B2B Writing Institute

Learn how to write B2B content

Commonly and Frequently Asked Questions Related to B2B Writing and Marketing Writing

Commonly and Frequently Asked Questions Related to B2B Writing and Marketing Writing

“Tend to your vital heart, and all that you worry about will be solved.”
– Rumi

Today: A “built-in” change in plans!

You don’t see the twist and turns in the path until you start walking, and sometimes you don’t have questions until you start doing the work. 

PERFECTING YOUR IDEA

IDEA #1

“How convenience store Company X used drive throughs to 2X revenue in one month”

IDEA #2

  • Do we have data on any one company going through the remote work process
  • “Remote work considerations for productivity, onboarding, employee satisfaction”
  • “What to change when you go remote: how to maximize product, onboarding, satisfat”
  • Adding perspective, telling them what’s happening
  • Remote work is the best: why it maxes out productivity, onboarding, satisfaction

IDEA #3

  • Commercial real estate
  • Brochure v White paper
  • CREs are experiencing a tight and uncertain market
    • They’re looking for anything they can do to be more attractive to companies that want office spaces
    • One way people are doing cool things with this is to dig into sustainability ESG
    • 5 ways a green roof is going to give you an edge:

IDEA 4: 

I started a thought leadership article on the value of using LMS to improve a healthy restaurant culture. Although I did a lot of research, I never completed the project because I couldn’t see how I could come up with an angle that was somehow unique enough that a chief executive would want to put their name on. LMS definitely is useful in that it is convenient, concise, and accessible and resonates with younger generation of restaurant trainees, but there’s nothing new about that. Although I did a lot of research, I never completed the project because I couldn’t see how I could come up with an angle that was somehow unique enough that a chief executive would want to put their name on. LMS definitely is useful in that it is convenient, concise, and accessible and resonates with younger generation of restaurant trainees, but there’s nothing new about that.  I’m kind of stumped.

FEELING NOT GREAT

🦉Q: “I fear as though I am doing something wrong.”

🦄 A:  You’re not doing something wrong, you’re learning something new! It is going to feel almost the same as learning a new language. Like hitting a wall over and over again until suddenly… you’re fluent! And it was all worth it! This is also completely natural because you’re starting from scratch! You are literally filling in empty buckets of niche experience inside your mind, so your mind is absorbing e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. The next project you do? It will be 10% easier and you’ll feel 10% less scattered…. then 10% and 10% and so on until you can sit down to a project and just know where to go find the info and when to stop reading.

NERVOUS TO CHOOSE A NICHE

🦉Q:

🦄 A:  The most important step is just to move forward. So, what topic do you think will increase your odds of dedicating the time and finishing it? No matter what niche you end up in, that’s the most important part. While really high end clients will want to see work specifically in their field, starter clients will just want to see “a finished white paper” to get a sense of what you have done before. So in my mind, step #1: write one about almost literally anything. Step #2: Leverage those starter clients into a more focused portfolio in a niche you want to grow in.

THIS PRICING IS NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH

🦉Q : The thing is: $300 articles are not going to pay the bills, even a package of six.

🦄 A:  At this point, that’s because you’re still spending “learning time” on executing the articles. Soon, you’ll be at “executing time,” where you can move faster and deliver high-quality work. 

  • “A $300 article doesn’t get the same treatment as a $800 article.” – Lindsey
  • “Land and expand” → Get a smaller project and then pitch a bigger project.
  • A+, B+, and C+ writing… right now you have to strain to make it all A+, and that takes time and energy

Your pricing options will also change over time

  • Per hour 
  • Per word
  • Project (Blog – $1000, White paper – $5500)
  • Value (Consultants, CRO (% fee of results), Landing Page, Direct Response)

WHY IS THIS SO HARD?

🦉Q : So far, this whole process is turning out to be much more complicated than I thought it would be. First, feeling confident enough about a subject that with additional research I can write about it competently. Then coming up with ideas of how to write about it in such a way that it is original enough to provide some value some way for a client. And then, marketing myself as a writer in a niche even though I’ve never had a client for that niche. 

🦄 A:  How can we simplify this hard thing? Pick 2 niches that look fun. Make a “ideas file” or “operations folder” where you keep your templates. Have a nice LinkedIn profile and look up and connect with people in your space.

WHAT MISTAKES COULD MESS THIS UP FOR ME?

🦉Q : Please share mistakes that can really derail the B2B writing career?

🦄 A:  When you go freelance, you are so much more in control of how things are going. You can’t really get fired, you can just lose a client. Your career is now a series of different clients. But if I had to pick some things to watch out for…

  • [Unethical things]
  • [Delivered poor work and didn’t fix it]
  • [Being unwelcoming to feedback/defensive or resisting it → Semantic Judo/Nonviolent language, de-escalation.]
  • Mess up with a client
    • Ghosting
    • Egregious overcharging (If they go to replace you, does everyone else charge 10x less). (If I’m charging $2000/article. Everyone else quotes $500.)
    • Inefficient (If you can’t handle digital communications (Asana, Google Docs))
    • Asking for a lot of extensions 

BAD FEEDBACK

🦉Q : We all, every single one of us, at some point, will get bad feedback.

🦄 A:  “Bad feedback does not mean you’ve failed!” You misunderstood or they did not communicate 

Content brief – Milestones and sign off from stakeholders – Document your evolution of the content. 

GOOD IDEA/BAD IDEA

🦉Q : I’m concerned my idea might not be original enough. I’ve found other articles that go into a lot of detail about what I’m writing about.

🦄 A:  In my mind, what would make it original or not is what you end up writing, which hasn’t happened yet. At this point, I could write a compelling 800 word article on “Ducks are good”… what makes it good or bad isn’t the title or topic, it’s you writing it. There are billions of pieces of content out there. 

But the good news is our clients aren’t trying to complete the Internet’s library — our clients are trying to create new content that shares their perspective, and we can help with that.  

YOUR IDEA: THE TIME IS NOW

Everyone should leave with an idea today!