B2B copy
Just a quick update: It’s been a busy last 14 months. Launched three B2B newsletters — I currently write them and edit two more, ghostwrite blog posts, do weekly editorial consulting, and occasionally assist a web-based startup that’s going gangbusters.
I’ve been very grateful for these opportunities.
Welcoming a new client
I have a new B2B client, this one a pair of entrepreneurs in the finance consulting industry. I’ll be handling a larger project as well as some Web-based copywriting.
2011 update
My two largest clients just offered me one-year contracts.
I was named editor-in-chief (as a contractor) for Principal Investigator Advisor and PI eAlert.
I was also hired back, as a contractor, for a publication I launched five years ago, Occupational Health & Safety 21.
I will also be handling assorted editing assignments for those clients.
That doesn’t mean 2011 is booked up — I have a network of top-notch business writers and reporters I can call upon to assist, and I can make time for new clients, especially if you need someone who can turn tough technical material into highly readable copy.
Repeat assignment = got it right the first time
Been blessed with plenty of work — since March. Now, a new client.
Renew Everyday, a Chicago-based consumer magazine, assigned me to do a health-related piece. They liked it — and just assigned me another. In the business world, repeat assignment = good, hassle-free job the first time.
Meanwhile, my other clients are increasing their regular, ongoing assignments to Mountain View Editorial Services as well. Plus, assorted one-off assignments when these clients want something new or different done correctly the first time and with minimal instruction.
Onward and upward!
What makes us different — digging deeper
Assignments keep coming in from my major clients. By early July I had maxed out my personal time, so I’ve added a part-time assistant. If things keep going the way they’re going, she’ll be full-time before you know it.
Right now we’re focusing heavily on regulatory compliance issues and grant-writing articles for PIs and e-learning products for business executives.
The strategy of zigging when others zagged, focusing on reporting as the irreplaceable, fundamental element of first-rate editorial services, combined with embracing new technological channels but not pretending the rules of communication have changed, is working.
The bottom line right now is this: No one wants to do reporting — writers just want to regurgitate what others say on the Internet and try to pass that off as their work. Or they take the first plausible answer and call that reporting.
Here at Mountain View, we’ll make the calls, dig deep, push sources, and get to the bottom of the issue for you. Then present the result as actionable advice based on real-life experiences and answers from experts.
For example, we recently saw a FAQ on NIH’s OLAW Web site. It was unclear jargon and communicated little. We could have passed on the obfuscated government-speak to our readers — instead we called and pushed the staffers there for an answer. They ended up rewriting their Web site’s FAQ based on our take. That’s the difference between real reporting and repurposing existing, free Web content.
If you’d like to try out Mountain View Editorial Services, shoot me an email, particularly about long-term projects.
Recently completed assignments include:
* Early signs of what PI’s will need to do to comply with National Science Foundation proposals on data-management plans to be included in future grant applications.
* Five questions your IACUC (animal welfare committee) ethicist should ask — and what good and bad answers are
* Five ways to reduce animal pain and increase animal comfort.
Both of the above are based on interviews with Dr. Bernard Rollin, one of the premier animal-welfare ethicists in the world.
* Promoting your PI career
* Hidden gold: Applying for foundation grants
* Discussion guide and interactive online Q&A on fall protection
* Creation of OSHA-compliant training e-learning module (40 minutes) on electrical safety for non-electrical workers.
* Two online newsletters on laboratory animal welfare compliance — including one on laparoscopic procedures and another on an ethical dilemma.
* Editing two human resources newsletters and two safety newsletters.
Thanks to God
This is a business blog, but I would be remiss if I didn’t include thanks to God. The launch of Mountain View Editorial Services since January has been remarkable — but there were the first three, um, worrisome months.
From mid-March through the end of April, I prayed a Rosary every day, and asked God for clients who needed my work and who would pay my going rates, so I could support myself. It picked up soon and happened by the end of April.
So as I said, I would be remiss in not giving credit where credit’s due. Thanks be to God. His mercy endures forever.
