Great design puts people in the mood.  Words move them.

In order to write compelling content, you need to know what to say and how to say it:

  • What information will engage your target audience? What do they care about?
  • Is there a natural order to your content that will move people along a given path? Can you create a conversation?
  • Who should deliver this message?  The reader’s mother?  Best friend?  A trusted authority?  How can you emulate that voice while still sounding authentic?

Next, you’ve got to settle in to writing the thing.  Writing is hard.  You make a plan, then you throw your plan out the window.  You write whole paragraphs for the waste basket.  You fiddle with your angle of entry for hours.

After much consternation and many cups of coffee, you find you’ve made something beautiful.

At least, that’s what works for me.

If you’re not into the whole writing thing, you may find yourself thinking you should hire someone.

Hiring a writer is not for the faint of heart.   A good writer will want to get inside your head and see the subject from your point of view.  She’s going to ask to see everything you’ve ever written, including that embarrassing  poem from third grade.

Another common approach is to ask for a completed questionnaire describing your audience and your goals for the piece.  The questionnaire must be lengthy to provide the detail your writer needs to absorb your worldview and to express your ideas faithfully.

Lastly, you will probably need to have one or more meetings or phone calls with the writer to make sure you’re on the same page.

The process is arduous, but it’s worth it.  In the end, you’ll have words that move people.  Guaranteed.