David Leonhardt’s biography

The son of a teacher and a nurse, David Leonhardt began his career as a writer in high school, where he served as Co-Editor of his school newspaper.

He moved from Montréal to Ottawa to study journalism at Carleton University. When three major Canadian dailies closed that year, David changed his focus. He chose to study political science and mass communication, a field with even less career potential.

Before long, David Leonhardt realized that what they teach in “political science” has nothing to do with the world of politics. So he took up a position with his newly-elected local Member of Parliament to get a real education. It was then that he discovered the importance of writing:

• letters
• speeches
• press releases
• marketing materials

He also learned how to navigate the shifting waters of government and the media.

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From political aide to consumer advocate, David took on a post in public affairs at CAA (Canadian Automobile Association). He learned how to approach politicians, bureaucrats and media from the other side. He continued to hone his writing skills. He often wrote:

• letters
• articles
• speeches
• newsletters
• press releases
• marketing materials
• reports (lots of reports!)

In 1998, David became Public Affairs Director and chief spokesperson for CAA Ontario. He moved to Toronto, eventually conducting over 500 media interviews per year. Among his accomplishments, he:

• helped make driving greener
• influenced changes to driver safety laws
• helped improve the condition of certain highways
• raised CAA’s profile in the media and in government circles

He wrote more letters and more press releases. He wrote more articles and speeches and newsletters. And, of course, he wrote many more reports.

It was during these years that David Leonhardt became a “Distinguished Toastmaster”.

He wrote Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness in 2002. He wrote the follow-up eBook, The Get Happy Workbook, a year later. Shortly after that, small businesses began seeking David out to help promote their websites, which launched a career in SEO (search engine optimization).

He began operating under the name “The Happy Guy Marketing”. He quickly gained a reputation for thinking outside the box and keeping a few steps ahead of the algorithm changes.

In recent years, David has become a thought leader and part-time iconoclast in the world of social media and website promotion. By creating and promoting compelling content to new audiences, he has returned to his writing roots.

David Leonhardt’s writing portfolio

Samples of books David has ghostwritten

Most books THGM has ghostwritten were written by other team members. But here are three books David wrote for clients.

Sample articles showing “thought leadership” and “sense of story”

Much of David’s writing goes beyond the banal how-to articles that have flooded the Internet. Here are a few examples.

Sample articles on business topics

David has covered many business topics, both for online and traditional businesses. Here are a few samples.

Samples of profiles and biographies

Autobiographies, profiles and memoirs are among our most frequent requests. David has written some of these.

Sample articles on healthcare topics

Healthcare, fitness and well-being are popular topics. David is particularly interested in fitness, nutrition and well-being. These samples show how versatile his health-related writing is.

Sample articles on personal finance topics

Personal finance information is always in demand. Here are some examples of David’s articles on frugal living and budgeting, credit cards, mortgages, loans, investing and a variety of other financial topics.

David Leonhardt is fluently bilingual in English and French, as well as partially fluent in Spanish (well, fluent enough to have somehow made it through three volumes of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in Spanish).