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Looking After The Brand: What Every Freelancer

Needs To Consider

by Jay Donnelly

Freelance writing has its benefits. You can literally work from anywhere in the world. If you don’t want to get out of bed, you can still earn money. And, if you’re going to lay on the beach and catch a tan, you can take your work wherever you are. 

The nature of the beast is that although you are your own boss, you actually have many bosses. Let’s say you’re a copywriter who creates content for numerous blogs; the owner of each site will have their own standards and expectations. Adapting to meet these can be challenging. Nobody likes to consider that their work might be regarded as substandard, and the bottom line of the matter is, that rejected copy costs you time and loses you money. 

You might only be providing a few hundred words of content, and as such, your relationship with your new boss may only last for minutes or hours. But each job you get is significant. Your brand rests on producing consistent, quality writing.

There are ways to minimise the risk involved, and getting it right the first time is always the name of the game in a business where your own mistakes have a direct impact on your life. 

Know Your Client

Chances are, your clients already have a decent online presence. If they’re a commercial brand, get onto their website and familiarise yourself with what they do, how they do it, and most importantly, how they talk about themselves. They know their brand well and should have a clear portrayal of this in their existing content. Don’t make assumptions about them and what they are about. If there is a mission statement or an ‘about’ section, be sure you read this in depth. 

If you’re writing for a blog, understanding their niche, their readership and their writing style should be your first point of action when it comes to starting a job for them. 

You may be up against the clock for your work, and it pays to get straight in there to soak up as much information as quickly as possible.

Check Out Style Guides

If the brand has a style guide, use it. Many more prominent companies will adopt a guide as a way to ensure consistency across all employees work. Make sure if this is available, you utilise it. 

Similarly, many companies use templates such as those provided by https://www.templafy.com/. These are designed specifically to protect brands from damage through miscommunication within its ranks. 

Much of these resources are there to not only maintain a clear identity; they are there to make your life as a writer easier. 

Ask Questions

If you’re ever unsure if you are doing the right thing for your clients, ask. Always check your understanding of a situation as, assuming often causes problems for you and them. 

Your relationship with a brand might be fleeting, but return custom is always helpful when you live from gig to gig. Making sure you have as many positive relationships open at all times is the way forward in the life of a freelancer.

Find more writing and publishing tips at Nothing Any Good.