We can learn from everything around us. From books, from our family and friends, from our hobbies and various activities. When the said activity is our job, the quicker one starts extracting lessons from it, the better. I write every day (as you can imagine) but so far, I’ve never written about what writing for clients has taught me.
So, here are the most important lessons I’ve been able to add to my writing armor during my time with 411Writers, the content agency where I started my career almost two years ago.
Content Is, Indeed, King
But Just Writing Is Not Enough
Before starting at 411Writers, I had little knowledge of SEO. By virtue of my job as a content creator, I got to learn about it in-depth, including how important it is in the grand scheme of things. For many people, Search Engine Optimization remains a terra incognita, mainly because of its ever-changing nature.
And I agree, it could be quite scary. But, digging into it and implementing it into your business is crucial if not fundamental if you want to stay afloat in today’s broad digital landscape. However, we should not forget for a single moment, that it’s a no-nonsense approach to content stands above all.
What do I mean? Take, for one, keywords. As SEO-savvy writers, we know that Google likes them. But, they shouldn’t come at the cost of the overall meaning of the text. There should be no excuses when it comes to the quality of the content on your page. So, being too adamant for an exact keywords match is not the way to go.
Therefore, lesson #1 is that content is and will continue to be a vital part of your brand and overall business strategy. However, don’t underestimate the rest of the ingredients in the recipe, like SEO.
The Client Is (Not) Always Right
A shocker, I know!
When you work at a content writing agency, you get different clients every day. The pace with which topics and orders come can be really quick and overwhelming sometimes. In those moments, all you get is a client brief with all the requirements and sometimes a few guiding words. Now, add a deadline to that.
It could be urgent. In most cases, it is. So, as the content writer picking the order up, you depend on the client to be as clear and concise as possible. And, let me shock you once more, this is not always the case.
I learned that working with clients requires you to listen carefully and ask the right questions. Most of the time, they just need a bit of guidance and stirring in the right direction. But, when they lack the knowledge you do, they can sometimes expect unrealistic results.
So, lesson #2: being able to communicate effectively is going to save you time and headaches, so better learn that before anything else. The client may not always be right but as a professional content writer, you must always find a way to provide them with what they are paying for.
Going the Extra Mile Is Worth It
We do it for the people, after all
If you love what you do, you will want people you do it for to end up loving it too. Our content writing agency opened its doors and it quickly started getting orders. People from all over the world started sending us their requests and we, the writers, the backbone of the company, were more than excited to do what we do best.
The thing is, sometimes, you are paid to do one thing and you end up doing extra. Maybe you want to impress your customers and other times, good industry practices require it and you simply must obey, no matter if the client didn’t explicitly state they want it from you.
I am proud of the way we do things here. At 411Writers, we spare no effort when we see an opportunity to go the extra mile. We do extra research for clients, we identify keywords found on competitive websites, we create content strategies, color code beneficial keywords and make it all user-friendly.
Many a time, we’ve spent the time and effort to complete those for free. The clients didn’t expect us to. We just thought it would be worth doing it. The result? People truly appreciate it.
Here is lesson #3: go the extra mile as much as possible and it won’t go unnoticed. Happy clients have recommended us to others, left positive reviews, and use our tipping service to show gratitude. Don’t do it for the money. Do it for the craft that you love. Appreciation will follow. It always does.
Let Me Wrap It All Up
… one last time
So, here we are. Where? In my last paragraph. Ever. At least as a part of the 411Writers. Besides sharing my lessons with you today, this article is my formal goodbye with the team and a job that taught me so much. For the past few years, this was home and I loved every second of being a part of an awesome content writing agency that really puts its clients first, not just on paper.
