Whatever your writing, messaging, or content strategy needs are, I’ve got you covered. Read on or choose one of the options below to learn more about the specific areas I can help you with.
- Website Messaging & Strategy
- Original Content
- Email Marketing & Messaging
- Sponsored Content Articles
- Print Collateral Copywriting
- White Papers
- Technical & Instructional Copywriting
- Coauthoring & Ghostwriting
- Professional Editing & Refinement
- Website Development
Website Messaging & Strategy
A deliberate messaging strategy with well-crafted text copy is the cornerstone of any effective website. Visitors to your site decide quickly (within the first 5 seconds) whether to stay or go, and the process of converting them first to a prospect and then a customer requires careful planning and persuasive communication.
While it’s possible a web designer can get you part of the way there, odds are they don’t have the writing skills to deliver the results you need. My own 25 years worth of experience with web development and digital marketing strategy, combined with powerful writing skills, can provide you with the messaging needed to achieve your business goals.
So whether you’re creating a new website, redesigning your current site, creating a targeted landing page for a product or service, or simply looking to strengthen a site or page that isn’t performing well, contact me today and let’s have a conversation about what your options are.
Have you read my articles on this topic?
- But Wait, There’s More (to websites than bullet lists)!
- Effective Website Messaging (1 of 3): Not an Afterthought
- Effective Website Messaging (2 of 3): Unraveling the Mystery
- Effective Website Messaging (3 of 3): Is It Too Late?
Original Content
The hard truth is, if your site is built once, then left unchanged for long periods of time, there’s a good chance it will never be found unless you point people directly at it. That’s because search engines like Google are biased toward sites that post new content on a regular basis, and will give those sites better rankings. Also, links to new content are the fuel for the fire that is social media, which also drives traffic to websites.
Online content can take many forms:
- Blog Posts
- Articles
- White Papers
- Infographics
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Slideshows
- PowerPoints
- Photo Galleries
- Newsletters
- Anything else created exclusively for your website
Topically, original content can range from clarifying your company’s mission to sharing updates about its activities to providing valuable news and insights about your industry.
When added to your website on a regular basis, original content:
- Increases the likelihood that somebody will find your site in the first place;
- Gives visitors a reason to return to your site, increasing the odds of converting them to a customer;
- Gives those visitors something to “share,” so that others can discover your site as well;
- Establishes you and your business as a thought leader in your field;
- Provides value to potential customers, teaching them to trust you and want to do business with you.
Need help creating original content for your website? Contact me to discuss the content options that would work best for you, and how I can help you bring them to life.
Email Marketing & Messaging
Anybody who’s ever sent an email about a new product or service to thousands of addresses and received only a handful of responses understands the potential pitfalls of email marketing.
As with websites, any successful email effort hinges on strong, well-crafted text copy. For starters, subject lines work with a tiny word count and need to be compelling enough amidst all of the “noise” in somebody’s inbox to convince them to open an email. Then, assuming it is opened (most aren’t), the messaging in the email itself needs to be concise yet informative, and engaging enough to persuade a reader to click the desired call to action.
During my time at the last company I worked for, I was responsible for shepherding more than 5,000 emails out the door over 4 years–both newsletters and promotional blasts–at an average rate of 100 per month.
Contact me if you’d like to take advantage of my expertise in this area to improve your email open and click rates using effective messaging.
Sponsored Content Articles
Is your business still spending money on banner ads? If so, you may want to consider native advertising (paid ads that adhere to the form and function of the user experience they’re placed in). Over the past few years, native advertising has overtaken banner advertising not only in frequency but in overall effectiveness, resulting in 50%+ higher viewing rates.
Sponsored content, also referred to as “advertorials,” are a common form of native advertising that yields favorable results for businesses, particularly in the B2B arena. By offering prospective customers “free” information in an editorial format, businesses are able to establish trust, while also positioning themselves as thought leaders.
Writing effective sponsored content requires an ability to not only understand but communicate the value of a product or service in the larger context of the target audience. Contact me to discuss how I can create this content for you, and take your promotional initiatives to the next level.
Print Collateral Copywriting
Have you ever printed up hundreds or even thousands of copies of a flyer, only to learn after the fact about a typo, grammar mistake, poorly worded product description, or ineffective marketing pitch?
Whether it’s flyers, brochures, direct mail, or any other piece of print collateral, clean and effective marketing copy is critical. Unlike a website, which can edited on the fly, what’s already been printed can’t be taken back without throwing away dollars already spent.
If you’d like the benefit of 25 years of writing and marketing experience, to ensure that your collateral is the best it can be, contact me.
White Papers
Are you interested in being a thought leader in your field or marketing your latest product or service in a more robust way than a blog post or article? Then a white paper might be the right choice.
A form of original content, white papers can be any incredibly effective way to educate your audience and collect leads. That said, they can also be incredibly time-consuming to create, particularly if you don’t have anybody on staff with the time and/or writing skill to carry it off.
If you’re interested in having somebody who quickly grasps technical and industry-specific concepts work with your in-house experts to craft a professional, informative white paper, contact me.
Technical & Instructional Copywriting
Not surprisingly, when individuals who act in a technical capacity (engineers, IT staff, programmers, etc.) are tasked with creating written documentation, they often run up against the wall of their own limitations when it comes to communicating with the written word.
In order to avoid this, whether the goal is to create something like a technical manual or usage instructions (walk-throughs, FAQs, etc.) for internal or external clients, it’s best to rely on somebody with both a writing and technical background, who can close the gap between these two worlds.
Contact me if you’d like to take advantage of my broad experience base to create effective, readable technical and instructional materials.
Coauthoring & Ghostwriting
Do you have a personal story to tell or a professional idea to convey, but writing isn’t your strong suit? Then maybe it’s time to collaborate with a skilled and experienced writer to bring it to life. Depending on your needs, this collaboration could either be credited (coauthoring) or uncredited (ghostwriting), and as short as an article or as long as a book.
Whatever the case, contact me when you’re ready to move forward. And keep in mind that in addition to (or even instead of) the writing, I can also help with any brainstorming, planning, outlining, and research aspects of your writing project.
Professional Editing / Refinement
Maybe you already have some writing ability, but still want to make your work as strong as possible. In this case, all you may need is some proofing, editing, and/or refinement help.
This can be especially helpful for anybody who’s writing for an English-speaking audience whose writing skills are great in their own language, but for whom English is a second language.
Those who are writing or contributing article content for such outlets as LinkedIn, Medium.com, Huffington Post, and Slate may also need the help of a professional editor in order to put their best face forward.
Or maybe you’re just not happy with your LinkedIn profile, and wish it would better express your strengths, experience, and personal brand.
In any event, if you need a qualified editor to help your writing shine, simply drop me a line to discuss your project.
Website Development
Effective writing and messaging needs a nice house to live in. So if you’re a small or start-up business, and you don’t already have a website, or if the site you have isn’t cutting it, then let’s talk.
While I focus primarily on writing and messaging, I do still have those 25 years of web development skills under my belt, and I keep them fresh. So I’m more than happy to discuss building or cleaning up your website, if only to give your web messaging strategy the best possible chance to succeed.
If you’re interested, contact me so we can discuss your needs.