Commercial Value

Research skills to a writer are more like a private car to a worker-they are not of much commercial value. Their value lies in taking them to their destination – in the case of writers, is the story. So, to carry the comparison further, the owner of a private car can starve without thinking of turning his vehicle into a commercial transport.

I got this insight when by chance. It was during those dry days when you are biting the tip of your pen wondering where else you will get an assignment from. A friend who worked for a motoring magazine called me up and said the magazine wanted an urgent research on motorists, and could I do it? After a little hesitation, and pushed by the need for cash, I said yes, I could.

Need for Professionalism

I went to it professionally, developing my initial expectations, known by scientists as hypothesis, to guide my observations. Writers rarely remember that they work with hypothesis! Within a few days, I had a professionally bound research report for which I was paid many times more money than the accompanying article.

Not long after that, a banking institution called me. They wanted to invest in a certain area and they needed quick research so that they could get the initial impression. A writer’s research skills are well adapted for quick, relatively cheap, research. Again I went into it and came up with an expensively bound report-the sort the bank people are used to. Needless to say I was thanked with a fat check.

Consumers of Research Services

Since then I have included research in my marketing materials among the services I offer. I have discovered that opportunities are many from individuals to medium firms, right through to the large organizations. Ironically, writers are some of the largest consumers of the sort research I am talking about. Other consumers include media organizations, universities and the academic community and non-governmental organizations.

A few weeks ago, a small firm next to my office wanted to get a loan from a financial institution. Then they began to ask themselves which institution? Where are they located? What they offer? What are the terms? To answer these kinds of questions, they realized they needed a quick research. And that’s where I came in.

Remember, of course, that to succeed in marketing your research skills, you must learn to present your materials in a variety of writing styles. Invest in studying presentation styles of various consumers of research skills and you will find you are much more than financially rewarded for your effort.