{"id":2241,"date":"2015-02-11T10:52:19","date_gmt":"2015-02-11T15:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/?p=2241"},"modified":"2021-01-26T12:43:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T17:43:37","slug":"moving-from-copywriter-to-b2b-content-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/moving-from-copywriter-to-b2b-content-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving from copywriter to B2B content writer"},"content":{"rendered":"
Then, as a copywriter, you understand more about marketing than writers\u00a0from any other career path.<\/strong><\/p>\n And you’ve probably got some wonderful skills.<\/p>\n So why not cash\u00a0in on the biggest writing boom in years: B2B content?<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n As you know, B2B content includes blog posts, case studies, e-newsletters, press releases, slide decks. video scripts, white papers…<\/p>\n In fact, B2B content includes any piece of writing that helps a company rise in Google’s search results and attract prospective buyers.<\/p>\n But it’s not sales copy. And there are never any\u00a0“Buy now” buttons in the margins.<\/p>\n B2B content is designed\u00a0to help business people understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.<\/p>\n And there’s a desperate shortage of good writers who can produce it.\u00a0That’s where you come in, as an experienced copywriter.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s review the great skills you likely already have:<\/p>\n All these will be very helpful to you as a B2B content writer.<\/p>\n Here are some skills\u00a0you may need to develop to succeed in B2B content writing:<\/p>\n You can learn all these, both\u00a0by studying good samples of B2B content, and with\u00a0practice at writing your own.<\/p>\n Be warned: When you first start\u00a0to write B2B content, your past experience\u00a0as a copywriter\u00a0may get in your way.<\/p>\n That’s because sales copy appeals more\u00a0to emotion than logic.<\/p>\n So you’ll need to shift your focus from selling to providing useful information.<\/p>\n If you can shift your attitude enough to get past the following hurdles, you can have a wonderful future as a B2B content writer.<\/p>\n Copywriters are often told to “sell the sizzle, not the steak”. But B2B content is different.<\/p>\n To reach a skeptical business audience, you won’t be able to get away with any\u00a0lofty\u00a0slogans or glib\u00a0promises.<\/p>\n You’ll need\u00a0to eliminate any\u00a0hype, fluff, superlatives, and lofty promises.<\/p>\n You’ll need to find\u00a0solid facts\u00a0to build a logical case or tell a real-world story.<\/p>\n In every piece, you’ll need to dish out plenty of\u00a0“steak”.<\/p>\n When you write copy, you automatically\u00a0link every feature to a benefit. You paint a picture of how much better people\u2019s lives will be after<\/strong> they buy.<\/p>\n When you write B2B content, your text may need to drill down deeper into features. You may need to describe how a\u00a0feature\u00a0is\u00a0implemented, or\u00a0how it\u00a0solves an age-old problem.<\/p>\n You may\u00a0need to discuss\u00a0the durability of some\u00a0materials, or the precision of an algorithm.<\/p>\n Of course, benefits are important.<\/p>\n But in B2B content, they are sometimes secondary to the nitty-gritty information about features that business people are seeking.<\/p>\n When you write\u00a0B2B content, you never “ask for the order”.<\/p>\n The documents you\u2019ll be writing are used to support a\u00a0complex B2B sale and to help business people make a decision that can take many weeks or months to complete.<\/p>\n At the end of the document, you might encourage readers to take the next step in the sales cycle, such as visiting a website.<\/p>\n But in B2B content, you seldom ask readers to pick up the phone and call the order desk.<\/p>\n As you move into the field of B2B content, remember that business people\u00a0aren\u2019t looking for a sales pitch.<\/p>\n They are looking for useful content to help them understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.<\/p>\n If you can provide it, you will position your\u00a0client\u00a0as a trusted advisor that\u00a0prospects can rely on. And you can have a wonderful career as a B2B content writer.<\/p>\n Check out my\u00a0Crash Course in B2B Content<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n This is a quick-start guide to writing the 12 most popular forms of B2B content, from blog posts to white papers.<\/p>\n The crash course\u00a0describes each format, shows\u00a0examples including a detailed video walkthrough, tells the going rates you can\u00a0charge,\u00a0and gives lots of\u00a0tips to help you start writing that format right away.<\/p>\nWhat is B2B content?<\/h3>\n
You already have many\u00a0skills<\/h3>\n
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Some new skills you may need<\/h3>\n
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Three\u00a0things you may need to “unlearn”<\/h3>\n
1. Sell the steak, not\u00a0the sizzle<\/h3>\n
2. Talk features, not benefits<\/h3>\n
3. Don’t ask for the order<\/h3>\n
No sales pitches, just useful\u00a0info<\/h3>\n
Need more help\u00a0getting started?<\/h3>\n