Before you hire Your Message Consultant or any other web professional, you have to consider your own schedule. You, or a trusted member of your staff, need to actively participate in the process of creating your marketing materials. Otherwise, you can expect a generic website or marketing materials that could just as easily have been written for your competition. Not to mention, you will not endear yourself to the professional you hired.
You are the one person who knows your business best.
Before I write the first word, you should expect several phone or email conversations where I will be asking you about your business – what products or services you offer, why you are better than your competitors and what makes your business unique. The goal is to find your unique selling proposition or USP and make sure your prospective customers want to only buy from you.
Your Homework
My first client was a school teacher turned Realtor. When I periodically had to ask her for information on her professional background, her business or her listings; we jokingly referred to it as her homework. She was a sweet lady, but, she wasn’t very good at doing her homework in a timely fashion. I often had to chase down the information on my own. I found myself billing her for hours of research to learn information that she could have shared in minutes.
Before you even consider hiring Your Message Consultant, please consider your schedule. If you won’t be available for homework assignments; you might be better off delaying your project until you can be. Anyone you hire won’t be able to guess that you have a 100% client retention rate, are the only place for 200 miles to purchase a particular product or that you hold 3 advanced certifications in your field.
Your Help is Required
There will be times that I will give you homework. Yes, you are hiring me to write your materials, but sometimes I will need your help.
I can make use of any existing brochures and web content in creating your marketing materials. But, if they are my only source, it will be next to impossible for me to create something stronger and more effective.
I will make every effort to limit how much of your time I will need but some questions can only be answered by you. Please be prepared to give me some of your time during the entire project cycle; not just during the initial consultations. And, keep in mind, the longer it takes for your response, the longer it will take to complete your writing project.
Homework Examples
In creating a sales flyer for a Real Estate listing, I would ask things about the neighborhood, what makes the property more desirable than area comps and other things prospective buyers might ask that are not included in the MLS listing.
Another example might be some assistance with definitions of terminology specific to your industry. I am familiar with many industries and many of their terms. But, to write effective content for your business I may need you to clarify a certain topic for me.
Or perhaps you need a short biography written. It would take a two minute phone call to ask you what college you graduated from; but, it could take me days or even be impossible to find that information on my own.