By Karen Rempel | STC Senior Member
I have been a technical writing consultant for over 20 years, and I’d like to share some of my adventures in owning an exceptionally high-ranking technical writing website.
I was unenthusiastic about creating my first website, but in 2008 a friend urged me to create a blog to establish my expertise in ecopsychology. I had recently completed a Master’s degree at Naropa University and wanted to build a wilderness retreat center in British Columbia. My dream was to share my love of nature with others and guide people to deepen their connection to the natural world. My friend assured me that people would be coming to my retreat center in busloads if I developed the blog, and that I would become a sought-after expert in ecopsychology. Ha! I have to laugh now at the way things turned out.
But I took his word for it, and wrote content for about ten blog entries and six webpages. My friend set up Web hosting for me and built a WordPress site using the content I developed. BC Wilderness Visions was born (www.bcwildernessvisions.com—note the monthly entries dating all the way back to July 2008!) I sold the retreat center a few years ago, and the website has morphed many times since its inception.
At the same time, I bought the domain name karenrempel.com. Once BC Wilderness Visions was up and running, I decided to set up a technical writing website for my namesake domain. I copied much of the structural work from the other website, but developed unique content. I launched the site in June 2009, and the world began to beat a path to my door. Not my retreat center door, but my technical writing door.
I followed best practices to get good Google, and soon I was getting so many requests for information interviews from aspiring writers that I had to find a way to channel the flow of seekers in another direction. Thus, in 2011, I developed an Information Interview Service for the Canada West Coast Chapter. I wrote about the mentorship lite service—which pairs new writers with senior technical writers in our community—in Intercom, and the idea was picked up by the New York Metro Chapter, who implemented their Talk to a Professional Service. Both our chapters won Pacesetter awards for these services. After reading my article, the STC Chicago Chapter implemented a similar service, their Get Real! Professional Interview Program.
As much as I liked talking to aspiring writers, the point of my site was to attract clients, and the site succeeded here as well. My aim was to have one of the high-ranking sites for the Vancouver area, but I exceeded this goal beyond my wildest dreams. I regularly receive calls from potential clients throughout North America, and even from clients in Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. I’m currently working for clients in Germany, Chile, and Haiti, as well as Vancouver.
People sometimes ask whether having a website pays off. Absolutely! My website brings me more work than I can handle. Of course, to achieve this result a website needs to be well-designed, with rich content, and well-organized so that people can find the key information they are looking for. My website presents my expertise and services in such a way that people have confidence in my abilities and want to work with me. Since 2010, most of my new clients have found me through my website. This is astonishing to me! In fact, as with the interview seekers, I needed to develop a system for directing the overflow of work that I can’t handle. I have a standard-form email that I use to refer employers to the STC Canada West Coast job bank, and I have one or two friends that I refer work to if it seems like a good match for their skillset.
I love the feeling of anticipation when I get a call from a potential client. It’s similar to a blind date. We’ve never met, we’re feeling each other out to find out if it’s a good fit. I have to decide whether it seems worthwhile to invest time in continuing the conversation, or if the person seems like a nut. I remember getting a call from a new client when I was on vacation in California. I was sitting on a picnic table, in a grassy courtyard, and the client was telling me he needed someone to collaborate with a team of managers across Canada to write a training manual for delivery drivers. It was surreal! But this turned out to be Sysco Canada, one of my regular clients. So with each phone call, there is the excitement of meeting someone new, trying to woo or be wooed, never knowing how far along life’s path we might go together. I never know who’s going to wander into my web.
*With the Web, you never know who you’ll get, but it’s fun to find out. How would you fill in the blank?
KAREN REMPEL (kyrempel@shaw.ca) has been involved with the STC Canada West Coast Chapter since 1996 and served as its president for the 2008–2009 program year. A technical writing consultant for more than 20 years, she offers award-winning technical writing and editing services to an international clientele (see her top-ranking technical writing website, www.karenrempel.com). She is a judge for the International Summit Awards 2016.
