3 Reasons to Hire a Content Writer

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Business

Feb

2010

3 Reasons to Hire a Content Writer

Written by Samantha Bovat

Building an online reputation begins with your website. It is the first place people go to “check you out,” even if you have been highly recommended by clients or peers. So, crafting an effective and powerful message in conjunction with an aesthetically pleasing site, a well-organized site and one with a clear call to action sometimes means hiring a good writer.

There are a bunch of reasons to hire a good content writer, but I will only mention the three I think are most pertinent to web site progress.

You hate to write! That’s a no brainer in my opinion.

Your website project has come to a screeching halt! Your web developer has told you that he/she cannot move forward without your content and you don’t have time to deal with that right now.

You have run out of creative ideas! If you are working solo - this just happens unless you have collaborative partners.

What qualifies someone as a good content writer?

One that can match your voice and business style in the written word.

One that can help you create a vision for your overall marketing strategies.

One that can organize the site content so that it flows, is consistent and nails the call to action on every page.

Don’t let content hold up the launch of your website. Hire a good writer!

How to find a good content writer

You'll need to check the quality of your writer. Have a two way interview with a potential candidate to find out if they have written for your industry or profession before. Also, if you are unsure... ask them to provide a sample page/paragraph for you based on your interview conversation. The pay varies so tremendously, unfortunately it's hard to put a parameter around that.

Contact Contagious Energy for more information.

Comments

#1 Robert Vining 2010-02-03 11:29

Good post Sam! The words on a site are more important than how 'cool' the design is. Don't get me wrong, if it's dead ugly folks will click away before they even read the words, but if you have a decent looking site, then invest in good content. It's the only way to convert!

I was checking you out last night at CE as a matter of fact(boy that sounded like a pickup line). You have the gift for sure.

(makes note to self: contact Sam before she get's too busy!)

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#2 Jen Kramer 2010-02-03 11:30

And if you hire fabulous, fabulous Sam, she knows Joomla and will put the content right in the site for you, so as a web developer, you don't even have to do that. How cool is that? She is terrific to work with and I recommend her highly!

jen

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#3 Rita Lewis 2010-02-03 23:24

I love your post because it validates what I always tell clients, namely that good writing and interesting content trumps flashy designs and not everyone is a writer. Also, use a content strategist to figure out what to delete from a site and what to include because too much content is as bad as too little or poorly written content.

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#4 Samantha Bovat 2010-02-04 06:11

For many, the writing piece is personal and losing control of it is too hard. So, no matter the skill level on the part of the business owner...there needs to be an earned trust that the hired writer can do it "their way." Make sense?

Thanks so much for the comments they are helpful!

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#5 Rita Lewis 2010-02-04 06:36

Makes perfect sense. In fact, the entire writer-owner relationship is a delicate balancing act of guiding the owner to not relinguish control but yes, to trust the content writer/strategist to make the owner's writing into something specifically for the web. I usually start by talking to them about the difference between print and web as well as showing them what happens traffic wise when content is massaged to shorten it, take out the passive voice, and illustrated. Content writing is almost a design job rather than a copywriter's job. I like to think of myself as a "managing editor" with the client as lead. That way there are no conflicts between egos. The only time this doesn't work is when the client/owner is set on "we've always done it this way."

I love your website and how you have presented your company and history. It shows the benefits of shortening and illustrating high points while using links if someone wants to read more deeply. I am very impressed with you and Jen. I also love working with Joomla developers for the same reason you do. I rarely get the opportunity, mainly because I'm the developer, too.