There is a difference between a voice that comes from the inside, and a voice that comes from the outside.
Imagine you are writing a website on a topic about which you know a great deal. While you may do some additional research, you already know your topic inside out.
In this case, as you start writing your web pages, you are probably writing from the inside. You have all the facts already in your mind, and already organized. Your writing and your voice will be coming from the inside.
If you don’t know your topic, you’ll have to do a lot more research. And however thoroughly you do that research, the pages you write will likely be a patchwork of what you have just learned. Your writing and your voice will be coming from the outside.
Perhaps this sounds obvious. But it can make a big difference.
When you write from the inside, from a deep base of personal knowledge and experience, you can write with a great deal more authority. And I don’t mean that in a formal way. Not the kind of authority that comes with having a PhD, but the kind that comes from a total confidence in your subject.
For an example of what I mean, read a few pages at NursingMenopause.com.
Menopause isn’t a subject I read a great deal about. Nor do I know a lot about it. But after reading a few pages of this site I absolutely know that the writer, Glenda de Vries, knows the topic inside out.
This allows her to write with authority…but also enables her to write in a way that is simple, relaxed and conversational.
She is confident enough about here topic to be able express what she knows in simple, one-on-one language.
What does this mean for web writers?
If, like Glenda, you are writing your own website as means to make a second income, pick a topic you know about.
If you are a freelance web writer, working for clients, focus on a particular industry sector or sector niche. You can’t be an expert on everything, but you can become an expert by writing multiple projects within the same niche area.
The greater the depth of your knowledge, the more you will be able to write from the inside.
NOTE: If you are serious about writing high quality content for your website or websites, check out my new site about writing quality content, WebContentCafe.com.