The Writing Process – Open Letter to Clients

Dear Client

Many clients wonder why writers charge what they do for writing services.  When they see the finished product, it’s hard to know how much work has gone into the polished piece of writing they receive. Although I’ve got extensive experience of writing web content, articles and ebooks, there’s a process I must go through with every piece of writing in order to deliver a quality product that meets your brief and achieves your business goals. Let me give you an example of the process I go through for each web article:

1. Keyword Research

If you’ve filled out my client questionnaire, I already have some idea of which keywords you want to target with your content. This is important so that people can find your site in the search engines, so I back it up with some research of my own. I’ll almost certainly take a look at the keywords your site is already using, and will use tools such as the Google keyword tool to find more long tail keywords that I can use.

2. Content Research

I have a thorough knowledge of several topics, but I don’t claim to know everything. That’s why I’ll research your topic before I start to write. For me, researching an article is more than just checking what’s in Wikipedia and rewriting it. I use a number of sources and check these carefully to make sure I can trust the information before I use it in your article.

3. Notes

I’ll usually keep a document open so I can make a note of anything that’s particularly noteworthy to give your article some color. Then I’ll add a couple of keywords as a reminder. All of this will come in handy later, but making a note helps to keep it in my mind as I write.

4. First Draft

Then I write for as long as it takes to finish the article. If I can, I’ll do this in a continuous flow, but sometimes as I write I’ll find that I need another bit of information, so I’ll go back to the research phase. I’ll then let the article sit for a short while before moving onto the next phase.

5. Polishing

This is where I reread the article, fix anything I don’t like and check that I’ve included keywords (only a few; keyword stuffing is a no-no and won’t help you at all). I go back to the brief and check to make sure I’ve met all your targets – and my own. Then I’ll adjust the language (I write US/Canadian/UK English depending on your preference), spell check and give a final read before sending it to you.

As you can see, I’m very thorough, and on the plus side, I usually get it right first time – most clients don’t need revisions. That’s why I’m worth the rate that I charge.

Looking forward to working with you.

Sincerely

Sharon