24 Aug

Oh the irony

I write content for other people – other companies – all day, every day.
Yes, I get other briefs (the odd DM piece or press ad), but the bulk of my work is content writing.

I get excited about starting a new brief – perhaps having to research a product, service, or sector I’ve not worked on before.

But … what a royal pain in the Khyber writing my own content, for my new website, has been.

Notwithstanding getting the actual site designed, writing the content has – so far – taken me three days.
In part, this is because I’m too close to the work itself, so I keep changing it or spotting things I’m not happy with. This is strange, because I have to judge my own writing – writing for clients – all the time. I have to proofread it objectively, even though it came from my hand.
However, judging my own content is proving tricky;
Is it ‘me’?
Does it get my experience across?
Will I get picked up for the keyword phrases I’ve worked in?
Is it the right blend of ‘conversational’ yet ‘professional’?

I’ve rewritten every page from scratch. The most time-consuming pages were; Rates, Terms & Conditions, Portfolio, and Blog.

I’ve decided to reveal my rates, but also explain what they cover, how I set them, and how I arrive at a quote for a piece of work.
Many copywriters seem to hide their rates (which I’ve done in my current copy), but I don’t see the point: might as well give them to clients from the off.

My terms and conditions needed a complete overhaul. I’ve learnt a lot over the last few years – working with different clients, coming across different scenarios – and my terms and conditions now cover all eventualities.

My portfolio has grown, so I’ve had to be selective in the pieces I’ve chosen for my new website… and write up new blurb (client, sector, brief, solution) for all of them.

I cannot take all of my blog posts over to my new website, so I’ve had to go through them, one by one (I think there’s around 1,000 posts), pick out the best ones, then copy, paste, and save them.

The whole thing has been a bit tiring. I can see why people only look to change their content every 3 – 4 years.
And – although it’ll pay for itself in the long run – I’ve lost three days’ earnings (which will be closer to four days, once I’m done).

Clients – I love writing your content. When it comes to my own though, I’m glad I only have to change things every few years.

 

 

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