Working Web Copy

Here’s the final answer in a video from Matt Cutts. While keywords are still important in site copy, they are not important, to Google anyway, for site ranking.

Check it: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/09/google-does-not-use-keywords-meta-tag.html

If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to read the article over at Newsweek called “It Pays to be Nice“.

Now that is out of the way, let’s talk about what it means for setting rates. I’ve long thought that being transparent and open about rates is the way to go, at least for me. There is a lot of debate on this in the industry, the main argument being that you will cheat yourself if a company has set a budget for a lot more for your writing services. My significant other and more besides have called me naive and “too nice” when it comes to this aspect of my business.

If you look at my rates, I don’t think I am that generous. I charge just enough to make a living when you factor in items like benefits, pensions, and ancillary expenses that companies usually pay for a staff member, and that I do pay for myself. I am up front about publishing them, which is the important thing.

This all fits in with the “being nice” philosophy. I have been in the corporate world where I have been encouraged to “play chicken” with what the clients are willing to pay and then set the price at that level. Whether or not it is an accepted part of doing business, I never felt honest participating in those practices and I won’t do it in my business. I have my own business simply because I didn’t like a lot of the less human aspects of the corporate world, and want to bring that humanity back to my dealings with even larger companies.

I’m not going to brag, but so far it has been paying off to be nice. I haven’t been without business except maybe a few days in the summer when I wanted to be. I think the world can work together transparently and I think that most companies, since they employ humans, prefer to work this way as well. If that is naive, so be it; right now I’m being nice, and I’m getting paid.

I saw those words today on an insurance form that I’m about to sign off on, and I had a lot of pride in myself after reading those words. It’s not that I’ve never smoked. I smoked like a chimney from the age of 18 to about three years ago, when my significant other was diagnosed with cancer. Not lung, but still. Didn’t need to take any chances.

Smoking used to be a crutch, a way to self-medicate in moments of stress or pressure. Not only is it much healthier not to smoke, but I find I am psychologically more healthy since I’ve learned to deal with stress and pressure without the crutch propping me up.

I am aware that the years of smoking may have already taken their toll, but still – “Female, 35, Non-Smoker” looked pretty good today.

I’m not one to get all inspirational on you. Those of you who know me know that I am actually extremely suspicious of any such behaviour, and repeated postings of motivational quotes are usually grounds for me to hit the “unfollow” button on Twitter. In short, I’m about as sunny and happy and shiny as Morticia Adams. So when I say something is motivational, it usually actually is.

I just read somewhere about a writer who purchased a book from an author, read their book, and then attended a lecture that they gave. The final result was that they were inspired to write their own book, which in and of itself is awesome. However:

Time Reading Book: 3-4 hours, assuming the writer is an avid and fast reader.
Lecture Attendance:  2 hours, depending on travel time.
Time purchasing book: 1 hour, depending on travel time.

Total: Minimum 6 hours.

Now we get to the harsh point of this exercise. Six hours to get inspired to write your book? There is thinking about it, and then there is doing it. Some people like to map a journey before leaving, buy food for the trip, and go to the bathroom before starting down the highway, but at some point you just have to get in the driver’s seat and go. That six hours could have been research for the book, or six hours spent writing the first and second chapters. That is a heck of a long time to reach only inspiration at the end.

Are you thinking about it, or are you doing it?