This weekend I have been visiting Open Studios all over London where artists, craftspeople and creators of all kinds open their workspaces to show and sell their stuff.
Interestingly, one of these artisans also runs a highly successful marketing agency, combining her creative writing and art projects with copywriting and branding for clients.
This, plus the fact that so many of the creative types I met still had little clue when it came to marketing online, inspired me to expand on last week’s freelance theme here.
You see, you can be writing, creating, running your online business and selling your stuff but also freelance for others in the same field or in totally unrelated fields. What matters is that you have or acquire the skills and are willing to sell those skills to others.
I know – the very thought of having clients might send shivers down your spine. But every single person I spoke to this weekend was lovely and desperately needed help getting their message and work out there.
If you’re reading this then chances are you know more than them. Trust me. So why not consider adding to your current streams of revenue with some of these ideas…
One of the easiest ways to get started freelancing for clients is by acting as a ghost blogger for them, i.e. you write their blog posts. Why? Because most people have no clue what to put on their blog and probably don’t have the time anyway.
This can be an excellent side gig or even a full-time one – here’s how to get started:
https://www.makealivingwriting.com/question-transforms-ghost-blogger/
And while you’re there, check out her monster list of 161 markets for all kinds of freelance writing:
https://www.makealivingwriting.com/earn-money-online-161-markets/
But of course, your clients don’t have to be just creative types and there is often more to be made in other industries such as tech:
https://medium.com/swlh/how-im-earning-big-money-ghostwriting-for-tech-startups-7554fe2a71d5
Another excellent side gig that can turn into a thriving business is to become a freelance social media manager.
Here are some tips on how to do that:
https://www.postplanner.com/how-to-become-a-social-media-manager-in-6-steps/
With some more in depth tips here:
https://theworkathomewife.com/how-to-become-a-social-media-manager/
And here:
http://socialmarketingwriting.com/complete-guide-successful-social-media-manager/
As well as here:
https://blog.capterra.com/how-to-become-a-social-media-manager/
Or you might want to get all fancy and call yourself a social media consultant. What’s the difference? In most peoples’ minds, very little but consultants tend to strategize as well as or instead of managing, sometimes outsourcing the actual posting etc
The main difference, of course, is perception in the client’s mind and the fact you can usually charge more…here’s how to become a social media consultant:
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-consultant/
And from there it’s only a small step to becoming an online business consultant or coach – for more ideas on that go here:
https://www.lifehack.org/430974/7-steps-to-start-an-online-business-as-a-coach-or-consultant
Remember that you can coach or consult in a wide variety of fields. It is certainly not confined to IM and can often be less competitive and more lucrative if you find your own niche.
I’ll be exploring that more in further newsletters but, for now, I will leave you with this week’s TED talk which teaches a skill essential to life and business alike…how to get to a ‘yes’:
One final, final thought…by helping others you also hone your own skills, find fresh ideas and approaches and build excellent working relationships. What’s not to love?
