"Vicky came in just over a year ago and has now made this regular "what's on" in Leeds her own. It's one of our most popular pieces of content that gets shared widely. And as the pages grow, we hope the work does, too – Vicky is a joy to work with."
Welcome to Leeds (WTL) keeps residents and visitors up to date on what's happening in the city. Its monthly What's On article is one of its most important pieces, and it runs on a fixed schedule.
In early 2024, the regular writer could no longer manage it. Simon Fogal, MD at Chapter 81, the agency behind WTL, needed someone to step in quickly, match the established style and deliver on time, every time.
Missing a month wasn't an option, and neither was getting the details wrong.
The brief was a monthly roundup of Leeds events for a broad audience: locals, visitors, families, students and everyone in between.
Most of the work is research. I cross-check every event against several sources so readers can trust the dates, venues, and details. I matched the style of previous articles for a seamless handover and planned my time around WTL's publishing schedule so every piece landed on time.
One article quickly became a regular role. Simon asked me to continue with the monthly What's On roundup, add a quarterly Leeds In Bloom piece on new openings and write seasonal features as they came up.
That's more than 20 articles in a year, all delivered on schedule. Simon puts it down to thoroughness, reliability and a voice readers enjoy, which is exactly what you need from an ongoing content partner.
Bigger listing sites cover the obvious events. WTL's readers deserve more than that.
So I combine Chapter 81's PR material with my own online research and first-hand visits around the city. That's how the articles find the small, niche events others miss, and it's what gives readers a reason to keep coming back each month.
Over the past year, Welcome to Leeds reported:
