Freelance
Writing
Freelance
Writers Make Valuable Contributions
by Phil Hanson
A
popular cliché, "content is king" is currently
making its way around the Internet. Like most clichés,
this one is true. While there are other ways of expressing the
idea "content is king," I'm not so sure there's a
better one.
Virtues
of Written Content
It's
no secret that of the many skills needed to create and develop
a Web site, those provided by writers are the most important.
Savvy 'Netrepreneurs who lack writing skills recognize the value
of good writing, and many of them hire freelance writers to
write content for their Web sites. Larger companies—those
with big budgets and virtually unlimited financial resources—employ
full-time staff writers to continuously generate fresh content
for company Web pages. Sometimes, if demand is particularly
heavy, they'll commission work from freelance writers to take
up the slack.
The
biggest mistakes newbies make are to blow their entire startup
budgets on fancy Web site designs, ineffective advertising and
promotional schemes, and every bogus get-rich-quick offer that
comes along, at the expense of the one thing that makes their
Web sites valuable—the content. Without content, everything
else is meaningless. Unfortunately, by the time many newbies
learn this painful lesson, their on-line businesses have failed.
Because
search engines only index written content, the more relevant
content they find on a Web site the better they like it. All
other things being equal, a Web site that has lots of great
written content will get a better search engine page rank than
one that doesn't.
Excellent
Web page content does more than just appease search engine spiders'
ravenous appetites, though. Search engines also like to find
numerous links pointing to Web sites, and they reward Web sites
that have many incoming links with higher page ranks. Having
lots of high-quality copy on your Web site makes it easier for
you to acquire those all-important links, because most knowledgeable
Web site owners gladly link to Web sites they perceive to be
of high quality.
When
people visit Web sites, they expect to find specific information—and
lots of it. No, they don't come to your Web site with the idea
of buying whatever it is you're selling. First, they want to
learn as much as they can about the products or services you're
selling (and, perhaps, a little bit about you, too), then they
want to learn how and why it will benefit them if they make
their purchases from you. Only lots of well-written content
can give them the information they need to make informed decisions.
Neglect that aspect of your Web site and your visitors won't
stay around long enough to become customers. You'll just be
wasting your time.
Decisions,
Decisions!
As
an on-line business owner, you must make several decisions regarding
how you'll present the content, and the source, or sources,
from which you'll get that content.
In
determining how to present the content, you should first determine
who your audience is. Your Web page copy must use terminology
appropriate to your predetermined target audience. Written content
must neither "speak" down to your readers nor beyond
their levels of experience and expertise. Don't use highly technical
terms for non-technical readers if simpler terms convey the
same meaning. Don't use jargon if your readers won't have a
clue what you're talking about.
Decide,
too, what "voice" your Web page content will use.
Passive voice is mundane and tends to be boring, while active
voice excites, inspires and motivates. Tone is also important.
Will yours be formal, authoritative or even professorial? Or,
will it be informal, relaxed, chatty and friendly? Know your
audience and slant your text accordingly.
Once
you've made decisions regarding your Web page content, per se,
you'll then need to decide how, and from where, you'll obtain
it. Of course, the obvious choice is to write your Web page
copy yourself. However, this may not be the smartest choice.
If
you lack essential writing skills, it may be in your best interest
to hire a freelance writer to write content for you. Spelling
and grammatical errors, poor sentence structure, and an overall
shortage of editorial oversight characterize amateurish writing.
Because these are things that can hurt your on-line business
effort, you may find it more cost-effective to pay a freelancer
to write your content while you concentrate your time, talents
and energies on taking care of other aspects of your business.
For
most small and mid-sized on-line businesses, it's not practical
to hire a full-time staff writer. Staff writers are a luxury
reserved for large companies that have deep pockets and an ongoing
need for volumes of fresh written material. At 40 to 60 thousand
dollars per year, staff writers cost far beyond the means of
typical 'Netrepreneurs.
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Web site owners
could download free articles, from article banks, to use on
their Web sites or in their newsletters or e-zines. While it's
still possible to do this, it's a practice I no longer recommend.
For one thing, articles that are submitted to these archive
sites are notorious for bad writing. For another, now that search
engines are gifted with the ability to detect Web pages that
use content identical to that used by other Web pages, they
penalize those pages with a lower rank.
Don't
be tempted to download someone else's written material for use
on your Web site without the copyright owner's permission. That's
plagiarism—a federal offense. It's a good way to get your
site blackballed from the search engines and from your ISP,
and incur heavy fines (and possible prison time) in the process.
It's not worth the risk, or the aggravation.
When
you eliminate the impractical, the ill conceived and the illegal,
few options remain. If you're short on writing skills, your
basic choices are to forego the content that can make your site
successful, take a comprehensive writing course to improve your
writing skills, or hire a freelance writer to write your Web
page copy. A final—and lower cost—alternative would
be to hire a professional editor to apply some editing magic
to text that you provide.
About
Freelance Writers
Freelance
writers are the entrepreneurs of the writing community. Like
independent contractors from other occupational pursuits, freelance
writers prefer the freedoms and challenges offered by self-employment
to working within the confines of a structured corporate environment.
Citing
such far-flung reasons as increased productivity, enhanced creativity,
or simply working at a place and time of their choosing as motivating
factors regarding their choice of employment, freelance writers
work in one of two ways—on speculation, or on assignment.
Writers who work "on spec" either submit a finished
manuscript (usually fiction) to an editor in hopes that it will
be published, or they query an editor first (as is the case
for most non-fiction manuscripts). Even though an editor may
agree to look at a manuscript, there is never a guarantee that
the manuscript will be accepted, or that it will ever make it
into print.
Those
writers who work on assignment are almost always established
writers who have a track record with the editors or publishers
for whom they write. They are commissioned to write a specified
body of work for a specified price.
Freelance
Web page writers are also among those who work on assignment.
If a potential client likes a writer's work and the two parties
can reach an amicable agreement, the client assigns the job
and the writer goes to work.
The
Freelance Advantage
There
are some definite immediate advantages to hiring a freelance
writer to prepare written content for your Web site. For one
thing, if writing isn't your strong suit, you can focus your
energies on doing a myriad of other tasks related to running
your on-line business. Do the things you're good at doing,
enlist the help of experts to do the things at which you're
less qualified. You'll find that it's a much better use
of your time and resources.
For
another thing, you have all of the short-term benefits of
having an "employee," with none of the long-term drawbacks.
When a project is done, you simply cut the freelance writer
loose. You're not burdened with such things as withholding tax
and other payroll deductions, employee insurance, vacation pay,
sick leave and all the rest. Best of all, you're still entitled
to take a tax deduction on the amount you pay the freelancer.
How
to Hire a Freelance Writer
After
all this talk about freelance writers, you're probably wondering
how to hire one. Although there's no mystery involved in choosing
a freelance writer, the usual caveats apply. If you ignore the
obvious and fall for the hype, you'll get burned.
Of
all the criteria you'll use in selecting a freelance writer,
ability is the most important. In my opinion, most people have
been conditioned to accept a college degree as evidence of one's
ability, with no further proof required. The problem with this
approach is that we tend to overlook the fact that far too many
unscrupulous people obtain their college degrees fraudulently.
However, unlike academic credentials, true ability can't
be faked. Those who claim to be writers either have it,
or they don't.
The
first place to look for hard evidence of writing ability is
on the writer's own Web pages. If a writer's Web site contains
little content, or poorly written content, chances are you won't
get the level of service you want. Look elsewhere!
Glowing
testimonials that lack contact information and contain only
initials in the signature line are worthless. Don't believe
them. Client endorsements that lack full names and complete
contact information (preferably a link to the client's Web site
where the writer's work appears) are almost always illegitimate.
Beware
of writers who charge too little for their services. Low
fees may indicate an inability to attract clients due to inadequate
writing skills. You'd be highly skeptical of a doctor who advertised
kidney transplants for $29.95, or two for $49.95 (unless you
also need brain surgery). You should approach writers who advertise
bargain rates with the same degree of skepticism.
Some
freelance writers and editors promise quick turnaround times
as a lure to attract new clients. The problem with rapid turnarounds
is that, often, they allow classic "haste makes waste"
scenarios to develop. Few writers who must work under tight
deadlines in order to meet a client's unrealistic expectations
are capable of delivering their best work. Inadvertently,
errors creep in, and the body of writing, in its entirety, suffers
from lack of development. If you don't have time to do it right
the first time, where do you find the time to do it over?
Fee
agreements or performance contracts are binding agreements that
protect both writer and client. Briefly, they identify the exact
nature of the work the writer is undertaking, and they spell
out terms for completion, delivery and compensation, among other
things. Be leery of hiring writers who are reluctant to provide
legal documents and/or contractual agreements that protect your
rights and interests.
Beware
of freelance writers who don't provide complete contact information,
including a full street address and working telephone number.
Post office box numbers and e-mail addresses are, by themselves,
insufficient. Many freelance writers bill their clients (typically
50%) in advance of beginning any work. They are justified in
doing so, and it's become a commonly accepted practice. However,
if contact information is scant or non-existent, it may be a
sign of criminal intent. Unreachable people usually have something
to hide.
Copyright
© 2005 by Phil Hanson
All rights reserved.
Hire
a highly-qualified freelance writer (me) by visiting the Order
Desk.
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