Before getting into the meat of this Blog post, let it be known that I have been (and continue to be) a freelance writer (been at it since 1989).
Yes, I have a full-time job (as President of Twist Image where I am also one of the owners of the company), but writing and being a freelance journalist is in my blood. I love to write and I love everything that has to do with the publishing industry. I no longer rely on my freelance writing for my financial outcome in life, it’s more of a hobby for me (albeit a paying one), but I am passionate about it and enjoy helping/connecting with those who do freelance for a living. It’s one of the reasons why I could not turn down the opportunity to present at Mediaville Montreal today. Mediaville Montreal was an event organized by and for freelance media professionals. It was attended by independent writers, editors, publishers and translators.
Deal with writing for free.
With only 15 minutes to talk about Personal Branding, Digital Marketing and how to make money as a freelance writer, I started off with this quote from Clay Shirky: “So forget about blogs and bloggers and blogging and focus on this – the cost and difficulty of publishing absolutely anything, by anyone, into a global medium, just got a whole lot lower. And the effects of that increased pool of potential producers is going to be vast.” The quote was taken from an article Shirky wrote for the Gothamist in April 2004.
That’s right, 2004.
Freelance writers – even those late to the Blogging game – have been told about it since late 2003. That’s six years ago. Shirky – who can be prophetic in his words – wrote this around the same time that Blogging was as popular as Twitter is today. The message is/was clear: if you don’t Blog because you think that you should be paid for every word that you create as a freelance writer, you are completely missing point (for more on this, please see the previous Blog post: Blogs Are Doing Very Well, Thank You Very Much).
Here are 6 ways that a Blog can change your freelance career:
It’s not all about Blogs for freelancers.
Building up any semblance of a community or online social network is a smart idea for freelancers. It can be Twitter, creating a group on LinkedIn and more, just don’t forget that a great Blog is often better than any number of writing samples or portfolio.
The challenge is that you have to mentally get over the hump that you’re writing for free, because you’re not. You’re writing to free yourself.
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