Writing & Communication Services

Communication Is More Than Writing

There’s certainly no shortage of writers out there, but there’s a difference between writing and communicating. I excel at the latter. Good communication creates understanding, captures the essence of things, articulates a voice and sets you apart.

Writing & Communication Services
o B2B communications including case studies and white papers
o Internal communications for corporations
o Reports, articles and research writing
o Coaching & consulting
o Ghostwriting


B2B Writing Services

B2B writing is about clearly demonstrating your value to your clients and setting you apart from your competitors by clearly explaining what you offer and how it benefits your customers.

Case Studies

Basically, a case study is much like an extended testimonial describing how a certain product, service, technology or methodology solved a problem that a client faced. The classic format of a case study is before/after or problem/solution using quotes from the actual customer. Case study documents typically range from 500 to 1,500 words in length.
People like reading about real-world people and real-world applications. More and more companies are discovering the value of case studies:
• Case studies provide instant credibility to salespeople. While your salespeople can talk up your company, it’s much more powerful to have other people say good things about your product, service or methodology;
• Case studies can be mailed or emailed to current or prospective clients;
• The material from a case study can be abridged to write a press release;
• Case studies can be presented at meetings and conferences and the case study document given out as a hand-out;
• Case studies can be featured on the company website and client quotes can be used as business testimonial.

Fees: $1,600

Includes:
• Client interview;
• Developing headlines for maximum impact
• Revisions to incorporate your comments (generally 2);
• Graphic design and layout suggestions and assistance.
I can work with your in-house graphic designer to design the layout, or, if you prefer, I can work with graphic designers from my team for an additional fee.

White Papers

A white paper is an educational and persuasive essay about a particular product, service, technology or methodology. They use facts to convince the reader of the benefit of a particular position. While white papers are sales and marketing documents, they avoid an overt sales pitch. Instead, an effective white papers balance explanation and persuasion.
Many businesses are finding that white papers are far more effective than brochures for promoting their products and services. Most often, white papers are used to generate leads or establish thought leadership, although some companies also use them to help close sales. As lead generation tools, they are used on websites, or distributed via email, online advertising campaigns or white paper syndication networks or as the call to action in direct mail or other advertisements. Thought leadership papers discuss theoretical concepts or the future of an industry or technology in order to demonstrate progressive thinking or maintain client loyalty.
A good white paper has an introduction, a background section or problem/issue discussion, a solution discussion and a conclusion. Inexperienced writers sometimes overlook the background discussion, but it is an essential part of the educational sales process serving both to bring non-informed readers up to speed regarding the industry or challenges and reminding informed readers of the existing problem. However, the background discussion should be succinct so that the bulk of the paper can be dedicated to the discussion of the solution advantages. The conclusion sums up key messages and is essential because often readers who are just skimming a document will read a conclusion first.
Beyond these details, there are many different types of white papers. Choosing the best type for your business need requires understanding the target audience and where they are in the buying process.
In the majority of cases, I recommend a length of 6-20 pages for a white paper: a document less than 6 pages can’t really be considered a white paper, while a document over 20 pages is missing its mark of engaging and influencing key business decision makers. Various technologies such as the internet have ushered in a time of information overload while resulting in abbreviated attention spans. While white papers may have once been as long as 100 pages, today’s busy business executives don’t have the time to read long, complex business information. Todays’s white paper must be written in a style that addresses this reality. The solution is to write very concise text and use formatting elements and graphics to draw the reader into the content and ensure you get your message across.
Fees: $4,500 for up to 6 pages; $6,000 for up to 11 pages; $8,000 for up to 20 pages.

Includes:
• Researching facts and background materials;
• Conducting needs assessment:
o Identifying primary and secondary audiences;
o Determining the objective of the paper: to educate, sell, inform, differentiate, introduce, etc.
• Analyzing key competitors;
• Clarifying the big level issues, problems or needs to be addressed in the paper as well as the features and benefits the solution will provide;
• Organizing the key messages for maximum impact;
• Deliverables:
o Introduction or executive summary;
o Problem assessment and/or background;
o Solution advantages discussion;
o Concluding summary;
• Revisions to incorporate your comments (generally 2-3);
• Formatting and graphic design suggestions and assistance.
I can work with your in-house graphic designer to design the layout, or, if you prefer, I can work with graphic designers from my team for an additional fee.

Reports, Articles, Etc.

I provide a variety of writing services to businesses, government departments and agencies, non-profits, and other organizations. Please contact me to discuss your specific needs.

Coaching/Consulting

Should you prefer to complete a writing project in-house but feel that you or your company requires some assistance to give the final product that extra ‘edge’, I provide coaching. Whether you are stalled on a specific project or generally struggling with your writing process, I can help.

Some of the ways I can help with include:
• Assisting you in establishing clear goals and adhering to them to create a powerful, focused product;
• Guiding you step-by-step during the writing process;
• Identifying your specific stumbling blocks and providing the tools/insight to overcome it;
• Providing comments on drafts to increase the effectiveness of the writing;
• Ensuring you avoid writer’s block;
• Helping you identify and hone your voice;
• Providing tips and skills to shorten the writing process and improve the end product.

Fees: Fees are dependent on your specific needs and the time involved. I can coach an individual or facilitate a session for a company looking to improve their game or change direction. Please contact me to discuss your needs. Following a discussion, I can provide an estimate or, if your budget is limited, you can let me know your budget and I can tell you what I can supply for that amount.

Ghostwriting

Many people have something they want to say but either lack the time or struggle to get their thoughts into written form.

People worry that it will take huge amounts of time to get the information out of their heads and translated into written text. But I have the skills and experience to know how to focus people and I use a very targeted approach. I start by interviewing you to get to know you and your goals. We discuss your target audience and the specific message and/or action you would like them to take as a result of reading your book as well as the style and 'voice' you want for your book. Then we explore the body of knowledge in your head that will make up the information in the book. This initial interview takes longer so that I have the opportunity to get to know you - about 2-3 hours. You can also provide me with material to review to help me get to know you. I then go away and develop a table of contents which will lay out the topic for each chapter of the book. In our second meeting, we discuss the table of contents and once you're satisfied with it, you sign off on it and I begin writing. Each chapter will be based on an hour to an hour and a half interview. We'll set up these interviews at your convenience every week or 2.

Another valid concern people have about hiring a ghostwriter is that they’ll end up with a product that isn’t professional or that they don’t like. The process I use ensures that doesn’t happen. Once the table of contents is developed, I write the book chapter by chapter and provide the chapter for you to provide feedback so I can make changes as needed. That way, I can ensure in the early stages that I am developing the book as you want it. I've done a lot of writing and learned that sometimes what clients think they want is not actually what they want when they see it in black and white on the page. However, years of writing experience has also taught me to ask the right questions to get to the heart of what people really want. Still, it is a creative process. By doing it one chapter at a time, we can fine-tune as needed. And it it's really not working, then you've only paid for what's been completed.