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Why Your Freelance Writer Website Makes You Sound Like an Idiot

Why Your Freelance Writer Website Makes You Sound Like an Idiot

Your dream client is visiting your freelance writer website right now, while you’re reading this.

They heard about you, they think you sound awesome, and their budget is huge.

But what they read on your website puts them off the idea. They don’t pick up the phone. They hit backspace, and they go somewhere else.

Do you want that to happen to you?

Of course not. But it happens more often than you’d ever like to think. So let’s do something about that, today. 

Why Your Freelance Writer Website Makes You Sound Like an Idiot [And How to Get Your True Voice Back]

I’m sorry. But it’s true about 80% of the time, so I’m saying it.

Your business website makes you come across like a dork with a thesaurus. Or a stuffy suit. A cheesy sales pitch. An inexperienced teenager. Or, worse, all of the above.

That’s because it doesn’t let your voice shine through. You’ve made one of these classic mistakes:

  • Being too formal. A stilted tone leaves people feeling like they don’t know you at all.
  • Being too pally. No text-speak, LOLcats or over-sharing on your professional site!
  • Being too pretentious and sales-y. Hyperbole and pressure tactics repel potential clients.
  • Varying your tone wildly because you’re trying to please everyone.
  • Writing about yourself in the third person: “Sophie Lizard is a freelance blogger and writer…”.
  • Writing about yourself in the first person plural: “Email us and we’ll get right back to you…”.
  • Having your writer site copy written by another writer.

There are exceptions to these guidelines – perhaps your freelance writer website really needs that ultra-formal tone to appeal to your target market. You know better than I do what type of client you’re aiming to attract.

But if you don’t have a clear and simple rationale for your choice of voice on your site, then it’s probably time you gave it some thought. For most writers online or offline, your true voice is your best bet whenever you’re writing about yourself.

Why Your True Voice is the Right Voice

A potential client visiting your website wants to know more about you.

That includes your personality, so that they can decide if you’ll be a good fit for their team. It also includes your ability to write a message that rings true for the reader. A clear, genuine message goes a long way, both in writing and in business.

What’s the message of your freelance writer website?

It’s “Hire me; I’m not an idiot”.

You don’t have to state it so bluntly — though I’d be tempted to hire someone who did! — and you can add whatever extra reasons you like, but proving that you’re not an idiot is top priority.

You can overcome inexperience with enthusiasm and learning skills.

You can overcome ignorance with research.

Idiocy, though, is not a starting point your client ever wants to consider. If you’re making one of those classic errors of voice on your business website, you may be triggering your potential client’s idiot alert and scaring them off.

How to Get Your True Voice Back

Don’t worry, you can fix this.

If the tone you’ve used on your website isn’t your true voice, here are 4 simple ways to improve it:

  1. Ask a friend to interview you about your career, your background and the services you offer. Use the interview as the basis of your web copy, preserving your natural tone when you edit.
  2. Read your current website copy aloud to someone who knows you well. Ask them to raise their hand every time you don’t sound like yourself, and you’ll soon see which sections of your copy might benefit from an edit.
  3. Define your target markets so that you know who you’re writing to attract. You only need your website to appeal to your ideal clients, so imagine the copy as a conversation with them alone.
  4. Look over the websites of freelance writers you admire. Analyse how they’ve infused the copy with their own voice, and note the successful elements you can emulate.

When you use your natural voice, potential clients have a better understanding of who you are. You’ll attract projects that suit you, and avoid wasting time on ones that don’t.

For once, it’s true: all you have to do is be yourself.

That’s gotta be the simplest assignment ever, so let’s get started and give your site some personality!

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Comments

  1. Excellent article! I love the tips you provided at the end, especially about reading to a friend out loud and having them tell you when you don’t sound like yourself.

  2. Love posts about writer sites, Sophie!

    Not sure about the other points but surely need to change the About page copy from the third person to first. In fact, I need to completely change the About page to be more writer-specific one. Same for the homepage.

    I think, this writing in the third person or in the first person plural is a very common mistake.

    Let me see how many of the tips you gave above, can I implement on my writer site. I feel it difficult to change my home and about page copy, even though Alicia has helped me change a lot of things on my writer site.
    Thanks for the lovely post and for the tips, which I’m pasting into a note to use when doing changes to my writer site.

      • Excellent advice and a fun read, Sophie! It made me re-read my “About Me” section of my website.

      • Thanks Sophie! I think any post with practical advice and something people can implement soon would be great for posts.

        I changed my author bio to show it written in the first person, a little while ago. Looks better now. 🙂

  3. You have some great points. I thought by using it like a company it would sound more professional. Now I need to re-think this! Thanks for the tips and insight.

    • It sounds professional if you’re part of a genuine team. But if it’s just you, that plural voice takes away your ability to relate to the client as one individual to another. Personality is more effective than an imaginary team!

  4. Sophie, I bloody love you. Really.

    This post is brilliant and couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I’ve been a writer and editor for nearly 15 years. I went freelance (lightly) about 3 years ago after moving to the country and popping out some kiddies but it’s only in the last month that I’ve decided to put together a website. Since leaving the big smoke I’ve been EXCEPTIONALLY lucky that I’ve never had to go looking for work, but the big corp websites have garnered enough of my soul and I’ve decided to re-focus on smaller,more local businesses – which means putting myself out there for the first time ever.

    Problem is, I’ve spent so long adapting my voice to fit someone elses brand that I’m having a blimmin nightmare re-finding my own. I’m now on V3 (of total re-jig and re-write) and I’m still not happy. Urgh! This post has given me a much needed boost, so thanks.

    • P.S. Ironically, I decided to start a blog to try and tease myself out (www.thatnorfolkmum.wordpress.com) and whilst my website isn’t doing a great deal of converting, my blog has nabbed itself over 200 subscribers already, and I’ve only written two posts!

      • Nice work! Yeah, when you’ve been trying on client voices all day it takes a while to find your way back sometimes. I find singing helps, but that’s probably just me. 😉

    • Hey Kerry,

      I just wanted to jump in and say that I think your comment overflows with unique voice!
      I have to admit you already had me ad “bloody” – I bloody love the word “bloody”, but just the way your comment is written makes me want to check out your blog.
      Which I will be doing now.

  6. Great timing, Sohpie! I’m about to launch a blog specifically to prove to clients that I’m not an idiot. I predict I’ll be reading this over many times.

  7. Thanks Sophie this is an eye opener I will definitely apply these changes. Keep up the great work of educating and inspiring

  8. Thanks Sophie, this is an eye opener I will definitely apply these changes. Keep up the great work of educating and inspiring

  9. Hi, Sophie:

    Solid advice.

    I see where speaking about ‘yourself’ in the plural is awkward, but is it okay to do so when writing about anything other than ourselves?

    In latter case — when adressing a common issue, let’s say — it seems that writing in the first-person plural may help promote a bond with readers.

    I suspect you’ll say it’s okay — but I’m just checking.

    Want to hear it from Sophie Lizard (possible quote for me here).

    Thanks!

    • We as “you and I” works fine *anywhere*. We as “my imaginary team and I” is weird. We as “my real-life team and I” is fine again. That valley of deception between the two true uses is what we (you and I) want to avoid.

  10. Thanks a lot, Sophie. This is very helpful since I’m planning to create my own writer’s website. Also, I’m gonna change my About page and make it first person. I just realized it sounded awkward in third person POV.

  11. Sophie, thanks for the kick. I’m going to go into my site and read over my Hire Me and About Me pages. I’ve been concentrating on posting blogs (in my voice). However, I need to make sure I’m “me” on all pages. I love your tips – very creative and right on!

    • “Me on all pages” is a great description of the principle, Shauna. 🙂 Unless you’re purposely taking on the voice of a client or a character in your writing, we want to see your personality!

  13. Well Sophie.. The real problem, the sad truth is, that MOST people, be they authors or otherwise, CANNOT be their “real” authentic self. This is not a matter of effort, a checklist or a single band-aid technique. In fact this is a core problem in our society, a fundamental cause of so much suffering, confusion and unhappiness. There is a way to get to one’s authentic self, but the road is a little more arduous than these small pieces of advice, as well-intentioned as they might be. Self actualization is a huge undertaking. Lets not trivialize it.

    • Self-actualisation is WAY beyond my jurisdiction, Asa! These tactics are simply ways to bring more of your natural voice to your website copy — it’s not a self-actualisation strategy, more a set of writing hacks. 🙂

      Even people who don’t know themselves to the Nth degree have a voice that they use when they don’t feel over-encumbered by social requirements. (It may not be their deepest most authentic self, but it’s what they think of as “me”. Make sense?) Using more of that voice on your website helps to strengthen the connection between your mind and the minds of your visitors.

      The Human Code looks interesting. If you have time, I’d love to see a guest post pitch from you on this topic. Guidelines are here: http://beafreelanceblogger.com/guest-blogging-guidelines/

  14. I have been scared to begin a blog of any kind and know to get more clients I need to have a “writer’s blog.” This post is just what I needed to get on with it. I will let you know when I get it up. Thanks so much.

    • Carol Ann, don’t feel you *have* to have a writer’s blog. You can simply set up a website of static pages (About Me, Services, and so on) rather than creating a blog with the commitment of regular updates.

      Then when you have something to blog about, submit it as a guest post to a relevant blog you like — that way you get published clips for your blogging portfolio AND hyperlinks from the host blogs to your website, which help to bring you new visitors. Plus your pitching skills will benefit from the practice you get while you’re guest blogging!

  15. I’ve been struggling with the voice part of my writing for a few months now. When I’m writing, I can usually tell if I’m sounding like myself from the way the words are flowing.

    What has helped, which is similar to point 3, is to read my own writing. I’ve got through several blog posts and can definitely tell the difference! I’ve printed out the one that really captures me and try to understand how I can bring that to all of my writing.

    • That’s a good way to do it, Jennifer. I like to re-read posts from my old personal blog to remind myself how I write when nobody’s looking. 🙂

  16. Writing my own website copy has proven to be more of a challenge than I first thought it would be. Even after 6 months of writing and editing the page, I still think it sounds a bit pretentious and maybe a bit too salesy. When I first put it up, I obsessed about every word. Now I look at it once a month to give myself some space from it and improve as I go.

    • I think it’s pretty good as it is, Halona, The main thing I would do is avoid using ALL CAPS too often — it comes across a little overexcited and shouty, which doesn’t match your speaking voice.

  17. Halona – I assure you, you’re never going to be completely satisfied with your website copy! 🙂

    It’s a nice idea and a good habit to check and change your copy once a month. A tip I can add here is, if you do some site updates as small as adding a favorite post in the sidebar, your website comes a little higher in search engines. So, this is a nice thing to do once a week.

  18. I just joined this group today and coincidentally also published a new web site. I know, exchanging information here is going to be helpful, but thanks to this post I am having waves of paranoia regarding my updated site. Maybe, I just will take it down and sit in the corner.

    • No point taking it down, Alan – just work on making it more effective. Looking at your site there are 3 things I would immediately change: (1) the green writing on grey background, because it makes reading harder; (2) the navigation, because when I visited your portfolio page there was no clear link back to the homepage or to your other pages; (3) Wix, because those “get your own free Wix site!” ads are distracting and make you seem less professional. It only costs a few dollars a month to get your own web hosting and set up a site without ads, and the RoI is good.

  19. Indeed, it’s true. Because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right. Just went ahead and changed my About Page’s POV to the first person. Now, that feels so right. 😉 Thank you, Sophie!

  20. One of the reasons I love this site is that I love the tone, style, the vocabulary…It’s fun and informative. It’s bold and sincere. I get that it might be tempting to write in third voice to sound more “businesslike”, but it usually just backfires.

    • I *do* go back through my posts after I’ve written them and remove some of the cursing. 😀 But aside from that, you’re hearing me “live in writing” here, on my writer site, Twitter, everywhere.

  21. Uggh, this is painful to read because it’s SO TRUE. I had this experience several months after launching my first freelance site. I was so convinced that it was wonderfully professional and impressive. And then, after a few months of not having any clients come through, I took a good hard look and realized that I was making every mistake you have here.

    Totally embarrassing, because I was doing things I would have NEVER let a client do on their site! But it was an excellent wake up call: genuine is always better.

    • I know, right? It’s amazing how many capable copywriters do a terrible job of their own web copy — when you’re too close to the subject to get a proper perspective on your own business, it’s time to get a second opinion.

  22. I hate writing something about me. I can write about others but I can’t seem to do that easily when I talk about myself. That’s why it took me a lot time finishing my About Me page. But with your help on CHM I was able to achieve a good about me page. 🙂 I visited yours and other bloggers’ sites to get a better idea.

    Alicia’s fun facts inspired me to add some on mine, too. I included my background in advance makeup, just in case a client who needs a makeup blogger ends up on my site 🙂

    • Have you ever tried targeting cosmetics companies when you pitch, Joy? Your training will make you a good choice for cosmetics retailers, makeup artists and so on.

      • Yes Sophie. But the ones I found don’t have blogs. But I’m not giving up though, there are lots of makeup brands and makeup artists on my list that I haven’t contacted yet. 🙂

  23. Hi Sophie,

    Wonderful blog post, I really do appreciate your bold and honest voice. I’d like to add another mistake that many freelancers, not just writers, make. I’ll sum it up in two words: Hire Me. Many a freelancer creates a ‘hire me’ page, but this phrase implies that you’re an employee for hire and that you work for your clients. I prefer to use the phrase ‘Work with Me.’ This is a subtle, but powerful mind shift; it screams work with me as an equal, not above me as my boss.

    Just my $.02. Keep up with the posts.

    • That’s interesting, Taheerah…

      I know that Sophie has a “Hire Me” page on her site: http://sophielizard.com/

      As does Tom Ewer: http://www.leavingworkbehind.com/

      Personally, I do not: http://littlezotz.com (I opted for a “Free Consultation!” page instead).

      And neither does Francesca StaAna Nicasio: http://crediblecopywriting.net/wordpress/ (She went with a “Contact Me!” page).

      It really depends on who you are and how you want to run your business. Freelancing — no matter what kind it is — tends to be very personal. But that’s one of the things that’s great about it: You can run your business how you want.

      Tom and Sophie both have very strong personalities and can easily get away with having a “Hire Me!” page without worrying that someone will come along and be the “boss” of them. (Can you imagine someone trying to boss Sophie around? I can’t!).

      But, if you’re a bit more timid (me!), a different approach might be needed. If a “Work with Me” page is what works best for you then by all means use it! Whatever works to get you the gigs. 😉

      Thanks for your input! Hope you stop by again sometime.

  24. Hi, Sophie….I think having an open mind and ready wiliness to absorb content and process it to an understandable expression in your best use of words but with room for creative ideas others on the web may want to share will make the attempt a little more interesting and supportive of what the client may have in mind as a project or objective that becomes responsibility to the blogger writing. It may be rewarding to experience the “voice of keys” as you unlock new ideas in writing!

  25. Good Morning Sophie! I had some minor difficulties with my little laptop yesterday. It’s doing better this morning as I start writing for today. The two-part question topic at this web, is and can be dealt with in several manners and ways set in ‘key’ by the writer free lance blogger to give focus, disciple, direction, and expression. Primarily, not to give up, not to feel threatened, not to be embarrassed, or to feel inadequate to even attempt to try and discover challenge and put skill, imagination, and deliver awesome contribution to the use of language, formulated and selected by the blogger writing! Writing on ‘keys’ I feel more confident and comfortable to give my opinion. Doesn’t matter what subject or topic is presented on the website. There is always a given ‘opinion’ inside the writer that wants to come out and be shared with the client and others visiting the website that will stimulate team or group effort to participate too! Writing as a Free Lance Blogger, is like having a verbal conversation or writing a paper report or journal. Content is what you make it express well and as individual, your efforts won’t go unnoticed. Your ‘voice’ is always there! Think, imagine, create, express, and you will be on your way, with a ‘voice’ on keys that won’t be denied! In closing, I feel having confidence helps continuously and at times rewarding when a job is well done!

  26. I know, I’m late to the party. Life happens and I’m catching up on all your recent articles.

    I always hated writing in school, and even college. I did well, though. The trick I found was writing in my own voice, adding my experiences and opinions, helped me get through those writing assignments and make them more interesting. And earned me those awesome grades!

    I still do that in my own blog and in articles for clients. So far my clients love it. Ahem… though, I’ve only had 2. lol

    I’m a terrible sales-person, and I’d have a terrible time pretending to be formal. I refuse to dress up for anything – sensory issues and such.

    Awesome post. Thank you. Makes me feel more comfortable about just being me. 🙂

  27. Great article! I am currently working on a website so the tips really come in handy. Thanks for this helpful blog!

  28. Sophie, I’ll be reading my website pages to my husband as soon as I’m done writing this comment (he thanks you in advance). Is it just me, or is writing your own copy the most difficult thing in the world? I love your suggestion to have someone interview you…it works for my clients, after all! Thanks,
    Christine

    • Christine, I’m on your ship. I can write up a storm for other people and/or causes, but when it comes to writing copy to sell ‘me’, I just don’t have the same oomph. I feel like I come off as conceited when I write about myself. How do you find a happy medium?

  29. Hi, Sophie you are just outstanding. Almost all the articles (especially those written by you) are excellent. I am soon going to start my own blog, prior to that I am just trying to get myself prepared for all the good and the bad and might be the ugly as well. Anyway, you are an inspiration to people like us, thanks a lot.
    Wish you all the Best,
    Elina

  30. I keep coming back to this post for reference.

    Just a few days ago I finished setting up my website and I was like, Ok I think this is good enough for now. I’ll just forget about it and focus on my samples. But since you emailed about the pitchfest, I found myself lurking here again and I came across this post.

    I am so guilty of “writing about yourself in the third person” and “writing about yourself in the first person plural”. Lol you’re totally right Sophie. I don’t even have a team to use “us” on my copy.

    I really liked tips 1 and 2. I think I’ll do just that and read my copy to my brother so he can tell me if I don’t sound like myself.

    Also, I think the advice to “let your voice shine through” is true not only for the website copy but for your writing in general. Having a unique voice when writing is important to set yourself apart and give your piece some personality. I personally need help developing this as I’m new (honestly but unashamed to be) and still stumbling around about this whole freelance thing. I’m seriously considering your course but payday isn’t until the 15th x)