Newsletter #11: Why are the techies calling me?

If you’ve been to my website, you’ll see I advertise as an executive ghostwriter who works with folks in corporate wellness, benefits and professional services companies.

But something strange is happening: the techies are inquiring and then hiring me.

Not too long ago, I worked on a three-month project at OpenText, on the Brand Editorial team. Editing, rewriting, writing.

OpenText is as techie as they get and I had to fess up that I didn’t know anything about enterprise information management. Robin, my boss for those three months, said she needed a strong writer and not to worry about it.

Easy for her to say!

But I took her advice and learned about each product and service as the assignments came in. And over that quarter, I worked on case studies, white papers, solution overviews, email campaigns, data sheets and more. Topics included file sharing, digital fax solutions, enterprise content management, digital twins and machine learning on the manufacturing floor and customer communications management.

I loved it.

All that tech stuff (robots in the sky making magic!) is fascinating and complicated. And that’s why there was a match. I helped translate those complicated subjects into easy-to-understand and on-brand marketing materials.

Plus, I learned more about faxing and digital faxing than ever before. [You probably want to make a fax joke but trust me, fax is alive and well in large enterprises.]

You might be wondering how it was for Robin.

Pretty good. Here’s what she said: “Andrea is a consummate professional with an extreme attention to detail. She is a pleasure to work with … Andrea’s writing demonstrates an excellence in understanding both content and context, with an ability to translate technical concepts into both long and short form, easy to understand content.”

Aww, shucks.

After that, I started a writing project for Echoworx, an encryption company. Which means I know what PGP is and why you might want to move it to the cloud. This from the person who uses a paper day timer!

Nick, the Sr. Content Marketing Specialist I work with, said this about his experience working with me, “As a B2B business, in the tech sphere, getting our voice can be tough. We are very pleased Andrea’s been able to adapt quickly – and with minimal effort on our part. Looking forward to more of her writing—a welcome relief!”

These experiences have expanded my understanding of my customers.

Lots of customers are relieved when something in my professional background aligns to their business (like working in corporate wellness or working with executives).

That’s important and not to be understated.

But the other thing my customers want is someone who writes with their customers in mind.

Smart idea.

Until next time, keep on truckin’,

Andrea

**********The quote of the month**********

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.

― Napoleon Hill

**********Marketing tip of the month**********

3 ideas for making your B2B newsletter more interesting

Even if your B2B product or service seems dry, your newsletter doesn’t have to be.

Punch it up with these three ideas:

• Tell a story – People love stories. Good ones make readers want to keep reading.

• Make it personal – Send subscribers stuff they’re interested in, based on who they are and what they want to know. The more subscribers and products you have, the more complicated this can be with automation. But start simply so you build the right system.

• Be topical – Cover relevant topics in your newsletter. Not all your content has to be evergreen.

Source: B2B Marketing - How to Make B2B Newsletters Interesting

**********Good vibes**********

Classic car reunited with classic car lover

A stolen 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle was returned to its owner, largely unharmed, in Calgary by the Calgary police auto theft team.

Source: Canoe

**********My 60-second commercial**********

I'm an executive ghostwriter, specializing in benefits, leadership coaching, corporate wellness and employee assistance programs (EAPs).

I work with executives and executive coaches who have big hearts, are driven to help others and never open a conversation they're not willing to close.

My clients are straightforward, ambitious, humble, hilarious and I never have to wonder what they're thinking because they say what they mean and mean what they say.

If you're a tough-love executive or executive coach who would benefit from the kind of work I do, please get in touch:

andrea@redsailwriters.com | 647-502-3187 | ca.linkedin.com/in/andreabassett

Let's talk about these thought leadership projects in 2021:

• Newsletters | White papers + e-books | Ghostwritten articles

• Workbooks to supplement corporate training

• Business book ghostwriting (fall 2021, early 2022)