Do yourself a favour: do your customer a favour! When you offer something extra by adding value to your editorial business, everyone wins. Note: I refer to added value, but you might also hear this referred to as content marketing. What is added value? Adding value is all about offering that additional something that separates your letter, your website, your email response, your telephone call, your promotional leaflet, or your directory entry from those of others. When you add value, you offer something to a current or future relationship that shows you are engaged with the client – that you have put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Don't forget that your colleagues are customers, too! The value you add can be in the form of little saplings – the smile on your face, a reassuring tone of voice, doing a fine job, helping a customer find a competitor if you’re too busy – or in the form of huge trees – a blog, a free booklet, a set of guidelines for your customers, a time-limited free trial of your software, a knowledge centre – and everything in between. Here are just a few examples of good practice that regular Parlour readers will probably already be aware of, though I could fill pages if space permitted!
What’s in it for you?
What’s in it for your customer?
You’re probably already adding value without even realizing it. But why not think about three more things you could try in the next year? Make a list of small saplings or bigger trees and see where it takes you. You have nothing to lose, and your customers have everything to gain. Update, 2017: If you're really interested in developing great content that adds value to your editorial business, try my Content Marketing Primer for Editors & Proofreaders. Louise Harnby is a fiction line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in helping self-publishing writers prepare their novels for market. She is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors, and runs online courses from within the Craft Your Editorial Fingerprint series. She is also an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders and an Author Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Louise loves books, coffee and craft gin, though not always in that order. Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn. If you're an author, take a look at her Self-publishers’ Writing Library and access her latest self-publishing resources, all of which are free and available instantly.
2 Comments
5/8/2013 07:50:37 am
How lovely to be included in such august company! Thank you, Louise.
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Louise Harnby
8/8/2013 11:34:05 am
You're most welcome, Kathy! The Copyeditors' Knowledge Base is one of the finest resources within our global editorial community.
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