Welcome to THE WELL-FED E-PUB!
Serving up food for
thought and tasty tips for the prospering FLCW*. Come on in, sit anywhere and
bring your appetite!
*FLCW, peppered
throughout the ezine, stands for ÒFreelance
Commercial WriterÓ – anyone who freelances for
businesses (vs. writing magazine articles, short stories, poetry, etc.),
typically earns $50-125+ an hour, and is the sole focus of this
e-newsletter.
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VOLUME
10, ISSUE 12 – DECEMBER 2011 – Happy ÒWell-FedÓ Holidays!
Publishing
the first Tuesday of every month since May 2002
Read
it Online at: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/ezine/dec2011.html
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THE
WELL-FED ÒHOLIDAY BUFFETÓ IS OPEN (BUT ONLY UNTIL 12/20/11)!
Two
dynamite Ò2-in-1Ó holiday gift packages for you AND the aspiring commercial
freelancer on your gift list! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/holidaybuffet.shtml.
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THIS
MONTH ONLY! ÒPROFITABLE – BY DESIGN!Ó EBOOK – 25% OFF!
Get
all the Òhow-toÓ on creating your own lucrative, long-lasting and
low-maintenance partnerships (the Ògift that keeps on givingÓ) with graphic
designers – and save 25%! Details here: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/partnerwithdesignersebook.shtml.
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MISSED
THE COLD-CALLING TELESEMINAR WITH WENDY WEISS on 10/12?
Or
were you there and would love the recording AND 38-page transcript? Get both
for the crazy-low price of just $25 at http://wellfedwriter.com/coldcallingteleseminar.shtml
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NEW ONE-ON-ONE COACHING PROGRAMS ADDED!
ÒThe One-Hour Sample (or Web Site)
ReviewÓ and the ÒExtended ÔSidecarÕ Coaching ProgramÓ for those seeking a
longer-term Òby-your-sideÓ mentoring partnership. And both for Òeasy-on-the-budgetÓ
rates! http://wellfedwriter.com/mentoring.shtml.
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THIS
MONTHÕS MENU:
I. APPETIZER: IS SOCIAL MEDIA A
WASTE OF TIME?
ÒInformed DissentÓ Adds Color and Much-Needed Critical
Thinking to the Discussion
II. ÒFIELDÓ GREENS: 11 YEARS AS
FULL-TIME JOBBER + PART-TIME FLCW!
KC, MO FLCW (Featured in TWFW) Shares Lessons From His
ÒMosaicÓ Life
III. MAIN ÒMEATÓ COURSE: ÒCONTENT
MARKETINGÓ 101 (Part 1 of 2)
MS FLCW and ÒContent MarketingÓ Pro
Shares the How-to of This Lucrative Specialty!
IV. DESSERT: Sweet
Success Stories and Tips
Budding CA FLCW Applies
Unorthodox Cold-Calling Strategy and Gets Through!
TIP: ÒCatvertisingÓ Video Reminds Us to Not Fall for GurusÕ
Sweeping Claims!
V. COFFEE, MINTS AND
TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? New Ebook
Serves Up the ÒHow-ToÓ!
- THE WELL-FED E-PUB
NEEDS ALL COURSES!
- The WELL-FED WRITER
BLOG is RockinÕ! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register Here, Get
Bonus CD!
- How Can
My Mentoring Service Serve You?
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I. APPETIZER: IS SOCIAL MEDIA A
WASTE OF TIME?
ÒInformed DissentÓ Adds Color and Much-Needed Critical
Thinking to the Discussion
As many of you may know, IÕm not much of a social media (SM)
mogul. I have LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook accounts, but no strategy in
place. All the experts who proclaim that itÕs Òchanged everythingÓ (and even
more comically, Òreplaced all marketingÓ) used to make me jumpy, jittery and
feeling like I was falling behind by the second (can anyone relate?). But, IÕm
mellowing out, with a bit of help from some sober voices.
My friend, Matthew Moran (www.kreativeknowledge.com),
writer, author, speaker, consultant, steered me a paradoxical pair of links:
1) An article (http://www.kreativeknowledge.com/2011/11/07/adding-adding-noise/)
with
the subhead, ÒDonÕt Waste Your Time with Social MediaÓ (also the title, of a
seminar he delivers to clients), ANDÉ
2) http://www.kreativeknowledge.com/2011/09/26/rustys-pizza-case-study-social-media-success/
(a social media success story of his). IÕll be running a piece from Matthew
about SM in general, and this success story in particular, in a future issue of
the E-PUB.
Then, a new contact, Jeff Molander
(http://www.leffmolander.com), an
unorthodox social media pro to say the least (Google, ÒThrive in 2011 By Making
Social SellÓ to see what I mean) steered me to this blog: http://www.adcontrarian.com. OMG, if this guy isnÕt the quintessential breath of fresh air, I
donÕt know who is. A recent vintage piece: http://adcontrarian.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-overnight-social-media-success.html.
And if youÕre having social media conversations with clients
that include that nebulous word, Òengagement,Ó you and they both NEED to read
this soon-to-be-classic:
http://mweigel.typepad.com/canalside-view/2011/09/fashionable-yet-bankrupt.html
Social media absolutely has its place, and IÕd be an idiot
if I said otherwise. Bottom line, it makes a lot more sense for some businesses
(see MatthewÕs success story above) than others. And we can do ourselves and
our clients far more favors by exercising a lot less blind acceptance of social
media ÒgurusÓ and a lot more critical thinking of our own. Look for this piece as a blog post soon – would love to hear othersÕ
perspectives.
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Still stuck for a gift for an aspiring writer on your list?
Or yourself? The Holiday Buffet, offering Ò2-in1Ó gift bundles for you AND your
Ògiftee,Ó is open until 12/20/11. Check it out at http://www.wellfedwriter.com/holidaybuffet.shtml.
And donÕt forget that my ebook on
building profitable partnerships with designers, ÒProfitable – By
Design!Ó is 25% off until 12/31/11. http://www.wellfedwriter.com/partnerwithdesignersebook.shtml.
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II. ÒFIELDÓ GREENS: 11 YEARS AS
FULL-TIME JOBBER + PART-TIME FLCW!
KC, MO FLCW (Featured in TWFW) Shares Lessons From His
ÒMosaicÓ Life
Remember the crazy minister/full-time 9-5Õer/hubby/Dad/part-time
FLCW from Kansas City I featured in TWFW in the chapter on part-time biz-building? Well, I heard from Jim Meadows recently (jimmeadows@jimfreelance.com,
http://www.jimfreelance.com)
with this great update after 11 years in the business – and still
part-time! EnjoyÉ
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Following PeterÕs game plan in TWFW way back in 2000 was quite
an exciting and fun-filled adventure for me. Leveraging my background and experience
(longtime corporate employee, ordained minister, technical writer), I executed
an intense strategy of cold calling over several months to position myself as a
skilled freelance corporate writer.
The strategy worked so well, that early on, I contemplated
quitting my job, but upon reflection, realized my best bet was to continue
navigating my ÒmosaicÓ lifestyle. I couldnÕt be happier! And my decision
underscores a real plus to freelancing: you format it to suit your personal
situation. YouÕre in charge of your time, your clients, and your sense of
direction.
One big synergistic benefit of being in multiple arenas is
the cross-pollination: skills and insights from each world (ministry,
corporate, freelance) continually feed into the other two in an ever-expanding
circle of refinement and excellence.
During the past decade, I earned my second graduate degree
(an MBA), switched jobs from AT&T to ADT Security Services, and began
teaching for the University of Phoenix. Additionally, my wife and I happily
became empty nesters and grandparents (I still donÕt feel old enough for that
title!). Throughout, I continually adjusted my corporate freelancing to
accommodate my situation. Sometimes this meant little to no writing, and at
other times, I burned the candle at both ends, and loved it.
One of the greatest lessons IÕve learned is the importance
of building quality and friendliness into every project you do, regardless of its
size. From day one, IÕve never compromised on these things. If I knew I
couldnÕt deliver on a project, I respectfully declined the work – and
doing so has paid both short-term and long-term dividends.
To this day, clients IÕve not worked with for years will
call out of the blue, either directly stating or implying theyÕre calling because
of my past displays of quality and friendliness. Clients always remember, so
make each experience nothing less than top notch.
Thank you, Peter, for writing TWFW when you did. Your game plan worked superbly well for me, as it has for countless others.
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III. MAIN ÒMEATÓ COURSE: ÒCONTENT
MARKETINGÓ 101 (Part 1 of 2)
MS FLCW and ÒContent MarketingÓ Pro
Shares the How-to of This Lucrative Specialty!
Got this great piece on content marketing from Madison, MS
FLCW Amanda Brandon (http://www.amandabrandon.com).
Amanda had commented on my blog post on the subject, ÒThis WriterÕs Landing a Ton of Work Doing What So Many Companies NeedÓ
(archived at http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog,
then ÒFebruary 2011Ó). I liked her answer so much, I
asked if sheÕd be willing to share her expertise.
She was game, and wrote such a
detailed, info-rich piece, I
made it a two-parter. In this issue, sheÕll
discuss what content marketing is, how she got established, and how you can
land work in this lucrative space. Next month, sheÕll discuss how to sell a
company on outsourcing their content marketing initiatives. Good stuff –
enjoy!
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LetÕs start with the basics: what content marketing is.
Sometimes itÕs called inbound marketing or article marketing, but itÕs much
more than that. My definition of content marketing is packaging information in
ways that your intended audience finds valuable. And as a content marketing
specialist, I can help companies figure out exactly what that mix is, whether
itÕs nurturing emails, blog posts, case studies, white papers or infographics (a simple visualization of complex data) or
even a video.
For the past ten years, IÕve spent time on the side of my
full-time job taking steps toward being a full-time commercial freelancer in
several industries. I started off as a magazine editor for PMQ Magazine (a
pizza marketing trade) and then I entered the marketing space as a
communication specialist in several different sectors – education,
nonprofit, healthcare and eventually high tech – and focused on web
communications.
In the evenings, I studied everything I could find related
to online marketing and began my freelance career the hard way – on the
bidding sites and with low-paying SEO article jobs. Then, I got smart, put up a
website and started responding to freelance writing job ads. I landed a few
assignments and soon saw I could offer a company more than just a few articles.
I suggested ideas for packaging content in new ways. For example, I have turned
e-books into compelling blog posts or webcasts into short case studies.
My content marketing business really took off when one
client approached me about running a content marketing program for them after I
provided a few articles on social media to grab more search traffic. For nearly
a year (alongside my full-time job), I managed their blog and Facebook and
Twitter accounts and content outreach (working with associations, other
bloggers, etc. to grow their audience). Their blog page rank (an SEO scoring
mechanism) and traffic doubled just by having a dedicated professional driving
a content strategy.
While IÕm no longer working on this project (budget issues),
IÕm now able to center my business on content strategy. For some clients, I
simply write their blog posts and for others I take the content marketing
program off their hands. By working with the companies to write and
promote content, I have an edge: I'm not just a writer,
IÕm a content marketing professional. As such, I can negotiate a higher rate
and develop long-term relationships with my clients.
In February of this year, I left my full-time job and now
specialize in content marketing projects and IÕm making more money than I was
in the corporate world. I have a handful of regular clients and pick up
one or two projects a month from less regular clients. The best part is that
most of my business now comes via referral.
To be sure those referrals are steady, I took PeterÕs
advice to partner with a few design and web development firms. When I join
forces with a design/web development firm and sit down with a potential client
to pitch business, itÕs not just about design. We discuss how they are going to
use their site to market their business. This helps the design/web firm close
more business.
For instance, one of my web development partners doesnÕt
offer content creation or social media marketing. They just build the box. When
they bring me in to discuss how the content is the secret to successful online
marketing, the deal almost always closes.
As in any business, the key to working in content marketing
is determining what a client needs and making suggestions. Most of the
additional work IÕm landing results from asking questions about how they
distribute their content and call their clients to action.
For instance, one company I spoke with about writing blog
posts offered a very low rate. I almost declined, but decided to ask for an
increase to my normal fee for blog posts if I provided some blog promotion. I
got the higher rate and the company benefited from more exposure than their
small Twitter and Facebook following. AND I landed two additional projects from
other companies reading this blog.
When I discuss the content sharing part of their strategy,
the client realizes IÕm more than a writer. IÕm a consultant that can help them
grow their brand without hiring an additional employee or spending thousands on
broad-based advertising. And I benefit from the additional work and
satisfaction of helping my clients grow their businesses.
In Part Two next month, IÕll discuss, ÒHow to Prove the
Value of Outsourcing Content Marketing.Ó Stay tuned!
PB: Note AmandaÕs reference to partnering with
designers, and how thatÕs become a cornerstone of her success. If that
sounds good, check out my nearly 70-page step-by-step ebook
on the subject (and 25% off until 12/31/11). Check it out at http://www.wellfedwriter.com/partnerwithdesignersebook.shtml.
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IV. DESSERT: Sweet
Success Stories and Tips
Budding CA FLCW Applies
Unorthodox Cold-Calling Strategy and Gets Through!
TIP: ÒCatvertisingÓ Video Reminds Us to Not Fall for GurusÕ
Sweeping Claims!
Got this great little
cold-calling success story from Shingle Springs, CA FLCW Brooke Sobol (http://brookesobol.com/). Brooke attended the October cold-calling teleclass with Wendy Weiss, put some of the strategies in
place, and got a good response. The key here isnÕt some big juicy deal she
landed, but rather, that she used what seems like a counter-intuitive strategy,
and it worked – just like Wendy says it often does. Enjoy!
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I attended the cold calling webinar you and
Wendy conducted recently. I just launched my business and had never made a
sales call in my life. One morning I finally bucked up and decided to dip my
toes in with just three calls - to see how bad it would be. First call -
gatekeeper. "Who's calling" Me, script in hand: "My name is
Brooke Sobol. I'm a freelance... blah blah blah...I do blah blah blah..." quite a few
seconds later - "he's unavailable." Second call - almost exactly the
same as the first. Strike two.
Third call... "Who's calling?" Me:
"Brooke Sobol". (And not a word more.) Moment of silence. "Um, okay, one moment please."
Next conversation was with the Director of this organization. Ha! Didn't
make an immediate sale, but there was some possible future interest and I
do have a lead to nurture!
PB: Missed the teleclass? It was chock-full of great information and
strategies to make your cold calling LOW-stress and HIGH-yield. Get the
recording AND 38-page transcript for a pittance here: http://wellfedwriter.com/coldcallingteleseminar.shtml.
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In the social media vein, check out this hilarious spoof of
ANY trend purported to Òchange everything.Ó http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkOQw96cfyE.
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V. COFFEE, MINTS AND
TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? New Ebook
Serves Up the ÒHow-ToÓ!
- THE WELL-FED E-PUB
NEEDS ALL COURSES!
- The WELL-FED WRITER
BLOG is RockinÕ! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register Here, Get
Bonus CD!
- How Can
My Mentoring Service Serve You?
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MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? New Ebook Serves Up the ÒHow-ToÓ!
ThatÕs not hype. ItÕs how my business has worked for the
better part of 18 years, thanks to juicy partnerships with graphic designers.
The result? 1-2 jobs virtually every month with little or no effort on my part.
Get all the how-to details (and for 25% off until 12/31/11). Details: http://www.wellfedwriter.com/partnerwithdesignersebook.shtml.
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IÕM
SERIOUSLY LOW ON ALL WELL-FED E-PUB COURSES!
Got a great strategy,
approach or specific expertise youÕre willing to share? Turn it into a Feature
(MAIN COURSE) for the EPUB (500-600 words; query first). ALSO, send your ÒGREENSÓ
(200-300 words), TIPS (150-200) and SUCCESS STORIES (100-300) to peter@wellfedwriter.com. Archived issues at http://www.wellfedwriter.com/ezine.shtml.
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The
WELL-FED WRITER BLOG is RockinÕ! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/blog
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AWAI COPYWRITING (& OTHER) COURSES: Register Here, Get Your Choice of Bonus CD Program! Six-Figure
Copywriting, Graphic Design, Internet Writing, Fundraising, Health Market and
more! http://www.wellfedwriter.com/awai.shtml.
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HOW CAN MY MENTORING SERVICE SERVE YOU? NOW IN NEW WAYS!
For details and testimonials, visit http://www.wellfedwriter.com/mentoring.shtml.
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