Write for Results
By Michael W. McLaughlin
It's no secret that writing for publication, both online and offline, can be a potent and cost-effective marketing tool for consultants. After all, it only takes one good idea—seen at the right time—to motivate a potential client to call and ask for your help.
For many consultants, though, the promise of publishing never materializes. That’s too bad, because it doesn’t have to be that way. After more than six years of publishing consulting newsletters and reading thousands of articles submitted by consultants, here are some thoughts on how you can get marketing mileage from a publishing strategy.
Once (or Twice) Is Not Enough
Open any book on services marketing (including mine), and you're likely to find at least one chapter on the value of publishing articles, reports, and newsletters. For decades, most consulting firms have aimed to position themselves as 'thought leaders' as a central part of their marketing strategies. In a business of ideas, that emphasis is no surprise and is not likely to change any time soon.
So, many consultants feel compelled to jump in and start writing. Sadly, they often report that their articles produce some industry visibility, but no solid leads to create new relationships with prospective clients.
To reap benefits for your practice from writing, you must make a commitment to publishing. Assuming that what you write is good, a couple of published articles may generate some buzz for you—and who doesn't like those shiny reprints? But that's not going to make you a thought leader and grab the attention of the clients you want.
If you plan to publish as a marketing tactic, dedicate 20 to 30 percent of your marketing efforts to publishing your ideas on a continuous basis.
Sometimes it might feel like you are sending your ideas into a void, but it takes effort and repeated exposure to realize results from publishing. A client may see your work many times before making contact with you, so you have to keep at it and be patient.
What Do Clients Want to Read?
With so many consultants writing articles, white papers, and special reports, it can be a challenge to zero in on a topic that will engage prospective clients and that hasn't been written about a gazillion times before. Many articles on subjects like sales, leadership, teamwork, and managing change, for example, often offer little more than warmed-over advice.
The secret is to create a topic that applies your specific expertise to the specific concerns of your clients, instead of relying on your general knowledge to address generic problems.
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For instance, a human resources consultant might write an article about How Total Compensation Programs Impact Business Performance, or Seven Strategies to Maintain Morale in a Time of Organizational Change. Articles based on future developments are always of interest, so you could write on The Future Role of HR in Business Planning.
Obviously, you have to figure out what your potential clients want to read about. As you're staring at a blank page or computer screen, remember that most organizations share six fundamental concerns that provide a wealth of subjects to write about:
- Establishing and maintaining a sound business strategy
- Operating an efficient and cost-effective organizational structure
- Managing and leading people effectively
- Developing business processes that support the organization's plan
- Measuring business performance to planned profit levels
- Anticipating and planning for the future.
Most consultants can readily apply their expertise to address issues associated with any of those six client concerns.
Build on a Framework
As you're pulling together ideas for an article, it helps to have a framework. Three common article frameworks can help you organize your thoughts:
- "Ten Tips" This approach makes it easy for experts to compose and simple for readers to absorb. Use the tips format when you have a list of specific advice for your readers, like Six Ways to Reduce Sales and Increase Profits. For longer articles, this format can become tedious, so use it for short pieces. It's easy to sacrifice substance for brevity when you boil down your insight into short tips, so ask yourself why a reader would care about each tip before you include it in your article.
- "Why or How" You might begin an article with a question: Why Does Health Care Cost So Much? Or make it a statement: How Outsourcing Decreased ROI. Use this format for short or long articles, and use an interesting or controversial title to draw readers into the text. Just be sure your question isn't one that's been asked and answered many times before. Or, if it is a routine question, be sure you have a unique answer.
- "How-To" People looking for solutions to problems are often attracted to "how-to" articles. The title must clearly communicate the issue you're addressing, like How to Boost Employee Productivity after a Layoff. The "how-to" format works well for articles of most any length. But be careful that you are not instructing about something most people already know how to do.
Master one of these formats and then try others. Your eventual goal should be to mix and match formats in your writing, depending on the publication and the audience. Also, you should always write articles with future use in mind. Maybe a short tips article you wrote for an e-newsletter could form the basis of a longer one for a print magazine.
Who Has Time to Write?
A consultant's to-do list is usually overwhelming, and research and writing can plummet to the bottom of the list. You will find it very difficult to write for publication if you don't carve out enough time for the process.
Block out the times that you'll write and plan what you will accomplish in those blocks. Build in sufficient cushion for editing, which invariably takes longer than expected. Anticipate other delays, including postponed interviews, difficulty getting materials, and those pesky client commitments. And frequently, you have to go back and do additional research and fact checking.
Remember, you can write anywhere, so seize on all opportunities. If you're waiting for a flight, standing in a supermarket line, or attending a meeting, take a few minutes to jot some notes or organize your thoughts. Although it's nice to have large blocks of time to write, most of us don't have that luxury. And you can train yourself to write effectively in short intervals.
Not all consultants excel at or enjoy writing. If you're not a good writer, team up with someone who is and share the byline. Or, if your budget allows, hire a ghostwriter.
See Beyond Publishing
Some consultants believe that the value of an article can't be achieved until it's published. Others know better. Use the writing process as an opportunity to meet prospective clients, expand your network of contacts, and strengthen existing client relationships.
Consider asking clients and other experts to be sources of information or quotes for your article. By including multiple perspectives, you can create a more credible piece, and you have a chance to interact with others who may think of you when they need help.
Although publishing is a marketing tool, eliminate self-promotion from your articles. Many editors won't publish anything that they consider overtly commercial. And if readers feel that your article is only self-serving, they will stop reading it.
Instead, at the end of your piece, go with just a short bio and your contact information. If you are identified as the author, readers will get the message loud and clear. They will judge you on the quality of your ideas and, if they're interested, they will take the initiative.
The opportunity to differentiate your practice through publishing is enticing. But don't write articles just because someone told you to. If you don't enjoy writing, at least a little, publishing is not for you. And did I mention that your prose needs to be interesting? If that's a struggle for you, work on your writing skills and style before you dive in.
Every day, the market of ideas seems to get more and more crowded. Many consultants are now pushing articles out there—with mixed results. But no matter how much stuff is published, well-written, thought-provoking, relevant articles will always draw readers' attention.
Before you send out your ideas for publication, ask yourself: "If I was a client, would I read this article from start to finish? Would it make the impression on the client about me that I want?" If you answer yes to those questions, go for it. That's writing for results.
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Michael W. McLaughlin is a Principal with MindShare Consulting, LLC and the coauthor of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants. He is also the publisher of Management Consulting News and The Guerrilla Consultant. Before founding MindShare Consulting LLC, he was a partner with Deloitte Consulting, where he spent more than two decades helping clients.
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