Have you wondered if business-to-business, a/k/a B2B content marketing, might be your ticket to a bigger writing income?
I’m hearing this from a lot of writers in my community:
“I’ve decided on a writing niche — I’m going to write B2B.”
So. B2B is definitely an area with a lot of marketing money in it. That’s because the products and services sold to businesses can be expensive, from fancy copy machines to $10,000 consulting packages and up.
The more something costs, generally, the more elaborate and costly the marketing process is — and the more writers stand to make.
But there’s a problem: Simply saying you write B2B doesn’t get clients excited about hiring you. In fact, positioning yourself that way can send the very clients you want running for the exits.
Let me explain the one simple tweak to make to connect with great-paying B2B clients.
Think like a client
To help you see the confusion that’s created by simply marketing yourself as a ‘B2B’ writer, I want to encourage you to think like a B2B business client.
Let’s say Joe works for a company that sells medical devices to hospitals. And he needs to find a marketing writer.
Do you think Joe is going to search for a ‘B2B writer’?
My experience is that he’s not.
He’s going to search for a medical device writer. If you know about medical devices — but you don’t say that in your key phrases in your own marketing, and you just say you’re a ‘B2B content marketing writer’ — Joe is probably not going to find you.
Same with Cindy, who’s looking for a writer who can sell enterprise software to financial advisors.
Cindy is searching for a:
- “tech marketing writer” or maybe a
- “fintech writer”
Yes, these companies both engage in B2B content marketing. They’re selling products to other companies. But to a client, simply understanding how to sell to an audience of marketing managers, in general…well, it isn’t enough.
3 things B2B prospects want
These prospects want to know if you understand their industry in particular — because they don’t have time to teach you that. Companies want to hire freelancers who:
- Know their jargon
- Speak their language
- Understand their particular business buyer
What you need to know is more specific than simply B2B savvy.
Show what you know
The solution is simple. Don’t be a ‘B2B’ writer. Be a B2B medical device writer. Be a B2B fintech writer.
You’ve got to niche down a bit more, to signal to your client that you’re the plug-and-play writer they’re looking for.
You can see how it’s not useful to a medical device company if you have experience blogging about financial software. Or vice versa. Right?
Figure out what you know. Then, tell clients about it. They’re looking for writers who speak their language.
Bonus: When you specialize in a particular industry (or two) within B2B, your learning curve gets a lot shorter. Instead of trying to learn how every industry that sells to other businesses does its content marketing, you can focus in on one.
That makes it easy to study top competitors, track trends, and quickly begin to look like a genius to prospects.
B2B isn’t a niche
To sum up, don’t choose B2B content marketing as your niche, because ‘B2B’ isn’t a niche. It’s not specific enough to communicate your value to clients.
- Give your prospects more key words and information about what you know. Plug it into your LinkedIn profile tagline. And watch the inbound leads roll in. I’ve coached a ton of writers on this, and they’re always astounded at how well it works.
Don’t do this
One final tip about positioning yourself as a B2B content marketing writer:
The only thing worse than saying you’re simply a ‘B2B’ writer is the thing I see on many writer websites — writers saying they write ‘B2B/B2C.’
That says you write both business-to-business and business-to-consumer copy.
Which is the same as saying you write everything. Sadly, companies don’t want a writer who specializes in everything.
They want a B2B content marketing writer who understands their particular industry problems and challenges.
Have questions about B2B content marketing for freelancers? Let’s discuss on Facebook or LinkedIn.
And check out this article from a fellow B2B Writer.
