FAQs
ABOUT ME
Where are you located?
I live in Virginia, but I have clients throughout the United States. I can write for you no matter where you live.
How are you different from other writers out there?
My variety and depth of experience stand out, and that’s often why business owners, marketing companies, and magazine editors choose to work with me. I’ve put in countless hours interviewing subjects for news stories, magazine articles, client web content, video scripts, and printed promotional copy.
I enjoy digging and finding the gems of a story. I started interviewing and writing news articles at the early age of 17, and have a fine-tuned ability of knowing how to ask the right questions for a piece I’m writing. And, I listen well. This gives me a lot of great information to write with.
People often tell me they’re hiring me because they know I’m experienced, they know they can count on me to do a good job for them, and they’ve seen my published work and testimonials. In fact, I had one client tell me he interviewed 12 other writers before he decided to hire me as his writer.
I continually stay up on the latest marketing trends, while updating my skills with courses from respected professionals in the industry. That not only means the content I write reflects this, but I can also help business owners and professionals to benefit from this knowledge.
My clients also tell me I’m easy to work with, communicate well, and they feel I do an excellent job focusing on the goal of the project they’re hiring me for. As a business owner myself, I have that unique knowledge and appreciation for what it takes.
If you are in a specific industry, chances are I can show you multiple examples of writing I’ve completed for someone in your industry or a similar one.
PROFESSIONAL WRITING
Why should I hire a professional writer?
When a business owner has to take time out of their schedule to write a webpage, blog post, or another type of written content for their business—it’s usually a frustrating situation. Most don’t have the time, energy, or focus to stare at a blank page while trying to figure out how to say the right words to get the response they want. They’ve got a business to run!
Even if someone has an English degree or does a decent amount of writing in their profession, a copywriter is trained to write in a way that engages with and speaks to their audience. It’s a fine-tuned skill that isn’t easy to DIY (or substitute with AI).
specific industry, chances are I can show you multiple examples of writing I’ve completed for someone in your industry or a similar one.
What kinds of things do people hire writers for?
Well, I think the best way to answer this is to list the many things I’ve been hired to write for my clients.
Here are some of them:
Custom bios for individual professionals as well as teams, website pages, landing pages, email sales letters, email nurture campaigns, speeches, email sales script responses (for inquiries), elevator speeches, obituaries, text scripts, video scripts, video about pages, feature articles, course descriptions, client update letters (for mail), sales intro letters (for door-to-door), CRM content, articles submitted for content to trade publications, direct-response ads, Facebook ads, social media bios, social media page content, Instagram video scripts, industry guides, hiring (job) ads for Facebook, websites, and job sites.
I also edit all of the above content and more.
What benefits can I expect from hiring a writer?
When you’re running a business or working as a professional, you are already juggling enough tasks that take your time and attention. Marketing your business with ongoing content takes time and energy that many don’t have to spare or simply don’t find worth expending.
That’s where I can help. When businesses hire me, they report experiencing stress relief, huge time-savings, money savings (because they aren’t wasting money on marketing that doesn’t work), and excitement. Clients knowing they were able to hire someone to interview them and get to know their voice, their business, and what their projects are all about—and then do the writing work for them—is pretty amazing.
The other big benefit most businesses experience when hiring me is more clients in general, an increase in repeat clients, and higher profit. Oh, and more time to spend with their family and working on their hobbies because they aren’t stuck in front of a blank screen trying to figure out what to say.
What’s the difference between hiring a copywriter and content writer?
A copywriter focuses more on persuasion, while a content writer educates and informs. Having written ads and won a first place press award for review writing (with over 400 journalists competing in only a few categories), I know how to grab attention and keep people reading and hanging on to the words on your website. As a content writer, I’ve written many websites from scratch, and rewritten websites to make the writing more engaging while beefing them up with updated SEO content.
One of the many things I love about my job is that I get to do both types of writing, and in many ways, they cross over.
What do freelance writers do?
It depends on the freelance writer, their specialty, and their background.
My focus as a freelance writer begins with me just listening to the client. What are they struggling with? What type of content do they need? Sometimes, people may think they need one thing but it’s actually something else that they need. I give feedback on that during the free consultation.
In my work writing for businesses and as a magazine feature writer, I write about a variety of topics and a wide range of businesses. My focus is always showcasing a client or interviewee as an expert in their field, showing how they stand out in their industry, and helping them to get their message across in a compelling and engaging way.
As a business owner, can’t I just do my own writing myself?
You could, but you probably won’t get the response you’re looking for, and you’ll never get the many hours you spent writing back. People often come to me after struggling for months to get the right words on their website and promotional materials. Others come to me after having hired an inexperienced writer, or a writer they got a “great deal on.” What seemed like a great deal ended up costing them more money because the content turned out choppy, didn’t read well, and had typos.
Even if the content is grammatically correct—but has no energy, or talks “at” the client, rather than engaging with empathy and problem-solving language—it won’t get the job done! Nobody likes reading boring or clunky content. Good copy takes years and years of experience, and that’s where I come in.
Can I lose clients if my writing isn’t good?
Yes. You can lose an audience if the writing on your website, email campaigns, and promotional materials don’t speak to people. Your audience wants to know how you can uniquely solve their problems, and your clients want you to show how you will continue to take care of them. Both are relationships nurtured by good quality communication. That’s what a writer like me is trained to do for you—to keep that communication going with your audience, convert them into clients, and keep the conversation going with your established clients—to keep them coming back.
What’s the benefit of hiring an individual freelance writer rather than an agency?
You get to build a relationship with the same writer (not a group of different writers) who represents you, speaks in your voice, knows your business, and is more likely to be specialized in your industry. Many times freelance writers charge less than an agency, while often possessing more experience. You also get to be more involved in the project when you’re working with a freelance writer.
PRICING
How much does it cost to hire a writer?
It depends on the writer’s level of experience, how involved the project is, and what it is the writer is being hired to do. Again, beware if a writer seems too low-cost. You may think you’re saving money and end up having to pay to get everything re-written. Plagiarism is also a concern.
As an experienced writer with extensive interviewing, editing, news, feature, content marketing, and ad writing skills, my rates are not the lowest, but they’re also not the highest. Many new clients that hire me are surprised I don’t charge more than I do, because I could.
I do my best to make sure I’m earning a living while still giving people who hire me a great deal for high-value content that will make an impact on their business.
How does payment work?
After our initial call, I will send an estimated rate for the project as well as a timeline. A 50% deposit of the estimate is due up front. Once that is paid, we schedule the interview, and then I get to work writing your content. When the content is submitted, I’ll send an invoice for the remainder that’s due upon receipt. My invoicing system is simple to use and takes payment by ACH and credit card.
Why is it especially important to hire a writer when inflation is high and costs are up?
When costs are up, it’s more important than ever that you focus on your business and make sure it’s running properly. It’s also vital that you continue marketing your business in an effective way. Hiring someone like me is like gaining a PR specialist, communications coordinator, and content marketing specialist at the same time. It’s a huge asset to your business, with minimal investment. It also works for you while you sleep—and run your business. A bonus to hiring me: Because I’m a freelancer, you don’t have to pay for employee training costs, health benefits, etc. I can do the work of an employee without the associated costs.
SERVICES
Do you edit?
Yes, I do edit, though I often find that the writing I’m sent needs to be rewritten. Not because it’s bad content, but it’s just not written persuasively or clearly enough to get your message across. You’ve typically only got a few seconds to grab your audience’s attention if they’re on your website, Facebook, or LinkedIn business pages. Once people are gone, they usually don’t come back unless you’ve got something really interesting to share with them—and that means it needs to be written in just the right way. That’s not easy to do, but that’s what I’ve been doing for years.
Most of the editing I do is for speeches and educational content. Editing makes the content flow better, but it doesn’t involve fully rewriting text.
Is all your writing original?
Yes. If you’re hiring me for writing, you’re getting my brain at work, and my creativity writing your stuff for you. You aren’t getting something that’s auto-generated or reused that might also show up on someone else’s website.
How fast is your turnaround on projects?
It depends on the project. If it’s a huge one, (like a large website) it can take a month or two. Projects can take a little longer if the client is busy and takes a few days to review the content and get it back to me. Smaller projects usually take 3 days to a week if I am not booking out ahead. If I am booked ahead on projects, I am upfront about that so you know when you can expect your content.
Does your writing include SEO?
Yes, and I am accustomed to including SEO in the writing work I do for my clients. The SEO keywords usually come from the web designer, marketing agency, or SEO company the client has hired.
I regularly work with digital marketing companies and web developers. I keep them updated while communicating with the client. When the content is submitted, both the marketer and the client will be able to clearly see where I have added SEO into the content and how many times I’ve added it.
How do you write unique content for different companies in the same field?
Great question. Every company is different. Even if two companies are in the same industry, the background, specialties, and what makes the company stand out are different. Even with the same keywords, I can write content in a completely separate way because it’s a different company with different people. That’s why I love what I do. People are so interesting, my job is never boring.
How do I know if you do a certain type of writing?
When we have our initial call, feel free to ask me any project-related questions. I regularly write for a wide variety of industries, so I can usually send samples of content I’ve written. If yours is an industry I haven’t written for yet, I still use the same process as I do with all my projects: I always interview each of my clients and I do a ton of research. Even if it’s a new industry to me—it doesn’t matter because I will still research it. Actually, it’s an advantage when I don’t know your industry because that means I’ll be in a better position to communicate with your audience, minus the industry jargon a lot of companies use. I provide a lay-person perspective that speaks to your audience in plain and simple terms.
Why don’t I see examples on your website of business content writing?
While I regularly share the latest magazine articles I’ve written, being a business ghostwriter means I am writing in my clients’ voices, and the content I write becomes theirs once I submit it to them.
Still, I have many testimonials from clients I’ve ghostwritten for, and most of them are fine with me privately sharing the work I’ve done for them as examples for potential clients. I just can’t share that work publicly, so that means the hundreds of pieces of content I ghostwrite annually are not available to view, while published magazine articles are.
Why should I hire you when I can just use AI?
I get asked about AI a lot! While I think there are a lot of great uses for AI, when it comes to copy writing, it boils down to that old saying: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Some amazing things about AI and Chat GPT are: they’re quick, they’re fun, and they help generate ideas.
When a bot is scraping content off the internet, this is bound to cause a hailstorm of problems. Artists who wrote that original content are not going to be happy that it got used without their permission, and lawsuits are already emerging in relation to AI and copyright infringement. Not worth the hassle.
Aside from legal issues, I am getting a decent amount of AI content for editing work. It tends to read as clunky, awkward, and impersonal. Even some of the better stuff isn’t great and doesn’t sound original. And the great stuff—it’s usually borrowed without permission.
Look at most Amazon listings and descriptions. Imagine a world where everything reads like that.
How do I know if you have time for my project?
Sometimes my projects book out a few weeks, but if that’s the case I will let you know when you schedule your free consultation. Once we touch base and I get a better feel for your project, I will follow up with an estimated completion date so you’ll have a better idea.
Will you review my website and tell me where my content needs improvement?
Yes. That is part of my consultation with a new client who wants to work with me. This helps you to know where you could be getting better results, and what you would hire me to do.
Should my website have a blog?
Yes! And not the cookie-cutter blog posts you see so many companies putting out. These are mass produced and generic and your audience sees right through that. They want something meaty, that gives them value, answers their questions, and helps them to solve a problem. Plus, being fun to read helps too.
Some of my clients have gone a few months between blog posts, thinking it didn’t matter if they skipped a few months. It didn’t take long for them to call me, and tell me their website traffic had plummeted and they needed to get blog posts back up ASAP.
When I write your blog posts, I interview you, then I research your industry, the latest trends, and news, and I use that knowledge to write your content. If you don’t have a topic, I will suggest topics. See how much easier it is when you don’t have to do it all yourself?
It’s hard to find enough time to run your business efficiently. Who has time to write marketing content AND define their branding strategy too? I free up your time and energy by delivering custom content and a proven marketing strategy, so you get you more repeat clients.