Good writing is nonnegotiable
Google knows the difference and so does your prospective client. It’s hard to be a thought leader if your content is riddled with bad grammar and misspelled words. From routine posts on your social channels to video scripts or a white paper. These all reflect your commitment to quality. As a culture, we’ve dummied down, but there are still people who know the difference. Those are our clients–the ones who know that there really are rules for grammar.
There’s a visual component to good writing
We make content visually accessible so it’s easy to read, using subheads and bullet points where possible. We believe in content economies. A positive content experience helps build trust, familiarity, and confidence. We want to reach people on a visceral level because good marketing tells a story. People remember when you share an example, a case study or something personal. As crazy as things are these days, we still want to form relationships and connect. This is what good writing is all about.
I have a colleague who was in an unhappy place in her life, and was trying to make a career change. She hated her job, her boss, etc. We were brainstorming about what she did well and what she would like to be doing. She thought that she was a good writer and that she could be successful doing this. Barring the possibility of her hunkering down and doing a J. K. Rowling on us, it soon became clear that she had no idea that “writer” was a role that required a broad skillset with a bar that just keeps rising.
Being a “writer” is not enough; it requires SEO, HTML WordPress
A “writer” these days has to be a content developer and strategist, a savvy marketer, data manager and technically skilled. A writer has to be able to build a website and optimize it. Able to manage multichannel marketing campaigns that include email marketing, social and google ads. A content marketer/writer needs to understand that search engine optimization is not just for techies; rather, it’s something we all can do to make sure our websites are showing up in searches. The list keeps growing. Writing scripts, directing, producing and editing videos. The role of “writer” just keeps expanding.
Researching the role of grant writer
My colleague asked me about grant writing, and I shared my own experience. I’ve been successfully writing grants for a nonprofit client for a few years. However, writing the grant is only part of the job. Researching databases to find grants that fit our niche is very time consuming. Grants are project-specific so it’s necessary to work with your team to clearly define a project that fits the grant’s requirements. Building a business case for why we should receive the grant award requires some creativity. Working with your team to meet deadlines can be difficult. Managing the project once the grant money comes in further transcends the definition of “writer”. Keep in mind that all of these efforts started with a basic job description of “writer”.
Frontload landing page content
As someone who has written a lot of website content for my clients, I can confirm that nobody wants content. They just want a few sentences. “No one will read this,” is the common response. Well, not everyone has to read it. But search engines work on keywords—“words” is the operative word. I dokeyword research, write fully developed pages that meet SEO standards. I front-load content so the important information is in the first paragraph. In this way, users can read as much/little as they like. For those who may WANT more information about your product or service, it’s there for them. Google loves this.
Creating buyer personas
We all think we know our target audience or client. But can you really picture that person who meets your target-audience specs? Creating a buyer persona is an important exercise. This is doing deep dive into what your target audience looks like. Buyer personas include demographics on where they live and work, spending/shopping habits, age, job title, family, etc. Being able to visualize the person I’m writing about helps me identify with the user, understanding needs, behaviors and goals.
Contact Top of Mind Marketing about your content needs–it may include your blog, email, website or social media program. We’re writers, content developers and content strategists.
