avatarAnangsha Alammyan

Summary

To succeed as a writer, one must develop skills beyond writing, such as building a strong portfolio, hunting for ideal clients, and mastering cold outreach with compelling offers.

Abstract

The article emphasizes that success in writing is multifaceted, requiring a combination of writing talent and strategic skills. Aspiring writers are advised to create a portfolio that demonstrates their publishing track record, SEO prowess, and community engagement. Additionally, they should actively seek out clients who align with their niche, focusing on those with funding and a need for content strategy. The art of cold outreach is also highlighted, stressing the importance of crafting personalized emails with strong offers and consistent follow-ups. The author shares personal insights into the freedom and opportunities that come with a career in writing, encouraging beginners to invest in these skills to achieve their dream lifestyle.

Opinions

  • The author believes that a writer's success is not solely based on writing ability but also on their ability to market themselves and understand the business side of writing.
  • A portfolio is more than a collection of articles; it should reflect the writer's influence through publication history, SEO rankings, and community engagement.
  • Social proof, such as a strong social media following, is crucial in establishing credibility and attracting potential clients.
  • Ideal clients are those who are well-funded, active on social media, and in need of content marketing services.
  • Persistence in follow-up emails is a key component of successful cold outreach, as it may take multiple attempts to capture a client's attention.
  • The author suggests that with the right approach and skills, writers can enjoy a flexible lifestyle with ample opportunities for personal and professional growth.

3 Skills (Aside From Writing) to Succeed As A Writer

Success as a writer demands more than just good writing.

Photo by Timothy Muza on Unsplash

I’d always dreamed of being a writer.

Even though I gave ten years of my life to civil engineering, I knew one day I’d turn my passion into my profession.

When I made the career switch in 2021, I was prepared for some new experiences.

3 years later, I couldn’t have been more grateful for the freedom and opportunities writing has opened up for me.

Here’s a glimpse at what my life looks like as a full-time writer —

  • I work for 1–2 hours each day, 5 days a week. The rest of the time is free for me to pursue my hobbies and interests.
  • I can afford to take holidays whenever and wherever I wish. I recently booked tickets for my first 12-day international solo trip, and I couldn’t have been more excited.
  • I get to work with amazing clients who run companies that are truly making a difference in the world. As a content strategist, I get to make decisions that shape the future of the product. You can’t imagine how empowering having that kind of say on a startup’s trajectory can feel.

If this is something you aspire for yourself, I’ve compiled the three skills aside from writing that you’ll need to become a successful freelance writer.

Even if you’re a complete beginner, you can still cultivate these skills to design the life you’ve always dreamed about.

1. Building a stellar portfolio

Your portfolio is like your business card in the world of writing. It shows your clients your potential and the fact that you’re familiar with how things work in the world of online publishing.

But your portfolio is more than just well-written articles.

It also showcases —

Which websites your articles have been published on

When you write for well-respected websites in your niche, your value as a writer automatically increases in the eyes of prospective clients.

How often do your articles rank on Google

When people search for a query relevant to your niche, at least one of your articles should show up on the first page of Google. This not only establishes you as a thought leader but also tells prospective clients how strong your SEO game is.

Have you built a strong community, aka what’s your social proof

Simply publishing and ranking your articles on Google is only the first step. The true deciding factor that can sway the opinion of prospective clients in your favor is how well you’ve invested in building a community.

When you have an awesome following on social media, it signals to the viewer that you’ve invested time and effort in learning about your target audience.

This is a valuable trait for any writer to have and will make it hard for the client to say no to your offer.

2. Hunting for your ideal clients

When you’re building a portfolio, you also need to keep hunting for potential clients on the side.

This will make your job easier when you start prospecting.

Some key elements of an ideal client are —

  • They own a company that caters to your niche (duh!).
  • Their company has been recently funded. This isn’t 100% necessary, but a recent funding round suggests they have some cash to invest in GTM (their go-to-market strategy).
  • Their company pages are active on social media.
  • They don’t have an active blog yet (that’s where you’ll come in as their content marketing lead).
  • They’re already investing in advertising, which shows they’re serious about acquiring new users for their product.

You can search for your niche on the Facebook Ads Library to check what companies in your niche are running ads on Facebook and Instagram.

Twitter has an Ads Transparency Center, using which you can search for any Twitter handle and bring up all the ad campaigns from an account that has run for the past seven days.

It’s never too early to start hunting for prospective clients. You can start it from the day you've figured out what niches you want to write in.

3. Cold outreach + creating a strong offer

Once your portfolio is ready and you’ve prepared a list of your prospective clients, the cold outreach process can start.

It might sound fancy, but really, it’s as simple as sending the prospects an email with your introduction and an offer they can’t refuse.

Here are the key elements a successful cold outreach email contains:

  1. Your introduction + social proof + links and stats screenshots of previous work
  2. A few lines to show that you understand what the client does
  3. Your offer (How you can help them + the unique value you bring to the table)
  4. A CTA (What should the prospect do after reading your email? In other words, the call-to-action should either be for them to book a discovery call on your calendar, or reply to your email with a few simple lines so you can take the conversation forward)

A major part of the cold outreach strategy is, yes you guessed it right, follow-ups.

CEOs are busy people, and it’s natural your emails might get lost in their already-cluttered inboxes. Keep following up every few days. I’ve had clients convert even after the fourth follow-up email.

Final words

Being a full-time writer might sound glamorous, but it comes with a lot of hard work.

If you’re ready to put in the work to design the life of your dreams, I’ve got good news for you.

From 6–9 June 2023, I’m hosting Freelance Superheroes: a training program that will show you how to -

  • Identify high-paying niches suited to your skills and interests.
  • Find leads (people who are willing to pay you to write about what you love)
  • Write kickass cold outreach emails that can land you dream clients
  • Create offers no Founder can say NO to.
  • Build a stellar portfolio so you can stand out in the sea of thousands of freelance writers in the market today.

If this is something you feel you’d benefit from, save your spot today.

Entrepreneurship
Writing
Business
Success
Money
Recommended from ReadMedium