Focusing on your readers when writing
Dec 15, 2008 Comments
There is an avalanche of articles and blog posts teaching you how to write well. Even “reputed” and “revered” bloggers and content publishers cannot resist publishing these clichéd blog posts and articles that are perpetually regurgitating the stuff that has already been told to you at least 133 million times. They almost, always begin with: put the reader first. What exactly does that mean? Does it mean always trying to please your readers and write about things that only cater to their whims and fancies or does it mean actually writing something that benefits them? Most writers who teach you how to write seem to be focusing on the former. It should be the latter.
Whenever you are starting to write a new blog post, an article, or even a business webpage for one of your clients or for yourself think about why the reader should read what you are writing. Are you merely trying to please your visitors so that they visit your blog or website again and again or do you really intend to communicate your actual feelings?
To be honest I too have tried my hand at a couple of blog posts that were merely written to generate traffic because I felt people wanted to read such blog posts. But this is a myth promoted by web writers and bloggers who don’t want you to try something new and want to keep the territory safe for them. Don’t write for your readers to please them, write for them to really share something genuine with them otherwise it begins to sound stale and inconsequential eventually. Have you noticed the deluge of how-to lists and resource lists that tell you 50 ways of doing this and 100 ways of doing that? Do you ever follow those 50 or 100 methods? I am sure you save them (as I often do) thinking that someday you will definitely use them. These people publish these lists simply because they know that such lists draw lots of traffic and encourage people to bookmark them. They rarely go beyond that. So how can you really benefit your readers?
Share with them instead of presenting to them chunks of information and lists of methods and tips. Be one of them. For example have a look at Steve Pavlina’s blog; I think life improvement blogs will come, make a mark, create some ripples and instant celebrities, and go, but Steve’s blog is going to sustain. This is because he doesn’t present lists of things that can help you become a super achiever. He simply shares with you his experiences. He doesn’t sound like an expert or an authority figure. He automatically becomes an authority by sharing whatever he experiences and learns.
This is how you focus on your readers when you write; you become one of them. Don’t preach them, don’t tell them to do this and that in order to attain Nirvana. Simply, share your growth with them, share your experiences, and encourage them to share theirs.
Posted by Amrit | Tags: Copywriting and Content Writing Tips, Thoughts On Writing
Taking up assignments that are not in my field
Dec 12, 2008 Comments
Of late – for the past 5 odd months – I have been taking assignments that I haven’t mentioned on this website, for instance designing and developing websites and setting up content management systems such as Joomla and PHPNuke. These assignments are so not content writing. But they earn me some good money, some quick money. The amount of money that I make writing content for say, 5 projects, I can make the same amount with just one project of designing a website. You might wonder then why the hell do I write content instead of making websites?
I used to make websites a few years ago and in fact only those people approach me for web designing and development work who somehow know that I used to make websites. I wrapped up my web design and development business because my soul was not into it; I wanted to write. That is why I started providing content writing services to various clients. Back then I needed to heavily advertise using AdWords because very few people were looking for content writers and online copywriters. I don’t know why I never stopped learning the new web design and development techniques. So when people started creating CSS based layouts I also learned how to do that and when people started incorporating Ajax functionalities into their applications I also used them while working for one of my permanent clients. Maybe that is the reason; I have always been in touch with web design and development and I never work on a project half-heartedly even though my primary business is content writing.
There is another reason why I often get this work. When new clients approach me many times they are just starting a new website. So they ask me by any chance do I know a good web designer. I often reply that I don’t know any web designer but there are a few websites that I have designed and if they like those designs and if they are ready to pay what I am asking for maybe I can give it a try. This is how everything begins.
Especially these days I try to do as much work as I can because one is never sure of the prevalent economic conditions. Although I don’t prefer designing websites if they get me some good money in little time and I have to do something that I already know it becomes difficult for me to refuse. Does this mean I am ignoring my core business? I don’t know, maybe. On second thought, I think earning money and creating a backup is also essential for my content writing business. With enough money I don’t have to take up “desperate projects” and I can be choosy. I am still thinking about it.
Posted by Amrit | Tags: About Work, Copywriting and Content Writing Tips, General Ruminations
Where do you draw the line regarding being polite to your clients?
Dec 11, 2008 Comments
Being polite is good in general. One should always be polite. Politeness can be an invaluable asset to you if you work as a freelancer. But where do you draw the line? There is a big difference between being polite and being obsequious.
Just refunded a client’s advance because he wouldn’t listen to reason. I had sent him a document yesterday; today he replied that he could have done a better job himself. He said the writing was mediocre, it didn’t make sense and it was needlessly complicated. This happens when you don’t have anything to say and you just want to write the 300 words you have promised. I quickly went through the document to check what he was talking about.
Let us assume that I have crossed the threshold of writing faulty language. Assuming there are no errors in grammar or otherwise here is how you would say that a document communicates what it needs to communicate:
- The headline that captures the attention of the visitor by offering exactly what he or she is looking for.
- Quickly explaining in the first paragraph how your service can make a big difference and help your client tremendously improve his or her business (or whatever you intend to improve).
- In the second paragraph you briefly talk about your team, the individual experiences and qualifications of your team members and their levels of motivation and commitment.
- In the third paragraph maybe you explain the tools that you have to carry out the service and your total command over those tools.
- In the fourth paragraph you normally talk about the work you have done so far.
This is the basic information you give when writing about a service. You can write it boringly, you can write it interestingly, or you can do the simple plain talk. I kept the language simple (I usually avoid clichés and jargons), to-the-point, and focused to the need of the client’s prospective clients. My main concern was to keep the message simple and captivating for the layman.
Anyway, upon receiving the client’s response I quickly wrote to him and offered as many re-writes as required to make the content acceptable to him. After a couple of minutes, he said he had no time to explain and he needed me to refund. I immediately refunded without further explanation.
Should I have tried to reason out? After all we started on a good note and he wanted my services on an ongoing basis. My experience says I shouldn’t have tried to explain further because such clients are normally quite impatient, they don’t respect your time and effort, they are quite unpredictable, and they have no clue what exactly they want and I think this is the basic problem with them. Besides, whether they are happy or not, they never provide you regular work simply because they themselves never get regular work due to the way they treat their work and their own clients.
If you want me to work for you the least you can do is clearly define your requirement. You must know what you want to convey and who are your target audience?
Now, you may argue that what is the use of me being a copywriter if I cannot make out how you want to convey your message and I will totally agree with your argument. If you think that I am a capable copywriter then you should leave it up to me how your message should be conveyed and if somewhere we disagree then there should be enough scope for alterations and further discussions. You hired me because somewhere you felt I can provide you what you are looking for. In case I don’t then there must be some communication gap, either from my side or from your side. All I can suggest to you is, let us fill the gap and see the completion of the project.
If a client is not satisfied I don’t offer excuses; I simply offer a rewrite and if I cannot figure out why the client doesn’t like the work I try to get more information. I try to do it as politely as possible even when the client is not polite. But even after that if the client shows a negative attitude I have no choice but to fire that client.
Posted by Amrit | Tags: About Work, Copywriting Thoughts
Writing website copy for a web design and marketing company
Dec 10, 2008 Comments
From now onwards I will be regularly discussing the online copywriting and content writing projects I am currently working on. No, I’m not going to divulge the details of the client unless he or she desires to do so. So if you are my present client or my prospective client you need not worry. I will simply share with you the things that I am experiencing and learning while writing.
I have written for many web design and marketing companies so it is becoming kind of a repetitive job. There is a great temptation to open pre-existing documents and simply rehash the material, but that won’t be ethical and it also won’t be good for my self-esteem as a writer. Even if I have written 20 times for the same sort of business I start from scratch whenever am writing for a new client. Of course the things are the same and they are offering the same service. So how do you differentiate?
That is a challenge as a writer. Writing for a web design and marketing company mainly involves writing on three themes:
- Web designing
- Web development
- Internet marketing/SEO
To describe and sell these services one uses almost the same language and the same pitch. In order to come up with unique content I try to imagine myself being a part of the team. Every team is unique, that much I really understand and agree to. Every business team has a unique message to convey. There is something that motivates us. I try to catch that feeling. Now you may wonder why get involved so much if a company is paying you just $90 to do three pages? Well, it is not about those three pages and those $90, it is about getting involved with your work. Anyway, I am digressing.
This is something that always works: I forget about all the work I have done so far for similar clients. For instance, while working on this present content writing project I’m not thinking about the other similar projects I have worked upon (besides, there is always an interval of 2-3 months so there is also the possibility of forgetting what you have previously written). I consider it my first most assignment for a web design and online marketing client. Of course I utilize the experience, but that’s it.
Posted by Amrit | Tags: About Work, Copywriting Thoughts
Recognizing my market and reaching out to unrecognized markets
Dec 07, 2008 Comments
These days I am constantly thinking about increasing my business. My conversion rate is quite high, fortunately. You won’t believe I receive 60 odd visitors per day and still on an average I get one business query everyday and at least three projects every week. If somehow I can manage 240 visitors every day maybe my work will be multiplied by the same proportion. Although, I make a comfortable living I have some financial goals for the coming years and for that I definitely need to increase the number of assignments I get every month. Besides I would like to focus more on marketing and promotion and get the writing done (of course, while maintaining the current standard and even improving it) from other writers from India as well as in other countries. If I want to do this I must get lots of assignments so that the margin is big enough for me.
Along with constantly working at increasing my traffic (relevant traffic, not just any traffic) I’m also thinking about recognizing and approaching newer markets. I was just reading this blog post by Rohit Bhargava who talks about exploring unrecognized markets while referring to a new social networking website called Savvy Aunties; this website targets women who have money but no kids and who would like to spend money on their nephews, nieces and any other kids they would like to shower their affections upon. Now this is a completely unexplored market because people are mostly targeting moms and dads, grand moms and grand dads, and brothers and sisters. With more and more successful women deciding to remain single or not have kids I think this is a great market to target with a very vertical niche.
Most of my clients come from the USA and Europe. Even in Europe, it’s mostly the UK from where the clients contact me. There are still many countries that remain out of reach and I must try to reach those countries and markets. In the coming days I am going to study how I can do that. Whatever I learn I will be sharing on this blog. I will be honored to receive suggestions from you.
Posted by Amrit | Tags: General Ruminations, Personal Growth
Are SEO and content related?
Dec 05, 2008 Comments
SEO and content are definitely related because the search engines rank your website or individual pages according to the content they contain. Your website is known to the search engines, and also to the human visitors, by the worth of its content.
Does merely having content help you in SEO?
It depends on your competition. It’s not just any content that helps you in SEO. Having hundreds of pages and blog posts on kite flying is not going to help you appear higher for model planes related searches. The content on your website must be relevant to the primary theme of your website. What message are you trying to convey through your website and does that message address the query being used by the search engine user? You have to convince the search engine crawlers that you have got the information their users are looking for.
How can one improve SEO through content?
Generate content that is relevant, useful, and exactly talks about the topic under discussion. Take for instance, the title of this webpage; it asks “Are SEO and content related?” If somebody searches for this question and if the search engine algorithms think that this blog post contains the most appropriate answer to this question they are going to rank this blog post higher compared to other pages and blog posts. How do we do that?
Obviously the question must appear on this page at least once, prominently, in this case it appears in the title of the blog post. It is also repeated, contextually, within the blog post, this means this particular expression appears on this blog post. It doesn’t have to be repeated needlessly; use it exactly where it needs to be used.
You can also use the expression within the bold typeface (preferably just once, don’t repeated wherever your expression appears), as anchor text, in bullets, and in headings and subheadings. The basic idea is to highlight the expression and convince the search engine algorithms that this particular expression is central to what you are trying to discuss on the page.
Another way how your content can help you in SEO is creating dedicated pages for individual expressions. Again, take the question in the title of this blog post. The title asks the question and the body elaborates upon it. I’m not sure whether it is going to happen or not (with the search engines you can never be too sure) but this blog post stands a great chance of appearing higher on various search engines.
