Keeping a Writer on Retainer

I often marvel at the writing I see both within a business (between managers or owners and employees) and from a business to its customers -- whether B2B or B2C. It's as if people forget that business is about other people. Our communications affect employee morale and efficiency. They can alter public perception for better or worse. They can determine whether we make a sale. And so much more.

So if you're in business and you acknowledge this point and you're into the whole idea of making money, why wouldn't you make sure your writing is crisp? That it carries the right tone? That it's persuasive? That it keeps people happy and involved? That it engages people socially with you?

In instances where a business doesn't have a top writer on staff, I can see a few reasons for not taking more care with writing:

• A business thinks that the cost of writing is greater than the cost of the upside potential with better writing. This could be the case. Depends on circumstances. A thriving barbershop without competition in a small town and with no room or desire to grow probably doesn't need a professional writer!
  
  
• A business thinks it difficult to find a good writer. Well, I'm not going to argue against that. There's a lot of writing to be had, and a lot to be had cheaply. But it's the rare writer -- even among those who do it for a living in my opinion -- that really understand the nuances of good writing. That know how to structure information, and flow it, and motivate the right feelings and actions. You know this writing when you see it. Or maybe you feel it.
  
  
• A business doesn't want to deal with the hiring process each time it has something to be worked on. Understandable especially if you just want an e-mail checked before you send it to a prospect who's on the edge, or an employee really needing the right message at this time. Who's going to hire a writer just to double-check that e-mail?

I've tried to address all three of these concerns with a new writing retainer service. This service has me available to clients at the drop of a hat. More or less. If I'm handling another retained client, I juggle their priorities appropriately. But I drop other client work for retained work the moment I'm asked for help.

So if you just need some professional eyeballs for 5 minutes to look at that precious e-mail ... you've got it. Or if you need me for two hours to work up the text for a new brochure, I'm on the job. Or if you need to give a sales presentation and need help with your speech ... you've got my pen on the job.

If you've come to trust the quality of my work -- and hopefully you can see this in the style of my writing throughout this site -- you don't have to worry about whether you have a real professional helping out. And you don't need to worry about hiring me each time you need a little something. And you get up to 40% off my usual rates when using all the retained hours each month.

It's a safety net, really. A kind of "writing insurance." But it's more than that. Insurance you pay for and you hope you never have to use it. With a writing retainer, you'll want to use every bit if you can because my goal is to ultimately help improve your bottom line.