As a professional content writer, I’m grateful that I can provide a practical skill to clients who need it, and get paid in the process. I try to always be transparent and realistic about what I can get done and meet deadlines for drafts and revisions alike. In the interest of that transparency, I’m going to let our marketing agencies in on a little secret: producing a high volume of content can make us writers, even the best of us, a little bit stupid.
“Writer Brain”
If you hire someone for your technical writer services, you want someone who is dependable, professional, and timely. In my experience, those qualities go hand in hand with the sort of ambitious, driven content writer who always keeps a lot on their plate. Our first priority is to make sure we create a piece of content that perfectly suits your needs and fits into your overall marketing campaign, so the more clear, concrete information you can give us at the start, the better. Expert writers tend to work in a specialized niche, so give your writer everything they need to know to write a piece of truly unique content for your project that doesn’t overlap with any of the other projects they might be working on. When a busy content writer gets in the zone and starts producing a high volume of orders on a single topic, sometimes a case of “writer brain” creeps in. We start feeling like we’re saying the same thing over and over again, and a set of super clear directions that give a concrete idea of the intended audience, required keywords, and sourcing guidelines can help us get refocused and make sure we’re giving you something beyond the boilerplate. When in doubt, think of your team of content writers as a flock of magpies; give us something shiny we can focus our attention on, and we’ll turn out more vivid, engaging content!
The Tone Zone
Have you heard the one about the SEO writer that walks into a bar, pub, local bar, bar specials…? Humor is a fun tool and something we content writers love to inject into a piece of writing to keep our process fresh and our content original and engaging, but we need to hear from you, marketing agencies, whether that sort of tone is appropriate or not. Tone may seem like your last consideration when giving instructions, but tone is actually very important when writing for business and marketing purposes. Give us a clear understanding of your “house style,” if one exists, and if you’re looking to build a new voice, offer examples of exactly what you’d like to see.
Putting in the work of telling writers exactly what you want can help get us more excited and passionate about your project, and will ultimately result in truly unique, engaging content.
Caitlin C is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
