Toni McLellan

About Toni McLellan

I\'m an attorney by training based in the Chicago area with two decades of experience writing for major magazines and brands, including Disney, Volkswagen, AT & T, Lenovo, KitchenAid, and State Farm. I started out writing about infant and child health and outdoor family adventure for magazines including Parents, Parenting, and Family Fun. Enough name-dropping. Here\'s how I can help: 1) Content Writing & Editing - This seems pretty self-explanatory, but don\'t take it for granted. Quality engaging content that\'s consistent with your brand and incorporates SEO is essential to creating awareness, keeping readers informed, and building trust so they\'ll keep coming back to purchase, donate, or offer support. As a content marketing writer, I create clear and engaging magazine-quality content for a variety of clients. I write web copy, features, profiles, case studies, blog posts, newsletters, campaigns, Google ads, infographics, video scripts, content style guides, testimonials, staff bios, and more. My combined magazine journalism and legal experience mean I can translate complex ideas into easily readable and enjoyable content that inspires people to take action. I thrive on collaboration and my exceptional people skills allow me to quickly establish rapport with sources and colleagues alike-and I know how to make them laugh, too. 2) Copy Editing & Proofreading - I\'m the sharp second set of eyes you need on your content to ensure it\'s error-free and consistent with your brand voice, tone, word usage, and marketing goals. 3) Content Training & Content Style Guide Development - I help staff writers and non-writers alike hone their communication and storytelling skills to be consistent with a brand\'s voice and tone and support its overall goals. I also develop content style guides for teams to use when updating web content or sending newsletters. If you need content strategy help to understand what content your company or organization should be creating and why, I frequently partner with an amazing team that offers brand and content strategy, and am happy to bring them into any project where such expertise will help. If you need help finding the right words for your brand, connect with me on LinkedIn and let\'s talk.

Experience

1. Partner & Content Strategist at Clarion Blue, Llc

   Clarion Blue

   Jan 2020 — Present

Education

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  B.A., English literature

  1987 — 1990

• DePaul University College of Law

  J.D., Law

  1991 — 1994

• University of Illinois Chicago

  Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

  1985 — 1987