Content writing
Articles written to be finished and quoted, by someone who spends every week deciding whether other people's articles are worth publishing.
The test I apply before writing anything
If the piece could have been written without touching the product, it will not do much for the product.
Most software brands ask for a listicle. Ten best tools in the category with their product at number one. It looks like the format that gets cited.
The problem is that anyone can write it. A list of ten tools can be assembled from ten other pages without opening a single one of the products, and it reads that way.
The pieces that work contain something that did not exist anywhere before they were written. I gave an AI image tool a real campaign to run and wrote down what happened. I tested a presentation maker on an actual deck. Neither is a clever format. They just contain a first-hand account nobody else can reproduce.
What I write
- Product pieces, where the product actually gets used before anything is written
- Publication articles for the five Medium publications I edit for
- Website copy: service pages, landing pages, about pages
- Comparison and alternatives pages, written honestly enough to be believed
How it works
For a product piece I need access to the product. Not a feature list or a deck. A working account, for long enough to use it on something real.
That is the part most briefs leave out and it is the part that decides whether the article is worth publishing.
What this costs
From $150 per article, depending on length, research and whether the product needs to be used first. Website copy is quoted per page.