Five Ways Content Writers Can Create a Better Client Relationship

Daniel J. Cohen May 27, 2014

The content writer’s job is to create language that compels others to act. No matter what medium or what purpose the content has, good content maintains that characteristic and leverages the power of words to reinforce a particular mindset or action.

However, not all copy ends up as powerful as it should be. While the writer in the process often tussles with editors, creative directors, strategists, the legal department and a bevy of others in the organization to word content just right, it seldom hits the presses (or internet) completely in tact.

On the other hand, writers are perfectly capable of guiding clients in the right direction and ending up with the content that will best represents the company or cause. Sometimes, it just takes a little creative flair in your client-content writer relationship to sharpen your language to its very best.
Here are five tactics writers can use to help clients get the very best results.

1) Encourage a push-pull relationship.
Your job as a writer or marketing consultant is to make sure clients are able to make fully informed decisions. While one decision may be superior to another, knowing the right decision in the moment isn’t always possible without an iterative process involving both sides of the fence: the experts and the creatives.

Involving clients deeply in the messaging process will not only create better results but also improve your overall client relationships.

2) Train the team to let their hands go.
Much of the push back content writers get is a result of a client balancing interests in the copy. However, a smart content writer can pave the way for approval early on by explaining the power of precision copy that takes a strong position rather than balancing opinions or voice to the point that it becomes sanitized and plain.

Teach the power of taking a sharp, clear position and staking a claim rather than balancing the message for all involved.

3) Set the expectations early.
Develop an understanding with clients regarding your process as well as what can be expected from a first draft. If you have done a good job developing your discovery process, most clients will find what you do valuable and take pleasure in getting involved in your discovery process.

An involved client is more likely to approve your copy- hands down.

4) Keep your eye on the prize.
In the end, the client and the content writer want the same thing: well-conceived copy that will get the job done. Keep in mind the harmonious, win-win nature of the task at hand and everyone will prosper.

5) Give clients homework.
Not busy work, mind you. Your clients are busy. They have a business to run.

Yet a certain degree of homework is the sign of an involved writer as well as a solid content process.  Offer clients a step by step path that goes beyond the standard sit=down to indicate true commitment.

Want more tips for free lancers that go beyond the standard client assistance? Check out 50 Rules for Renegade Free Lance Writers.

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Daniel J. CohenFive Ways Content Writers Can Create a Better Client Relationship

RedShift Writers Shift Ahead Presser 2-17 – Houston Writeathon Ready for Liftoff

Daniel J. Cohen February 16, 2014

RedShift Writers prides itself not just on providing you with incredible content and thoughts about how to craft better writing for business and personal pleasures, but also on what is to come, where resources lie in the City of Houston, and how you can get involved in the business community.

On that note, we present the first ever weekly Shift Ahead presser from RedShift Writers. Here’s what happening with our city, our clients and our projects.

  • At 10 AM this Saturday 2/22, something very special is happening in the Montrose Public Library. It’s an event that indicates the true power of writers. It’s an event that unifies creatives to solve everyday problems for Houstonians.

It’s the Houston Writeathon!

The Houston Writeathon will feature some of the leading civic innovation thinkers in the city and gather dozens of the city’s best writers, designers and stakeholders, all for one beautiful, engaging and civic-minded cause: improving the communication of important information to Houstonians. Co-organized by some of Houston’s leading writers and startup leaders, the Houston Writeathon will offer citizens of all varieties a chance to unify, make a difference, network, drink cocktails and write (of course!).

For more information, check out www.HoustonWriteathon.com.

Tune in to FM 92.1 Saturday at 2 PM, or see www.eehour.com for more details on how to download the app, listen online or watch live on UStream.

  • Artists, entrepreneurs, small businesses, musicians, event planners, club owners and anyone else with an interest in attention for events, keep your ears open: Whispers suggest That Video Magazine is on the verge of releasing a HUGE event sponsorship budget. The package is still in early formation, but we can guarantee you there will be enough support in the package to make major waves in the events scene in Houston and have an impact in its genesis town, New York City. TVM has a knack for blowing up events and getting the word out with killer video content. Expect big things and be ready to bid for huge sponsorship dollars.
  • Michele Price’s #BREAKTHROUGH #BBSRadio episode this Monday features a discussion on 26 Ironclad Relationship Laws Driving Business Success. Awesome host and sure to be an awesome show. Check out the landing page.
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Daniel J. CohenRedShift Writers Shift Ahead Presser 2-17 – Houston Writeathon Ready for Liftoff

Five Impacts Social Media Can Have on Your Afterlife

Daniel J. Cohen August 22, 2013

(This article was written largely to promote a Panel Picker proposal for 2014 SXSW Interactive titled “Tweet After Death: How to Use Social Media to Live Forever” that I co-developed with Michele Price. It is based on this original Waxing Unlyrical article. Please check out our dual panel description, vote for us, leave a comment, and spread the word. We really appreciate it).

The conversation surrounding social media and the afterlife is growing, and that’s only natural. While death is an uncomfortable conversation to have at the dinner table, it’s something humans have always found fascinating. Our living world is somewhat predicated on death; we all want to know how to live forever. We talk about what happens after we die.

Social media and death are great bedfellows because they are both great equalizers. While social media makes everyone part of the conversation, death will eventually remove everyone FROM the conversation. This is why social media used to speak from beyond the grave is such an interesting idea, a paradox that allows us to both live and die at the same time.

On that note, here are five impacts using social media to communicate from beyond the grave has on your life and legacy in the great hereafter.

1) It Alters and Enhances Digital Archaeology
It was only a matter of time before our leave-behinds became digitized. That time has come. We can now leave a greater volume of information behind than ever before, which makes a huge impact on what those in the future think of us. It also opens an entirely new conversation about how advanced we really are. For example, will a tweet in the future be the modern-day equivalent of rocks with scratch marks on them from 5,000 BC?
In other words, what will the world be like when Twitter is ancient as opposed to new? None of us will live to see it… but let the record show we discussed it.

2) It Connects You to Your Family and Future Citizens
Your family loves you. And more than likely, someone you care about, blood-related or not, will outlive you. This is your chance to plan your last goodbye. Should you decide to do so, you can message directly to anyone in the future about anything, for as long as you want.

So what advice do you have for the future? What would you say to your great-great grand children?

3) It Opens the Door to Potential Legal Questions
In some legal systems, posthumous prosecution has occurred. Some religions feature posthumous salvation. But whether or not these motions are valid- they incorporate the will of the living without regard for the wishes of the dead- may be greatly affected by the now-able-to-speak deceased person in question. In addition, any question of division of assets, post-life wishes or other aspects of the requests of those who have passed on might be clear in social media messaging from beyond the grave.

4) It Will Question How Life Should Be Spent
When you speak from beyond the grave, you make a decision to express something: regret, repentance, joy, love, honor, respect, persistence, etc. You also make the decision to spend part of your waking life discussing what happens when you can no longer speak. You extend your presence.

Should we tweet beyond the grave or leave life as is? Food for thought in the great beyond?

5) It Questions the Definition of Life Itself
For most, making a decision is a sign of free will. Speaking from beyond the grave via scheduled post is a the outcome of a decision, only it is a decision made before you die. To show a sign of life from beyond the grave is to demonstrate a living testament to your beliefs.
When you speak to the future, you demonstrate life after death. The dead can only join the conversation through out of context language right? What does it mean when they start chiming in using planned, calculated ways?

(Again: If you think this is an interesting topic, please vote for our Panel Picker proposal and spread the word. Thanks!)

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Daniel J. CohenFive Impacts Social Media Can Have on Your Afterlife

Free Online Content- Market Speak

Daniel J. Cohen June 4, 2013

Content writers know how to spot what works and what doesn’t in your market speak. We’re on the front lines of your marketing war every day, making things happen for our clients and combating our opponents. Content writers who do what they are supposed to do create incredible value for your company. Content writers who don’t are eaten alive in the open market by the content writers who deliver that value.

As successful content writers, we expect to be paid. But we also realize that giving information away for free is one of the best ways to win the marketing war.

Sound counter-intuitive? Welcome to marketing (and one aspect of market speak).

When you offer information for free, you

  • FLEX your knowledge muscles to potential customers
  • Subconsciously suggest stronger value by delivering the unexpected
  • And create a stir of conversation now so fast due to the onset of digital technologies that it can almost carry your entire business

Free content is the fastest way to becoming your own media source or blog. It’s also the fastest to use sales copy as a traveling online salesman for your product. It’s the best route to strong SEO. It’s one important element of PR.

Free online content may seem like it’s free. But as Andy Crestodina stated earlier this week on #BBSRadio, “Content writers are being paid with the reader’s attention.”

The more your target audience pays attention to you, the better off you’ll be.

Find out how our content writers and content strategists can help leverage content to make you cash. Meet all of your message development needs better, faster, and at a more reasonable rate with RedShift Writers.

Or read more free online content:

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Daniel J. CohenFree Online Content- Market Speak

What is the best time to publish a blog post?

Daniel J. Cohen April 29, 2013

Whenever you want!

Think about it. Why do you publish a blog post in the first place? Blogging can certainly lead to sales. It can be a great way to talk to your audience. And it doesn’t hurt you in the search rankings, either.

But different companies seek to accomplish different objectives with a blog. Dino Dogan of Triberr says that your blog should be thought of “as a magazine” or “like a water cooler”. Some of my clients use their blogs to feature specific products or services. Still others simply aim to keep their sites relevant with their customers. I blog for a combination of purposes.

In theory, you should publish in the morning. When you publish a blog post in the morning, you supposedly drive more traffic, particularly if you do so between 8 and 11 AM. You also get more traffic on Monday, but more comments on Saturday.

This all assumes your audience is the average audience though, when in reality, your audience is your own. Your customers (or readers, if you don’t sell things to them directly) may prefer to wake up at 2 PM, roll over, eat some cheese balls, drink a soda from the night before and get online at 3 PM, then pound the keyboards on all of their favorite blogs for three hours with cheese-covered fingers (comic blogs, I’m looking in your direction). In that case you should publish your blog post at either 3:30 PM (their “morning”) or 4 AM, right before they go to bed after a long night of either Halo or World of Warcraft.

There is also one key factor that trumps any consideration you may have given when you should publish your blog post: What you publish. If your content isn’t strong, there’s no point in putting it out there for the world to see. A good blog post should draw the reader in and convince the audience to read it in its entirety (here’s an example our audience really liked). It’s hard enough to stand out in the digital world- so hard that people are manipulating every variable (such as when you should publish your blog post, whether or not you use pictures, different social media post promotion patterns and more). It’s even harder when you have nothing to say.

So while “social media scientists” may tell you they know the exact measurable pattern that makes the most sense for when you should publish a blog post, take that analysis with a grain of salt. Timing and testing of all content marketing variables is important, but trust your intuition to determine whether or not you are an average business or if you should post outside of the traditional “best period of the day”. And NEVER sacrifice the quality of your content for the quantity of posts on your blog.

This blog is being published on a Monday morning in an effort to see if you, our reader, is an average blog reader, or if you have other business to attend to right now. If you think we’re on the right track, tell us in the comments.

Or if you think we are plum crazy and totally missed the mark, you can tell us that, too.

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Daniel J. CohenWhat is the best time to publish a blog post?