While it is the quest of many content producers to tap into a level where international clients are at bay, there are things that are often not told. From having personally produced content to several clients located across the globe and being fortunate enough to network with colleagues who continue to do so; here are the top ten overlooked tips for international content writers.
1. Now is relative
Always bear in mind that now - when writing for an international market - may be your client and readers past or future.
Writing in yesterday for a present tomorrow means that you must have flexible working hours. For example while it may be just before midnight in South Africa, it is the start of the business day for those in Australia.
The corporate culture of other nations is not necessarily intuitive. Sometimes it may be considered "normal" to work on Sundays. Client requirements may be quite different to your norm; learn to be flexible. Your public holiday may be an ordinary working day elsewhere.
When covering the funeral of former South African President, Nelson Mandela to an Australian 24-hours TV news channel as their freelance international anchor/news correspondent, it was important to not only avail myself for studio and telephonic interviews, but I learnt that one must also be cognisant of your language and accent.
Write for your target audience and market. At times, when writing for online UK publications, it is important to remember who your target audience is. If writing for a predominantly US audience, pick American English.
There are different types of humour and writers writing for a multi-cultural audience must be aware that some jokes and humour are somewhat territorial in nature and should be used with great precaution or not used at all.
It is imperative for an international content producer to read news that is happening across the world. Be aware of what matters to your target audience; what they consider news and what is happening in their part of the world.
It is critical to keep producing newsworthy content that is relevant to that part of the world and its readers. One needs to constantly redefine what's news in general and what your target audience consider newsworthy.
Being a South African writer writing for an inflight magazine that reaches several African countries - and is published/produced with multi-national teams also stationed in India - means being part of a team not bared by physical limitations and timelines.
Never forget your core passion that got you to write in the first place. Your passion, heartbeat and love should be your drive to continue to craft words that are not limited to time and space.
