Often when I have the opportunity to meet with a prospective client who is considering using me to ghostwrite a blog, help with a newsletter, re-write their bio or help with any other number of writing projects, I am asked about how I can help them with social media, web site design or even graphics.
Do I know much about any of these other services? Sure. In fact, I have a DANGEROUS knowledge of what they do, which is why I must admit that I am not an expert in ANY of those things.
Words are my drug of choice -- the tools I use to make ordinary people sound like the rock stars they really are as well as showcase their talents and experience in their chosen businesses. Most of us have something we are really good at, though. Just because writing is not something you enjoy, are stellar at or can take the time to do doesn't mean you're not the most talented insurance broker, financial planner, attorney, closet organizer or aesthetician in your area.
Truth be told, most people have not had any instruction in writing since college or even high school, yet they are called upon to be excellent communicators in print or online. Can you even sit down and write a five-paragraph essay any more? That's okay, because I can't advise people on how to invest their money, defend themselves in court, or build a house. But I can write about any of those things by doing research and using well-chosen, carefully crafted words.
Like an aerobics instructor who spends most of his or her days in workout clothes, I spend my time in my "grubbies" behind my iMac screen writing nearly every day of the week. Writing has rules, it has a cadence and for me, it even has a formula. It's similar to how your personal trainer knows what to do when warming you up, putting you through your paces and how avoid injuring your back while tightening up your abs.
Why are freelance writers in such demand these days? Because the cyber-written word represents us on a global scale in this medium we call the Internet. Whether we are trying to fill in our web sites touting who we are and what we do, informing potential clients about what is new, giving them points to ponder in our blogs or just using the proper words to convey our message on a simple brochure, the words we use cause people to judge us in so many ways. They judge our education level, our ability to communicate in general, what we do and how we do it, and even the passion with which we do it -- all by how our words on the computer screen or iPad or smartphone speak to them.
Did you know that more than 75% of consumers will go online and Google (who knew that word would become a verb...) before they'll even begin considering using someone's services or buying their product? Whether it's to get information on pricing, look at photos, read about what to expect or even find out what other people have said about you, most consumers will do their own due diligence before laying out the cash or signing on the dotted line. For instance, I might look on Yelp.com before I choose someone to fix a dent in my car door. What people say about your body shop there MIGHT make we want to check out a web site or two. Most of the time, however, I'll just keep web surfing until what I find a person or company that seems like a good fit. This only goes to illustrate that if the words that represent you don't match up with someone's ideal of the expert you're supposed to be, your credibility is dismissed in a matter of seconds. We have developed shorter and shorter attention spans because we have the world at our fingertips, so to speak.
Services like mine can be one-trick pony assignments, like providing edgy wording for your web site home page or writing your bio or they can be ongoing with regular blogging and newsletters that drive potential prospects to your web site and help your "brand" move up in the Google search rankings. It's easy for me to explain why I love what I do because, like any job we do that we are passionate about, my profession offers so much more than a mere income. I help companies win coveted awards, tell a family's history, or even write "elevator speeches" so small business people know what to say about themselves in networking groups. When you think about it, professional copywriters are behind every TV show, commercial, speech, movie, book, branding message, and advertisement you see. But pay no attention to the man (or woman) behind the curtain. People just don't know we're here.
Okay. So now you're expecting me to come up with something profound to say: I write, therefore I am?
But we freelancers don't just write. We write for YOU and can often make you sound better than you can in your own words. And that, my dears, is what makes all the difference.