This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hello, my friends. What's up? Welcome to Side Hustle School. Welcome back. I presume, unless this is your very first episode ever to listen to, which would be awesome.
But I'm gonna guess that you have been here for a little bit and I'm happy about that. This is episode 2,756, Throwback Thursday, charging higher rates through content strategy consulting. Today, we're gonna hear about a really smart pivot that a former freelance writer was able to do. Let's see, I guess first I should say last week, we heard from a former pro athlete who becomes a sought after mindfulness coach and they were able to help athletes harness the power of the mind to elevate their game. But today, as noted, this former freelance writer, she transforms her business by shifting to content strategy consulting.
So these are very different businesses. Same skill set. This person was previously writing articles and blog posts for brands. And now they have shifted from actually writing those articles to figuring out what should be written. And I'm not sure exactly if they're making assignments or what kind of editorial role they have.
But the point is she has leveraged AI tools to provide data driven insights, which results in higher paying work and more consistent client relationships. So all those are good things. So let's hear how this came about. I'll pass the microphone over to her and I'll be back at the end to wrap us up. [Music]
Two years ago, I was a freelance writer taking on various assignments from blog posts and articles to social media content and newsletters.
My days were filled with a mix of projects for different clients. And while I enjoyed the diversity of work, the rates that I could charge were often limited by the nature of what was needed. I realized I needed to find a way to add more value to my services and increase my income. Around that time, I began to notice a growing demand for content strategy consulting among small businesses. Many of my clients were struggling not just with creating content, but with developing cohesive, effective content plans that aligned with their goals.
Seeing an opportunity, I decided to pivot from purely writing to offering that kind of content strategy consulting. One of the key factors that enabled this transition was the integration of AI tools into my workflow. AI-powered platforms like Market Muse and ClearScope helped me conduct in-depth content research and analysis. These tools could quickly identify content gaps, suggest keyword optimizations and predict the performance of different content ideas. By leveraging AI, I was able to provide insights that significantly improved the effectiveness of my client's content strategies.
For example, one small business client struggled with low engagement on their blog. Using AI tools, I conducted a content audit and discovered several topics that resonated with our target audience, but were underrepresented on their site. I helped them develop a content calendar that focused on these high potential topics, resulting in significant increase in traffic and engagement. Instead of just writing pieces of content, I now helped clients create overarching content plans that included SEO, content distribution schedules, and performance tracking. This holistic approach justified charging significantly higher rates, yay!
To further enhance my services, I incorporated other tools like Google Analytics. This allowed me to track the performance of content strategies in real time, make data-informed adjustments, and provide clients with detailed reports on their content's impact. The ability to demonstrate tangible results helped build trust and long-term relationships with my clients. By focusing on content strategy, I transformed my business model. I was no longer just a freelance writer completing tasks.
I was now a consultant providing strategic guidance and insights. This shift allowed me to position myself as an expert in the field, attract higher-paying clients, and secure more consistent long-term contracts. Looking back, the decision to pivot to content strategy consulting was a huge point in my career. I'm now earning much better rates, and I noticed that I get treated like part of the team much more than I did before. Thanks for the help and guidance along the way.
I'm excited to see what next year brings. [Music]
So here we have a great example of how, as an industry evolves, there are challenges and opportunities. And the challenge in freelance writing, as we've touched on a bit in previous episodes, is that if you are a low-level freelancer or low-level copywriter or various other roles, then that's something that has changed already and will continue to change a good bit, not necessarily for the better, for you, just because there are so many tools now that do at least a pretty decent version or a really good first draft of some of these pieces that freelancers have been working on. But you too can change, just as an industry changes, you can also evolve. And so this person has been really smart in responding and adapting.
And so I love stories of transition and evolution. That's a big part of why we do Throwback Thursday to see how somebody kind of grows along the way. Anyway, let me know what you think and who you'd like to see featured from our archives of more than a thousand stories, 2,700 plus total episodes. If you have a question or an update about your hustle, let me know that as well, sidehustleschool.com. As mentioned, this was episode 2,756.
I'll be back tomorrow, always completely free, listen wherever you want. My name's Chris Guillebeau, this is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
