Testimonials

“As the Website Editor for SOCAN over the past eight years, and in a previous two-year position I held as Music Editor for Chart magazine (now www.chartattack.com), I’ve regularly hired/assigned Jim Kelly to write feature stories and other pieces. He’s consistently proven himself diligent in his research, informative and intelligent in his content, and thoroughly engaging in his writing style. In fact, his writing is so thoughtful, well-organized, and grammatically correct that it requires almost no editing at all on my part. And he meets his deadlines, to boot! I highly recommend him to any magazine, website, or other media outlet that needs to hire a top-notch wordsmith.”
– Howard Druckman, 
Editor, Words + Music magazine, SOCAN

“Jim is the definition of a great copywriter…diligent, creative, detail-oriented and a great wordsmith to boot. Plus, the guy’s a machine…he’s the only writer I’ve ever worked with who can disappear into his office and churn out great copy for 10 hours at a time without ever coming up for air. I had the pleasure of working with him on projects spanning DM, catalogue, e-mail and e-commerce and he was always easy to work with, quick to grasp overall objectives and a true guardian of messaging integrity. Godspeed, Jim.”
– Todd Armstrong, Director, Product & Marketing Services, BMG Columbia House

“I had the pleasure of working with Jim while at TrojanOne. Jim is an exceptional and creative writer who is detail oriented and a pro at tailoring his work to the voice of individual clients. A dedicated worker, Jim is always a professional who seeks out new challenges while managing multiple assignments on an ongoing basis. Jim always demonstrates exemplary skill, initiative and performance, and readily made himself available to advise on my writing-based assignments. Jim’s experience really shines through. I would recommend Jim as an asset to any company.”
– Jessica Hanick, Manager, Communications, TrojanOne

“Words come easy to some. I say a great deal but getting them on paper in an efficient manner is another thing. Jim helped us with our new corporate brochure. Taking my words and making them sing is Jim’s skill. It is a thing of beauty now. Thanks Jim.”
– Bill Vlaad, Owner, Vlaad and Company

“I had the great pleasure of working with Jim Kelly at Direct Brands (formerly known as BMG Columbia House) from 2005 to 2007. Jim is creative, dedicated, passionate and keeps a cool head in the face of looming deadlines. Jim showed me the ropes and proved himself to be a patient and knowledgeable supervisor. My favourite thing about Jim Kelly, aside from his abiding love of music and wordplay, is his great sense of humour. I think it’s a testament to Jim as a person that we’ve remained friends after our professional relationship ended. Thanks for being awesome, Jim Kelly!”
– Sofi Papamarko, Junior Copywriter, BMG Columbia House

“I’ve worked with Jim for more than 7 years and in that time he has always been the driving force behind the high quality of writing produced by the organization; netting him the nickname “Copy Czar”. Jim, more often than not, single-handedly produced or supervised the copy requirements for all aspects of the 17 businesses under the Direct Brands Inc. umbrella, from web content, to customer communications and direct mail. Having Jim on staff would be a definite attribute to any organization.”
– Rob Weatherall, Manager, Web Acquisition Marketing, Direct Brands Inc.

“That’s a good review—well written if a little long, ambitious in a lot of the right ways…. But it’s well done—you’ve thought a lot about the band’s strengths and weaknesses and the detailed analysis of the show is very valuable (and uncommon)…. Good luck with further work—send it along if you have a mind to do so.”
– 1996 e-mail from Dave Marsh, eminent music critic, author, co-founder of Creem magazine, contributor to Rolling Stone, Newsday, and The Village Voice, after I had requested his feedback on my very first attempt at a concert review, the Tragically Hip at Maple Leaf Gardens

“I have read your evaluation of the Opportunity New Brunswick Program and want to thank you for your work and congratulate you on an excellent job…. You obviously obtained an excellent understanding of the Program and of the survey that was conducted. Also, your report is readable, highlights the areas of concern to us, and is among the best pieces of writing I have come across.”
– Debbie Burns, New Brunswick Department of Labour

“I wish Jim were one of my sons. Really, I do. I’m not kidding.”
– Queen Elizabeth II, Sovereign of England, Scotland, Wales, etc., etc.