Category: Blog

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Spring Resolutions From a Freelance Writer

As business owners, we must re-commit to our resolutions every day.

I realize that most people make New Year’s Resolutions, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned since launching my own freelance writing business, it’s been that resolving to do specific things is something that is done every day. As we finally have some sunshine here in Billings, Montana, and the trees are at long last starting to bud and blossom, I decided to call mine for the day “Spring Resolutions”.

There’s a passage in the New Testament which reads, in part, “Physician, heal thyself.” In other words, don’t start pointing out flaws in others that you yourself possess.  The other day, I was talking with client about how they needed to more frequently update their website…when they gently pointed out to me that my own site hadn’t been updated recently.  Drat.

Now, since launching my business as a full-time freelance writer several months ago, I have had a lot of great opportunities to work with companies and organizations locally and regionally. I’ve written blogs and websites and print articles and branding documents for them and have loved every single minute, hour and day of it. But admittedly I have been so focused on their marketing and advertising efforts that I totally neglected my own.  

So I have resolved today, this beautiful spring day, to “heal myself”. In other words, to write this post and put a plan together to do so more frequently (and consistently) in the future so that I can ensure my own business is as thriving and healthy as the organizations with whom I am privileged to work.

Do you ever get so busy focusing on your customers’ businesses that you run out of time (or just simply neglect) to focus on your own? I’d love to hear about it–and your own Spring Resolutions.

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Hiring a Writer for Web Copy

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Easier said than done.”

Okay, I admit it: having written content for websites of every size and for a variety of industries, I thought it would be a piece of cake creating content for my own freelance writing website. Ha! The joke was on me!

For many clients with whom I have worked, one of the most difficult things about writing content for their own website is that they are (naturally) very close to the situation. For some that might mean erring on the side of putting every single tiny detail about their business onto the site, which generally requires the creation of layers upon layers of navigation or, in the alternative, long pages of details few people will read.  For others, it’s putting too little copy in, or copy that may lack relevancy. And still for others (psst–this would be the toughest thing for me, and I think for a lot of independent service providers) it’s wondering at what point facts start to seem like, well, bragging. For those reasons, clients opted to hire a writer to create content for their respective websites.

Now, it didn’t make a whole heck of a lot of sense for me to have someone else write my site; after all, this is what I do. In fact, I love writing content for websites. So instead, I sat down and started hammering it out, then turned to trusted friends and colleagues to give me their feedback. In fact, there’s not a page or post on this website that hasn’t been or won’t be reviewed by someone who’s not…well…me.

So, now let’s talk about what’s really important (as opposed to my own angst) and that is: you. If you don’t have a website yet, or if you’re ready to revamp your site, working with a third party can bring a lot of benefits:

  • You have a business to run, and if you have to try to find time to write a website in the middle of your day-to-day work, it’s either not going to happen or it’s not going to happen the way you’d like. Hiring a writer to handle those details takes a load off your shoulders.
  •  A third party can help determine what should (and shouldn’t) be on your site, then craft messaging designed to make the most of who you are and what you do.
  • Not everyone is a copywriter–and not everyone understands web copy. And you know what? That’s okay. Listen, there are so many things I wish I could do, from playing the guitar to being a graphic designer.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had the training to make me good at either one. (Yet another admission: I actually took guitar lessons twice, but there is something about my fingers that refuse to work properly when it comes to comes to holding down those strings.)  So if writing isn’t your strength, find someone for whom it is.

If you want to see a quick primer on the work that goes into writing great web copy, enjoy this oldy-but-goody article from Smashing Magazine.  In the alternative, if you’re more focused on building your business as opposed to honing your skills at writing web copy–but are ready to bring your website some interest and depth–I hope you’ll contact me.

 Blogging • Brand Message Development  •  Newsletter Content •  SEO-Rich Content Development/Web Copywriting • Sales Materials

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Creating Meaningful Website Content

You never know where you’ll find the next great idea.

While scrolling through Fast Company (admittedly one of my favorite sites) I found an article that caught my eye: “4 Ways to Create Meaningful Content.” Considering that as a freelance writer I spend a lot of time creating content for websites, it was most certainly something I wanted to read…and I’m glad I did. Here’s why:

Several years ago the world of SEO, or search engine optimization, was being built on a variety of ideas ranging from how many times a word or phrase should appear on a page to using “link farms” to make the site look more relevant that it really was–and everything in between.  Working in the industry, I understood the theory, but never cared for it or put it into practice. I believed, as did those with whom I worked, any content included on a website must provide good information that was authentic to the client.

The Google Penguin updates in 2013 helped to address many of the so-called “Black Hat” SEO techniques, and by doing so, placing greater emphasis on good content. Now, as this article suggests, the industry as a whole is focusing on incorporating meaningful content on both websites and social media platforms. So what is “meaningful” content?

Author Dan Greenberg proposes such content include or more of the following:

  1. It provides a connection between the content owner and the audience they are targeting.
  2. It introduces new or original ideas.
  3. It shows new uses of media or helps mediums evolve
  4. It causes the reader or viewer engage with the content

Creating good and meaningful content isn’t easy, but it is well worth the the time or monetary investment it requires.

 

 

Blogging • Brand Message Development  •  Newsletter Content •  SEO-Rich Content Development/Web Copywriting • Sales Materials

 

 

 

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Why This Writer is Fascinated by Graphic Design

Were I to begin my career over again, which would mean rolling back the hands of time to such a point they might actually snap off, I think–no, I know–I would have become a graphic designer.  Now keep in mind that when I headed off to college with communications in my sights, I didn’t really know a lot about graphic design. But when I had the opportunity to begin working with great designers, I instantly became fascinated by their work.

As a freelance writer, I generally spend my days crafting content.

Some copywriting is obviously pretty straightforward; after all, a website sometimes has to be more informative as opposed to more entertaining. Other days, I do get to play, creating “word pictures” as I strive to describe people and events in a way that bring them to life on a page (or screen, depending on the medium.)

Good graphic design has the power to do the same, but with color and images and lines and circles. If I see a great design on a web page or a beautiful logo, it speaks to me. I can see in an instant what a business is all about in a font or a shape. It can convey an emotion from elegantly peaceful to wildly energetic.   As noted by Randall Smith in this Forbes article,

“If good design is doing its job, it is managing your perception of an experience in many ways–both obvious and not so obvious. How you feel, and therefore if whether you’re going to engage and buy, is directly influenced by the design of a website, a package or a business card.”

Most importantly, however, good writing and content development can and should go hand-in-hand with great graphic design.  Quality design can bring your prospective customers to a website or inspire them to pick up a package; quality content can help them finalize their buying decision.

Do you have thoughts about how great graphic design and great content can work together? I’d love to hear them.

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Why Your Business Needs a Content Development Strategy

Why did you decide to create a website for your business or organization?

Don’t worry, if you’re sheepishly thinking “because everyone else had one” or “people said I needed to put something up online” you’re not alone. In fact, there are countless business owners just like you who went through the process of buying a domain, adding some copy and launching a site perfunctorily, just another check on the long list of things you had to do.

You’re also not alone if you thought that creating a site was enough. Your full-time job, after all, is running a business. The odds of you gleefully looking forward to updating the site with new copy, videos or blog posts are slim, if not non-existent. 

If this describes you, then you’re not going to love what I have to say next–but I need you to stay with me.  If you want to make the most of your online investment, then you need to have–and execute–a content development plan is a must.

So what is content development? Google it, and you’re sure to find a lot of definitions. This is how I explain to my clients, however:  content development is creating, organizing and strategically sharing articles, videos, graphics or other types of content to attract and engage with existing and potential customers.

Whether your company is B2B or B2C, a good content development strategy

  • allows you to educate your audience about who you are and what you do
  • keeps your website and other online properties looking and feeling new
  • can, when executed with SEO in mind, improve your website page rankings

I’ll be discussing content creation in future posts, but if you have any questions or would like to talk about developing great content for your business, contact me today.

 Blogging • Brand Message Development  •  Newsletter Content •  SEO-Rich Content Development/Web Copywriting • Sales Materials

 

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What’s in a Brand?

Your business IS your brand.

While growing up on our family’s farm and ranch in Wyoming, I knew a lot about branding. Every spring and fall after calving season, we had to round them up, send them through the shoot, give them their vaccinations and apply a brand.  Now I understand there are people out there appalled by this centuries-old practice, but for a rancher, branding is critical. It’s true that cattle theft, or rustling, is actually still alive and well and without branding their four-legged assets, ranchers would never be able to prove ownership.  A brand ensures that their cattle can be distinguished from any other herd.

Now, you may wonder why I talk about cattle branding on a website about my freelance writing business. The answer is that helping to create a brand for a business–or writing messaging that supports a brand–is a big part of what I do.  A company’s brand, you see, is far more than just a logo.  It’s everything that sets them apart in the minds of their customers.

In an Entrepreneur.com article published late last year, Less Kollegian and Charles Van Vechten encouraged businesses and organizations to embrace their brand. They wrote,

“A new logo or shiny brochure is just one small aspect of your brand. It also has a voice, a message, a persona and much more. Remember that your brand is your ‘everything,’ from how you communicate internally and externally as well as go about your business even when no one is looking.”

I would also add to Kollegian and Van Vechten’s description this: your brand must be authentic, and it must be unique to you. Even if you are in a crowded field with competitors to the left and right of you, there is something distinctly different about how you do what  you do, day in and day out.  And that “distinctly different” something is your brand–whether or not you’ve ever identified it as such.

If you know your brand, it must be evident on-line and off, in your website, your marketing materials, the way you communicate with your customers and the way you communicate with your organization as a whole. If you don’t know it or can’t express it, then now’s the time to start discovering it.

Don’t believe me about the importance of having–and knowing–your brand? Just ask the next rancher you see.

If you’d like to know more about the importance of having a strong brand message, or need help in establishing one for your new or existing business, contact me today.

photo credit: m.gifford via photopin cc