A Decade of Compelling Content
Sharp Content is a San Francisco-based branding & copywriting firm focused on service industries. Hundreds of clients have used our approach to reposition themselves with a powerful marketing message that helps them bring in more business with less effort.
I’m Thomas Bruein, the copywriter and brand strategist behind Sharp Content, founded in 2003.
It all began by crafting incentive programs for clients who needed to see a behavior shift in their employees and customers. That’s how I discovered I had a talent for creating persuasive messages that get stellar results.
Maybe it’s because I’ve always had a love affair with language, and a fascination with how the mind works. My broad business background (Shell Oil, Levi’s, Fujitsu Consulting) provided valuable insights into what motivates behavior. No matter the industry, persuasion is always at the core of how companies get big and stay big.
Understanding human motivation is also why I’ve devoured over 1,000 books and programs on marketing, business, psychology and copywriting. I’m even trained as a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. (No, I can’t guarantee to put your readers in a trance. Let’s just say they’ll develop a sudden urge to buy from you.)
Persuasion not Manipulation
The hype I observe in the copywriting industry irritates me.
Then I realize — that’s exactly why clients turn to me instead. I focus on true persuasion. That means finding — and then managing — the tension¹ that already exists in your reader. That’s why I always seek first to understand the needs and motivations of your audience before writing a single word.
It took years, but I formulated my approach and distilled it down to the Brand Roadmap method. It helps pinpoint what your customer wants and needs most. Specifically, it reveals why people are motivated to buy from YOU.
I call this unique quality your Dramatic Difference. I infuse it into a clear concise message, slogan, and company story that shapes all your marketing efforts.
Every piece that goes out the door is my own work — not something produced by a junior copywriter for me to review. I don’t know any other way to deliver the powerful content my clients seek.
¹ I owe this insight on managing “tension” to my good client T Falcon Napier at The Institute for Productive Tension (the company name which I coined for them during our rebranding process).
Note: Sharp Editing was renamed Sharp Content in 2010.