The main thing to work on when owning a business is getting noticed, maintaining existing, and attracting potential clients.
For this, you will need to hire a content marketing specialist who will create and implement the company content. Creating, editing, and optimizing are just a few of the tasks that need to be handled with care.
Many content marketing specialists work as freelancers and are successful at what they do. Because most of the job includes creating content, it is recommended to have some writing background.
Some of these specialists have decided to narrow their field of work by specializing in a particular industry and becoming experts in that field.
Rob Swystun is a content marketing specialist, among other things, who specializes in automotive safety and electric vehicles. Working in a dying industry like journalism, he saw the signs that he needed to take the matter into his own hands.
He used his experience in writing and started his freelancing job in creating content. And he knew that he had made the right decision.
Q: Please tell us a little about yourself, your expertise, etc.
A: I am a content marketing strategist, writer, and journalist who specializes in EV charging and EV supply chains, automotive safety, and B2B and B2B SaaS.
Q: Could you please describe your previous work as an employee?
A: I was a journalist and I worked at three different newspapers throughout my journalism career.
Q: What was the point where you decided to become a freelancer?
A: It was in 2011 and I was disillusioned with the low pay and lateral movement in the newspaper industry, which was also a dying industry at that point. I felt like my career would be better served if I went out on my own.
Q: What are some of the challenges you’re facing as a freelancer?
A: One of the most frequent challenges I face is attracting new clients. It requires nearly constant marketing and networking.
Q: Can you offer beginner freelancers any advice?
A: Get used to the idea that you will likely get ghosted a lot as a freelancer. People will express interest in your services and may even set up a meeting with you only to stop talking to you without any warning and when you try to get an answer from them, they will just ignore you.
It’s unfortunate, but a lot of business people seem to think ghosting freelancers is an acceptable form of communication.
Q: How do you handle inflation as a freelancer?
A: Be smart with your money and save some of it for the “dry spells” in your business, which is inevitable when you’re starting out. The key is to get your cash flow going, meaning having money constantly coming into your business.
The best way to do this is to set up some kind of passive income like offering a pre-recorded course or something like that. If you can earn money without constantly having to work, you will be better off.
Q: What do you do to get new clients?
A: Largely via LinkedIn and virtually attending conferences in my areas of interest. I send out several connection requests per day and try to nurture any leads that express interest.
Q: Name one mistake that you made as a freelancer.
A: When I first started out, I didn’t really keep track of the work I did or the results it got for my clients. The results you get for your clients are what matter most.
This is what you are going to use to attract new clients. If you can say you’ve helped your clients increase leads or revenue or whatever by X%, it will help you gain new clients.
Q: How can potential clients find you?
A: Clients can visit my website www.robswystun.com, or reach out to me through LinkedIn or Twitter
Recognizing that there are no more work opportunities and chances of advancement in their current job is how many decide to turn to freelance.
Final Note:
Rob’s shift from journalism to content management was a logical step that brought him success. While journalism is a dying industry, content creation is trending higher, and he recognized that right away.
Everyone faces challenges at one time or another, and so did Rob. His client list was not expanding, and he often got ghosted by businesses, but that didn’t discourage him. He worked hard to present his skills and knowledge, which his current clients highly valued and appreciated.
When creating your freelancing strategy, be sure to record the results and success stories with your clients.
Rob made the mistake of letting that slip unnoticed in the beginning until he realized that the results would bring in new clients. Don’t be shy in presenting your work if you are expecting to get noticed.
And one final word of advice from Rob – always have several things running for you at the same time to ensure that you will have constant income throughout the year. Every industry has its highs and lows, but you need to be sure you get through the lows.
