Copywriting Archives - My Team Connects

How To Make Your Customer Desire Your Content At Just The Right Time

March 13, 2017 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

I have a friend in e-commerce who assigned his Paypal alert — “You just received a payment” — it’s own specific sound. When his phone makes that sound, he knows his website has just made a sale.

“That’s my favorite sound,” he says, and while it’s wonderful making a sale, especially to a brand new customer, we all know it’s not as easy as that “DING” would imply. There was a complex process that took place before the customer clicked the BUY button and entered her credit card number.

For a professional in real estate, or any complex sale that hinges on relationship, you don’t get a sweet chime on your phone. It’s a little more involved than that, and the paydays are less frequent.

In both cases, however, the purchase of a digital product and the purchase of a house, the process generally follows a time-honored formula, beloved by all sales people. Maybe you’ve heard of it.

The AIDA formula is the process by which a customer moves from total unawareness to the moment where she takes action and buys the product.

Your content’s job is to track and speak to the customer at all four general points of the AIDA formula. Ultimately, that action you want them to take is to make a purchase, however in today’s marketing environment, you have to consider any action taken – a click to download an infographic, a view of a video, an agreement to participate in a live chat – a step in the right direction toward a sale.

In a sales relationship, your content has a purpose. Your goal is to create and share content tailored to help answer, explain, or reveal new information needed to get to the next step.

AIDA is the acronym for the customer’s state of motivation, as she gets closer to a decision to purchase:

Attention
Interest
Desire
Action

It’s almost springtime in North America (if not now, then soon!), so it’s fitting to focus on DESIRE as it relates to your buyer’s decision-making process.

It’s also the season when home sales start to pick up. It’s not uncommon to see several open house signs in any neighborhood you visit. What is it about spring?

The Season of Desire

Until spring actually arrives in full color, it might be nature’s ugliest season. The remains of winter reveal bare branches, gray skies, melting, sooty snow banks, and oozing mud everywhere. Parking lots, soccer fields, bare patches in the lawn… all of the exposed parts of the ground are dark and slick with mud.

But underneath all that sledge and rotting decay are the seeds of beauty and growth. With a little sun, the mud will harden and plant life will shoot through the earth, forcing it’s mighty way into the world with wild abandon and limitless excess. In what seems like an instant, the gray mess turns vibrant, green and new.

It’s nature’s season of desire, and it’s a great way to think of the term, Customer Desire. It’s your customer’s need for the right message as they move from casual interest to a decision to act.

Desire is the tipping point in a decision to buy.

Desire is a high contrast state of being. It’s the moment when people realize they lack something they want.

And once they decide they want it, they want it now.

If we look at desire from the lens of a love story (take the opera Aida, for example — I couldn’t resist), the best love stories take place amidst war or conflict. The potential for loss due to circumstances beyond our control make the desire for the beloved that much more intense. On a lesser scale, your customer is in the throes of a similar heightened emotion. They’re feeling a lot of tension, maybe even with an elevated sense of passion and drama.

Some of these thoughts may be swirling in their heads at this point in the buying cycle:

It’s now or never.
I’ve waited long enough for this.
This problem is only going to get worse if I don’t do something.
The change is exactly what I/we need right now.
This is what I’ve been searching for.
This makes sense to me. Everything is becoming clear to me.
This has now become a priority.

Interesting how those same thoughts could belong to a tiny green (personified) shoot as it finds its way through the earth to the sun?

Remember this desire phase comes just before the action step.

It’s like pulling back a spring or rubber band to the point just before you release it. That pent-up emotion will find a way to push through. Just like that seedling uncurling from the dark earth.

The desire to change must be greater than the comfort of staying the same.

I’ve heard it said a different way: “The desire to change must be greater than the desire to stay the same.” But that’s wrong. No one desires to stay the same. No one desires stasis.

Humans — at least the ones who buy, invest, contribute, and/or actively make a change in their lives because they are finally so uncomfortable that they have to change.

Desire can only be linked to something that causes or relates to change.

So as you decide what kind of content to use to reach the folks who are feeling desire, you have to remember that you are addressing a different person than the one who is just becoming aware that he has a problem. You may try to reach this person on different channels, possibly through different social media sites, and certainly with a more urgent, deeper message.

Now that you know the types of thoughts they’re having concerning the issue, you will want to make sure you’re providing the right information they need to make a decision. The glut of information on the Internet causes a consumer both confusion and empowerment, which is another source of tension you can ease with helpful content and a consistent presence.

One thing’s for sure; once a person reaches the point of desire, they’ll begin to research solutions.

Take note, however. Yours may not be the only resource they consult, even if you were the one that got their attention in the first place.

Because the desire phase immediately precedes the action phase, the one who gets the sale/listing is often the one who’s been most helpful and trustworthy at the Desire stage. But not always…

The sale or contract is naturally always awarded to the one who’s there at the end, or the Action phase. If you’ve done all the work to groom a buyer through all the phases of a purchase, you must never take it for granted that the business is yours. You must be there at the Action phase. But that’s another topic for another time…

Now picture yourself seated at a table with this person. Hopefully you’ve already done the buyer persona work, because you need to describe him or her accurately. You’ve discussed all the issues related to the choices before them. In terms of content this means you’ll offer different types of content from what you showed in the Attention and Interest phases. You’ve already anticipated specific questions they might have.

Now you’re getting into the nitty gritty – and of course showing lots of benefits to working together or using your product.

Some types of content you’d send in the Desire phase would be:

Case studies of satisfied customers.
Papers and stats that clarify distinctions between you and everyone else.
Introductions to people they would be working with on your team.
Steps they need to take, as they get ready for the next step — the purchase, listing, inspection, deal, etc.

Can you see why you would never send this type of content to someone who isn’t ready to receive it?

Someone who is just beginning to learn about your industry, service or product needs a series of broader, less explicit content. You don’t want to scare them or come off as too pushy, either. Consumers are sophisticated researchers, and when they decide to act, they will make moves indicating that.

Be sure your content strategy allows the customer to take small steps in your direction. Things like chat boxes and personal webinar opportunities, even a simple tick box letting them know you will call them at their convenience; all go far toward educating your customer and allowing them to feel like they are in control of their decision making process and ultimately, their purchase.

Possibly the most important thing associated with this desire phase is just being there. Remember that coiled spring. You want to be there, ready, when that coil is released.

The Desire phase is when you reach out and offer the most personal experience to date.

Is it appropriate to make a phone call and listen to your customer’s concerns? Send a personal email? Make sure your content marketing team and sales team are coordinated now (that’s another blog post, for sure) so that when your customer is ready with desire, you can assist them with a clear call to action.

An effective content marketing plan includes content for all phases of the AIDA formula.

By the time your customer reaches the desire phase, she will have probably been exposed to earlier content of yours, and will recognize you and your brand. She probably has a sense of how you stand out and why your offer is unique. “Desire” is the moment to wow her. If you do, you may hear that lovely sound that tells you your content strategy is working: The DING that alerts you of another sale, or in the case of a more complex deal, at least a move by your client in the right direction.

People in real estate don’t necessarily get that satisfaction. The point of sale is less frequent, as I’ve mentioned before. The sale is just as gratifying (more so!) even though you might not hear bells when you get a house under contract.

you can call me flower — “You can call me flower.”

Would you like to get a clearer picture of your business’ content marketing strengths — and places where you could be wasting time and money? You probably already have a lot of pieces in place to deliver great content to your perfect audience.

Find out by taking The Content Quiz… It’s a fun and quick way to spot gaps where you can step up your digital marketing strategy. My treat. Contact me and I’ll send it right out.

How To Hook Your Readers With Specifics

March 9, 2017 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Getting to the point — the real point — with specific details is the only you can bring clarity to a problem your customer may be having.

Insightful copywriting shows you understand your customer by revealing a new level of depth in an issue they might not be able to see clearly.

A guy called in to the Kim Komando show once with a complaint. He was looking for an IT solution for his school district, and all his IT people were scratching their heads because they couldn’t solve it within their tight budget.

Kim’s answer was pretty simple. First she sympathized with the prices, and then explained how she also always gets sticker shock when her IT people at the show reveal a solution that seems over the top. She says, “How can personal laptops do all this stuff for consumers, but then when the show needs it on a larger scale, we can’t just buy 10 laptops and string them up together and make them pull their weight?” I’m paraphrasing, but she ended with this: “Well, they can’t. That’s just not how it works. This stuff is expensive.”

See, the caller was comparing his imagined solution to the wrong thing, He couldn’t accept the price because he was comparing the solution to a consumer’s price, not a B2B, or institutional price.

He was frustrated because in his mind he assumed it was an IT problem instead of a budget problem. He had simply framed the problem incorrectly.

Tim Robbins’ Ultimate Power is a powerful read for content marketers and copywriters. If you havent’ read it, or you think it might be too “out there,” I challenge you to give it a try. Our minds try to hold us back from success by filling our consciousness with generalities that are off-the-mark to begin with. We can only understand a problem in terms of our current awareness. In other words, we can’t know what we don’t know.

Your customer is in the same boat. When she states her problem, you can understand her, based on the context of the situation, or simply because you’ve solved a similar problem for others like her. But in her mind, she just can’t see the problem clearly. And that’s half the problem! That’s where you come in.

Next time you’re in a problem/solution situation, help your customer by applying details — details she’s provided, even! — to her problem.

People simply don’t have the time or space to be less than their best if they think about problems in specific, accurate terms. This is where copywriting comes in, so consider these concepts as if you had to write an exploratory paper about your customer’s dilemma. You’ll quickly see how easy it is to address the problem, come up with a decent solution, and encourage your client to see it from a new vantage point.

As a work-from-home mom with a business to run, I remember many summers when the kids would whine that there was “nothing to do!” Quickly coming up with a list of specific things for them to do was my solution.

In a similar way, what I’m suggesting here is not to offer your customer a list of specific options to choose from; but rather to pose their questions as specifically as possible so that they can easily come to the same conclusion as you and see the ease with which their problem could be solved.

When you show you understand, by merely reframing their problem with specific details, then you’ll be seen as an expert with an answer.

I have some ideas for you today — ideas that can improve the way you put into words how your products and services help your customers.

Here’s the thing. For most people, when something is bugging us, and especially when we haven’t quite decided to do something about it yet, we tend to linger around the problem like we’re lost in a cloud. It’s almost as if we enjoy being lost in the muddle.

Next time you’re really frustrated, notice your thoughts. Does that voice in your head start uttering negative-talk? If you’re human, your mind may start coming up with generalities which are definitely not going to bring you any closer to a solution. When you’re really down and out, it’s almost impossible to see your situation in specific, solution-oriented terms! Instead, your inner voice says things like:

I always get within 10 pounds of my goal weight, then stop losing weight. Why try?
I have no time for that project.
How can I be so forgetful?
Every time I attend that meeting, I end up frustrated.
That class is too expensive.
Writing code is hard.
I can never hire the right person for the job.

Can you see the relationship between all these phrases? At their core they hold no power because they are nebulous by nature. When you find yourself thinking about problems in this vague way, inspect them more closely to find the real hooks inside the issue.

To show you can really serve your customer — and relay that with your copywriting, let’s rephrase each of the above complaints with a specific clause. Where, exactly, does the person get snagged up?

I always get within 10 pounds of my goal weight, then stop losing. Why try?
- Should be: When I reach 125 pounds, I start adding old friends like chips and ice cream to my diet. How can I stay on target and resist those things?
I have no time for that project.
- Should be: I would need to drop this other thing from my schedule if I were to work on that. Or I really don’t want to make time for that project, but maybe I can find someone who can help.
How can I be so forgetful?
- Should be: I’m great about remembering to-do items for projects, so why do I forget the names of the clients at that company? How do I retain them?
Every time I attend that meeting, I end up frustrated.
- Should be: Who or what is it about that meeting that frustrates me? Can I avoid feeling frustrated by doing or saying something different?
That class is too expensive.
- Should be: That class is expensive compared to this other one. What is the added value I would get from it?
Exercising is hard.
- Should be: I find it difficult to stay on task when I’m studying. Once I settle into my work I’m ok, so how do I get rid of distractions so I can focus?
I can never hire the right person for the job.
- Should be: Either my ads are attracting the wrong candidates or we don’t have an interview process that screens people well. Where can I get information about that?

Now think about some of the common problems of your customers.

Are people coming to you with a perceived problem that is unsolvable in their minds? It could be because the wording is intrinsically formatted in “loser” terms. I’m not saying that out of disrespect. You must show empathy by listening and repeating the things that are bugging them.

Finally, don’t merely imagine your constituents’ problems. Verify your guesses by making yourself available on social media, in your communities, and through face-to-face networking with REAL people. In order to truly understand how to serve people better, you must engage in a real conversation with them.

As you begin to offer help, that’s when it’s appropriate to define problems with specific words and phrases.

Specific terminology — rather than general fog — defines the problem and gives it real teeth, so you can get in there and fix it.

If it weren’t for all the preconceived notions, and non specific ideas tumbling around in our heads, just imagine how productive we could be and how quickly we could come up with answers to our problems! Learn to let others help you when you can’t define a problem with certainty, and then learn to help others when you can see clearly through their brain fog.

When writing and creating content for your audience, hook your readers with specific concepts that redefine their main problem.

Want to take this discussion further? Let’s connect on Facebook. What’s the hardest part about finding the root of your customer’s nebulous problem?

[Updated from a 2013 blog post]

Seven Simple Writing Techniques To Keep People Reading To The Bottom Of The Page

January 6, 2017 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

The famous copywriter Joe Sugarman says “the purpose of the first sentence is to get the reader to read the second sentence.” Effective writing is all about flow and purpose.

Your goal is to get the reader to consume your entire page; to get to the end of the text, if not to actually read every single word.

How do you do that, and how do you know when you’ve achieved that? Well, the best way to test the readability of your copy is to use the Flesch Reading Ease Score.

Do people read your emails down to the bottom of the page? After you’ve picked your topic, outlined its main points, and decided what you want your reader to take away or do; the writing should be easy, right?

Well, it’s not always that easy. Even if you’re speaking in your natural voice, and you’re sharing the true and meaning-packed morsels of wisdom you were put on this earth to say; even if your headline is riveting and your layout inviting — your JOB is to get your email (or article, blog post, or press release) actually read by human eyes and minds.

As Sonia Simone declares so earnestly, “You have a voice that’s irreplaceable. It can’t be turned into a clever algorithm. It can’t be duplicated and it can’t be churned out for a penny a word.”

With such a message to deliver, your writing must be readable.

If the point of “good copy” is to get your reader’s eyes moving down the page, and even instigate action on the part of your beloved reader, then it pays to know some basic copywriting tips.

When your reader answers your call to action, you’ll know your copy is readable. In that case, there are also probably a lot of other things going on that are working well together – strong graphics, a desirable offer, good credibility – but your writing plays the critical role.

Before testing your writing on your reader, why not test it yourself? Did you know you could even do that?

I’m going to show you how to score the readability of your page, and then how to accomplish your readability goals.

The Flesch Reading Ease Score and the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level both measure your writing’s readability. Developed to ensure standards in military technical training manuals, the scores can be used to easily gauge the readability of your writing too. You’ll find them within the spelling tool in Microsoft Word.

For more in-depth understanding of your score, you can also copy and paste your text into the space provided on this handy and informative website. It’s actually kind of fun to play around with your sentence structure and word choices on this site. Try it and let me know how it goes.

Now here’s the kicker about reading ease: Did you know that the average person reads and comprehends — and hits the sweet spot of persuasion — at about the 6th and 7th grade reading level?

If you can consistently write copy that falls somewhere around the 60 – 70 score (the reading ability of an average 13 – 15 year old student) then you will reach, satisfy, convince and convert the most people.

Reading comprehension varies based on education level and experience (the lower the Flesch Reading Ease score, the more difficult to understand) but even college grads and other “smart” people respond most readily to writing that is within the 60 – 70 range.

word magic? — Working your magic through words…

Working Magic Through Words

Are there tricks to this? Is there some magic formula for achieving this score when you write? While the Flesch scores take into account sentence length and word length, here are some practical ways to squeeze the most juice out of your writing, while keeping it clear and simple.

Use short, punchy words. Don’t neglect the juicy descriptive words; just remember to jab with words that can take the place of long phrases every now and then. Remember, “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

Use meaty words to interest and engage people. If you are stranded in realms of possibility, or spend too much time in thoughtful rumination — verbal navel gazing — you can lose your reader really fast. Ground yourself in the real world. Think red meat, not pie in the sky. That means…

Employ action words to sweep the reader along. Stay away from “be” “is” and “are.” These words form passive sentences that bore readers to sleep. Use them only when you absolutely must. Compare the following sentences:
- It was decided that the gymnasium be locked after the institution’s operating hours in an effort to thwart the local vandals’ destruction. (Flesch Reading Ease 38.3; Flesch-Kinkaid Grade Level 12.0)
- To stop the vandalism at the gym, Mr. Brown decided to keep it locked after school. (Flesch Reading Ease 82.2; Flesch-Kinkaid Grade Level 5.7)

Grab your reader with descriptive verbs and adjectives. “She says.” could be “She squeals.” or “She drones.” Each sentence would contribute about the same to the reading ease score because of structure and word length…but what differences between them!

Take another example: a purple paint color chosen for an office could be either “sickly” or “soothing” — simple descriptions that powerfully alter the reader’s perception and emotion.

Vary your sentence lengths. Sentence lengths should both sizzle and pop, almost like the rhythm of an exciting tennis match. Long volleys back and forth are satisfying to watch and more leisurely — but can last forever. Rapid rallies at the net add excitement – but they don’t last as long.

You should be able to write in both styles, just as a pro tennis player can play at the net and the baseline with equal efficiency. Go back and forth between short and long sentence lengths to keep your paragraphs balanced and your cadence natural.

Don’t be afraid to utilize white space. Certain copywriters who write in one-sentence paragraphs create some of the best emails I’ve read. The physical space between each thought works as hard as the actual text to pull the reader along. Of course in this case the writing must be spectacular.

One of the best methods you can use to find your most powerful voice as a writer — and to keep people reading — is to write without self-editing. Write like a banshee. Force yourself to say it like it is, any way you can, and just the way you want to. Forget about spelling and grammar. Set a timer for only two minutes (if you have to) and write like mad.

Before you go back and cut your writing to the bone, you’ll find kernels of richness in there, as well as a lot of garbage. Don’t leave the chaff for your reader to remove; he won’t. Only after you have thrown it all up on the page (sorry for that graphic description) should you edit yourself.

That’s right, I didn’t forget the editing part. Take all of the above writing techniques into account and then…

The Final Step… Edit Your Work.

Be ruthless. See if you can cut the length in half. That could have (and probably should have) been technique number eight, but editing is a whole new topic, IMHO. Editing’s just as important to getting people to read to the end, but not exactly in the gooey pond of connective content I’m talking about today.

I was talking yesterday with a friend (and one of the smartest women I know), a Wharton MBA and a big mucky-muck at a computer company that rhymes with “Spell.” She told me how she goes through her emails and trades big words for smaller ones, scratches everything that isn’t absolutely crucial to her main point, and then goes back again and cuts the entire email down to a third of the original. She sighed, “It’s so sad…” and I countered, “It’s wonderful; that’s good writing.”

While practice is the best way to improve your writing, you can sharpen your writing style with these tips. As your copy grows stronger, your Flesch Ease Score will reveal how readers will receive it.

If I’ve missed any tips for making your copy more readable, why not let me know in the comments below. Thanks, and if you’d like more writing tips in an easy video format, login and get these 21 quick and easy videos. Click here for access.

*This post has been updated from an earlier post dated Jan.12, 2012.

Content Triggers for Every Week in 2018

December 13, 2016 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Usually, when I tell people what I do, it goes something like this…

“I write copy and content to help businesses reach their markets: blog posts, newsletters, emails, sales pages, that kind of thing…”

If the person I’m talking with owns a business, I usually get one of two responses:

I could sure use your services.
I need to do that… But YUCK! Then they go on to tell me why it’s “yucky.” They dislike writing. They don’t have time to do that. They are in a boring industry and they don’t know what to write about, etc.

Well, if you’re one of those folks, now you don’t have to get creative. Just follow these writing prompts. I use these content ideas myself when I get stuck.

Scroll through these 54 content triggers and get your content calendar filled up for 2018.

My Team Connects Lucky Deck of Content Ideas from Jen McGahan

By the way, this task is easy peasy when you use CoSchedule to organize and share your content. Check out this app that has saved me tons of time and brought lots of new traffic to my website this year. Click this Coschedule link to learn more.*

2018 is coming, ready or not. There are new opportunities and unseen twists and turns ahead.

Time to get ready for a great new year!

Now, if you’re still wary of doing this writing, I’d can help. Give me a call, or simply fill out the form below and let’s set up a time to chat.

*Co Schedule has a referral program. If you sign up I may get a free month or some other small compensation. Just know that I would never refer something I did not absolutely LOVE and use myself!

And if you want more free stuff about content marketing and how to get your book, course or product out there, you can access the free content library here.

18 Content Writing Jobs To Make More Money As A Freelancer

September 19, 2016 by Elizabeth 2 Comments

Did you know that writers can make over $50,000 a year? If you are considering a freelance writing career, then this is a great time to start. There is a massive need for content and incredible, high-quality writers are needed, even more, to craft them.

People often think freelance writing is primarily about blogging, article writing, or writing corporate blogs. New freelancers tend to box themselves in these stereotypical content writing jobs. It’s time to think out of the box and get more out of your freelance writing career.

Commonly Applied-for Content Writing Jobs

Blog Writer

Blogs needn’t be for personal information. Blogs that people find useful and relevant are shared more often. Companies with a successful content marketing campaign will have at least 3-5 blog posts a month. General info, tips and how-to’s related to health, travel, fashion, education, beauty, wedding, photography, music blogs, entertainment blogs, etc. A beginner may earn anywhere between $20 to $30 per blog post.

Article Writer

Do you know that blog post and article writing are two different things? Before writing a print or web article, know the do’s and don’ts and make sure you’re thoroughly acquainted with the magazine’s current content and tone. There are many websites and companies that need high quality article writers who have a good command over the language and a more sophisticated writing style. Do your homework; send queries or finished, well-researched articles to magazines and potentially earn over $500 per article!

SEO Copywriter

Content writers who know rudimentary SEO and CMS skills can pursue these jobs. These jobs typically pay higher than regular blogs and articles.

Ghost Writer

Busy CEO’s, executives, leaders, celebrities who don’t have the time (or the skill) hire ghostwriters to write their blogs or books. Reflect whether you’d be OK to give credit to someone else for a job you did. If you don’t mind that then you could easily take up this job for experience and learn from the criticism and feedback. Ghostwriting is a lucrative niche.

The problem with these common content writing jobs:

Writers often struggle to find well-paying blog sites, and articles… but really, you can make a lot more by just specialising in content writing jobs other than blogs or articles.

There is more to content writing than blogging!

Different content writing jobs exist. These are outside of writing articles, blogs or even ebooks. Sometimes you find what you like because of the skills required. Other times, you may stumble upon these new opportunities. If you do, make sure you grab them, each time! Here is a quick list of other content writing jobs that you can explore and earn more while you’re at it.

Why we love these 14 other content writing jobs (and you will too!)

Email Marketing

You need copywriting skills, jammed with analytical skills, marketing, and research to ensure consistent email quality. If you have these skills, then consider venturing into this thriving market. If you want to know how to become an email marketer, then here is a great article by Career Lancer.

Writing Bios and About Pages

Writing about oneself or one’s business can be difficult. Trying to find the right balance between being informative and not sounding arrogant can be even harder for some. Writing bios and about pages is the perfect job for an unbiased content writer. You may want to read this informative article by Heather Hummel on HuffPost for more on bios.

Resume Writing

As long as there are jobs, there will be the need to create, design, and edit resumes. If you have a knack for interviewing people or have superb editing skills that people envy, put a price on it. There are plenty of opportunities online. The pay depends on the type of resumes; for instance, an entry-level resume can earn you up to $400!

Social Media Coordinator

You need to be a writer to write engaging content, implement changes in the media platforms, market products and services, facilitate conversation and share information, besides analyzing the best route to meet customers’ needs through social media. A social media manager earns between $34k to $56k a year! Here’s a handy infographic guide to get social media jobs, created by The Daily Muse.

White Papers

If you enjoy doing research and are able to intelligently piece critical information together, then writing white papers can be a very rewarding alternative to blogging. Instead of doing a one-off white paper, Gordon Graham says you can focus entirely on this niche. Since white papers take up plenty of time and effort, firms readily outsource this work to content writers. A beginner can make up to $3000 per white paper, if the finished product is polished and well-researched.

Presentations

There are a number of businesses like insurance companies, startups and sales teams that need effective presentations. They need to drive the message and engage their potential customers, not bore them away with heavily worded technical jargon. A content writer can help streamline their message for the presentations, and help them relay it in a way that’s meaningful to their audience. Content fees for PowerPoint jobs typically range upwards of between $70/hour – $125 per presentation, depending on length.

In-Person Event Writer

People are hard pressed for time these days. When time is a constraint, the in-person event writer is asked to attend meetings, seminars etc. then collate information, and/or deliver the content through social media or email.

Videos

Vlogs or Video blogging are on the rise. In fact, Variety conducted a survey in the US that shows teenagers like vloggers better than mainstream celebrities. Vloggers connect with audiences through Youtube, Instagram, and other sources. Because YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, content writers are required to fulfill the SEO need to write meta titles, meta tags and keyword based descriptions. These are just as relevant for YouTube as they are for websites. Integrate SEO skills and you’ll position yourself as an even more valuable contributor.

Podcasts

A podcast writer needs to be clear and concise. The delivery should not sound like a speech, but spontaneous and natural. Use of simple, conversational language is important here. Moreover, podcasts need a short write-up to describe each session. Show notes, as they are called, need to be enough to arouse curiosity, while not revealing so much that the audio is ignored. It’s tricky, and that’s why a content writer may get paid well here.

Print and e-Newsletters

To expand their reach, businesses send out mass print or e-newsletters to subscribers. Writers in this huge niche are involved in research, design, content writing, calls to action, testing, and tracking responses. Knowledge of HTML and analytical skills add to a writer’s value to clients in this field.

Webinars/ Webcast

People want to learn new skills quickly, and during hours that fit their personal schedules. These days, seminars, lectures, presentations, training events, or workshops are conducted over the internet to meet the preferences and convenience of users. More than 60% of marketers use webinars as part of their content marketing campaigns. Content writers are needed in this niche more than ever before.

Brochures

Writing a brochure requires some unique skill. A brochure writer must engage, create a rapport, then convince a customer to either buy the product or request more information. Often working closely with a graphic designer, a brochure writer can easily charge $100 – $150 per assignment.

Bid Writers

A bid writer works on documents that help companies win contracts to provide their services. Good communication, excellent research and writing skill is required from a content writer here. A beginner can earn from $60 and $150 per hour. Note that experience adds even more value to the bid writer, since the more understanding a writer has of a company’s services, the more likely the company will win a signed contract or purchase order.

Medical Writer

A medical writer works closely with doctors and scientists. Writers need to understand and create clear and effective documents relating to research, drugs, diagnoses, treatments, and other related medical information. In addition, the document created by the medical writer must have a proper structure and format. The pay depends on many factors, and usually requires experience within the healthcare industry.

The Best Part About Finding Your Niche

The best part about exploring all these other content writing jobs and what we love about them, is that, you can:

Narrow down your potential clients.
Serve the right ones better.
Do what you love!

Freelance content writing is one of the best emerging options for those who want to ditch the cubicles and the rigid working hours.

Explore your possibilities and you’re sure to find your specialty.

As a newbie freelance writer or even an established one, start paying more attention to other content writing jobs, and not just blogs or articles. Take some time to reflect on your skills and interests. Specialize in a couple of niches, based on your strengths. Hone those skills to attract new and better clients in those specific areas.

Finally, don’t forget that you can always approach media and marketing agencies that service specific industries or genres, such as the technology, fashion, travel, religious, or professional sectors; for content writing jobs other than just general blog or article writing. If you have a keen interest in a subject, or experience within one particular industry, you may carve out your niche as the go-to writer.

There is always room for growth – if you let yourself think outside of the box.

So what are the other content writing jobs that you know about? Comment below!

Elizabeth Alex is a freelance content writer for hire. Follow her on her website, Honestliz.com, Facebook and Twitter.