20 Ways Writers Can Help Your Business
Effectively communicating the benefits of your products, services, and points of differentiation with prospective customers is critical to generating new business. Effectively communicating with current customers so you build a long-term business relationship is just as important – after all, it’s widely assumed that it costs 6-7 times more to find a new customer than to keep an old one.
Here’s a list of 20 projects you can hire Elance writing professionals to ensure you get your message across in a professional and engaging way. For ease in reading, we’ve organized the list of jobs into functional areas, but be sure to browse the entire list.
Website Owners
1. Web Content
Even though the web is definitely changing, content is still king. Web visitors love engaging, helpful, informative content… and so do search engines. Update your website frequently to describe new products and services, provide valuable advice and tips, and build an online community for your business.
A skilled writer can develop FAQs, product descriptions, management bios… and create a consistent style and “voice” for your company that reflects your goals and vision.
Get a copy that engages site visitors… and keeps them coming back for more.
2. Article Writing
The Internet has created an insatiable demand for well-written, information-packed articles on virtually any subject. Not only will articles on your site provide useful advice and guidance, they can also help your site perform better in search engine rankings, drawing more visitors and potential customers. And by using an article distribution service you can place your article – and your contact information – on multiple sites, reaching even more customers.
Subjects can range from how-to guides to product reviews to your thoughts on recent business trends. All you have to do is determine what your visitors want to know or learn about, and a writer can provide the copy you need. To make the process as easy as possible, ask the writer to post articles directly to your site.
Add fresh, informative content to your website.
3. Blogs
Does your website fail to engage visitors? Do they quickly browse your site and never return? While boring, static websites turn people away, a well-written blog can transform your online presence, give you more ways of reaching out with your message, establish your credibility as an expert in your field, and provide support and advice for your existing customer base.
The problem is a great blog takes time to write and maintain. Instead of handling the job on your own, work with a skilled writer to help you develop a great blog. A professional writer can post new articles, respond to comments and questions from your visitors, add links to relevant articles or websites, upload photos or videos… the sky is the limit! And if you occasionally want to write your own articles, great – let an editor review your text before you post.
Create an effective blog – or take your existing blog to the next level.
4. Translation
The global marketplace makes selling your products and services easy in almost any market. But don’t count on all your visitors speaking your language; to promote your service in another country, your website (and other marketing materials) will need to speak their language too.
Skilled providers translate writing and speech while taking into account technical terms and everyday usage. Your foreign language classes probably didn’t prepare you adequately, but that’s okay: A skilled translator is available for almost any language. Plus, the translator can help you bridge any cultural differences and avoid embarrassment in word or phrase usage.
Translate your web copy into any language.
Marketers
1. Press Releases
A press release is a perfect way to make an announcement about new products, new customers, or expanded operations… but no one will notice if it’s not written properly. Most press releases never get picked up by major media because they’re poorly written and seem intended to “sell” rather than to inform. On the other hand, a well-crafted release could catch the attention of an editor or reporter and launch your story onto the web, TV, or print, gaining you free publicity.
Media outlets look for press releases that read like news. (After all, if it’s not newsworthy, why write a press release?) A skilled writer can turn what would have been a quickly discarded press release into one that immediately grabs the attention of readers, media outlets, and customers.
Create press releases that get noticed.
2. Newsletters
Like blogs, newsletters – whether online or in print – are great ways to inform and educate customers while marketing your products and services. Provide some guidance about your audience, possible subjects, and your goals, and a writer can write and even format and e-mail or mail your newsletter to your customer base.
Newsletter articles can also be re-used in multiple ways. You can post individual articles on your website, send appropriate articles to other websites and article directories, or even use content to respond to questions or blog comments and questions.
Writers can be found to handle virtually any industry or topic. Some will already have subject matter knowledge, while others will welcome the chance to research and learn about a new field.
Stay in touch with customers through newsletters.
3. E-books
Sometimes an article just isn’t long enough to get your point across. E-books allow you to fully describe a process, provide guidance, or share your thoughts and ideas on complex subjects – while enhancing your reputation and helping you stand out as an expert in your field. If you’re an expert in your field, but not an expert writer, a skilled provider can help you bridge that gap.
Good writers will adapt to your working style. They can develop content from scratch, flesh out your outline, or even “interview” you to get the information they need. Once your E-book is complete you can sell it, give it away, offer it as an incentive… and even re-purpose it, using chapters as articles or blog postings.
Write an e-book.
4. Ghostwriting
A ghostwriter is simply a term to describe a writer who works on your behalf; you describe what you want, the writer meets your standards, and you control and own the end product, using it as you see fit. Ghostwriters write books, articles, reports, blog posts…basically a ghostwriter can handle virtually any writing assignment you can think of. And their help with your project is transparent to your readers; you “publish” the work under your name or your company’s name – after all, you paid for it!
Ghostwriters will happily sign non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements, work-for-hire agreements (assigning the ownership of the work to you), and other legal documents that protect your ideas and your privacy.
Keep in mind a good ghostwriter is a little bit like a “writing chameleon” – he or she can easily adapt to your requirements for style and tone, and can capture your unique “voice.”
Collaborate with the right ghostwriter.
5. Creative Writing
Need a few jokes? Have an idea for a movie screenplay but don’t know how to pull it off? Have a great plot for a book or story but don’t know how to get it on paper? Or, are you a fantastic illustrator with a great idea for a cartoon series… but without the knack for writing? Elance providers can bring your ideas to fruition… and possibly add elements and twists you never considered!
The key to finding the right provider is to not only thoroughly describe your project during the posting process but also to communicate enough to ensure you and the provider will work well together and collaborate freely with creative ideas and interests. Then, once you find the right creative partner, you can let your imagination soar!
Let your creativity flow.
6. Editing and Proofreading
Do you know what to say, but aren’t sure that your grammar and writing style is perfect? No problem: a skilled editor can polish your prose and make it sing. The second set of eyes can quickly improve your writing. Don’t agonize for hours over how to get your point across: Create a rough draft and let a skilled editor do the rest.
A good editor can help shape the tone and style of your text, help you fine-tune your message, and avoid embarrassing mistakes. A good editor will also ensure your text maintains your own personal style, letting your individuality show through while delivering your message professionally. Editors can review and improve virtually any copy, from sales materials to web content to blog postings to FAQs. You may want to ask an editor to review and improve all of the text on your current site.
Turn your ugly duckling copy into a swan.
Sales Directors
1. Copywriting
You know your product or service inside-out… but do you know how to best describe it to potential customers so it appeals to them on both a rational and an emotional level? Do you know how to describe the benefits so potential customers feel they can’t live without what you provide? If you were asked, you’d probably answer “No,” so why try to write your own sales letters, advertising copy, or promotional literature?
A skilled copywriter can create bold, attention-grabbing headlines, develop clear, well-defined descriptions of products and services and create a call to action that delivers more leads and sales.
Copywriting is used in a variety of media: website landing pages, product descriptions, online and print catalogs and brochures… anytime you wish to generate a sale, a copywriter can make your advertising expense more effective.
Generate more sales with great copywriting.
2. Proposals and Estimates
Unlike sales or copywriting, a formal proposal – or even a rough estimate – is designed to accurately describe exactly what you will provide, under what time frame, and under what terms. (A proposal is very similar to a contract.) A poorly-written proposal, leaving room for interpretation, could leave you open to misunderstandings.
Each of your proposals should be clear, concise, and accurate. A skilled writer can develop unique proposals or create a template you can modify to make terms and prices unique for each potential customer. (And while you’re at it, get legal advice from an Elance legal professional ).
A clear, effective proposal not only protects you, it also enhances the impression you make on potential customers!
Deliver clear, concise, and accurate proposals and estimates to your customers.
3. Grant Writing
Grant writing is different than other types of writing. Seeking private, public, or government funding is tough: to get funding, you’ll not only need to convince readers your effort will be worthwhile and deserving of funding but you’ll also need to format your proposal and deliver your information in the way organizations expect. The bottom line? A well-written grant proposal is more likely to be funded; a poorly written and formatted grant may fail, even for the best of projects.
A skilled writer will effectively communicate your mission, your goals, your short and long-range plans, and how your project will make a real impact in the community.
Turn your dream project into reality with a skilled grant writer.
4. Speeches
If you’re nervous in front of crowds – or even in front of a few people – you’re not alone. Most people are. But if you have a well-crafted, humorous, engaging speech to deliver, you’ll be a lot less nervous.
Skilled speechwriters can organize material for a listening (rather than reading) audience and create a pace and structure that captures your audience’s attention while giving you confidence and a sense of security. Speechwriters can also help you refine and streamline your thoughts to ensure your point of view and message is clear and meaningful. Whether you need to motivate your employees at a company meeting or talk to an industry group, a speechwriter can make your event a success.
Inform and inspire your audience.
Product & Service Managers
1. User Guides & Manuals
Guides and manuals are great ways to educate your customers and teach them how to use your product and service. They also have internal uses as training guides, process maps, decision trees, etc. Effective manuals and guides also reduce customer requests for assistance, help your employees assist customers with problems or questions, and create consistent process flows that can reduce waste and effort.
Skilled writers have a knack for taking complex information and presenting it in a clear, logical, easy-to-understand way for experts and novices alike. If you’ve been asked the same question more than a few times, a guide or manual may be in order. You can create an assembly manual, a guide for using an application, instructions for creating new accounts… if your customers or employees need to know how to perform a certain task, a guide or manual will help them – and free you up to perform other tasks.
Produce effective guides and manuals.
2. Technical Writing
First, let’s define technical writing. Technical writing is a somewhat formal style of writing used to present information in a clear, easy to understand way. A user manual is an example of technical writing, but technical writers can deliver much more: white papers, product specifications, flow charts, equipment or material lists, functional requirement descriptions, etc.
products and services.
A writer can help you compile information, perform additional research if needed, and create a report or white paper that not only gets your point across but also subtly enhances your professional reputation.
Create clear, concise, and effective reports and white papers.
6. Academic Writing
Academic writing includes research for books and articles, literature reviews for scholarly journals, articles detailing research findings, even articles about new medical procedures.
If you’re a subject matter expert who needs help pulling research and data together and crafting your final document, a great writer is here to help! For example, say you’ve developed extensive data about the technology-related buying habits of 18-34-year olds; an academic writer can help you present your research in a way that gets you noticed!
Research and write scholarly or academic articles and books.
