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#ContentWritingChat June 14 2016 Recap: How to Write for Difficult Industries & Make it Fun

by | Jun 17, 2016 | ContentWritingChat

#ContentWritingChat June 14 2016 Recap: How to Write for Difficult Industries & Make it Fun

Did you miss this week’s #ContentWritingChat? If so, you missed an amazing discussion! There’s no need to worry though. We have a full recap so you can catch up and learn all about how to write for difficult industries.
Do you need proof that Tuesday’s chat was amazing? Take a look at this! We trended at #11!

#ContentWritingChat June 14 2016 Recap: How to Write for Difficult Industries and Make it Fun

This week, our guest host was Kathleen Garvin. This was Kathleen’s second time guest hosting our chat and we always love having her share her expertise. As an editor for The Penny Hoarder, she has loads of great advice to share on writing.

Q1: What are some of the craziest/most difficult industries you’ve written for?

To start off the chat, we wanted to see what kind of writing experience our chat participants have had. While some of them haven’t written for any crazy industries, quite a few had. Let’s just say their answers didn’t disappoint!

Kathleen has had to write for an extremely niche healthcare product before, which she found to be pretty crazy. She also said that personal finance was the most difficult for her because she found it boring.

Tara had to write for a rock hauling company. That sounds pretty weird, right?

It’s safe to say that Danielle may have had the craziest answer of all.

Different grades of steel? That sounds interesting.

Our very own CEO, Julia, had to write about trash bags. Does it get more fascinating than that?

Zachary had to write product descriptions for batteries!

Q2: How can you still maintain readability and creativity when writing for difficult industries?

When writing for a difficult industry you still want to make sure your writing is easy to read and creative. Check out these tips from the chat:

No matter what, you always need to keep the basics in mind. Kathleen said to ensure you have good grammar, correct spelling, and the right information.

Kathleen and Alberto were on the same page with their responses. Remember that you’re writing for people. Write how people talk, not like a robot.
Kathleen also suggests using images to break up the text in your article and interviewing people in the industry you’re writing for.

Address the interests and questions of your reader. You want to make sure you’re adding value for them.

Hardik said to make sure you get to know the industry and business you’re writing for. The more knowledge you have, the easier it’ll be to write.

Amanda said you shouldn’t be too technical in your writing. State the facts, but make sure it’s easy for the reader to understand.

Jenn said to give your content personality. That’s a sure way to pull readers in.

As Zlatka said, understand what your audience is interested in. Also, quit thinking you’re writing about boring content. It’s all in the mindset!

As Kathleen said, there are no boring topics… Only boring content creators.

Q3: Industry content can require extra research. Tactics/methods for best research?

If you’re writing for an industry that requires you to do some research, implement these tips from the chat:

Kathleen said to ask a lot of questions. Figure out what other people within the industry are asking and talking about. She also said to see what industry leaders are covering. Check out reputable publications to gather information.

If you need to have a membership to access industry-specific publications, ask your client. They may have a membership already.

Take your research to social media! You can search hashtags that are widely used by the industry you’re writing for in order to see what others are talking about.

Jenn said Google Alerts help her with her research. Consider setting up Google Alerts for the industries you write for so you’ll be notified of the latest news.

Tara and Jacob suggested using BuzzSumo to find experts within the industry.

Amanda said to gather as much information as you can. Read news articles, case studies, and anything else you can find. Don’t forget to get information from your clients, too.

Michael also recommended getting quotes and input from your client.

Danielle’s advice is simple, but it’ll help you be a better researcher. Keep all of the information you find in one document so you stay organized.

Q4: What are a few tips on writing to appeal to industry-specific audiences?

If you want to appeal to the audience you’re writing for, keep these tips in mind:

We agree, Kathleen!

Make sure you know who your audience is before you write. Brandie said to spend time chatting with them.

Julia knows you should always keep your audience in mind when writing. She said to write in their language. Don’t be afraid to get creative.

Be confident! Write as if you are an influencer within the industry and it’ll show through in your work.

Great answer, Jacob!

Jeremy said you shouldn’t write “down” to your audience. Speak their language and offer something new.

Q5: Show you SEO-optimize industry content?

Should you optimize industry content for search engines? Here’s what participants in Tuesday’s chat had to say:

Kathleen said you should. She likes to use Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush.

Do you want search engine traffic? Optimize your content!

Erika said to optimize your content, but remember that you’re writing for humans. Don’t write for robots.

Brittany said yes. She has been optimizing all of her web content for search engines.

Julia said to focus on your audience and expertise first, and then optimize your content.

Yes! Great answer, Cheryl!

If you want your content to be found, you should definitely optimize it!

If your audience can’t discover it, what’s the point?

Q6: Any recommended tools that help you create industry content?

What tools can help you when creating industry content? Check these out:

Kathleen knows Google Analytics is a must. She said to get to know your stats, data, and demographics. She also recommends Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush.

For Tara, she relies on BuzzSumo, SEMrush, and Answer the Public for researching and finding influencers.

Jacob is also a fan of BuzzSumo. We use it here at Express Writers as well. You should definitely try it out if you haven’t already.

Have you tried these tools? If not, you should!

Don’t forget about social media. You can use a tool like HootSuite to monitor what others are saying on social media platforms.

Amalia relies on analytics, trends, news, alerts, and specific blogs to help.

Larry is another BuzzSumo fan. He also uses Google Trends and Instagram to see what’s popular.

For Julia, she likes to use BuzzSumo, Google surveys, and KW Finder.

Jenn relies on Google Alerts, Twitter Trends, Google Analytics, and her own ears. Don’t forget to use your ears, writers!

Danielle uses BuzzSumo, Feedly, and Grammarly.

Q7: What are your favorite brand examples that are creating great industry content?

What brands are creating amazing industry content today? Here’s what our chat participants had to say:

Kathleen said blender company, Blendtec, is creating some pretty great content.

Have you checked out these brands?

If you’re looking for content within the tech industry, check out UX Magazine, Fast Company’s Co.Design, and Forbes Tech.

The brands Jim and Varun mentioned are all doing a great job at content creation.

Julia said Slack and NewsCred are both fantastic at industry content. She also loves Poo~Pourri.

Q8: Q&A for Kathleen.

Check out some of these questions for Kathleen:

Grammar and spelling are so important when it comes to writing!

Kathleen said to get higher-ups to contribute content. It’s a good idea to get others involved and sharing their expertise.
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!

Tags: content writing | industry copywriting | writing tips