Quality messaging and content are essential for positioning your fintech business in a compelling, differentiated and refreshingly simple way.
But almost every business I've worked with over the past decade has struggled to work effectively with freelance copywriters.
When I joined businesses as their first marketing or content hire, I heard from frustrated CTOs and Sales Directors that they've tried a handful of writers and agencies but have struggled to get content off the ground. Some of the reasons I've heard over the years include:
"We had someone write our launch website, but it feels generic."
"We've tried a few people, but our Head of X keeps having to rewrite chunks of their work."
Even when a writer has domain expertise, there’s often a feeling that copywriter’s haven’t grasped the business, or that the solution is too complex for them to understand. So content and web updates get parked until an in-house Content Manager can fill the gap, which could be several years down the line.
But it doesn't need to be this way. Even the leanest of startups should be able to use freelance copywriters to create content their target audience loves, which sets their business apart. Here's how.
The following workflow will help your business get the best out of a fintech copywriter. I’ve designed it to enable founding teams and generalist Marketing Managers to outsource content creation effectively. All without hiring a full-time writer, or tearing their hair out. Here’s how.
Step 1: The brief before the brief
Everything you need to effectively onboard a freelance writer already exists within your business. The trouble is, it's often tied up in the heads of founders and subject matter experts, who are so close to the coal face that they forget what a writer, or anyone new to your business, doesn't know.
To give freelance writers all the context they need, get your brightest minds together for a recorded discussion about your business. Answer (and debate) questions like:
What problem does your business exist to solve?
Why do the challenges that face potential clients exist?
Why do your customers choose you, and why do they stay?
Why is your solution better than everything else on the market?
Where are you weakest, and how do you handle objections in those areas?
What are the most common questions sales executives get asked on demo calls?
By recording the session, you now have an on-demand resource you can use to up-skill any freelancer you work with. Writers can use this to up-skill themselves, get a feel for how your company speaks and understand how they should position things.
It's much more valuable for a writer to listen to an honest discussion than reading your existing marketing material. It will sound natural. It will contain genuine opinions.
It will be an absolute treasure trove for writers, giving them a repository to refer back to for clarity, ideas and quotes.
Step 2: Create content themes and ideas
Ask your freelance writer to soak up the recorded discussion and feedback with their key takeaways and a set of content ideas. This is a good way of checking that your copywriter understands your business effectively. Feel free to support your writer in idea generation if you have time and capacity to do so.
Step 3: Conducting interviews for fintech content
Once you have a set of content ideas you're happy with, set up a one-on-one interview between your freelance writer and a subject matter expert per theme or article.
Interviews are what sets proper thought leadership apart from generic marketing content. Every piece you commission should contain real opinions from your people, either featured as quotes or written in the first person (I'm writing this article to tell you about…). My personal preference is to write as the brand and include quotes, newspaper style.
I usually find a thirty minute interview is enough. Plenty of time to dig for the story fill in any contextual blanks while protecting the time of your internal experts.
I can't stress this enough: interviews are gold dust for writers, capturing your company's brain trust in its raw form. Spending time on interviews up front makes the review process much shorter and smoother. You’ll also get a few new content ideas from each interview that’s conducted, adding to your content strategy.
Step 4: The brief
Before your writer kicks off and gets creative, collate everything into a briefing document per article to ensure there are no crossed wires. At a high level, a content brief should contain:
The working title – ask your writer to provide a few title ideas alongside their draft
The aim of the content
Who it's written for
What channel it's for
The length
The deadline
Links to resources – i.e. all relevant recorded interviews
The key points that need to be included – if you're unsure about this, ask your writer to create an outline before writing the full article.
In a future blog, I'll share my briefing template. Sign up for the GTM HIVE newsletter to get your hands on it.
Step 5: The review process
Critiquing content can be challenging if you're not a writer. Here are a few things to bear in mind.
The first draft is exactly that: don't expect to see perfect the first time around. Don't panic if it feels way off the mark.
Limit the number of reviewers: Choose wisely. No more than two people, three at a push, should need to review a piece of content. I like to use one subject matter expert and one commercial lead.
Commit to reading the entire piece: The introduction is where I see freelancers go furthest off the mark because the positioning has to be perfect. Read everything before you assume the whole piece is wrong.
Be direct, but don't be rude: Clear critique is good. But a tear-down isn’t helpful. Be mindful of the effort that’s gone into it. You have to work with your writer to get it right.
Be clear about your request: Highlight specific sections or paragraphs and explain what's missing. The worst feedback I hear is 'make it snappier' or 'make it punchier', which is vague and open to interpretation.
Point them in the right direction: Mention the specific points you feel are missing. Reference the brief and interview recordings so your writer knows where to look for more information.
Conclusion
This is a tried-and-tested content workflow, with a few steps trimmed out to make it actionable for companies who don’t have an in-house writer to manage this process.
Are you keen to start content marketing but unsure of where to start?
Reach out to us here at GTM HIVE to ask any questions. Our fractional Content and Marketing Associates bring your brain trust to life.
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