Why I Am a Writer Who Doesn’t Call Herself a Writer

Or: The Difference Between a Writer and a Strategist

The internet is chock-full of writers. If you want a writer, you could can go to Upwork and find good writers who will work for pennies (and you will find me there too). If you want ongoing writing services, you could go to Verblio or Constant Content and find hundreds of good writers. Writers are a dime a dozen.

However, I still encounter people all. the. time who are looking for writers. They want good writers. They have a head full of ideas, and want someone to write it down for them. Or they read a good book or blog post, and think that their audience wants that information as well. Or they know they have to blog for their business, and so they need to keep a steady stream of keyword-filled content rolling across their pages.

I can do all that. I DO all that. There’s money to be made in that.

But the reason I don’t market myself as a writer even though writing is all I do, all day every day, is because what I really am is a thinker. Writing is the expression of my thinking, the execution of the idea, but the idea is what’s important.

So I have prospective clients who want me to ghost write for them: they want me to write their tips for success, or life lessons learned, or their perspectives and insight into their industry. And I know, not everyone is a writer, and not everyone has time to write, but if it’s YOUR story, it should come from you. Outsourcing ideas that are supposed to be your own feels a bit deceitful. I have written a few of these kinds of things, and it always bothers me a bit. If I am writing industry analysis for an analyst, or motivational tips for a motivational speaker, I feel like those are my tips, my research, my insights, and I don’t want to sell them.

I also have prospective clients who don’t seem to understand who their content is for. They think they are writing for Google, and that certain keywords and density will make Google happy, and traffic and success will follow. But that’s nonsense: Google can’t read.

Google doesn’t read your content. People do.

There is no value in simply re-creating topics and content that is covered elsewhere on the internet simply to re-capture it and keyword-seed your own site. You won’t gain any credibility that way, and I promise that you won’t rank that way.

In fact, what you actually have to do is something much, much more difficult. You have to find the things that other people aren’t saying, you have to find a unique perspective, a unique voice, and add value that readers simply can’t find anywhere else.

THAT is what I do.

Finding Your Own Voice

The reason I call myself a strategist is because I work to help my clients figure out what that unique perspective and unique value is for them, and for their reader. Then, yes, I execute it in writing.

This means working harder to determine what the reader really wants and needs, and what my client can offer them that is distinctive and unique. It means we can’t take the easy way out and write “Top 5 Museums in Barcelona” or “3 Marketing Secrets for Success”. It means working together to find something more interesting, like “Enjoy Barcelona Like the Locals Do”, or “3 Secrets Other Accountants Won’t Tell You”.

Once we’ve figured out what this unique perspective and value offering is, it must, by necessity, weave through and impact your entire marketing strategy. Your ads, your website, all your marketing materials should begin to showcase this distinction, the approach that sets your business apart from all others.

And, to be honest, the writing itself is more fun, more engaging, more challenging and interesting when I’m saying something unique and different. I get tired of rewriting other stuff I’ve read online, echoing the insights of the experts who dominate Google rankings. Come on, people. Anyone can do that. I’m better than that.

And so are you.

It would be easy to call myself a writer and take people’s money just for following orders. But I am all. the. way. grown, and know exactly how online marketing works. In fact, I have written a lot of those guides and tips you read on other websites. It’s time to take off the masks and get real.