The Who > The What
When engaging a writer for your next project, consider that your writer's ability to understand and connect to your audience might actually be more important than the subject itself.
Inevitably the first question I always get when people find out I am a writer is -- "What do you write about?" Usually my answer reflects the latest project or article.
However WHO I am writing for is often more important than the subject.
It's this distinction that is most important when selecting a writer for your next project.
Of course it's gravy to have a writer who is already familiar with your specific industry, but don't automatically count out a writer who doesn't. Here's why.
Content Creation
In my early writing career, I quickly figured out the value of knowing your audience.
I was in an extremely niche environment of sailboat racing. I dabbled in sailing, but in order to write press releases for international sailing media I had to learn an entirely different language (e.g. Left is Port, Right is Starboard, rope is a line....tack, gybe, etc...) Like any new language you immerse yourself in the culture, pay attention to nuances, but most importantly leverage the people who are experts and ask them LOTS and LOTS of questions.
Throughout my freelance writing in the Twin Cities, I have written about everything from new local businesses, home remodels, and health and wellness to warehouse lending, commercial real estate and estate planning. Some subjects (ahem, warehouse lending) I literally knew nothing about prior to the job.
Now why doesn't that matter? Because I know how to ask the right questions to the people who are the experts in order to deliver the content to the right audience.
My writing formula
For any subject, the way a piece is written depends on the audience and the goal. Is the audience is a new customer or a current customer? Someone who knows the brand, vs someone who doesn't? Is it for the media? Is it for parents? C-suite exec's?
Also the way (or the medium) by which your audience is consuming the content matters. For my clients, that might be through email marketing, social media, website content and blog posts.
Now at the risk of over oversimplifying, my formula is the same no matter what I'm writing about:
Client Goal + Audience = The right questions.
Understand the goal and then the audience. Ask the right questions of the experts, and I'm on my way to create clear content that can be tweaked and refined to best suit the medium.
Freelancing is Fun
As a writer, the best part of my job is that I get to learn lots of little trivia and factoids, which personally feeds my curious nature.
Writing for Tiger Oak Media, I get to stay on the pulse of what the local community wants to know. When I am writing for businesses, I get to dig deeper inside the mind of a customer.
No matter what, I love the challenge of telling a story that really connects. It truly never gets old.
