EP044: Content Strategy & Editing – with Samantha Enslen
Among the most challenging aspects of being a proposal manager is gathering the appropriate technical data from subject matter experts and then communicating that information in a clear, concise way. How do you develop a content strategy to ask the right questions? How do you reflect the voice of the company in a proposal? And how do you edit the RFP to establish a consistent voice throughout?
Samantha Enslen is the President of Dragonfly Editorial, a content strategy firm that helps clients make complex messages clear. Samantha’s award-winning team creates white papers, data sheets, case studies, web content, blog posts and RFP proposals for some of the world’s leading consulting firms, including PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Bain & Company, among many others.
Today, Samantha joins us to share the approach she takes in writing to reflect the voice of a particular company. She weighs in on the biggest mistakes people make in proposal writing, discussing how to frame responses to focus on the customer and demonstrate an understanding of their pain points in a genuine way. Listen in on Samantha’s tips for using templates to collect information from SMEs and learn how to use a style sheet to create a consistent voice throughout an RFP!
Key Takeaways
Samantha’s background in writing proposals + marketing communication
Dragonfly Editorial’s role in helping businesses establish thought leadership
Samantha’s approach to writing to reflect the voice of the company
Prompts to help SMEs go deeper with answers to RFP questions
Tell me a little bit more about that
What else
Samantha’s take on the biggest mistakes people make in proposal writing
1. Overwhelm readers (everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach)
2. Fail to answer question
3. Focus on self rather than customer
Why it’s crucial to put the most important information first
How to demonstrate an understanding of pain points in a genuine way
Samantha’s tips to help proposal managers compile writing from SMEs
Give writers a template
Leverage readability feature in Word
How a complete copy edit can help you establish a consistent voice
How Samantha uses a style sheet to standardize terminology in an RFP
GET TO KNOW THIS WEEK'S GUEST
Connect with Samantha
Resources
Samantha’s Copyediting Checklist
Nigel Dennis’ ISBP Theory