Where would your business be without words?

[Guest willedridge]

What would you do if you could only communicate and sell with pictures and video? 🙂



Words are the most powerful business tool at your disposal.



You owe it to yourself to make sure that the content is unique, engaging and designed to get results.



Make sure whoever is writing your content can has complete command of the language you communicate in and understands how to sell to your audience.



Here’s a tip if your ideal customer is a male your writer should generally make your words heroic… "conquer the fiverr forum!"



If they are female they’ll make them romantic… "love the fiverr forum!"



Not to mention the old rules of SEO are dead. The new rules favour content that has value for its reader, not keyword stuffed junk designed to be read by a search engine.



If your not producing #1 content, you’ll never rank #1 on google.



So be wise when you’re searching for a writer because the cheapest isn’t always the best.

[fonthaunt]

willedridge said: Here's a tip if your ideal customer is a male your writer should generally make your words heroic... "conquer the fiverr forum!"

 

If they are female they'll make them romantic... "love the fiverr forum!"

 

Honestly, this is a bit insulting. My opinion only but there are probably much better ways to classify audience than by gender. I don't say this because of any "rights" or political nonsense. I just find that these stereotypes don't line up well at all for my readers and buyers.

 

I will say that writing to an audience in a narrow niche is a great practice and I agree with that. Some good tips here overall.

[Guest willedridge]

Reply to @fonthaunt: Hi, it’s a basic generalisation which believe it not it works.



It’s not the only way to classify an audience but the fact of the matter is men and woman are different and you do need to take it into account when you write even if you end up deciding against it.



Pick up any issue of Men’s Health or Cosmo and you’ll see the difference.



It boils down to different words meaning the same thing mean different things to different people which means your target audience can be separated by age, gender, social class, income, personality types, cognitive biases in the way they handle information and decisions, hobbies, interests, professions, life stage, buying stage and more.



Once you know your audience you can write with the language that appeals to them the most.



What kind of writing have you found hasn’t lined up well with the stereotype?

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @willedridge: I’ve been writing content and technical documents in corporate and academia for over 20 years and the gender stereotype has seldom applied in my work. I think I’ve seen it apply a little more with younger people or in fiction. Granted, I think there are people reading the publications you mentioned when they are looking for fluff and those publications do fit the stereotype.



I see it much less with non-fiction and less still in technical writing. The concept that “girls don’t game” or “women aren’t technical” still exists out there. Of course, those concepts aren’t true but it doesn’t stop people from thinking they do. I would just hate to see people planning all their content based on the idea that women are romantics and men are heroes. Yes, they have some basis in fact. It just isn’t applicable across broad lines. I don’t want to hijack your thread to make it all about this, though, and I do think you made some great points. I just wanted to mention my thoughts on it. Thanks for asking.

[Guest willedridge]

Reply to @fonthaunt: Don’t be absurd! You’re not hijacking my thread! Maybe it was a bad example to showcase exactly what copywriters take into account but I was aiming to give the readers a little more information on what a good copywriter WILL take into account.



I feel like I’ve preached to the choir as you are much more experienced than I! I completely agree that you can’t apply it to every piece of work and expect great results every time as it depends just as much on the product or service your writing about just as much as the audience your writing too.



I think it’s ingrained in me to take it into account as my first copywriting/marketing experience came when I was working as a personal trainer and there are clearly defined differences in how you sell personal training packages to the average gym member depending on their gender.



When I was creating marketing material for athletes however the gender differences mattered less and it was the results and methods that sold more packages.



Would you have any advice for people looking to hire copywriters?

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @willedridge: Are you saying I don’t have the right to be absurd? I’m totally kidding. I do love the word absurd and it describes my behavior frequently. 🙂



I think your points are important whether I or anyone else agrees with the details. In fact, sometimes the fact that someone is motivated to argue just means you got their attention and that is a cardinal rule for a copywriter! My thought was just to encourage people to be flexible in their approach.



My experience has more to do with explaining to people how to do things or telling them what is trending, so it’s also different from writing sales copy. While I have to employ some marketing techniques, I have the luxury of not having to sell with every word. As far as audience, it is still very important either way. Although I have a lot of experience and I’ve been around the block, I’ve still been exposed to a word with computers for most of my life. My parents are in their 80’s and they use computers every day, but for them it still feels very new. I write differently for their age group than I do for my own.



If I was going to make suggestions for those who want to hire a copywriter or any kind of writer, I would still get back to basics overall. Look for someone who cares that they even have a particular audience. Too many freelancers have their eyes on the profit and not on building trust. Some will write anything that halfway passes a plagiarism test and gets the client to sign the check. Anyway, seriously, I’d love see this thread expand so I’m bowing out for real now and hoping someone else will add to it.

[writerlisaz]

My business would be nowhere without words! Words are my passion, which is why my copyediting and proofreading business feels more like play to me than work. Good suggestions here! I especially like and agree with this one:



"Not to mention the old rules of SEO are dead. The new rules favour content that has value for its reader, not keyword stuffed junk designed to be read by a search engine."



No matter the gender that is your target audience, business is about values.