Adding Value to Your Editorial Business – Little Saplings and Big Trees

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!

• John Espirian's Free Top 10 Tips Proofreading Guide
• Paul Beverley's Macros for Writers and Editors book
• Louise Harnby's Guidelines for New Authors
• Liz Broomfield's Resources for students/small businesses/Word users on her Libro Editing blog
• Katharine O'Moore-Klopf's Copyeditors' Knowledge Base
• Corina Koch MacLeod and Carla Douglas's Beyond Paper Editing blog, providing self-editing and self-publishing tips for writers

What’s in it for you?

• It shows your customer you’re engaged with their needs. This demonstrates your professionalism and makes you more likely to be selected (or reselected) for work. In the case of colleagues, it's also another way of actively engaging with your business community.
• There are SEO benefits – some examples of added value are easy to share using social media. If it’s good-quality, relevant added value, people will read it, share it and link to it.
• It provides you with unique selling points (USPs) that can set you apart from the crowd.

What’s in it for your customer?

• It doesn’t needn't cost the customer anything extra – it could be their equivalent of a free lunch.
• Confidence – if a client feels that you’ve engaged with the challenges they face, it gives them confidence in you and confidence in their project.
• Gratitude – when someone gifts you with something that is relevant to your needs, you’re thankful and your remember it. It’s the same 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.

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Louise Harnby is a professional proofreader and copyeditor. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.

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