I’m Sara Edlington.
I write case studies and customer success stories for B2B technology companies.
The short version.
After over 20 years as a B2B technology journalist (The Times, The Independent, StrategicRISK Europe, and other trade and professional publications), I now help B2B tech companies turn their customer stories into case studies that prospects will recognise themselves in.
The slightly longer version is more interesting.
Journalists spend a lot of time talking to people and finding the story in what’s being said. Because we all love a good story. And business readers are no different, no matter what they might say.
Over the past 20 years, I have interviewed hundreds of people across the technology industry, including CIOs, founders, security leads, engineers, and end users. I learned that the story that works is rarely the one in the press release. And I read a lot of press releases as a journalist.
The real story is usually quieter, more specific, and more human. It’s found in the small details: the moment someone realised the old system wasn’t going to work; the unexpected thing that finally tipped the team toward change; the implementation that didn’t go quite as planned; and the hidden benefit they found.
The story is in the human details
That’s the kind of detail that makes a case study work. Prospects don’t believe seamless success stories; what they do believe are recognisable ones. When they think, “That’s our problem! And look, this worked for them,” that’s the moment the case study becomes a powerful marketing tool.
And it’s also why a journalist’s approach tends to produce better case studies. A journalist asks questions that get to the heart of the matter. They catch what hasn’t been said. They look for the human in the story, as well as the metric, because both are important.
It’s about being interested in what your customer experienced and being willing to ask the right questions until you find out what you know the reader wants to know.
After two decades writing for editors, I now bring that same approach to writing for B2B technology marketing teams.
Journalism is the foundation, but it’s not the only experience I bring to each project. As a former eLearning writer, I’m used to explaining technical topics to businesspeople.
As someone who’s worked as a marketing consultant and content writer, I understand how a case study fits into the wider marketing picture. All three work together to create the type of case study your reader recognises themself in.
I’ve worked with companies including the BBC, DataProtech Group, and NWN Corporation, as well as publications around the world. I’m also the author of 14 books on technology and history.
It isn’t AI that’s taking over the world
When I’m not writing, I’m usually in the garden trying to stop a world takeover by the Aquilegia (Granny’s Bonnets) that are everywhere, working on my big needlework projects (one took me 5 years) or reading about everything and anything. I live and work in the UK.
If your customers have a great story about using your technology, I can help you tell it.