Natalia Web Design
Creative Writing Services
"A computer terminal is not some clunky old television with a typewriter in front of it. It is an interface where the mind and body can connect with the universe and move bits of it about."
Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001) English novelist
I understand that many of us that own our own businesses are busy and can be scattered at times! You may know that you want a website to represent you and your business, but going from the desire, and the need, to the invested action of creating the content can be overwhelming. In my experience, providing an additional service to clarify my clients voice and representation is vital in the web design process, or in making your site more effective
What follows is an example of some of the questions that will be covered :
* What are the main elements that you want to express on your website? (Lets talk navigation! What are the purposes of having a website? Informational (do you want a News Page?), Services oriented (to show rates, and detailed descriptions of what you provide?), to be able to Contact you or provide a bio of your or your company, to show pictures of your product/service, along with pricing? This series of questions addresses what pages you want and need for a efficient site.
* Describe to me your services or product. Do you provide one service or product, or many different variations (for example, if you were a lawyer, you would provide different types of consultations, list them here.)?
* Tell me about the details of your product/service, what is its purpose? What does it provide for people? Why is it an important service/product? What makes it different, effective, or meaningful?
* Compared to your competition, what makes your service/product different?
* Why are you in this business? What is your mission? Why do you provide what you do? Why do you do what you do?
* Do you have testimonials, or other examples of your work to build trust with your visitors?
* Do you have standard rates or pricing that you use? What are they? This is a great way to weed out serious clients or customers from just the information gatherers.
* What type of people use your product/service?
* Do you get common and frequently asked questions from potential clients? Do you feel like you could benefit from posting these questions on your site, so you save time and energy repeating the same information with every call, meeting, or email? Lets list the questions here, and provide answers for a Frequently Asked Question Page!
* Do you have hours of operation or office hours? What contact information do you want on the site? Do you have an email, a exclusive business line, or a mailing address?
* What else do you want to express? Are there any other important key factors that you have no spoken yet, that you want to be included?
The Questions may vary depending on your motivators and needs that are expressed in the Initial Free Consultation
How the Writing Process Works:
FREE CONSULTATION
In this brief consultation we go over what your needs are. Do you need just one particular page written? The intro or home page is one of the most important pages on your site. It is what the robots use for rating you on the search engines (through the key words that appear in the first couple paragraphs, and the links) and it is what pulls the visitors in, or pushes them away! Do you have the wording, but need expert keywording in the text to provide better ranking, or do you need someone to edit the work you have done for misspellings or grammatical errors? Do you need help with all the text and wordage on your site from ground zero? By the end of this brief consult I will be able to give you a tentative quote and deposit amount on the creative writing services, as well as a contractual agreement for moving forward. We schedule a time and date for the Engaging Interview described below.
ENGAGING INTERVIEW
This is a rich and incredibly engaging conversation! To the left, read a overview of some of the questions that I might ask. This also gives you an idea of how deep and detailed we get into your business/company, and your product/service. You may be surprised at what will come out of you, how much knowledge you have and how much passion is behind this new venture of stepping onto the stage of the World Wide Web. Even if you are scattered and unsure of what you ultimately want your voice to sound like, it is important to come to this interview with an openness and willingness to share. I, of course, can only sculpt the text with as much information and guidance that you provide. The structure and clarity that you provide, or even realize, in this interview, will ultimately be what designs the layout and feel of your content.
THE DRAFTSAfter our interview I begin refining, expanding upon, and uniting all the information that was spoken. If need be I will email or call you with any follow-up questions that I may have to provide more depth and detail to the structure of the text. Once the text of page or pages are finished I will email them to you for approval, or for any other futher editing, adding, or revising. If you happen to change or edit any elements make sure to email me the corrections back in whole.
PUBLISHING Once this full spectrum content is approved, and your account is paid in full I will send you the final drafts to have for advertisment, marketing, or just to keep on hand for the future (many clients find that the interview brought content out of them that was perfect for their advertising brochures, business cards, & other marketing material). If you have a website and hosting with another company and these were merely revisions to an already existing site, it is your responsibility to send these revisions to your web designer. If this was part of a web designing project with Natalia Web Design, I will then begin the Web Designing Process, detailed on my Web Design Services Page.
I am a Ghost Writer, so once I am paid in full the Copyrights to my work are completely under your ownership!
"The poet's job is to find what seems important, prominent, but not yet poetic."
-Robert Pinsky
The real message on most websites is in the writing, and so it makes sense that the writing should determine the structure. Unfortunately, this is not the usual case. Most businesses choose the structure and design of their site first and then try and fit the writing around that structure. This flies in the face of commonsense. When you speak to someone, you structure your speech around your message, you don't decide on a structure then change the message to suit. So you need to plan what you want to say before you create the site. Maybe even write the whole thing first and then use the message to determine the structure.
When deciding what to write, think about what your customer wants to know rather than what you want to say. It's a subtle difference, but it is the key to engaging a potential customer.
Most customers will want to know the basics:
What do you do?
What benefit can you offer them?
Why should they choose your service or product?
What does it cost?
How can they contact you?
Where are you located?
View the far left column for the other more detailed questions that are covered in the Engaging Interview. See how this already creates more clarity in what you need and want in your web design?
Appealing design and speedy functionality are important but they don't ensure that your site is well structured (intuitive) or well written (clear). The content on your site is important. It is important for the common elements you have heard of, like to appear on the search engines, keywords, better navigation, clear and concise language for maintaining the interest of the visitor- but what I believe to be the most important element is the expression of who you (your self, your business, your service, or product) really are. The energy that comes off of words is commanding and is just as literal and significant as the type of professional attire you wear to a first interview. It is this affinity that the visitor of your website has with your energy that will turn a potential client into a paying one
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