Before discussing pay rates with a content writer describe the scope of the project and a timeline. Good content is a valued asset. It works 24/7 delivering information to the marketplace.
Create More Readable Copy through Testing
Is your compelling online content lost in long sentences and confusing text? One way to test the readability of content is to read it aloud. It’s easy to spot long, run-on sentences when you find yourself gasping for air. But that’s not all you can do. Consider conducting a quantitative test of readability as a more definitive guide. I recently discovered a readability scoring system built right into Microsoft Word called the Flesh Read Ease Score.
Developed by author and writing consultant Rudolf Flesch (1911-1986), the score objectively calculates readability using a formula that takes into account the average number of words in a sentence and the number of syllables in the passage. Scores range from 0 to 100. You don’t need to know the formula, just how to interpret the scores. A score of zero would be most difficult and a score of 100 easiest. Scores in the 60 to 70 range are considered readable by the average reader.
To put the scores into context, Readers Digest has a Flesch Reading score of 65, while the Harvard Business Review has a score in the low 30s.
Another measure called the Flesch-Kincaid formula, also available in Microsoft Word, translates the readability score to a grade level. A score of 65 correlates with the 8th to 9th grade level and a score of 55 indicates a 10th to 12th grade level. Scores between 0 and 30 represent college graduate level readability.
Scores are obtained automatically when you run a Word document through a spelling and grammar check. However, you have to adjust the readability options in Word to have the test results appear.
How to Set the Readability Options in Microsoft Office Word 2007
- Click the Microsoft Office Button
, and then click Word Options. - Click Proofing.
- Make sure Check grammar with spelling is selected.
- Under When correcting grammar in Word, select the Show readability statistics check box.
While your B2B audience may be highly educated, your website is probably not the place to impress them with five syllable words and long cumbersome sentences. If your score is coming up too high, break up longer sentences and replace words that may be causing confusion. Potential buyers want to find information fast, and you can help them with clear, concise and readable text.
How does your website content score on the Flesch Reading Ease Test? Here’s how my text scored on this blog post.
Flesch Reading Ease 56.8
Flesch-Kinkaid Grade Level 9.1
Point-of-View Journalism Can Benefit B2B Companies
Point-of-view journalism is a phrase I heard from a recruiter in the communications field. For me, it offers a definition for skilled content writers who work with companies that are advancing their industries, innovating, stimulating action, and building relationships through their products and services.
Point of view refers to who is telling the story and how it is told. Journalism is a craft based on gathering and portraying facts for an audience. Combine these two and B2B companies can produce thoughtful and well positioned communications that get their customers talking and referring, while providing value in the media landscape.
Content writers at the Mayo Clinic address multiple audiences including patients, medical professionals, researchers, students and those seeking credible health information about symptoms, drugs or health-related lifestyle issues. This is information with a point of view developed using guidelines of the Mayo Clinic, yet it is credible and fact filled. From the Clinic’s Health Information menu a viewer can find out about Nutrition Basics with loads of links to specific topics relating to eating well. A free health topics E-newsletter is also offered. The Clinic leverages its medical expertise with blogs such as this one on the Mayo Clinic Diet. The blogs are written by subject matter experts who act as point-of-view journalists.
GE’s new electric vehicle charger, the GE WattStation™ is featured as one of their Innovation Stories, a collection of brief stories on why the products were developed. Facts about conditions, issues, and solutions proposed by the company are included.
Often times, content writers do more than write. They act as interpreters between the subject matter experts and audience. They evaluate newsworthiness, usability, shareability and audience receptiveness.
I am guided by the following thoughts when I undertake a point-of-view journalism project:
- Ask and answer the important questions. Viewers feel under served when questions are not asked.
- Be transparent. Allow the real issues to surface. Facts are your friend.
- Thoughtful communication can in itself be a call to action.
- Include research from neutral sources. Interpret.
- Investigate and show intent.
- It may take courage. New and better information may cause a paradigm shift but when integrated into a knowledge network it is often beneficial.
Developing factual content that shares a point of view is a B2B benefit that pays off in multiple ways: increased word of mouth, social network sharing, trust building, and industry influence to name a few. Winning in the marketplace may well be a matter of communicating what you know to be true.