As a professional, freelance copywriter, one of my specialties is corporate blog writing.
I recently quoted a price to write a series of corporate blogs for the marketing director of a medium size corporation. I had written other marketing and public relations material for her so we had a working relationship.
But for the corporate blog, she’d been using a blog writing service and paying $50 per blog article. My quote, as a freelance copywriter, was considerably higher. And it created a dilemma. She liked the quality of my copywriting, but was unsure about paying a much higher rate than the blog writing service.
I explained that as a freelance copywriter, I could not compete at the rate the blog writing service offered. If price was the determining factor, I understood if she went with the blog writing service instead of me. It was and I lost the gig.
Oh, the trials and disappointments of the freelance copywriting life.
Since then I’ve acquired other corporate clients that gladly pay my rate to write their corporate blogs. And it raises the question: Why pay a freelance copywriter for your corporate blog when a blog writing service is so much cheaper?
In Corporate Blog Writing A Copywriter Writes for People and SEO Ranking
In corporate blog writing there are two audiences. The human audience the audience that reads it and the web spiders that crawl it for content to list in search engines. A freelance copywriter writes for both.
Your blog article should include 3% to 5% of the keywords you’re interested in along with F2 tags those spiders will pick up to rank your corporation higher in the search engine page results.
At the same time, the keywords must be artfully inserted and the article engaging for readers. It takes both time and effort to accomplish.
For the writer of a blog writing service making $30 to write a 500 word blog article, speed is essential because you have to write several articles a day to make money. You’ll likely focus on either SEO or content. To do both and do it well will slow you down considerably.
But as a freelance copywriter charging an hourly rate, my focus is on carefully balancing the two in a blog article that gains both page ranking and readership. I don’t pad my time, but I don’t let time determine the pace. It’s all about delivering a quality product.
In Corporate Blog Writing A Freelancer Writes Persuasively
A corporate blog should attract potential customers. So it should do more than simply provide information. It should persuade the audience your corporation has the solution they’re looking for. And this is where an experienced, freelance copywriter excels.
He’ll use a conversational tone of voice. An engaging story. Even, perhaps, a little humor to keep the audience’s attention. And he’ll address problem areas for the audience and subtly position his corporate client as the hero.
On one occasion, a persuasive story I wrote led to a $100,000 sale for the company. I think that corporate client will tell you my rate was an incredible value to them.
There’s a certain psychology to persuasive writing. A bit of Freudian psychoanalytical leveraging. And it comes naturally to freelance copywriters since we’re all slightly out of our minds to choose the profession in the first place.
In Corporate Blog Writing A Freelancer Provides Personal Service
When you contract a freelance copywriter, you deal directly with that writer. We’ll communicate by phone, Skype or e-mail. And we’ll respond quickly because we know that prompt, customer service is important.
Most of us have charming personalities too, but that’s another blog article.
Blog writing services keep you away from the writers. Your directions are filtered, which promotes misunderstanding and makes it harder to clearly communicate the message you want delivered.
A freelance copywriter will also personalize your message. I encourage client phone interviews because I often pick up emotional inflections that help me know what to emphasize in the copy. I also gain industry terms and often, corporate language that adds a unique voice to the corporate blog.
So if cost is the bottom line for your corporate blog, then a blog writing service is the way to go. But if you’re looking for balanced SEO and quality content, persuasion and personal service, a freelance copywriter is the right choice.
Corporations that choose freelance copywriters to write their corporate blogs consider value rather than cost. Because they know that value can have a big payoff.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is a freelance copywriter, published author, playwright and pastor. He publishes drama at www.chiptudor.com, books on Amazon.com, and articles on his blog.
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