Contractors often face the same dilemma as Lewis Carroll’s Alice: “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.”
Judy W is a 5-Star writer at WriterAccess
Even the most astute advice is worthless when the listener is too busy to get the message. Working on a construction job site involves supervising workers, monitoring subcontractors, ordering heavy equipment, calling for inspections and even doing the heavy lifting on occasion. You can appeal to building contractors by offering tips that save time, reduce costs, and solve construction challenges. [Tweet it]
Keep Focus on the Audience
Contractors may work from a one-man shop to plan and build projects independently or from a multi-faceted corporation where skilled employees manage many dimensions of massive projects. They share a common goal of wanting to know how to reduce the time required for a project while improving quality with technological advances. However, small business and self-employed contractors may need your digital content more than those who have plenty of help in researching construction topics.
Managing work crews is only a part of the complex job of a building contractor. Clients usually need frequent attention and answers to questions that successful contractors make sure to provide. The diversity of tasks that they perform gives you a broad area of topics to address.
Focus on Accurate, Factual, and Complete Content
Providing access to reliable resources can teach them something new that they can trust. They don’t have the luxury of experimenting to see whether something works, and they can’t afford to risk it anyway. One of the most critical aspects of construction is the pouring of a solid foundation. Builders usually choose a concrete slab for most homes, and they hope to have a pour that occurs on a planned schedule. A cold, damp, and sunless day can create a delay that impacts an entire project.
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Telling readers about ways to modify the properties of concrete can help expedite a job, reduce costs, and overcome construction obstacles. Every building provides an opportunity to satisfy a client and to make a profit while creating a safe and aesthetically pleasing structure. As Warren Buffet cautions, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Your digital content can help them keep it in top-notch condition. Letting contractors know about new developments with reliable information can teach them something that they can trust. Factual content that you can support with accurate references tends to reduce their doubts and skepticism. They are in a position of having to be right every time, an unenviable spot that your content can help them support.
Maintain Relevance
Contractors are as curious about general topics as anyone else, but they need to focus on those that directly affect the projects that are at hand. The physical demands of the job can be exhausting by the end of a day, and there is little time left to read content that may be interesting but not relevant. When you favor presentation of practical aspects over theoretical ones, you can satisfy your readers’ desire to learn something that they can use on the next day or the next job.
Stay On Trend
Trends in off-site prefabrication almost always interest them and contribute to the goal of helping them work faster and better. Keeping contractors abreast of current trends in plumbing, electrical, and mechanical systems, floors, walls, and roofing will hold their rapt attention. Remembering that your audience is probably fatigued from a day of physical activity can inspire you to think carefully about topics that will capture their attention as they rest.
Surprise Readers with Something New
Construction trade events can give you access to information about the latest products that you can pass along to your readers. Writing about microbial paint, removable dust barriers, engineered hardwoods, decorative concrete for floors, and products that appeal to contractors can keep you busy. Offering them a convenient way to grab the information is a favor that you can grant. You want to achieve a smooth handoff that resembles the ones that runners in a 4 x 100 relay use. Their success provides a model for the mobility of your content. Each topic that you address deserves to be in a concise format that is easy to grasp. You can start by envisioning the construction process from start to finish.
Make Content Personal
Making your content personal may give you access to your audience in a meaningful way. Targeting a market that is somewhere in the ether doesn’t let you see each contractor as an individual. Understanding the needs of someone who has the responsibility of producing safe structures on time and on budget every time can give you insights into using a personal approach. Along with getting tips on new technology and building materials, they often need guidance and recommendations for business practices. As you gain their confidence with quality content, you may even be able to encourage them to attend a course, a seminar, or a conference.
Follow these tips with timely, relevant, useful content to make the complex job of a building contractor a little easier, and build your reputation in the process.
5-Star writer Judy W has been writing professionally for 17 years, and her articles on home improvement combine her research skills with accuracy and readability. A retired building contractor, she enjoys writing on topics of interest to homeowners. Judy has written more than a million words in blogs and SEO articles for webmasters.
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