Tammy Danan

#freelance-talk - January 14, 2025 at 10:19 AM

@Linsey Knerl Well, tiny. Got 3 people full-time and me. Can I ask, what do you mean by you act as a smallish agency for select projects??

#freelance-talk - January 11, 2025 at 01:59 PM

Hi folks! I was wondering, aside from referrals and word of mouth, how else can content agencies find and clients? When I was a solo freelancer, most of my clients are from cold emailing.

Do content agencies also cold email? If so, how do you format that email? Do you share right off the bat that you’re an agency? Thanks so much!

#hire-me - January 06, 2025 at 04:21 PM

Hi folks!!

I know a lot of you are sending those “circling back” emails… I, on the other hand, am making an “I have space for two more clients” post.

While I still produce for Shutterstock and a few more clients, my content agency, Moss, is open to two more full-time clients.

We produce narrative-driven content, mostly blog posts, for large enterprises. We also support SMEs and brands that are still in the early stages of building their blogs, collaborating with in-house teams, or independently working on content strategy, SEO, and more.

If you want to use AI, we’re not the agency for you.

BUT, if you want deep dedication to authenticity and relatable content your audience would see themselves in, we’re the right agency to chat with!

As Shutterstock’s former creative content manager said, “Tammy is culturally connected to the global world and understands the unique diversity of people that is so important to good storytelling.” That is what Moss is built on.

Let’s chat about your content needs! My DMs are open or email at tammy@mosscontentstudio.com|tammy@mosscontentstudio.com.

https://mosscontent.carrd.co/

#freelance-talk - January 03, 2025 at 10:35 AM

@Patrick Icasas They’re paying me $350 per article now. That’s 1.5-2k words. Yeah, hourly makes more sense too… Gotta figure out the hourly rate as I’ve never charged that ever haha

#freelance-talk - January 03, 2025 at 04:05 AM

Happy New Year, folks!!

First freelance Q of the year: I have a client who wants to upgrade old posts by interviewing people who can add more insight into already published posts and I’ll weave some of the interview quotes into the article.

How much is the typical rate for this kind job? Basically, I’ll look for the right people to interview, contact them, do the interview (which can be quick and via email, can also be via call) then weave the interview/blurbs into the article.

We’re looking at 15 articles that I’ll update. I just don’t know how much to charge…

Thanks so much!

#promo - December 09, 2024 at 07:49 PM

Me: Tell me about your role as a photographer? What comes to mind when you think of “Raimundo” and “photographer”?

Raimundo Cavalhier: When I think of myself as a photographer, the first thing that comes to mind is the connection with my roots—with the strength that comes from my ancestry.
I am the son of a former cleaning lady. A woman who fought tirelessly to raise nine children and, with the little she had, built dreams. Making my dreams come true is not just about me but also about my mother’s. With each achievement I make, I am carrying on her legacy.

I don’t think I have shared this here. One of my latest for Shutterstock. Definitely one of my fave pieces!

https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/create-fund-raimundo-cavalhier

#general - October 15, 2024 at 09:37 AM

Aahhh… tysm for the clear and detailed feedback, folks! 🙏

#freelance-talk - October 15, 2024 at 09:06 AM

@Tolu Alabi I think the kind of relationship you have with your previous clients play a big role. Some former clients I’m not super confident asking because we have this very rigid client-freelancer relationship. Other former clients I’m totally okay asking because we have this great blend of professional and casual relationship. So asking them for anything—referrals, advice, etc—is easy because it doesn’t have to be this super professional email. I can keep it casual and chill with them. Does this make sense? Sorry I feel like I’m rambling lol

#general - October 11, 2024 at 11:43 AM

Hi folks, I could really use another set of eyes (or more) to check the page of our content marketing agency. It’s small and we’re always looking for ways to improve. I could really use your feedback.

Any information you think we should include?
Are we clearly conveying our message/services?
Really, anything y’all can spot—I’d love to hear. Thanks so much! This is a big leap and it’s scary but definitely so much better than a 9-5 for me.

https://mosscontent.carrd.co/

#freelance-talk - October 11, 2024 at 11:28 AM

Hi Tolu, I started as a freelance writer too then became an editor and now, I own a small boutique marketing agency where I also handle strategy and project management. It’s been an exhausting but super fun and wholesome ride and I guess one of the most important things that helped me was connecting with the right people—chatting with my editors about being an editor myself, asking for advice, asking clients if they need an editor or help with their strategy, things like that. Then I started applying for small gigs as an editor.

#general - September 19, 2024 at 05:33 PM

Folks, I did it. I purchased a professional email via Google Workspace. 🥹 Gotta say, their support staff was AMAZING! Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Also yes. Thanks for catering to my question… :)

#general - August 26, 2024 at 10:10 AM

Hi everyone! So, I’m planning to get a professional email (yes, I know… finally! lol) and I was wondering what’s a good and easy to learn email hosting service? I’m looking at Google Workspace but I’m open to other suggestions… Thanks!

For more info: This is just for me, not a team. At least for now. Also, I don’t have plans of getting a website yet but might do… A landing page, soon.

#general - November 27, 2023 at 08:54 AM

@Rashi Jaitly I love that idiom of sailing the boat where it floats! Thanks! Yes, my agency is still at its earliest stages and growing slowly. And now I feel less terrible about switching. I think I can be too rigid sometimes.

#general - November 26, 2023 at 02:31 PM

This is a bit all over the place but, I own a very small content agency and my goal is to provide content services to DTC and ecomm businesses. The main reason I built this agency was because I’ve worked with a few DTC brands before and saw how much they needed blog content and that they actually want to invest in it. It’s just that they cannot invest in a whole team. So I decided to create a done-for-you agency.

However, 90% of my working with brands is with SaaS brands. I have more connections there, I know the ins and outs of it, and I feel like they may be able to afford my agency’s rates more than DTC brands (rate starts at $3,700)

Here’s the question: Am I betraying myself if I decide to serve SaaS brands instead of sticking with DTC / e-comm brands? Am I betraying the business-owner in me for not sticking to what I said or who I said the main target clients of my agency would be?

I’d really like this agency to grow but I am honestly struggling with building connections in the DTC world. But whenever I look at the SaaS industry I feel like I’m betraying a part of me. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks! :)

#freelance-gigs - September 14, 2023 at 09:09 AM

Hi everyone… A friend of mine currently has a 9-5 gig as a senior director of integrated marketing. He’s looking to expand his career and was wondering if he can chat with coaches and consultants who mainly serve freelancers and creative entrepreneurs, as well as folks in the corporate world. I’m in a freelance writing world so I don’t have much connection. I was wondering if anyone here would be willing to chat with him for maybe 30mins and help him a little?

#freelance-gigs - August 24, 2023 at 05:15 PM

Thank you! I’ll check those two! 🙂

#freelance-gigs - August 24, 2023 at 01:35 PM

Thanks so much, @Alli Berry Do you have any idea where I can find similar clients like this one? Are there Slack groups for them?

#freelance-gigs - August 23, 2023 at 04:14 PM

Hey everyone! I recently came across someone who has a blog and publishes their blog posts on sites like MSN too. I don’t think this is a content mill but the demand for work is good so I’m planning to say yes. Questions:

1. What exactly is this type of business called? Since I don’t think they’re called content mills. Or, are they?
2. Where can I find more potential clients like this? Here’s one similar blog https://www.dividendpower.org/ So basically, they have that then they publish their posts on MSN with links that’ll redirect back to their website.

#freelance-gigs - August 13, 2023 at 04:03 PM

Hi, before posting I’d like to ask, are we allowed to post cold emails here and ask for feedback? Or is it better to DM certain people? Thanks!

#freelance-gigs - August 02, 2023 at 07:13 PM

Hi @Jessica McKeil just sent you a msg.

#freelance-gigs - August 02, 2023 at 06:38 PM

Ah, gotcha! Thanks so much, Jen. 🙂

#freelance-gigs - August 02, 2023 at 04:47 PM

When you say focus on small companies, do you mean companies in the digital space or product-based companies? My friend and I have worked in both and we’re also not sure if SaaS brands would be interested in us 👀

#freelance-gigs - August 02, 2023 at 04:20 PM

@Jen Phillips April thanks so much for that! To answer your questions:

Our price points are aligned, yes. She’s been wanting to grow her business and increase her rates because after 6.5 years, she’s never done that (I know)

We plan on targeting B2B and SaaS businesses but I’m not 100% sure that these businesses are looking for that graphics+word content team. Or maybe I’m not looking harder?

For my friend’s clients, they have writers doing their content so all she does is graphics. Same in my case—the brands I work with have folks doing the graphics.

Do you want to position it an all in one site hitting all the best SEO practices? - YES!! 🙂

There’s a lot we need to work on, but our biggest question is where do we find these potential businesses and how do we reach out? Would cold emailing still work?

#freelance-gigs - August 02, 2023 at 03:42 PM

Seeking Collaboration Guidance

Hey everyone! My freelancer friends and I are looking into collaborating and becoming a one-top-shop type of business. But, we have a lot of questions...

I’m a creative content writer and I mainly reach out to clients through cold emails. Usually, I work with big brands like Shutterstock, Zapier, etc.

My friend is a web developer and graphics designer who works with smaller clients and has been doing it for over 5 years now. They usually get their clients through job boards.

Our plan is to build a business targeting brands that need graphics and content services. We can build your entire blog for you (versus me as a writer contributing articles) and we can build websites (versus my friend simply contributing graphics for certain parts of the website)

Here come the tricky parts:
1. How do we reach out and present this idea to our target clients?
2. Where do we find the types of businesses that need these services, as I’m not sure job boards or cold email would do the trick. Or will they?
Thanks so much! Tips and advice greatly appreciated.

#content-collab - September 09, 2022 at 03:03 AM

For an article: what’s one thing every freelancer should know about building a freelance business from the ground up?

Looking for less-popular tips/advice. Would love to quote folks from here so comment or DM please. Thank you!!

(Also, I’ve already spoken to a bunch of writers so it’d be great to have VAs, web developers, graphic designers, etc in this article too!)

#content-collab - June 13, 2022 at 04:14 PM

Oh, you’re right. But yeah, my answer to why I like short-form is bc I usually follow brands and I’d rather read shorter blog posts from them bc I already consume their socmed content too. Long posts feel too much for me, in that case.

#content-collab - June 13, 2022 at 04:03 PM

We replied on each other’s post lol

not wanting/needing to attend online team building and forced fun activities - can you expand on this?

#content-collab - June 13, 2022 at 04:02 PM

It depends on the type of content. If it has some good storytelling in it (say more of a journalistic piece) I’m totally okay with longer pieces. But with blog posts a.k.a. the type of content most brands publish, I think it’s bc I already consume so much from them, especially if I follow them on socmed. So when I check out a blog post from them and it’s too long, I have this “oh they’ll repurpose that into shorter IG posts, I’ll just be on the look out for those” thought…

I dunno if this helps.

#content-collab - June 13, 2022 at 03:58 PM

Hi!! I’m working on a piece about the challenges most remote workers face and aside from the usual internet problems, timezone differences, and difficulty shutting off our “work mode” what else would y’all add? If anybody wants to contribute and be quoted for this, let me know. The article is for Wethos. Thanks!!

#pets - June 02, 2022 at 04:32 PM

Thursdays…

#content-collab - June 02, 2022 at 04:29 PM

Hey @Narmina Balabayli this is right up my alley! Can I ask what the rates are? Thanks!

#freelance-gigs - May 12, 2022 at 03:50 PM

Ah, thanks!

#freelance-gigs - May 11, 2022 at 04:25 PM

@Sam Grover Does this mean you send a follow up on Day 2 and Day 7?

#freelance-gigs - May 08, 2022 at 09:20 AM

Thanks Amna! :)

#freelance-gigs - May 07, 2022 at 04:59 PM

@Amna Aslam do you batch create the content you share or you just spend 30mins there to interact and engage with people?

#freelance-gigs - May 07, 2022 at 03:32 PM

Okay, so I’m ready to dive deeper into this building your personal brand thing because I’m starting to realize how important it is. Question is, how much time per day or per week do you spend on social media to build your personal brand?

#general - May 07, 2022 at 03:30 PM

@Gabriel Onyango the rate went from $500, which is my usual starting rate, to $300.

#freelance-gigs - May 05, 2022 at 08:12 AM

@Jimmy Daly (Superpath) gotcha! Next time.

#freelance-gigs - May 04, 2022 at 05:43 PM

Hi everyone! Can I share this here? @Jimmy Daly (Superpath) please let me know if you need me to move this to another channel. 🙂

Anyway, this piece is finally out and I’m super stoked because I got to interview two folks from here, @Akansha Rukhaiyar and @Hailey Hudson!! It’s pieces like this that I’m reminded why I love what I do. Happy Thursday, folks!

https://blog.wethos.co/freelancing-is-a-legit-career-goal-for-young-people/

#general - May 03, 2022 at 06:57 PM

@Sara Gates I hope so too!! Thanks so much, Sara! 🙂

#general - May 03, 2022 at 06:52 PM

@Sara Gates I really needed this gig so I said yes. It really just feels weird that the founder was okay with my rate and now the director of marketing isn’t. She says it’s because she has a limited budget but she knows I was working directly with the founder on that first piece and she knows how much I got paid for it too.

#general - May 03, 2022 at 06:42 PM

Question about rates: I did a trial post for this B2B business and they paid my rate. We were both happy and decided to move forward. I was speaking to the founder this whole time and when we decided to make it a regular thing, she introduced me to the director of marketing, who is now my point person. However, during the talks (rates, number of blog posts per month) their offer went $200 down.

Is this a normal thing for trials to be paid higher than regular work? Because this is the first this has ever happened to me. Not sure if it’s a thing or what…

#freelance-gigs - May 03, 2022 at 05:52 PM

Thanks!! 🙂

#freelance-gigs - April 28, 2022 at 05:25 PM

Question to those who cold pitch brands… Do you send your cold emails on Fridays? I’m usually a Wednesday to Thursday kind of person but it’s Friday and I’m kinda productive today haha

#freelance-gigs - April 28, 2022 at 05:07 PM

Hey David, this is right up my alley! Just sent you a msg.

#freelance-gigs - April 27, 2022 at 10:56 AM

Saw you posted this on Twitter too and I filled out the form yesterday! 🙂

#content-collab - April 26, 2022 at 05:56 PM

Have a set of questions ready. Make sure the skeleton of your article is there for you to see, even during the interview. BUT, always give your subject enough space to tell their story. If this means letting them change your story idea/story structure a bit, that’s totally okay!

I started as a journalist and even now as a brand content writer, I still do a lot of interview pieces. They’ve my fave. And I wish what I just told you learned earlier in my career.

#general - April 26, 2022 at 02:18 PM

Ah, thanks!! Definitely something to consider. :)

#general - April 26, 2022 at 01:19 PM

@Funmi how would you word that in the contract?

#general - April 26, 2022 at 12:56 PM

@Funmi that’s also what I’m thinking. But I’m trying to avoid unwanted scenarios like them disappearing on me on month 2 when they agreed to work with me for 1 quarter, if that makes sense…