Best practices for my B2B content writing
Freelance writing best practices for SEO, engagement, content creation, professionalism, and client management
Great freelance writing isn’t just about putting words on virtual paper—a professional writer focuses every part of their business on creating value. That means building best practices into everything you do, for the content itself and through building relationships with clients and readers.
That means understanding the context of the writing, having a good knowledge of SEO, meeting audience needs, creating engaging content, and making the client’s life easier. I’ve built my freelance writing services around several best practices:
SEO content writing best practices to drive up visibility in search results.
Reader-focused best practices to increase engagement and interest.
Trust-based best practices to build a connection with the audience.
Writing and formatting best practices to make content enjoyable and easy to scan and read.
Pricing and invoicing best practices to charge fairly and help clients manage budgets.
Professionalism and collaboration best practices to create excellent relationships with clients.
Project management best practices to stay on top of work, write quality content, and deliver to deadline.
Legal best practices for getting freelance writing contracts and agreements in place.
You can read the details of these best practices below. These are the “default” behaviors that I use when writing content and working with clients, based on my best judgment. If you have any special instructions or ways of working, they will always be prioritized above these best practices.
Hire me as your freelance writer, and I’ll use these approaches to create beautiful content and make working with me a pleasure.
Best practices for SEO content writing
Get an understanding of the main SEO concepts
Use the principles of search engine optimization, especially onsite SEO, to write content that is recognized and ranked by the main search engines.
Write for humans, not search engines
Create content around what the audience wants to read, rather than trying to game search engines by keyword-stuffing or other techniques.
Use keywords in a natural way
Request primary and secondary keywords from clients and incorporate them into written content using reasonable, organic techniques.
Create semantically related phrases in written content
The overall direction of a piece will tell search engines what to expect, so using synonyms and similar phrases can be good for SEO.
Create unique, original content
Search engines dislike writing that’s been copied from elsewhere, so ensure that all content is original and not duplicated or plagiarized.
Write descriptive titles and headings
Use logical keywords in titles, headings, and the body content of articles, guides, blog posts, and white papers.
Write content of the appropriate length
Longer content tends to do better in search engines, and the best-value content for clients will often be 1,000 words plus.
Link to content elsewhere on the client’s website
Review the client’s blog, resource guides, service pages, and similar, then link out to relevant supporting content using appropriate anchor text.
Link to content elsewhere on the internet
Don’t restrict links to internal content, if there’s an external, authoritative source that will help to expand or contextualize the writing, link to it, so long as it’s not a competitor.
Use keywords in link anchor text
When linking out to other onsite or offsite content, ensure that the hyperlink anchor text has appropriate keywords to contextualize the destination content.
Provide keyword-optimized meta titles and descriptions if requested
Meta titles and descriptions appear on search engine results pages and can encourage users to click through, so providing this metadata helps with SEO and engagement.
Best practices for professionalism in freelance writing
Be flexible and understanding of a client’s needs
Flexibility allows for adaptable content writing that takes account of a client’s business pressures and demands.
Use a professional, friendly approach with clients
Clients are already under plenty of pressure and conflicting priorities, so making their life easier by providing expert guidance and being easy to talk to will be much appreciated.
Take away the hassle involved with content creation
One of the purposes of a freelance writer to make the client’s job easier, so professionalism, reliability, flexibility, and quality are essential.
Build trust and mutual respect with clients
A good freelance-client relationship is built on trust and an understanding of the value of both parties, so open, honest, friendly, and courteous communication will go a long way.
Best practices for writing engaging content
Learn about the intended writing audience and personas
Get an understanding of who the client’s key customers are and write content specifically tailored to their needs and use cases.
Understand the reader’s level of familiarity with the content
Establish how much the typical reader knows about the subject matter and write to that level of understanding.
Write directly for an audience’s needs
Understand the specific problem, benefit, or solution that’s covered by the writing and introduce these concepts in the opening paragraph of the article.
Write to a client’s tone and style guide, if provided
Default to a client’s style guide, brand, and tone-of-voice guidelines if such documents are available, these guides supersede any “default” tone or approach.
Default to using a second-person tone when writing
Speak directly to the reader using a second-person perspective (“you” and “we / us”) to create a greater sense of connection between them and the content.
Default to writing content as an “expert friend”
Use a friendly, approachable, relatable tone while sharing genuinely useful, well-researched, high-value content.
Create action-oriented headings in the content
Start headings with words like “get,” “share,” “learn,” “build,” etc. so the reader can see themselves following the information and guidance in the article.
Signpost blogs, articles, and other content through descriptive headings
Guides readers through the article and introduce key points in the previous heading, so they know what value they’re going to get out of the following section.
Write for understanding and clarity
Realize readers have short attention spans and create content that’s clear, concise, practical, and easy-to-read.
Explain complex ideas and concepts
Break down harder-to-grasp ideas into their component parts and discuss each part as a separate point.
Avoid jargon when writing
Depending on the audience’s level of knowledge, avoid unnecessary jargon, spell out acronyms the first time you use them, and briefly explain unique terminology.
Vary written content marketing materials
Use a combination of articles, blogs, guides, white papers, and other types of content to maintain interest across multiple pieces and capture long-tail keywords.
Experiment with different types of content
Test out straightforward article writing, tutorials, deep dives, questions and answers, training, and other types of content to see what makes the biggest impact with the reader.
Best practices for building trust and connection with readers
Speak to the audience’s values and interests
Establish the main audience motivations and why they’re interested in the content, then write to that specific purpose.
Identify and solve reader needs through the writing
Understand the specific problems or use cases for a reader, show a common understanding, and demonstrate solutions and benefits.
Create original and unique content
Write unique and original pieces that are free of plagiarism and offer different perspectives, ideas, and viewpoints.
Guide readers towards solutions
Start with the end in mind by writing content that takes readers through a logical journey from understanding those needs to meeting those needs.
Use clear formatting to make content easy to scan
Ensure the formatting of the writing supports the purpose, style, approach, and tone of the content.
Write content that’s easy to read
Create content that’s clear, concise, and correct, building it into a structured narrative that flows logically from point to point, sharing knowledge in an understandable way.
Write on topics with expertise
Get a strong understanding of specific industry niches and write with authority on familiar areas.
Demonstrate insight into the topic
Present highly relevant information in new and interesting ways and ensure the writing provides values and outcomes for the readers.
Conduct primary and secondary research to write with authority
Identify any gaps in knowledge and carry out research specific to the article, including secondary research to provide additional context and understanding.
Use citations, quotes, and statistics to illustrate key points
Provide context and support for the content by including relevant data, information, quotes, and other content that supports or expands on key points.
Consolidate disparate information into an authoritative resource
Gather and analyze information from multiple sources, draw out insights, and present findings in an easily accessible way.
Link to authoritative content elsewhere
Link to other articles that build on key points within the article, whether that content is on the client’s blog or another (non-competing) website.
Reach a conclusion
Finish articles with a conclusion that follows on from the concepts and ideas within the content, include a takeaway and “call to action” in the conclusion if needed.
Best practices for writing and formatting content
Use appropriate levels of headings and subheadings
Use heading styles from <H1> through to <H3> or <H4> to logically break up content and make it easy to scan and understand.
Write short, easily understandable paragraphs
Break the content down into easily understandable chunks and make points succinctly in three-to-four-sentence paragraphs.
Create bullet point lists to make information easier to understand
Write accurate, well-structured, logical bullet point lists to present unordered information and make it easily digestible by the reader.
Create numbered lists to introduce areas one after the other
Understand the steps required to achieve a goal and use a numbered list to present those points in order.
Break up writing with white space
Use plenty of white space throughout the content to provide logical breaks and mental breathing spaces for the reader after they have taken on information.
Best practices for working with freelance writing clients
Read about the client’s business and background
Develop a broad understanding of the client’s business, brand, values, offerings, products, and services to allow for writing that aligns with those concepts.
Share freelance writing briefing notes to get necessary information
Create a standard, fillable document to gather relevant information about a topic and the details of each piece of content.
Suggest types of writing to meet client and audience needs
Provide options to clients so they can choose the best formats and channels to share content with their audience, including blog posts, articles, guides, tutorials, website content, knowledge bases, white papers, ebooks, reviews, and comparisons.
Provide an initial meeting or consultation, free of charge
Conduct an initial, free discovery call with the client to learn about different aspects of their business, content requirements, unique selling points, their needs, and how they want to work.
Use familiar technology to collaborate on writing
Use well-known platforms like Google Docs, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox to create original writing, share with the client, and act on feedback.
Guide new clients through what they need to provide
Create practical, clear guidelines and have discussions with clients on any information required to ensure high-quality content writing.
Ensure close collaboration throughout the writing process
Work closely with a client so they have plenty of opportunity to feedback on writing so that the content is aligned with their needs and expectations.
Proactively communicate with clients
Keep clients informed on the progress of freelance writing, including acceptance of work, pricing, questions, and updates during the writing process, delivery, and revisions.
Respond to communications promptly
Aim to reply to questions, comments, or other feedback from clients within one to two business days.
Ask questions to clarify content requirements
Identify any gaps in knowledge needed to write authoritative content and ask questions to understand expectations and provide high-quality content writing services.
Provide outlines for longer pieces of written work
Establish the writing is going in the right direction by sharing outlines and early drafts of content on longer pieces like white papers and ebooks.
Listen to feedback and adjust writing practices
Read and understand client comments and incorporate feedback into future content writing.
Best practices for charging and invoicing freelance writing clients
Use a project-based, transparent pricing structure
Give clients more budget control by setting fixed, inclusive, upfront pricing for freelance writing services so there are no nasty surprises.
Tell clients what is not included in freelance writing pricing
If certain services are excluded from fixed-price project charges, make those clear to the client before starting work so they can budget accordingly.
Charge fair rates for writing
Charge rates that are commensurate with your experience, expertise, and what the market will bear, don’t under or oversell freelance services, bill what is appropriate.
Explain what clients get as part of the writing rates
Clearly document the scope of services a client can expect to receive for the fixed project price, this might include briefs, research, writing, revisions, and other factors.
Set out clear invoicing terms
Let the client know when to expect invoices and payment terms, for example, invoice at the end of the month for any work completed that month and allow payment on 30-day terms.
Itemize projects in the invoice
List out individual projects, typically by the title of the content, with a separate price for each one based on what’s been agreed with the client.
Best practices for freelance writing project management
Create an internal content tracking system to manage writing and deadlines
Capture essential information on new work as soon as it arrives and put any requirements, deadlines, special instructions, or links into the tool.
Get experience with a client’s project or content management tools
Learn how to use a client’s internal project or content management system—this could include GatherContent, Monday.com, ClickUp, Trello, Asana, Prismic, and similar.
Slot into a client’s content management process
Find out how best to work with a client’s team using their tools, methodologies, and contact points.
Always meet requirements and deadlines for writing
Use the internal project management tool to stay on top of the writing workflow and incorporate all requirements into the content while meeting writing deadlines.
Always get a contract in place with clients
Create an easy-to-understand freelance writing contract that agrees the common terms that the writer and client are working to and arrange for signing via a digital signature tool.
Create a statement of work where needed
Write a statement of work that covers the scope of work, quality, deadlines, costs, and any other terms that needs to be shared with the client.
Read and sign reasonable non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)
Agreeing to and signing NDAs is a standard part of being a freelance writer, ensure that the NDA is fair and understandable before signing.