles, campaigns, scripts, messaging and executive bylines for B2B, B2C and nonprofit brands. I'm based in Metro Detroit and work with clients across the U.S. and beyond.

Agencies, in-house teams and executives · Retainers or one-off projects

A paper airplane trailing a dotted path past cards representing website copy, long-form articles, brand messaging, email, video scripts and performance reporting

Selected clients & agency partners

Detroit ZooCultural institution
Motown MuseumCultural institution
IdentityPR agency partner
Energy CentralEnergy media
Michigan Association for JusticeLegal association
Sands Investment GroupCommercial real estate
Urban ScienceAutomotive technology
ASSA ABLOYManufacturing
K12Education
PinkertonRisk & security
AbsopureConsumer brand
Hudsonville Ice CreamConsumer brand

See the work behind these names

Capabilities

Ghostwriting is one line on the menu.

Agency and in-house years taught me the whole stack, from the messaging framework down to the final proof. One brief, one voice, one person accountable — instead of a strategist, a copywriter and a project manager all billing you separately.

Brand messaging & positioning

Frameworks, taglines and voice guidelines that give a marketing team something ownable to say.

  • Messaging frameworks
  • Taglines and platform lines
  • Voice and tone guides
  • Messaging workshops

SEO & AI-search website copy

Site copy structured to rank in Google and get quoted by AI answers. Metadata and UX copy included.

  • Full site builds
  • Page refreshes
  • Metadata and headings
  • UX and product copy

Executive bylines, op-eds & PR content

Thought leadership in your executive’s voice, plus the press releases and talking points around it.

  • Op-eds and trade bylines
  • LinkedIn thought leadership
  • Press releases
  • Media talking points

Blogs, articles & editorial programs

Search-built blog programs and reported articles, on a calendar someone actually maintains.

  • Blog and article programs
  • Interview-based features
  • Case studies
  • Editorial calendars

Email & newsletter programs

Newsletters run like a small publication: calendar, sourcing, fact-checks, subject lines.

  • Monthly newsletter programs
  • Lifecycle and nurture email
  • Subject line testing
  • Sourcing and fact-checks

Campaigns, digital ads & social

Campaign concepts, ads, landing pages and social posts that sound like the brand, not a template.

  • Campaign concepts
  • Paid search and social ads
  • Landing pages
  • Organic social content

Video & audio scripts

Scripts for brand films, explainers, commercials and podcasts.

  • Brand and product films
  • Broadcast and social spots
  • Explainers and demos
  • Podcast and webinar scripts

White papers, reports & collateral

Long-form and bottom-funnel material built from primary research, not a search summary.

  • White papers and reports
  • Book chapters
  • Sales one-pagers and decks
  • Internal communications

Award nominations

Submissions written for judges who are skimming hundreds of entries and hoping one is good.

  • Business and industry awards
  • Rising-star and 40 Under 40 lists
  • Best-workplace programs
  • Conference abstracts

Fractional content direction

A senior content seat on retainer: strategy, planning, production and the calls in between.

  • Content strategy and roadmaps
  • Editorial governance
  • Agency and freelancer oversight
  • AI content rescue

Also on the desk: Press releases · Media talking points · Internal communications · Crisis messaging · Product marketing copy · Lead-gen assets · AI content rescue · Editorial audits · Annual reports · Award and conference abstracts · Bios and boilerplate · RFP and proposal copy

How it works

Four steps, no discovery theater.

Brief & interview

We'll spend 30 minutes or so discussing your needs and goals. Think of it as business therapy.

Voice & angle

A voice profile and a point of view before a single paragraph. This is the step most writers skip, and you can tell.

Draft

If a draft takes more than three rounds of revision, then I haven't done my job.

Ship & repeat

I don't just send and ghost. I strive for productive, long-term partnerships.

Industries

Fifteen industries, one habit: getting the facts right.

B2C, B2B and nonprofit audiences, which sounds scattered until you notice the common thread — getting a detail wrong has consequences.

Cultural institutions & nonprofits Healthcare & senior care Energy & utilities Financial services & investment Commercial real estate Legal Automotive & mobility Manufacturing & industrial Education & edtech Consumer brands, food & beverage Home services & construction Technology & SaaS Professional services & consulting Risk, security & insurance Hospitality, travel & attractions

How I work in each industry

Selected work

Some of it has my name on it. Most of it doesn’t.

Detroit ZooCultural institution

Campaign and attraction copy for one of the country’s most visited zoos, including a full dinosaur takeover and a nature trail launch.

Energy CentralEnergy media

An ongoing newsletter program for utility and energy professionals. Data-heavy, tightly fact-checked, written for readers with zero tolerance for market hand-waving.

StatureStrategy consulting

Brand creation, full website build and ongoing SEO/content strategy for a middle-market talent consultancy.

All selected work and clients

On AI

AI-assisted. Human-finished.

AI is a tool here, the way Photoshop is a tool for a designer. It helps with research, structure and pattern-checking. The interviews, the judgment, the voice and the final read are mine.

Every piece gets checked against a working framework for AI writing patterns before it ships. Agencies also send me their AI-assisted drafts for exactly that treatment.

Illustration of a chip with a four-pointed spark at its center

Notes from the Desk

Writing about writing, sparingly.

Your CEO does not have time to write. Good.

The best executive content comes from people too busy to write it. A defense of the notes app full of unwritten op-eds.

Read it

The em dash did nothing wrong

Everyone is hunting punctuation. The machine is hiding somewhere else entirely.

Read it

What award judges actually read

Your nominee’s life work gets about four minutes. Here’s where most submissions spend them badly.

Read it

Questions, answered straight

The things people ask on the first call.

What does Content Write Now do?

Content Write Now is the freelance content writing, copywriting and brand messaging practice of Alex Macksoud. It covers brand messaging frameworks, SEO website copy, blogs and editorial programs, email newsletters, campaign and digital ad copy, video scripts, white papers and sales collateral, award nominations, executive bylines and fractional content direction for B2B, B2C and nonprofit organizations.

Are you only a ghostwriter?

No. Ghostwriting executive bylines and op-eds is one of ten services. The practice also delivers brand messaging and positioning, website copy, blog and editorial programs, newsletters, campaigns and digital ads, video scripts, long-form reports, sales and internal communications, award nominations and fractional content direction.

Where are you based and who do you work with?

Alex Macksoud is based in Metro Detroit, Michigan and works remotely with clients across the United States and internationally. Typical clients are marketing and PR agencies, in-house marketing and communications teams, executives and nonprofit leadership.

How do you price content writing work?

Most clients are on monthly retainers scoped to a defined output. Project pricing covers one-off builds such as websites, brand messaging frameworks, white papers and award nominations. Quotes are flat and given up front.

Do you work white-label through agencies?

Yes. Many engagements run under an agency’s banner, with the client relationship and the credit staying with the agency.

Do you use AI to write?

AI is used as a tool inside a human process. Research, drafting support and pattern-checking happen with AI in the loop. Interviews, judgment, voice and the final read are human, and every piece is checked against a working framework for AI writing patterns before it ships.

What industries have you written for?

Cultural institutions and nonprofits, healthcare and senior care, energy and utilities, financial services, commercial real estate, legal, automotive and mobility, manufacturing, education, consumer brands, home services, technology, professional services, risk and security, and hospitality and attractions.

How quickly can you start?

Typically, immediately. If I don't have capacity, I will let you know.

Next step

Tell me what needs writing.

One project or a standing retainer. Either way you get a straight quote and a real reply, usually the same day.