From Psychics To Pet Care: Content Writing For Varied Industries

When asked what my favourite thing about working in content is, my #1 answer is always the variety of clients I get to work with and how much I learn about their businesses, markets and what makes them stand out from competitors. There’s something special about diving into a new industry and learning all you can about it, while also getting key insight from the clients and experts who know them best. It’s crazy how much you learn from content writing too, and how beneficial this information can be – and not just for answering obscure pub quiz questions. Having worked with clients from sectors as varied as psychics, insurance, mortgages and aesthetics, as well as technology, bedroom design, garden gates and pet care, I wanted to share some guidance on how to go about creating content that hits the mark every time, even if it’s a topic you don’t know much about to begin with. This is what makes a great content writer – being able to show expertise in all manner of markets, while also incorporating well-written content, SEO practices and a duty of care when it comes to research, creativity and the clients themselves.

High Quality Content Writing For Clients & Target Audiences – Business Goals & Customer Loyalty

When it comes to creating content for different industries, your first stop should always be an in depth content meeting with the client to understand their target audience, KPIs and how they want to relate to their audience. Research is always key, but in my experience, no two businesses are ever exactly the same, and the aspects they want to focus on can differ greatly. Sure – it’s good practice to research prior to the content meeting to show understanding and gain insight into current industry trends, but this should never be the sole focus – as trends change, as do client needs, and making assumptions can land you in hot water. We have a set standard of questions we ask here at Embryo, and though this can vary depending on the client, industry and what they’re looking to push, we have found that through these questions, we can gain key information that sets the stage for all of our writing. These questions include:

1. What is the combined years’ of experience of your team?
2. What skills/qualifications does your team have that you feel would impress your target audience?
3. Who are you ideally targeting?
4. Which areas are you targeting?
5. What is your ideal tone of voice?*
6. In terms of your main competitors, what aspects of their content/TOV do you like, and dislike?
7. What key pages would you like us to focus on first?
8. What are the main products/services you would like to promote?**
9. What are key business processes?
10. What makes your process different/better than your competitors?
11. What USP’s would you like to include?
12. Please provide details on the level of support you provide your clients with.
13. What is your ideal call to action?
14. What issues do clients usually face / why might a client switch to you?
15. What makes you different from the competition?
16. Any examples of issues that you’ve helped resolve for clients?
17. Testimonials – can we have some examples please?
18. Case studies – these are great for highlighting your expertise and support, and therefore, please can we have some examples?

*We also create in depth tone of voice documents for clients that detail competitor analysis, our recommendations and how we write content here at Embryo.

** We can also make recommendations based on SEO research, and keyword research will be provided to back these decisions up.

By understanding the client, the key products/services they want to promote, and ingraining their tone of voice, brand values and key messaging within the content, you’re already half-way there when it comes to creating fantastic content for varied industries.

SEO & Content Writing – Keywords, Content Strategy & Content Performance

It goes without saying that writing content for varied markets must have SEO writing at the forefront. It’s one thing to be able to write as an expert, but it’s another to have that content rank well, bring in traffic and convert. Regardless of whether you write for an insurance client, a pet care business, an estate agents or psychic network – you must conduct keyword research to gage monthly search volumes, popularity of search terms and the keywords and phrases you should be including within your content if you’d like to rank for it. What’s more, delving into contextual and ontological phrases can help you write as an industry expert, and make your content sound far more relatable to your audience. As an example, and using some very specialised tools that we use here at Embryo; let’s say you wanted to write a blog all about dog food, but you wanted guidance on the topic, and the keywords and phrases to include:

Keyword examples:

• Which is the best dog food? (8100 average monthly searches)
• Dog food containers (6600)
• Hypoallergenic food for dogs (6600)
• Raw dog food diet (5400)
• Dry food for dogs (5400)
• Homemade food for dogs (2900)
• Can dogs eat cat food? (2900)
• Natural food for dogs (2400)
• Sensitive stomach dog food (1900)

This provides lots of ideas for creating content around these highly-searchable terms. Let’s say you knew that ‘sensitive stomach dog food’ was a key focus area for your dog food/pet care client. Contextual and ontological terms you may also want to consider, include:

• Sensitive stomachs
• Upset stomachs
• Sensitive tummies
• Digestive health
• Essential nutrients
• Balanced diet
• Skin health
• Digestible proteins
• Dietary sensitivity
• Common allergens

By including the varied ways your audience may search for ‘sensitive stomach dog food’ and the related terms and phrases, your content will be better targeted, feel more genuine and help it rank better in the long run too.

What’s more, it’s through keyword research that content strategy can be formulated, guiding content plans for each quarter and showcasing your expertise with research-based creativity. For example, if you knew your client wanted to focus solely on sensitive stomach dog food in month 1 of Q1, and wanted 4 blogs per month, a basic strategy could include the following titles:

• What is the best dog food for sensitive stomachs?
• What dog food is easy to digest?
• Vet-recommended dog food for sensitive stomachs
• Puppies and their sensitive tummies – how to help

Keeping an eye on ranking positions, traffic and conversations is key, and that’s why performance reports are also important, and adjusting strategy where appropriate.

When faced with a new industry or a topic you don’t know an awful lot about, it can be quite daunting to know where to start, how best to write as an expert and ensure your content hits home with both search engines and the intended audience. By asking the right questions, conducting keyword research and continually measuring content performance, you can form the basis for a strong campaign for any market you wish to write about. And if you do find yourself struggling – spend time reading content from reputable sources within that industry, and looking into industry glossaries that explain terms in layman’s terms. From SEO and content marketing through to Digital PR, Paid Social and PPC, all of our departments delve deep into the sectors in which we write for, because we know that this is key to success. If you’d like help writing expert-driven content, I encourage you to Embryo a call today on 0161 327 2635.