Writing for Clients

Sometimes I’m asked how I go about writing websites for clients. How do I know what to write? How can I write about a topic that I’m not an expert in?

To be honest, it’s difficult. No one is an expert at everything, but people are usually experts at their own businesses. At first glance you might think that it would make more sense for a business owner to write his or her website. After all, the owner most likely knows more about his or her own business than anyone else does, right?

That’s true. But the owner may not feel comfortable writing. He or she may not have the time or the desire to write. That’s where a copywriter comes in.

Usually when I’m writing for someone else I’m either in one of two situations. 1) I’m writing a brand new website from scratch or 2) I’m re-writing and editing an existing site.

When I’m re-writing website content, I obviously have the existing site as a guide. This makes things easier.

If I’m writing website copy for a brand new site, one of the first things I do is ask for some guidance. Does the website own have any guides or manuals or brochures that I can look at? These provide a lot of information about a business. Sometimes I ask the business owner to write some point form notes for me.

Then I do some research. Obviously I’m not going to become an expert on every subject, but it’s a good idea to learn a little bit about what you’re going to write about. Taking some time to research the topic at hand will make your writing much better than if you try and write from scratch.

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