writer, strategist, or both?

Here’s how you can make even more money in a pivotal role [The Writer’ s Life]( November 9, 2021 Hi {NAME}, Are you familiar with the term "touchpoint"? Basically, a touchpoint is any way a business interacts with a prospective buyer … It can be in-person, through a website or an app, or through any form of communication. Communication like … emails, social media posts, articles, blog posts, videos, ads … the list goes on and on. All of those pieces of content are considered touchpoints … and they are all on the customer's journey to making a purchase. It can take several touchpoints. And the number is growing … In the Business-to-Business (B2B) world, a recent report by Forrester found that the average number of touchpoints before a sale has risen from 17 to 27! So let's talk about what that means for you, the writer … 27 touchpoints means a business has to connect with a prospective buyer an average of 27 times before the sale will go through. And businesses can't use the same blog post 27 times and clinch that sale … instead, they need a constant stream of new blog posts, emails, articles, ads, video scripts, case studies, white papers, and more … just to reach the finish line on that one sale. Can you see why there's such a huge demand for new content? The math alone makes it obvious. Because that's 27 pieces of content for one product. Think of the companies that sell 10 products … or 100! The volume is astounding. Plus, every industry or niche needs content, so no matter what your experience or interests, you'll find numerous companies to write for. But if you want to step up a level and earn even more money — and have even more fun with your work — there's another advantageous role you can take on in content marketing. Because it's not enough for businesses to create that much content … [someone has to be the mastermind](, figuring out what all of those 27 pieces of content are going to be. And how they can be used most effectively. You can step into that role. You'll earn larger paychecks, you'll have a lot of fun plotting the best mix of content, plus you'll gain even greater respect. Today, Heather Robson outlines three things you can do in this bigger role, so you can decide if you're interested in that next step. Of course, if you're just starting out and you still need to [get the basics of copywriting under your belt]( … Katie and I would love to teach you the fundamentals and let you try your hand at writing, so you can see firsthand if copywriting is for you. We'll even show you how to land those all-important first paying clients. Plus, you can join us next week for a LIVE Q&A session, so all your questions can be answered. [Go here for all the details.]( Check it out now — it's your LAST CHANCE to get in! To your success, [Rebecca Matter’ s signature] Rebecca Matter President, AWAI P.S. Mark your calendar to join me TOMORROW at Noon ET for a special event because Katie and I are gathering the AWAI community to give you an exciting update on the state of the industry — and what we're doing to help you take full advantage of all the opportunities. I believe this is THE most important meeting you'll attend this year. With a greater need for trained writers than ever before, it's all about SPEED … Getting MORE writers into the game FASTER … Getting you what you need to start writing … connecting you with companies that need you faster … getting you paid … and building from there. That's what tomorrow's meeting is about … the retooling we've done to our teaching methods, how they'll affect you from now on … AND, what we've put in place to connect you with the companies who desperately need you. So, please block out about an hour … and get your questions ready. [Go here for the access instructions.]( See you there! Content Writer or Content Strategist? By Heather Robson [Female content strategist organizing Post-it® notes on an idea board] No doubt about it, content is the beating heart of many company's marketing efforts. In fact, SEMrush did a survey of marketers and found that 94% of them were investing in content … so basically everyone. Whatever industry you want to work in, whatever dream client you're hoping to land, there's a good chance — 15 to 1 — that they use content. That means if you enjoy writing content, the world is your oyster. There's a never-ending need for the service you offer. But there is a way you can you make what you do stand out from other content writers while delivering more value to your clients and helping them get a better result. Become a Content Marketing Strategist. Help Your Client Understand Their Audience When you work as a strategist, you'll do more than write great content. You'll help your client figure out who their audience is. A lot of businesses have some notion of their audience, but many of them think about their audience as people who could benefit from their product. That's not enough to connect with the audience on a deeper level. When you're a strategist, one of the first things you'll do is help your client get a very good feel for who a typical member of their audience is. You'll talk to your client about who their buyer is in terms of demographics — things like age, income level, and education level. But you'll also research what values and beliefs the audience has … what problems they have that your client can help them solve and how they talk about those problems … and what it will mean to them if those problems are resolved, both in their professional life and their personal life. You'll investigate what the audience likes to read and watch, what kinds of stories resonate with them, even their political and religious leanings. You'll take everything you learn and distill it into a character summary for your client. Then whenever anyone at the company writes something that prospects will read, they can picture the person they're writing to. Figure Out What Content the Audience Wants Another role you'll take on as a Content Marketing Strategist is helping your client plan out the topics they need to cover. You'll review questions that customers have asked. You'll brainstorm the information that new prospects need to know if they're going to become customers. You'll think about the obstacles or resistance points potential customers might have. Then using what you come up with, you'll put together a list of topics — including possible headlines — that your client needs to cover so that their prospects can find all the information necessary to make an informed buying decision. Design Content Journeys Most companies have an ongoing need for content. But most of them don't create their content strategically. They create one-off articles that stand alone. And they create them without giving much thought to how their audience will find them or what they will read next. They also don't give much thought to how they might use the content they create in different ways. They may post it to their website but overlook how they could use it on social media or as part of email campaign. They often miss opportunities to repurpose the content they create to reach a broader audience. For example, a well-written content piece could provide the material for creating an infographic, a slide show, a video series, and a podcast. And many companies don't take the time to plan series of content that creates an educational or inspirational journey for their readers. With a content journey, each time a reader finishes one content piece, you offer them the next. The pieces come to them in a logical order that deepens their understanding each step of the way. By the end of the content journey, readers will see the value in the product or service your client offers and making a purchase will be a natural next step. Yes, You Still Get to Write Content … If You Want To Becoming a strategist doesn't mean you'll stop writing content. After creating a documented content marketing strategy for your client that includes who they are writing to, what they need to create, and the order it should be delivered in, it's only natural that they would hire you to write the content you've suggested. By starting with the strategy, though, you'll accomplish a number of things. - You'll set your client up for success. Companies that use a documented content marketing strategy see a greater Return on Investment than those that don't. - You'll get to see how well you work with the client while providing a high degree of value. The content strategy can be something you offer as an initial project. If at the end, you don't feel the relationship is a good fit, they still have everything they need to create strategic content working with other writers. - You'll position yourself for retainer arrangements. If you and a client are a good fit, you may find yourself writing two to six content pieces for them each month as part of an ongoing relationship. - You'll add value to what you do, and to your bottom line. You can charge between $2,500 and $5,000 for creating a content strategy — and that doesn't include writing the content. Becoming a Content Marketing Strategist will elevate your content services. Your clients will enjoy better results, and you'll move from the role of writer into valued partner. If you enjoy writing content, it's worth considering adding this service to your offerings. Do you have any questions about getting started as a content writer and strategist? [Let us know in the comments.]( Editorial Note: Brian Clark became a legend in our industry by building a company from ZERO to a multimillion-dollar entity without using any paid advertising! Instead, using targeted, effective content, he built Copyblogger from scratch into an industry-renowned powerhouse. Brian's mastered writing strategic content that resonates with an audience and takes them on a journey. And ultimately moves them to take action. Now, you can learn directly from him … He'll show you every step of his proven content writing process, along with how you can start attracting high-paying clients. And, he'll also reveal how to move the prospective buyer closer to a purchase — that's a higher-level skill. You're not just a writer … you're a strategist. And as a strategist, you make a lot more money. By the time you finish his training series, you'll have the skills needed to command $5,000 per month (per client!) as a Content Marketing Strategist. [Check it out here]( — before it goes away at midnight! --------------------------------------------------------------- "That was painless …" Which was Ilise Benun's plan all along when she created her client-getting system, the 21-Day Challenge. Follow her very simple plan, and you're GUARANTEED to [land your very first paying client](. If you're not familiar with Ilise, she's a business-building expert, coach, and mentor to creative professionals. For more than 30 years, Ilise has helped numerous writers get started, get clients, and get paid what they're worth — all by following easy, pain-free instructions. Recent "graduates" of her 21-Day Challenge program wrote about their experiences. Here's one of those essays … My Takeaway from Ilise Benun's 21-Day Challenge By Bill Bariteau I've never been good at self-promotion. After college, I expected to get a fantastic job and do all the things to make myself more employable. The trouble was, like many college students, I had been a student since I was five and knew little about being employable. I also live in the American culture that has rewarded people who have promoted themselves in business and the arts. How they got there was always a mystery to me. Hard work, persistence, desire, this, and that … Wanting to Share Since college, I've slowly managed to become more employable. I've learned many things the hard way and those hard lessons have stayed with me. My desire has been to share some of those difficult things with others. This is, by far, my biggest motivator to becoming a writer. The question is: How do I go about making contacts with people to let them know that I'm available to write? How do I promote myself better? 21-Day Challenge I don't know how I came across the American Writers & Artists Institute (AWAI). It must have been earlier this year (2021) as I was searching for writing resources. I put myself on their mailing list and have seen regular messages in my inbox ever since. "In 21 days, I'll help you put to bed any fears and doubts you have about getting clients … ," read the email I received around early September. "Wow!" was my reaction. Could I really make contacts and find clients? Commit to 30 minutes a day for three weeks. I could handle that. I'm an early riser most days and would have the time. I took Ilise Benun at her word and I started. Orientation and Daily Lessons "Slow down" seemed to be the words I remember the most from the orientation. All the lessons were available in Facebook, but Ilise emphasized that we were to take this one day at a time. This class was about developing my writer profile on LinkedIn and contacting people through that platform. The first days of the challenge were easy with simple exercises such as setting goals and determining when I'm most productive. By the end of that week, we began searching LinkedIn for contacts. These would become our practice prospects. Ilise showed us how to search for relevant people with whom we may want to do business. These would be people who are connected to people who are already in our network. Developing a Profile By the second week, we were developing our headline in LinkedIn and studying the profiles of other writers on LinkedIn. She had us study three people whose headlines and summaries were varied. All three appeared to be successful in their work. Using different approaches, we began writing our summary by the end of that second week. This was easy to overthink. "How do I make a great-looking profile without overselling?" was my concern. I wanted to appear professional and ready for work, but I don't want to get into something that is over my head. Getting Ready By the third week, I had developed my headline and summary. I was a bit nervous about posting these, but I managed. I did it. I had put myself out there for people to see. The real test, I felt, was still to come as I would be sending out invitations to connect. Ilise had us practice different ways to word an invitation. We also prepared thank-you notes for when they accept. All of it good. Sending Invitations On Day 20, it was time to send the invitations. I took a deep breath. I copied and pasted my words for my first practice prospect and hit Send. Done. I did the same with my other two prospects. "Hmmm," I thought. "That was painless." In fact, there really was no drama to it. Drama comes later. On Day 21, we celebrated with a Facebook party of sorts. Before the celebration, however, I managed to find three more prospects. For each, I sent out an invitation to connect. It was painless again. I changed my wording a bit for each and just hit Send. It's now a very easy task to send connection invitations. Maybe it's a habit now. That would be great. Some have accepted my invitations, and some have not. With the ones who accepted, I have sent thank-you notes. Looking Back From start to finish it was a great process. I looked forward to the videos Ilise had each day. Her bright and positive outlook along with her encouragement was priceless. Each day, I had one small piece of work. All of it came together by the final day. I love the fact that I can now send connect invitations with confidence on LinkedIn. An entire world has opened for me and I'm going to walk into it. The Rest of the Story Now I wonder: What else could I accomplish in my life by following a process like this? It was one small task a day for 21 days. What would I give to see other areas of my life open? Is there a process I can follow to be a great writer? Is there a process I can follow to be a better husband, father, brother, friend, and neighbor? I don't know how the "Big" puzzle fits together yet. There is still a lot of mystery in how a person can promote themselves. Two things, however, are more certain: no one can stop me from becoming a great writer except me. The other is that there is a process to achieving great goals and objectives. Finding and implementing the process is the key to getting there. One small step at a time. Thanks, Ilise! If you'd like Ilise's help getting rid of any obstacles that are standing between you and the writing career of your dreams, join her next 21-Day Challenge starting this week and she'll help you past any roadblocks. [Check out the details here.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- LAST CHANCE: Copywriting Crash Course for Just $129 $49! Earn more as a writer than you ever thought possible by picking up the essential skills you need to charge professional fees! You don't need to be a master to make great money as a writer … You just need the basic skills! Join Katie and Rebecca and in just three hours, they'll give you: - The essential writing skills you need to charge higher fees from the start … - An instant confidence boost knowing you can give your writing clients exactly what they need … - The most powerful secrets of persuasion that the highest-paid writers use to make six and even seven-figures … - Our secret, four-part structure of copy that works — Impress your next client with this … - The look of a GENIUS with our favorite editing tricks … And soooo much more — for just $49!! Hurry — enrollment closes at midnight tonight. [Get in right now here.]( Land Your First Paying Client in 21 Days [Land Your First Paying Client in 21 Days video image] This proven system is easy, effective, and takes less than 30 minutes a day … [Check it out for yourself here!]( Your ALL-ACCESS Key — Just $1! Get instant access to the exclusive B2B writing community and ALL their private resources, including … - All the success roadmaps … - All the writing templates … - All the articles … - All the how-to videos … - All 150+ training webinars … - The Forum, the Job Board, the tutorials, the tools … - And much more! [Go here for more details.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. For questions or requests: [contact us online](. --------------------------------------------------------------- ©2021 American Writers & Artists Institute Do you know of someone who would benefit from reading The Writer's Life? Simply direct them [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- American Writers & Artists Institute 220 George Bush Blvd, Suite D Delray Beach, FL 33444 (561) 278-5557 or (866) 879-2924 Ensure your subscription delivery. AWAI Whitelisting info available [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to this newsletter as {EMAIL}. To unsubscribe from any future issues of The Writer's Life, please click here: [Unsubscribe from The Writer's Life](. To unsubscribe from all AWAI broadcasts click here. [I want to permanently unsubscribe from all AWAI emails](.