Connect with Your Audience and Community
Emails. Stories. Sales talk. None of it matters if your audience or community doesn’t feel connected. Sure, you could come up with a viral opportunity or product that takes over the market. But that’s unlikely to happen unless someone first raves about it or you. That...
Using Stories to Win Hearts (and Customers) for Your Business
Picture this: A local furniture maker posts a photo of a wonky bookcase that leans to the side and looks on the verge of falling down with the caption “Our first attempt at building furniture in 2016. Swipe to see our award-winning furniture today.” Which...
Stop Confusing Your Audience: How to Write Clearly in Any Business Setting
Clarity in writing is a game-changer in business. Whether you’re drafting an email, creating a proposal, or crafting marketing content, clear communication helps you build trust, avoid misunderstandings, and achieve your goals faster. Yet, writing clearly isn’t always...
End of Year Tasks for Freelance & Professional Writers (Part 3 of 3)
Finish out the year with our list of year-end tasks designed specifically for freelance writers.
End of Year Tasks for Freelance & Professional Writers (Part 2 of 3)
Finish the year strong by doing a series of year-end tasks designed to help you analyze how you did last year and set you up for a more successful year in 2022.
End of Year Tasks for Freelance & Professional Writers (Part 1 of 3)
Time has flown this year and it is time again to close out another year of writing.
This is a great time to take stock of where you are with your writing and get organized for the year to come. Finish our your freelance writing year with a few year-end tasks. Below you will find part one of our three-part series on steps writers and small businesses should take to finish out a year for better success in the new one.
Care and Feeding of a Client (Part 2 of 2)
Part one of this blog covered the first five tips for caring for your clients as a freelance writer.
Clients are essential to running a successful freelance business. They keep the lights on and the dream alive. It pays to learn how to care for those relationships.
Care and Feeding of a Client (Part 1 of 2)
Freelance writers need clients. They are the lifeblood of a strong freelance business. They pay the bills and keep the dream alive. As such, it pays to take care of them and nurture those relationships.
For the purpose of this article, I will lump editors and publishers (both traditional and online) in with clients. The tips below work for anyone who hires you to write for them.
Start of School: How a Box of Pencils Inspires Better Writing and Renewed Passion for Freelancing
The sight of school supplies lined up in boxes in colorful store displays brings back memories. There is something magical seeing those pencils sharpened and ready to write new words and stories. It’s a writer’s dream. Even when I was a grade school student, I loved the colors and feel of pencils. Later, I became obsessed with pens and have boxes of them stashed in my office supply closet.
They contain possibilities. Words still unwritten. Stories begging to be released.
Why Storytelling Matters in Business: Another Market Segment for Writers
Life is emotional. So is business, whether you want to admit it or not. Sure, you might not be able to cry at your desk everyday or throw temper tantrums in the break room, but emotions do come into play in business.
Organizations use emotion to make you care about their products, services, and causes. They use it as a form of persuasion, which is the art of making you desire something you might not otherwise.
Writing for Free: Is It Ever a Good Idea? (Part 2 of 2)
This two-part series began with the reasons you might choose to write for free. The key word in that sentence was choose. It is fine if it is your decision to provide your talents to a project without payment. But that is not always the case.
Here Are Some Reasons When It Does Not Make Sense to Write for Free: