VOLUME 18, ISSUE 9 – SEPTEMBER 2019
THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. APPETIZER: ARE YOU A CROSS-TRAINING WRITER?
Counter-Intuitive Advice on Excellence from the World’s Greatest Hockey Player
II. “FIELD” GREENS: DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB (YET)
Small-Biz Coach Suggests Part-Time Biz-Building Might Be the Truly Heroic Path
III. MAIN COURSE: ANATOMY OF CONTENT MARKETING (Part 2 of 2) CM-Agency Pro Serves Up the Who, What, How and How Much of CM!
IV. DESSERT: COMBO SUCCESS STORY & TIP
GA Financial-Services Writer Keeps Reaping Dividends of a Niche Specialty!
I. APPETIZER: ARE YOU A CROSS-TRAINING WRITER?
Counter-Intuitive Advice on Excellence from the World’s Greatest Hockey Player
I was contacted recently by a fellow writer who was assembling a group of experts to weigh in with their advice on developing a “daily writing practice.”
As much as I’d have loved to be a part of it, fact is, I don’t have a daily writing practice. I guess people just assume that if you’re skilled enough to be a full-time writer, then presumably, it’s a craft that needs to be honed daily. Not true for me, and no doubt, a lot of others as well—even novelists, I suspect.
Related to this… In a piece I was writing, to illustrate the importance of “going for it” (making that call, sending that email, approaching that person at an event, and not over-analyzing), I was using a quote attributed to hockey great Wayne Gretzky, who’d famously opined…
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Well, given my alarmingly knee-jerk proclivity to going down the rabbit hole on YouTube, I found myself (gotta love that wording—“found myself”? Like, I was drugged and kidnapped and taken there…sigh) watching a highlight reel for Gretzky (who retired in 1999).
From there, I linked to a 2018 interview on a Canadian newspaper’s site where he was discussing his work with young aspiring hockey players, etc.
I was struck by what he said about how he approached the game as a young player: He didn’t skate year-round. Apparently, he didn’t have a “daily hockey practice.” When he was done with hockey season in April, he threw his hockey stuff in the basement, and didn’t skate again until after Labor Day.
He admitted that his parents didn’t have the money to pay for summer hockey leagues, but it was a blessing in disguise. He played other baseball and soccer in the off-season, and they helped his hockey. AND, he was excited to get back on the ice in September because he HAD taken time off from the game.
This is the guy called “The Great One”—considered THE greatest player in the history of the sport—and, in his formative years, he didn’t play year-round!
Mapping that on to our world, there’s no right or wrong way to approach writing in general, and this business in particular. Piggybacking on Gretzky’s observations about cross-training, I write non-writing-related columns for other publications, and just for fun, (i.e., not for money).
Additionally, I’m a voracious reader, and reading will absolutely will make you a better and more interesting writer. I know commercial writers who write fiction, and others who’ve leveraged solid writing skills into creating effective info-graphics, with both skills complementing each other. Maybe all these are our versions of cross-training.
So, if you’re a full-time writer with the requisite chops, perhaps that’s because you don’t focus on one kind of writing (or writing-related activity), rather than because you DO. On that well-rounded note, let’s eat!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB (YET)
Small-Biz Coach Suggests Part-Time Biz-Building Might Be the Truly Heroic Path
Friend, colleague, ex-FLCW and small-business coach, Ed Gandia (look for regular pieces from Ed in the E-PUB) serves up some seriously prudent advice on why building a copywriting practice part-time might be the wisest—if not the easiest—way to go about it.
Of course, Ed knows of what he speaks as he did just that when starting out, and the solid part-time groundwork he laid bore fruit to the tune of $163K in his first full-time year in the business. Reed and heed.
We tend to idolize people who make incredibly gutsy moves to start a business. We love to hear about the brave souls who put it all on the line to pursue their dreams. It’s a common theme in Western culture, especially in America.
Of course, it’s the success stories we pay attention to, not the failures. The folks who crashed and burned by following a reckless strategy don’t seem to get much coverage in the media. And that’s a shame. Because we can all learn much from them.
If you do something crazy and survive, you’ll have an amazing story to tell. But if you don’t make it, the price is often high. Especially if you have a family or other responsibilities.
Fortunately, you don’t have to risk everything. You can build your freelance business on the side while you keep the relative safety of your day job.
Yes, it’s more work. You’ll have to cut way back on Netflix binge-watching, college football and Facebook. You’ll have to say “No” to a few tempting invitations on the weekends. And you’ll get less sleep.
Because you’ll need to find the time somewhere.
Be honest. Can you wake up an hour earlier every day? Can you put in an hour or two after the kids are in bed? What about weekends? Can you work from, say, 5:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday mornings? Can you arrange with your employer to telecommute two days a week (and recapture a few hours in saved commuting time)?
Even though this approach isn’t painless, it does come with some real advantages. It allows you to confirm that running your own business is something you actually enjoy. It gives you the opportunity to accumulate samples, testimonials and references.
Just as importantly, it allows you to take your business for a “test drive” to see if it’s a viable path to supporting your financial needs and meeting your goals.
This kind of bootstrapping isn’t easy. But it’s also less risky. And it will give you the runway you need to get your business off the ground the right way.
III. MAIN COURSE: ANATOMY OF CONTENT MARKETING (Part 2 of 2)
CM-Agency Pro Serves Up the Who, What, How and How Much of CM!
In Part 1 of this piece (archived here), Beth Carter, Founder and Chief Strategist of content-marketing (CM) agency, Clariant Creative (and former-FLCW), offered up a real-world example of a CM campaign. In Part 2 below, she shares the how-to of working with a CM agency, what you’d be writing, how much you can make, AND has a call for qualified writers. Thanks, Beth!
PB: Have a client seeking a more robust content-marketing solution than you could provide on your own? Consider steering them to Beth, and be the first writer in line to work on the project.
So, if a CM agency hires, what can you expect to write AND to earn?
Blog Posts (600 to 2,000 words)
Used to attract potential buyers searching in Google for answers to specific questions. Posts are usually educational, optimized for search engines, and might not even mention a company or their product/service.
Your clients may provide you with background materials and/or ask you to interview a subject matter expert (SME). OR, simply give you a topic and ask you to research it on your own.
Ebooks (6-12 pages) and White Papers (8-20 pages)
This content provides deeper answers and more complex information than blog posts. Often a blog post will end with a “call-to-action” to learn more by downloading an ebook or white paper.
While ebooks are more conversational in tone, white papers are often more academic, scientific, or research-heavy. Your client will likely ask you to interview an SME, and may require supplemental internet research (e.g., find statistics to support something the SME says).
Landing Pages (150-300 words) and Emails (200 words, max)
Often, ebooks and white papers are “gated” on a landing page, requiring readers to provide name/email in order to access the content. Following downloads, the company may send a series of emails to nudge readers closer to a buying decision.
Landing-page copy highlights the value a reader will get from filling out the form to access the content. Email copy is similar to direct mail copy, though more succinct. The client will provide you with a copy of the ebook or white paper so you can see what the reader will receive.
Case Studies (from 150-300 words to 1,000+-word articles)
A.k.a. “customer success stories,” these are used to show the reader how other people in similar circumstances have used your client’s product or service to solve their problems.
You want to highlight the advantages of your client’s solution AND inform and inspire the reader to start thinking creatively about their problem. You’ll either be expected to interview your client’s customer or you’ll be given an interview transcript and other background materials.
Fees (the Fine Print) When writers work with a content-marketing (CM) agency, they can expect to earn lower fees than if they work directly with a company. The good news? The agency will typically handle the strategy, while handing the freelancer everything they need to complete the project. By contrast, companies hiring freelancers directly often expect far more strategic input from the freelancer.
For freelancers working through a CM agency, $50/hour is a solid intro rate, $75/hour is quite doable for an experienced writer, and $100/hour is possible.
Want to learn more?
HubSpot’s wonderful Learning Center offers free courses and certifications. I recommend the Inbound Marketing, Content Marketing, and Email Marketing certifications.
The Content Marketing Institute has a ton of free resources and a terrific blog every content marketer should read. CMI does have a fee-based training program.
Backlinko features an outstanding blog covering more advanced CM territory.
Happy writing!
IV. DESSERT: COMBO SUCCESS STORY & TIP
GA Financial-Services Writer Keeps Reaping Dividends of a Niche Specialty!
Great piece on an important topic for FLCWs. While I’ve been a generalist most of my career, I wholeheartedly endorse the idea that having a well-defined, in-demand niche WILL make the business-building process far easier. And Atlanta-area FLCW Don Sadler is living proof of that, as this piece admirably illustrates. Go, Don! 😉
The niche vs. generalist debate remains alive and well among many freelancers. Generalists argue that focusing on a narrow niche seriously shrinks their prospect universe, and thus their potential new business opportunities.
This sounds good in theory, but 10 years as a six-figure-earning freelancer has shown me the value of having a well-defined niche. I spent my pre-freelance career as a writer and editor in the financial services space, so this was a logical niche when I went full-time freelance in 2009.
Soon after I started, I SEO’d my website copy to rank high in searches for a freelance financial writer. As a result, I get a steady stream of calls and emails from prospects looking for a writer with my specific background and skill set.
For example, within the past couple of months, I’ve been contacted by clients about writing a commercial banking whitepaper, blogs for a provider of retirement plans for businesses, website copy for a mergers and acquisition advisory firm, and a microsite for a bank’s commercial lending division.
These are all sub-niches within the broader financial services niche that I know well and could show relevant writing samples for, so the clients had no hesitation in hiring me. Clients like these are happy to pay top dollar for a writer who can deliver high-quality, technically accurate copy targeted to these unique niches.
Does focusing on the financial services niche shrink my overall prospect universe? Of course it does—and that’s a good thing! I still only need a small sliver of the overall financial services writing pie to make a good living.
Specializing even further by becoming an expert in sub-niches separates me from the pack even more, and allows me to charge project rates that translate to $200 an hour or more for my writing time.