Your thoughts, that is. I've got a monster project that involves the creation of health insurance tutorials/articles for a website. I have to create 50 in total, each geared toward a specific state. They all have some sections with state specific information and some sections (terminology, what is health insurance, how it works, etc) that have the same topic, but need to be unique (gotta avoid blackhat SEO). I'm on my 5th article, and I'm finding it difficult to be unique. I rearrange the articles, use different wording, define different terms, but there are some core subjects that need to be addressed in all of them. I try to get into character when I write them. I play music or watch TV that reminds me of the state I'm writing for. I read local news for the state. I attempt to think like the residents, consider their concerns, and use words they might identify with. This helps, but I’m concerned it’s not enough. When you are creating content that is similar to something you've already done, what do you do to ensure you aren't churning the same sentences- even accidentally? In my freelance work, this is the biggest project I've had and the client is paying me several thousand to do it. I have no problem spending as much time as necessary to incorporate your methods, if you are generous enough to volunteer them
Some Ideas. 1] Collaborate with another good writer who lives nearby and split the income. 2] Find out about the differences in health insurance laws and requirements between the various states and emphasize them. 3] Find out [Or make an intelligent guess] the special circumstances that exist in each state that necessitate the taking of health insurance or make health insurance a good thing to have. Example [Not to be taken seriously, just to make a point] : Texas -> Rodeo -> Rampant bull -> Attacks spectator [You] -> Health insurance helps! 4] Register and ask questions on [general or state specific] health insurance forums. 5] Space the articles out. Approach each one fresh.
Spacing the articles out is a good idea, but the client wants them done immediately (don't they all ) I also like the bull rider angle, that is a fantastic way to punch up some of the other paragraphs- using a state's most popular avocations in analogies. I'm a health insurance agent and have been dealing with each state's DOI for state specific content, so that's not so much the problem. The problems are the other areas, "What is health insurance?" "How does health insurance mitigate financial risk?", etc. As for collaboration, I'm never comfortable with that since I don't have time to fact check the other writer's work and they won't be health insurance licensed and have worked in the field for years.
One thing that I have found that sometimes helps me is to change what I am writing with and in. Instead of composing at your computer, maybe sit in an easy chair with a pad and a pink marker. I know logically, it sounds a bit ridiculous but I have found both tricks to sometimes work well for me. A change of scenery has worked for me as well. One particularly difficult piece came together while sitting in my car waiting for my mother to finish her grocery shopping. Maybe start with the details of what makes each state's insurance laws different and then use their terminology to define the common terms further down in the article? What if you threw in some facts about the general health of the population of that state, like... In recent years, the state of Texas has seen an increase in the number of residents suffering from diabetes. Some experts believe the recent XYZ Health Services Act (making that up for your example), which has made health insurance more available to.... With North Carolina and other tobacco producing states it could be about a decrease in lung cancer cases. In response to an increase in reported cases of __________, state X now requires all health insurance companies operating in state X to provide _________ coverage. It would probably require a bit more research for you but I suspect the information would be on the same sites you are already visiting for the insurance information. Congratulations for landing such a big project. It does, however, sound quite daunting to come up with 50 variations of what is basically the same article with only a few of the details changing.
Those are great suggestions, and I think that I have, without knowing it, locked myself into one voice for the project. This will definitely help! And thanks for the congrats- I'm not gonna lie, when I got it I may have done a little jumping and a little maniacal laughing....but only a little.
Not sure about your exact situation. But some ideas as to those two questions. "What is health insurance?" - Maybe change topic quickly after brief intro to "where to obtain health insurance and/or information about it in your state" and such state specific stuff. "How does health insurance mitigate financial risk?" - Check out some state statistics and look over the stereotypes of people from each state for some ideas on how that may necessitate or make a case for health insurance. If people in New York drive a lot, does that make a case for health insurance? Do people in Arkansas rear a lot of pigs, then are diseases transmitted by animals a problem? Florida has mosquitoes which transmit diseases and so on.
Another suggestion. If you're dealing with the same subject but are writing different articles for different states, maybe you could just come up with a single outline for all of them. Then maybe you could let the outline be your guide instead of the last article you've written. Let yourself write partially blind if I can put it that way.
My English professor told once about cubing approach and it does help me many a times. Take 6 ways to address about health insurance. Describe about health insurance in a given state. Compare it with the best. Associate it. Analyze. Apply. and then you can argue for and/or against it.
CD- I do have the original outline, which has been helpful, but of course the client doesn't want the order to stay the same so I have to move everything around each time Live- I hadn't heard of cubing before, and would not have thought of arguing for...but I can see where that could be an interesting dimension to bring in.