Earn More Easily with Social Media & Website Copy

by Jeanna Paden

I started building my portfolio by taking on free work and incorporating my skills into my day job, even if they weren’t in the job description, and that led to paid opportunities down the road.

Ever since I was a junior in college, each day job I have had has included some form of writing. I began as an intern for nonprofits and a local publisher, where I wrote information material, back cover copy, and social media posts.

The publishing internship led to a part time job where I learned more about writing, editing, and distribution. I further developed my technical writing and copywriting skills as a graduate assistant and as an assistant director of an after-school program.

This skill building led to my pursuit of freelancing. By writing 500-word articles for a website that paid $5 each for them; and eventually, by use of LinkedIn and word-of-mouth, I was able to make connections with potential clients and start bringing in paid work.

How I Decided On My Writing Niche

At first, I wrote whatever I wanted in order to get it published online for my portfolio. Recently, I chose health and wellness as my writing niche.

After taking a step back and looking at my go-to writing topics and what my interests are; meditation, mindfulness, fitness, and women’s health, I realized it only made sense to put my focus into writing material for “healthy living” subjects.

This niche is not only something I am passionate about, but it is also profitable, because consumers spend all they can to improve their health and fitness as it is.

Health and wellness is a broad enough topic that I have the fun of writing about numerous subjects under that umbrella, while still being focused enough to let a potential client know that I have the experience they are looking for.

How I Gain New Clients

I am constantly refining my content and putting myself out there in order to position myself as the right writer for a specific demographic.

My website and third-party websites I use (i.e. LinkedIn) paints me as an expert by focusing on my skills and on the needs of my clients.

Having a strong online presence and knowing SEO best practices, social platforms, and blogs goes a long way in becoming clearer on who my ideal client is, how I can help them, and who I would like to work with next.

My Most Lucrative Writing Assignment: Website Bundles

My most lucrative service are website copy bundles. “Website Copy” is any text that tries to convince you to buy a product or service as described on a website.

I find these assignments through networking on LinkedIn or through trading services with other freelancers. While they are big projects, once I am familiar with my client and their work, they do not take that long to create.

Not only are website bundles beneficial to clients, but because I am able to sell several pages at once (home pages, about pages, etc.), I am able to make a decent amount of money in a short amount of time.

How My Instagram Posts Led to a Writing Assignment

For example, the first website copy bundle I sold as a freelancer was to a former colleague who needed website copy with SEO keywords for their editing business. They reached out to me after they read a few of my Instagram posts about copywriting and SEO best practices.

We scheduled a phone call to discuss why they wanted SEO copy and how I could help. The first conversation was more like a consult. They bounced ideas off me, and I explained best practices and how I could help. We decided on a two-page bundle – home page and services page.

I always ask for half payment up front, so once I received payment, I began keyword research using Google’s keyword planner. Then I started drafting the copy. I find that I usually need to write all of the pages in the bundle before I finalize any one page.

This makes it easier to move parts of the copy around from page to page to see where it works best. It also gives me the chance to create a cohesive message. Sometimes I find that a certain line works better on the home page than on the services page or vice versa.

Once all of the copy is written, I sleep on it. That gives my brain time to reset. Then I proofread at least twice before I send the copy over in a Google Doc to my client. I had a month to complete the project, but I finished it up in maybe three afternoons in the middle of the month.

When Is the Best Time to Ask for Writing Testimonials?

I allow up to three edit requests from the client after I turn in my work, and I find that edits are easiest to do in Google Docs where each person can leave comments. My client didn’t ask for edits but did request help using the keywords within WordPress and transferring the copy into the WordPress platform. Since I have some experience with WordPress from when I worked in publishing, I was able to help them paste the copy in and change the keyword settings.

Once that was done, I sent them an email letting them know that I was happy to help if anything else came up and asked if they’d be willing to write a short testimonial. I figure it’s better to ask for testimonials right after the project is over so it’s fresh on the client’s mind.

My best tip for managing this type of project is to think of each page of copy as a piece to a bigger puzzle. You want each page to serve a different purpose, but there will be overlap. You need to differentiate between pages while also creating a cohesive message that fits the brand. A good way to learn cohesive messaging is to look at companies with strong branding. Nike and adidas are great examples to strong branding and cohesive messaging!

Why I Offer My Clients Social Media Strategy and Management

Along with my writing services, I have also begun offering social media strategy and management.

Content marketing and social media have always been a part of both my interests and my daily work. It seemed natural to begin offering this service, and I enjoy it immensely.

Social media strategy and management can come in many forms, but the main things I do are consult clients on best practices to meet their goals with social media and create content for them on a month by month basis using graphics, research, and/or information about current events.

How to Help Your Client with Social Media Management

I normally find these clients one of three ways:

1) by biding on gigs posted in Facebook groups for freelancers,
2) through LinkedIn connections,
3) or by cold pitching clients I find through LinkedIn or Google.

Social media management boils down to creating visual and written content for a company’s social accounts, researching best practices and keywords for each social media site (because the platforms are always changing), and scheduling posts for the client using Buffer or Hootsuite.

I do my social media work in batches, and my clients are usually on a retainer, so I know what to plan for in terms of workload every month. Two weeks before the new month begins, I’ll write the content for each site. Sometimes there is overlap so I don’t have to come up with a new piece of content each social media platform, but I do have to keep in mind what works best on each site (longer captions are nice for Instagram, Facebook prefers video content, etc.).

Sometimes I repurpose content I find on the company’s website or riff off their brand’s themes while I’m writing captions. It helps if you allow yourself to be creative and don’t write content that’s too stiff just because you’re trying to sound professional.

Social media content actually takes me the longest to create out of all of my services because it’s kind of like writing a dozen mini-blog posts instead of one long blog. I really enjoy learning about the platforms, though, and seeing growth on the accounts I work on.

Know Something About Your Client Before You Pitch Them

Usually when I’m pitching this service, I try to make my pitch as specific to the client as I can. I tell them what I love about their brand and briefly mention a few ways I could help. Strategic social media management can help a company in many ways, from increasing revenue to making them a recognizable brand.

I try to remind clients that customers spend a lot of time on social media and most of it is free real estate if you know how to use it well, so why not take advantage of that? I try to imagine what their pain points will be when it comes to social media.

For a small business, that might mean that they don’t have the time or don’t feel creative enough or equipped with the right knowledge to succeed with social media. For a bigger business, their focus is probably more on building a brand identity in their niche and using ads to bring in business. It’s different for every business, so it helps to know something about the client to show that you understand them before you pitch.

Sometimes clients want to create their own photos or graphics for social, but if they want to outsource that task, I’m able to create graphics for them using photoshop/Canva and royalty free images that I download from Pexels.

Research might include looking up similar accounts to see what they’re doing with their social media, searching keywords and making note of how popular they are, or immersing myself in the company’s website to get a full idea of who they are as a brand.

Looking up current events or holidays can be helpful too since tying in relevant information can grab people’s attention. You’d be surprised how many silly holidays there are that you can have fun with on social. My advice for that is to always go the extra mile to tie the information back to the company’s values.

There’s really no limit to what you can do with social media content. How I approach social media management really boils down to what the client’s goals are and how much of the work they want to be in control of.

Why I Prefer to Plan My Days on Paper

Getting to know my preferences for my writing process has helped me reduce stress tremendously and improve my business.

I know from practice that when I write blogs I need to sit down and get everything I think on paper. I may write a horrible first draft, but it always has the essential pieces that I’ll need for the final one. With that stress gone, I am able to rewrite what I have and tailor it to the my audience to make it pleasant to read.

I’ve tried a lot of organizational tools and tactics, but nothing works as well for me as pen, paper, and a planner. I like keeping track of my work on paper because I can physically put it away when it’s time to stop working.

When you’re storing all your notes and lists on a phone but you use your phone throughout the day for business and for fun, it can be hard to separate work from free time (at least for me). I will sometimes set reminders and alarms on my phone if I’m afraid of forgetting a task or appointment, but otherwise I try to plan my days on paper.

Advice for a Young Writer: Anything is Possible if You Develop Your Skills

There are so many things I want to say! Anything is possible if you market yourself correctly and develop your skills into something people want to pay for.

Be honest with yourself about where you’re starting out. You might have more experience than you think! Take stock of your experience, even if it doesn’t seem relevant to writing, and use the most appealing traits you find as selling points.

Continuously add to your writing samples. Just because you don’t have a client doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be writing! You’ll learn about your process, your style, and your interest if you’re always working on a new piece of writing.

Connect with people. I’ve received many opportunities, both paid and unpaid, from connecting with friends of friends. Act as if the opportunities are right around the corner so you’ll be ready to take them when they come along.

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Jeanna Paden (she/her) is a freelance health and wellness writer, copywriter, social media strategist, and poet. She began her writing career while still an undergrad at The University of Memphis where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2016. Her articles have appeared on websites like The Financial Diet, Her Culture, and GenTwenty.

Her poetry has been published by Foothill: A Journal of Poetry, Pulp Poets Press, and The Bookends Review. Her creative work has received nominations for The Pushcart Prize and Best New Poets anthologies. She blogs about books and the writing life at the Half Way to It blog.

For more information on Jeanna and her work, please see her website and book blog, or connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Pinterest.