Now that you have hired a professional writer to handle your web content, email copywriting, blogs or other marketing for your small business, you will want to get the best content possible without the headaches of asking for revisions, lengthy conversations with writers or, worst of all, getting unsatisfactory content.
Fortunately, you can get the content you want in just six easy steps.
1. Create an accurate working title
Choose a title that accurately describes the project at hand. An accurate title is worth a thousand words, even if you word it poorly. Ask your writer to come up with a new title that is catchy, grammatically correct and accurately describes the content.
2. Provide keywords
Provide a list of keywords that you would like integrated into the content. These keywords help Google and other search engines find your website. If you are unsure about which keywords would best for your content, you can use a free keyword generator like SEOBook.
Ask your writer to use the keywords in an ‘F’ shaped pattern on the content page. This means the most important keywords should appear most often in the top paragraph, a little less often in the second paragraph then only sparingly throughout the rest of the content.
3. Choose content type
Tell your writer what type of content you desire. White papers are authoritative report that provides data in a straightforward and often dry manner. Blogs are the complete opposite, usually providing opinions or information in a conversational tone. Articles are somewhere in between, as they contain valuable information in an easy-to-read format. Email copywriting pieces are energetic, personable and inviting.
4. Pick a narrative voice
Choose a narrative voice. In other words, decide who will be telling the story. First person narrative (I, me, mine) is good for expressing opinions and relating personal experiences. Second person (you, your, yours) helps draw the reader in for that “yeah, me too!” appeal. Third person narrative (he, him, his) is stiff and cold but professional sounding.
In many cases, the content type will greatly influence which narrative voice you should use. Third person narrative gives white papers a professional tone. Tell your writer to use first person narrative to make it sound like you wrote the blogs personally. Second person is perfect for email copywriting, as it invites recipients to join in on something wonderful. Articles are durable – choose first, second or third narratives depending on the overall tone you wish to give the article.
5. Request resources
Citing statistics and research results improves the credibility of your content. This is especially true when you cite government, academic or research papers or websites. You may want to have the writer hyperlink resource websites with keywords within the content.
When necessary, ask your writers to cite only websites ending in .gov, .edu, and .org as these typically indicate the website is associated with government, educational and reputable organizations.
6. Provide sample pages
Copy and paste the URL of web pages that you admire. Providing a sample gives the writer a good idea of the content you have in mind.
Getting the most out of your content writing is as easy as six simple steps. Take a few minutes to plan your next blog, article or email writing campaign.
In 15 years as a writer and small business owner, Lynn H has helped countless SMBs improve search engine results and increase website visits in a way that really pumps up sales.
