Back in April, I was pleasantly whacked over the head with the idea of supporting small businesses by offering content writing services.
Lesson 1: Trust your gut.
Here’s how it started.
At that time, my role as brand manager involved writing tons of social media posts and editing copy for an online coaching program. The business owner had already built the brand and was now entrusting me with crafting words that would represent the brand.
No, that brand didn’t 100% match my vibe. In terms of lingo, aesthetics, and tone of voice, we were similar but different. Still, I appreciated the work we were doing. And I realized the more I put myself in the brand’s shoes, the easier it was to create sales-oriented copy that aligned with the business owner’s vision.
Lesson 2: Empathy works.
As I wondered what I could do to enhance our social media presence, our sales page, etc., other questions popped up:
“What if blog posts helped us become more searchable on the web?”
“What if we could balance our sales copy with [non-sales] organic content that helped our audience feel connected, educated, and empowered?”
I quickly wrote these inspirations and more in my notes app. Ironically, two days later I was laid off.
Lesson 3: Losses are gifts.
So, the question became:
“Should / How do I market myself as a blog content writer for small businesses?”
Here’s how it’s going.
Somehow, my eyeballs are still in tact after spending countless hours learning about SEO, marketing, blogging, and branding.
Lesson 4: YouTube is your friend.
Beyond the studying, these past six months have reminded me of this:
Like it or not, my career path is unconventional. It’s artistic. Frustrating. Lovely. For the past 15 years as a working woman, all signs have pointed to “THIS AIN’T NORMAL!” Today, I celebrate this as a blessing.
So, what do I have for you creators and small business owners? I’ll call it a real-time educational journey of increasing online visibility through SEO-friendly content.
Need organic marketing tips? How about keyword research and batch writing? I hope to help you in my own scrappy and homegrown way.
If just one creator or small business owner can take what I’ve learned and use it to their advantage, that’s quite enough for me!
