This week I helped a consultant write a piece of flagship content to attract and convert his ideal clients.
It will be published on his website, sent to potential leads, and pulled apart to be used in social media content.
Here’s how we did it:
STEP 1: A Conversation
We talked about his goals, the value he delivers, who his ideal buyer is, and what makes his approach unique.
I helped him clarify all those things and gave him language to use to describe all the things in his head in a more succinct and obvious way.
STEP 2: An Outline
I had him draft an initial outline for the piece and send it to me for review.
You never start writing until you’re clear on what you’re going to say and why.
He sent me the outline, I made changes to it and we eventually locked in the approach for the article.
Had we not done this step – and had he not had me rework his initial outline – the piece wouldn’t have worked.
This is a hugely important step and one that’s too often overlooked.
The difference between a strong outline and a mediocre one is the difference between an article that works and one that fails.
STEP 3: A Draft
He drafted a very rough version of the article using our outline as a guide.
I believe it’s important to have the subject matter expert (usually my client) write the initial draft because they know more about the topic than I ever could.
This is why I don’t do typical “ghostwriting.”
Once we get a draft in his words…
STEP 4: The Rewrite
This is where my writing ability takes things to the next level.
Using his draft and his words as a starting point, I completely rewrite the piece.
I make it tighter, stronger, more attention-grabbing, and designed to attract and convert his ideal buyers.
The difference between my draft and his rough one is huge – the title changes, the opening changes, sections get moved around, and others get removed entirely.
The end result is a piece that merges his unique ideas and expertise with my concise, clear, and persuasive writing.
It’s awesome.
Usually it would be ready to publish at this point, but in this particular case there was one more thing we needed…
STEP 5: A Name
Everything was in place, but the brand name we had come up with for his unique approach wasn’t quite right.
So I spent several days trying to come up with a name that fit his unique approach – it was a tricky one to clarify in simple, memorable terms.
And then…it came to me.
I sent it to him, he loved it, and we’re now adding it to the piece.
We’re one final polish away from publishing it and he’s one giant step closer to landing more of his ideal clients.
I can’t wait to see it happen.
This is the kind of work I love to do and if it’s the kind of thing you’d like me to help you with…
Let’s talk!
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