Just because you have hired a content writer it doesn’t mean that you simply hand out a title and then go on with whatever you’re doing.
Some topics are common. Specialized information is not needed.
But, there are some topics for which the information can only come from someone who works inside the industry – the client.
Sometimes some clients take their web copy so casually that they just send me a site map or a list of web pages in an Excel sheet and then ask me to come up with appropriate content.
Recently there was a client who wanted me to even come up with the different services that he wanted to put on his Services page! So much disinterest.
I was aghast. I mean, how was I supposed to know what services they were providing?
Please remember that a content writer is being paid for writing content, not for being your content strategist, or your subject specialist. If you are hiring a strategist, then pay the fee of a consultant, and not merely a content writer. Anyway, that’s a different topic.
So, whether you are a client, or a content writer, the right information is important. Get it either through research or through work experience.
Sometimes the client says, “Oh, if I have to come up with everything, why am I hiring a content writer? I might as well do it myself.”
When a client says that, I tell him or her, “Sure, go ahead. If you think you can easily write what I’m going to write for you, then you definitely don’t need a content writer like me.”
Don’t shy away from asking. Otherwise you’ll be blamed for writing lousy content.