High quality B2B content — the kind of stuff marketers are willing to PAY for, not just approve and publish — not the grunt work — comes from PLANNING. It is not possible to write this kind of content without planning — strategy, outlining, research. So if you don’t already do that, that’s the first thing to change from this day forward
We’re here to earn more for our hard work.
The reason B2B is worth focusing on is because it pays more — it’s very common to find high-paying rates like $500 for an article on the low side up to $2-3 per word. But it takes a learning curve — a learning curve you’re going to skateboard with me here so you can run out and do it in real life. That’s a foundational thing I’ve come to see over the years — the process of doing it is the only way to become a person who can do this work! So thank you for coming in and getting uncomfortable with me — it’s going to pay off :).
Limiting beliefs
- “I’m not qualified to write this”
- “If I were good at this, it would be easier to learn”
- “I don’t know enough to charge for this”
… This is all normal! It’s a sign you’re pushing yourself outside your current areas of expertise. And that’s HOW you grow your expertise. You’re pushing the fence around what you know out, and that takes physical and mental effort. Don’t hesitate to ask questions — even if it seems like you should already know
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”The more questions you ask, the smarter you look” –
– Amy Posner
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Here’s how to feel about yourself as you work through this material. From W. Timothy Gallwey’s book, “The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance:”
“When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless.
“We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.”
― W. Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance
Trust your mind and body
- “I know what to do, why can’t I do it right the first time?”
- “What you’re saying makes sense, but I can’t translate that to the page.”
- “These are great ideas, but when I’m the one trying to do it, it goes nowhere.”
I know we’re here to break down the technicalities and learn but it might surprise you to hear we’re also here to unlearn and become your own writer with your own opinions… The knowledge I’m offering is valuable and helpful… but once we get writing there will come a moment when you have to mentally say “Forget you, Sarah. I’m doing this my way.” And THAT will end up being the right way.
Absorb what we’re talking about, be receptive and curious. Then free yourself from the technique and memorization of what to do and just give it a try. Your mind and body won’t know how to do this perfectly until you do it perfectly and see how that feels. My goal is to help you get into a state of relaxed concentration where you can truly “get a feel” for this work.
Another insightful take from “The Inner Game of Tennis”:
“Focus is not achieved by staring hard at something. It is not trying to force focus, nor does it mean thinking hard about something. Natural focus occurs when the mind is interested. When this occurs, the mind is drawn irresistibly toward the object (or subject) of interest. It is effortless and relaxed, not tense and overly controlled.”
Throughout our time together, we’ll talk about different things we can do to create space for focus (Pomodoro Power Hours, kitchen timers, breaking the project into chunks, etc.) but for now, please just know that you have begun the lifelong writer’s struggle: Feeling pulled to write, feeling resistance to writing, and writing your way around it.
TODAY’S TOPIC IS… INTRODUCTION TO WRITING B2B
Here’s the first layer of mystery: You can’t just “write an article for a company” because that’s not possible. It’s a lot more complicated than that and it starts with the difference between your customer, their customer, and the reader
We’re going to break down the complications into two important concepts for today — two ideas that will help you take ideas or concepts and “figure out the B2B angle”:
- THE THIRD DEGREE
- THE FOUR PARAMETERS OF CREATING AN IDEA
THE THIRD DEGREE
Who’s going to be reading this? It’s not always the person hiring you to write it.
There are three degrees of people involved:
- First degree: Your client
- Second degree: Their client
- Third degree: Their client’s customer ← This is what makes it B2B
So, let’s take an example where Denise was writing about an HR Tech product for HR executives.
Your client = the B2B tech company
Their client = HR executives
Their client’s customer/stakeholder: Employees, ROI, stakeholders
| Niche | Your client (1st degree) | Their client (2nd degree) | Their client’s customer(3rd degree) |
| Higher Education | Learning management technology company (Blackboard, D2L) | Higher education institution that wants to do online learning better | Students, faculty, staff |
| B2B E-commerce payments | Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) providers (eg. Klarna, Atome, PayLater by Grab, AfterPay, hoolah) | E-commerce business that might add BNPL to their ecommerce store (Adidas, Nike, Drapes R’Us) | Customer of that e-commerce business that benefits from BNPL (You, me, Jason Momoa) |
This can be a lot to absorb, so just let it simmer and keep it in mind as you’re reading B2B examples out there.
FOUR PARAMETERS OF CREATING AN IDEA:
Ultimately, there are four parameters that determine what you write, four things that you have to establish first, each one closing the rings of what you’re talking about to make it manageable. If you just look at “the Internet”… no one would ever write anything.
| “Let’s write about space” | “Let’s write about The Great Rift of Galaxon” |
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The parameters are Format, Niche, Topic, and Angle
Once you master these guidelines, you can improvise by adding more ideas to your arsenal like:
- Customer research
- Customer personas and buyer personas
- Sales and customer service teams
- Mind mapping (Miro, Google: Free mind mapping, Xmind, iMindmap)
Format
Think of format like an artistic constraint. Your format constrains the purpose of what you’re doing, the length, and how you’ll use resources. Often decided by where this falls in the marketing funnel (TOFU/MOFU/BOFU) or the content strategy. You could have the same niche, topic, and angle and it would be different as a white paper, case study, or article — in fact, I’ve had clients who pay separately for one of each on the same subject!
This is covered in more detail in the B2BWI resources and training catalog, but the basics are:
- White paper – A long-form piece of content in a downloadable PDF or interactive microsite, typically 1500-2000+ word exploring a topic or presenting a case for something
- Case Study – A medium- or long-form piece of content in a downloadable PDF or interactive microsite (or blog), typically 750-1500 word exploring a customer’s success with a product or service
- Thought Leadership Article – A short-form 750-1000 word idea or argument, sometimes ghostwritten on behalf of someone else, typically published on a blog or company website
Niche/Industry
What is the industry or area of specialty you’ll be covering, such as HR, Banking, Cybersecurity, Retail/CPG, Healthcare, Utilities, etc.
(There are dozens of niches like those summarized on the Industry Dive landing page and sites like it)
Questions I’m asking myself when I review Industry Dive niches to see what I might like to write about:
- Could I care less about this?
- Do I want to know more?
- Does this relate to anything I already know?
- Do I want to click every link in this article to find out more?
- Does this feed a sparkly ball of energy inside me, or does it make me feel like I’m dying inside and I need to gasp for air?
RELATED RESOURCES:
- Niche 101: Choosing and changing your writing niche (Training Session)
- Let’s find clients live (Training Session)
Topic/Subject
What is the subject of discussion you’re going to write about within that industry?
The topic or subject might stretch across many different industries, but it has unique applications for every industry. I.E. Digital transformation within HR is different from digital transformation within Healthcare, recruiting within IT is different from recruiting within manufacturing, etc.
You want to have a sense of the “big picture” topic you’re writing about so that everyone is on the page about:
- What publications, resources, and SMEs are relevant?
- What are we NOT talking about?
- How does our product tie into something bigger?
This is why good content doesn’t come from “tell them about our product.”
That line of thinking will have you exploring five different features and benefits and one hundred ways this can benefit someone’s company… and not get to anything deeper to the story, trend, or transformation that actually makes someone want to read
Angle/Thesis
What is the premise, opinion, or educational goal related to that topic?
The ultimate goal of good content is to take the reader from a beginning state to an end state. That’s why content like “What is SEO” is low paying work and, in my opinion, not worth doing. Because there is no end-state to that: we’re just saying it’s important and explaining why. A much more interesting piece (that a thought leader might be able to write or answer) is something like “5 Scenarios where SEO is a waste of time”
I.E. It’s time to stop recruiting the traditional way in healthcare — here’s how; Five technologies in HR that are outdated; How to fend off new security threats in e-commerce today
When thinking of an angle or a thesis, we’ve essentially reached the end of the “explainer article.”
Explainer articles or “Topic 101!” make great clips and help you learn about a topic, but as the content marketing space has become more saturated, it’s less likely clients will need that kind of work from you. They are more interested in getting their thought leaders ideas out into the world or attracting potential executive-level clients with really tight thinking/ideas. So when you think of a topic, it’s very likely you’ll need to go 1-2 steps further than when you think you’re done.
I.E.
- If you think your topic is “Email marketing”…. Keep digging.
- Email marketing for e-commerce.
- Email marketing for e-commerce during BF/CM.
The more you put in to make it a “long tail” topic, the more it’s perceived to have an angle or purpose.
A couple things go through my mind when I work on developing topics and finding angles for a client (and this is the subject of next week’s session!)
- What’s N.I.C.E.? Identify what’s “New, Innovative, Complex, Expensive” about this topic and what companies can do to handle it.
- What are old ideas that need to be replaced? What about ideas that will stick around forever?
- What should people in this industry worry about more? What should they worry about less?
- What’s brand new and hard to understand that we could make a 101 guide for? (Different from an “explainer article”)
- What’s something that’s obvious that needs to be said or supported with data?
- Look at headlines from other B2B websites and companies and do it better or differently
But don’t get discouraged when “the perfect idea” doesn’t magically appear. Format, Niche, Topic, Angle (FNTA) only takes you so far. It’s like directions to the party – but you still have to show up to the party with something to say! That can be frustrating… But it’s also an invitation for our inner creative to come out to play. To get paid to think. And isn’t it amazing that something as simple as a blog post headline can have thousands of layers of meaning and complexity under the surface?
⚠️ Note: In a real-life situation, your client would determine a lot of these things! You will know the niche, they might assign the topic, and they might even provide you an angle or thesis.⚠️
Today I’m going to ask YOU to let these ideas simmer and commit to a FORMAT, NICHE, and a TOPIC.
You don’t need to know everything — what I’m really asking is “which of these things can you get curious about, get interested in, for the duration of our 8 weeks together?” If you don’t have one, I have an assignment for you in this chart. Choose one of the following for a thought leadership article. (Note: White papers and case studies are an option, too, but not recommended for your first sample piece).
EXAMPLE F-N-T-A
| Industry or Niche | Your Client | General Topic | What You’ll Need to Learn About |
| Learning Management Software | LMS company | Training and building company culture among restaurant employees | Value of training employees Value of company culture Challenges of employee training Best Practices |
| Human Resources | HR technology software for enterprise company (500+ employees) | Everything You Need to Know About Remote Onboarding for Enterprise Companies | Value of onboarding Unique needs and challenges of remote onboarding Best Practices for onboarding |
| Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) | E-commerce website application that helps retailers sell more | Top tips for improving conversions on your website as a retailer | E-commerce Website conversions and copywriting List building and email copywriting |
| Higher Education | Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for Higher Ed | Student marketing best practices for 2022 | What’s a CRM? What’s a CRM for higher ed? What do schools currently do for marketing to students? What are challenges and needs in this space? What are good ideas for student marketing? |
RELATED RESOURCES:
- How to Start and Finish (Training Session)