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Audrey JoAnn | Content and Copy Writer

Compelling Copy for Female Founders

HOW TO BECOME A FREELANCER

October 11, 2018

I’ve got to be honest. I haven’t known what to write about lately. In my Google Drive, I have a long list of blog post ideas and topics. But I’m getting married in 10 days, and it felt weird to write about sleep habits or career development or relationship challenges when I’m living in a vacuum that is all things BIG DAY. My life right now is guest counts, final invoices, printing hashtag signs, and checking my weather app 27 times a day. (Fingers crossed for anything below 78 degrees in a week and a half.)

I never thought I would be a stressed-out wedding countdown kind of girl, but here we are. Identity crisis for one, please. So, that’s precisely why I’m writing about something other than wedding things. While I am so thrilled for the day itself and the many fun activities surrounding it, everything lately has revolved around planning. I need to think about something else.

And I’m sure you’d like to read about anything else. I know I’m not the only person to ever have a wedding (in fact, we are going to another couple’s wedding tomorrow in Dallas!), yet, somehow, this preparation feels so immense. We are simultaneously planning the biggest party in the history of us planning parties (the second largest was Piper’s first birthday, with a whopping 6 humans and 3 dogs…) AND getting ready to commit the rest of our lives to each other.

That’s heavy, man.

So, let’s not talk about wedding stuff, okay?

Anyway, moving on from all of that.

Let’s talk, instead, about freelancing. Since transitioning into full-time freelancing at the beginning of the summer, I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I got into freelance writing and editing and how I find clients. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a few tips that might be helpful. I’ve posted about my freelance approach before, so this will be a sort of continuation from that blog post.

I wrote about how every freelance job I’d gotten up until that point was from pre-existing relationships and connections. That’s a super valuable way to find clients still. If you have friends in public relations, media, publishing, start-ups, marketing — they all need content writers, preferably ones that they know and trust. (You!) Reach out, put some feelers out in your network, and be bold with communicating your interests and aspirations. The worst that could happen is that they say they’re not looking for contributors currently, but they’ll keep you in mind.

Networking is truly as easy as sending an email, so don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. And — I also have a new freelancing resource that I just adore.

This freelancer website is the bee’s knees

Upwork is a platform that I’ve used for a few months now to find clients to write content for regularly. If you don’t have contacts that work in media or publishing, then this is a fantastic place to start to become a freelancer. You create your profile, set your hourly rate (I charge $50 per hour), and “apply” for writing jobs with companies all over the country and world.

I call it Craigslist for freelancers, and it’s a game changer. Once you get one job on there, it’s much easier to snag even more, since your profile will show some Upwork experience and a review from a client (aka, showing you are trustworthy and a good worker). Eventually, clients will even invite you to apply for their jobs.

The only major bummer is that the platform takes 20% of your income at first, so you might want to adjust your rates accordingly. But! After you make $500 through Upwork, which doesn’t take long if you find one or two clients, the fee drops to 10%. After making $10,000 (which’ll admittedly take quite a bit more time), they only take 5%. Think of it as a finder’s fee — I wouldn’t have found half of my existing clients without Upwork, even using my connections and social media. And they want to reward freelancers for longevity, which is kind of nice, if you think about it.

Although I use Upwork to find copywriting and editing clients, it hosts freelancers of all kinds. From graphic designers and website developers to resume writers and even engineers and architects, if you’re in a creation field of any sort, you can freelance through Upwork.

Upwork is great, but you need something to show your dream client

Another idea to consider is having a place to show ideal clients your experience. Not even necessarily a “portfolio” — a blog or LinkedIn articles can do the trick a lot of the time. Since I’ve changed my website into more of a life blog, rather than a lifestyle/fashion blog, I write a lot about personal and career growth. Over the last two months, I’ve gotten three new clients in the career development and leadership strategy fields.

I didn’t have “portfolio” experience in this direct field to point them to, but I could say, “Hey, the things that you’re trying to help clients with are the things I’m wildly interested in, too. Take a look at this personal blog post I’ve written about finding a fulfilling job or this LinkedIn article I wrote a couple years ago about tapping in to curiosity.”

That personal connection to their mission, followed up by some palpable and applicable resources, is often more meaningful than slapping a link to a portfolio in an email, anyway.

Do you freelance or want to get into freelancing? What are some of your helpful tricks for finding your ideal clients? Leave them in a comment or shoot me them in an email. I’ll share the best ones on social media!

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Welcome! I'm Audrey, and I adore connecting with female founders and telling their stories in a way that matters & lasts for years to come.

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audskelton

The secret to describing your coaching service, pr The secret to describing your coaching service, product, offer, course, etc. online = talking about the amazing end result your thing will provide buyers. That’s it. 

Never ever ever *lead* with:

✖️You get 50 pages of content!
✖️ There’s over 10 hours of video instruction!
✖️ A free workbook comes with!
✖️ You’ll be added to my private FB group!
✖️ 12 modules waiting for you!
✖️ ... or anything regarding the FEATURES of your product/service. 

(And especially don’t list every single feature as the full caption, please for the love of Pete. 🥱) Think of those items as the fine print. Logical buyers maaaay be interested, but most people care way more about what your offer can change or improve for them. What specific result will it give them? What will it make them feel, help them achieve, allow them to excel at??

The logistical details can go at the bottom of your sales page—and honestly, just totally remove them from your social posts and CTAs.

Trust me... *I know how valuable those detail pieces feel and SEEM from your perspective as the creator* because it shows the hard work and effort you put into your offer. But talking about how much content is inside your product doesn’t mean ANYTHING unless people understand what that content can do for them. So always, aaaalways lead with that.

*steps off soapbox* 

Side note, this picture is from forever ago and is making me majorly ready to cut my hair again. 😂 Should I go for the mom chop?! ✂️
The absolute loves of my life. 🤎 Can’t wait t The absolute loves of my life. 🤎 Can’t wait to see what these two peas in a pod get into for years and years to come.
Our little buddy turned 3 months old yesterday and Our little buddy turned 3 months old yesterday and I can hardly believe it. These few months have simultaneously flown by and felt like a year. Wallace has grown so much and even though you always hear parents say stop growing so fast, I feel almost the opposite. I feel such pride with each new roll he develops, the strength his neck is gaining, and his belly that just keeps expanding. Is this weird?! Regardless, it’s been my greatest joy to watch him grow and his personality begin to emerge. The way he smiles and chuckles when we quack or say “WHOA!” The rapid-fire kicks he does when he has room to sprawl out. His love for walks and disdain for car rides. 🥴 It’s all so fun and special and new (for all of us!), and I wouldn’t trade a moment for anything in the world. 🤎
Jesus’s return is the most precious miracle of m Jesus’s return is the most precious miracle of miracles... but the fact that we’re all facing the camera and even (kind of) smiling in this SELF-TIMER pic is a pretty close second. 😆🥲 Happy Easter and sending you so much love and joy! 🤎
Everything is temporary. It’s been my mantra thr Everything is temporary. It’s been my mantra through the hardest and sweetest moments these past few months, and even more so as I ease back into work this week.

It’s all temporary. The good, the bad, the big emotions, the tenderest moments, the hard days, the beautiful days, the teeny socks, the endless emails, the nap strikes, the stacked deadline weeks, the sweet bonding of nursing.

None of it will be around forever, and even though I probably won’t have my schedule figured out for a long, long time, that doesn’t mean these days of just getting by and praying it all works out aren’t important.

They’ll be gritty, cobbled-together, and messy. But they’re mine. I get to craft these days however I want to, with the sweetest babe on my hip and my honey in our back office chasing his own dream, and that’s a beautiful thing.
Vacations hit different with a baby, that is for s Vacations hit different with a baby, that is for sure. 🤪 The days revolve around naps and feedings, and afternoons that we once would have spent taking 4-mile hikes or sitting on a patio at a brewery are now spent reading, playing cards, and listening to Kacey Musgraves and Tom Petty in our Airbnb while Wally snoozes. It’s not worse, but it’s a different pace than I’m used to and that’s okay. In fact, it’s probably more needed than I realize as I wrap up my maternity leave and get back to work in a couple days. Grateful for these slow days and sweet memories with my loves. Now... we just have to make the 4-hour drive home tomorrow with a dog and baby who both hate the car. 🤣 (PS... I’m sharing more thoughts about how I feel heading back to work in this week’s newsletter that goes out Friday—you can sign up to get emails from me with copywriting tips, business anecdotes, and some life updates too in the link in my bio! ☺️) #babysfirstvacation #laketahoe
flannels + chunky sweaters + squishy babies + gorg flannels + chunky sweaters + squishy babies + gorgeous views = my aesthetic forever and ever. 😍
When I was little, I said I wanted 4 kids, just li When I was little, I said I wanted 4 kids, just like my own family. I wanted a girl, boy and girl twins, and a boy. (‘Cause you can totally plan those things. 🥴)

Then, my parents got divorced and in my angsty teenager-ness, I was like, “Nope, nevermind. I’m good with no kids thanks!”

I didn’t want the pressure of raising someone and somehow damaging or disappointing them. And I was skeptical that a couple could stay together and happily raise a family.

When John and I started dating, he was so confident in us and our future. I’d never met a guy who a) pursued me so openly and consistently and b) made me feel valued in every area of my life. Career, relationship, family, health, faith.

When we went on our first camping trip about a year into dating, we were having one of those deep, wine-fueled campfire chats that seem extra important and lovely. I asked him how he knew he first loved me.

He was so good at always complimenting my drive and ambition, or how I looked regardless of whether I was dressed up or grungy after a workout. I figured it would be a combination of those sorts of things, but he surprised me when he said, “Because I know you’ll be a good mom.”

Uhhhh, what? I was like, “... But you know I’m not even sure I want to be a mom. How can you see that?”

He said in the way I so deeply care for others and myself. He had this unwavering belief that we could build a family, and he wanted this girl who spent a lot of years feeling broken to lead it alongside him.

I know this doesn’t sound very “progressive,” but his faith in me being a good mom healed a part of me in so many ways.

I always knew I was driven. I knew I could build a career and life I loved. But I didn’t believe I could build a family that lasted. Or at least, I was scared to think what might happen if I tried.

Wallace is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me. He made me the mom that John believed I could be more than five years ago.

I don’t know if you ever necessarily feel “good” at being a parent, because every day is filled with mistakes & learning curves, but I will say that it’s the most immediately natural I’ve felt in any role I’ve stepped into, ever.
Would it be too much to gallery wall an entire hou Would it be too much to gallery wall an entire house? Asking for a friend.

Newborn family photos by my talented, sweet friend @jilliangoulding. She is too good! 🤍
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