Ann Storr

#general - January 20, 2025 at 01:28 PM

I had no idea this was an option! Thanks all.

#general - January 19, 2025 at 10:48 AM

Before and after: aside from screengrabs, how do people capture 'before' images of client sites? I'm changing up some of my case studies, and I need to show the transformation. I'm mindful that the screengrabs aren't always capturing the best quality images.

#freelance-talk - December 04, 2024 at 10:09 PM

In the UK, it could put the freelancer or company at risk of IR35 penalties (a 7th circle of hell). Again, it's a nasty grey area, whatever the country.

#freelance-gigs - November 19, 2024 at 01:55 PM

@Eric Doty (Superpath) OP's says that pricing "will be shared privately". Sounds as though that's against community guideliens.

#freelance-talk - November 17, 2024 at 05:58 PM

Hey all!

We all know that Tone of Voice document are a treasure. But, as a freelancer, it's rare that I get one! When clients don't have one (or when I'm briefed to create one), I ask people about their professional crushes. This helps me get nearer.

What other tactics do people use to get closer to a voice, when there is definitely no Tone of Voice?

#general - November 17, 2024 at 04:33 PM

LinkedIn posting/articles...

I've just seen someone write a LinkedIn articles with shownotes. Feels like a good discoverability tactic. Does anyone have ideas about whether this is a good tactic as part of of a LinkedIn ABM strategy?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/data-literacy-business-acumen-ld-podcast-episode-16-jess-almlie-m-s--hgtpc/?trackingId=RSXGkAkgRU%2BjKoDc7Exb0A%3D%3D

#freelance-talk - October 04, 2024 at 06:53 AM

Could you ask to edit say 4 as a paid piece of work, and then work out your timing? One blog would be insufficient to get a sense of your rate in flow/an average of the pieces. That way, everyone gets a reasonable estimate.

#general - October 04, 2024 at 06:48 AM

Linguistics and language learning: what podcasts and newsletters do Superpathers love?

#content-collab - October 03, 2024 at 08:35 PM

I'd love to contribute

#general - October 02, 2024 at 02:49 PM

I'm writing LinkedIn posts for a legacy brand. They've asked me to write their home page, as they like my style.

Myself and Marketing have agreed a voice (there isn't really a tone of voice, that's another story).

Yesterday, I gave Marketing three options of H1/Sub/H2/Sub, all based on insight, my knowledge of the market, customer pains etc.

We send it to Product Marketing and they've sent a general "this is jargon". My copy is not jargon! I talk about some of the product features, and benefits, but, say, "Where [our USP] meets efficiency." How is that jargon? (I'm not saying it's a perfect line)

For example, this is 'good' copy for the sub-head on a major product page, from their perspective: "Support the capacity of your managers to understand the dynamics of their team and promote healthy cooperation."

That's not a terrible sentence, but it's not your major sub after an H1.

People often book me to radically reduce jargon and padding, but that can be uncomfortable.

How do I navigate this? I don't have prior experience with corporate structures (my clients are usually SMEs and startups/scaleups)

These people are informing, not deciding. How do I avoid death be committee?

#general - October 02, 2024 at 02:47 PM

Stakeholder management advice please!

#freelance-talk - September 29, 2024 at 12:15 PM

Thinking about it, I used to host cooking classes for a CSA style business. The classes were conceived as 'teach people to cook with our product, talk it up and they'll love it so much that they'll be dying to be subscription customers!'

Conversion rates were pitiful. In about 18 months of doing these classes, people just got pissed off. They'd bought into a cooking class, NOT a sales pitch (but when we did Tupperware style events, we got loads of sign-ups, as guests knew that it was a free lunch with a sales pitch).

The business had woeful NPS in London, and should have used classes to build awareness. They were scrapped as were a time and money suck.

#general - September 26, 2024 at 07:33 AM

I'm based in the UK, so it might be different, but clients who want to micromanage into half-hour chunks are the worst (just fired one!)

#general - September 26, 2024 at 07:33 AM

I bill by project rate, but I work that out via my hourly rate. I'd love to move to a value-based model.

#freelance-talk - September 23, 2024 at 01:43 PM

Been talking about this with a UK based bunch of senior strategists. Definitely a move to productise offerings to differentiate offerings/revenue streams.

#freelance-gigs - September 23, 2024 at 01:27 PM

@Sally Tunmer can I share this on social?

#general - September 19, 2024 at 02:56 PM

Hey Clark, indeed - I've been learning about the product (more deeply than my digital marketing connection was anticipating), and I've worked for their polar opposite — that's how I've learned about the gaps. I've been talking with my connections about the market generally, not specifically my client's product, which is helping me to learn where they fit in.

#general - September 19, 2024 at 02:53 PM

Yes

#general - September 18, 2024 at 03:27 PM

Thanks Yonit, good catch!

#general - September 18, 2024 at 02:03 PM

Ohh, thanks for the tip. My client says that their programs are bought after scrutiny, and we need to be able to speak to the tech and product parties at purchasing level, communicate all the tech related to the company (their position on AI, their processes, etc)

#freelance-talk - September 18, 2024 at 11:29 AM

I wish companies offered freelancer rates for, well, all B2B purchases! It's a lot different to find $400/£350 of your own money, than ask a manager to take it out of a central pot.

#general - September 18, 2024 at 11:28 AM

People who deliver Tone of Voice projects: how long do you 'budget' for concepting? I fear that I'm woefully under-costing, which ends up taking longer over the job, so costing me money.
I'm self-taught, so I've only just learned this word.

#general - September 18, 2024 at 09:32 AM

Good questions all...

1. No, @Yonit: it's an existing product that is being improved
2. The product is part of an overall learning offering; but I don't know how to answer that, so I'll learn that, thanks for the prompt @Ben Ellis
3. @Rosie: I've asked, and I'm waiting for the answer. She already has a good audience (>4K) so it might be as simple as that.

#general - September 17, 2024 at 12:22 PM

Hi all. I'm ghostwriting LinkedIn content for a corporate client. I've been asked to create a third profile, for their VP of Product. But. Their product has been under-invested in (they know this) and isn't the strongest part of their offering (they're in an industry that is alllll over genAI. They aren't using genAI).

I know that they won't listen to reason ("Hey, why not leave product for a year until you've been able to hire more"). How might people here position a thought leader when their product isn't an industry leading product?

#freelance-talk - September 16, 2024 at 07:07 AM

As Amanda says, budget are tighter, there are more people freelancing due to agency shrinkages. I'm noticing more work around in the UK, but nothing chunky (e.g., small jobs, not longer-term engagements).

#freelance-talk - September 16, 2024 at 07:06 AM

I've rarely got work from newsletter gigs; 80% of this year's work is referrals/in bound, from jobs and inperson networking. One other job came via a lead in a small community.

#general - September 16, 2024 at 07:04 AM

Hi Sanjoli - to provide useful help, some more info would be great. For example, why are you wanting to write? What's the purpose (to increase leads? to get yourself known as a commentator, a writer, a content expert?) Is this for you, or a client?

#freelance-talk - September 10, 2024 at 05:53 PM

This is golden, thanks!

#general - September 10, 2024 at 04:38 PM

If you want to generate leads, and you're not worried about one platform owning your contacts/ability to communicate with leads, then LinkedIn is great.

#freelance-talk - September 10, 2024 at 04:35 PM

Read your work out loud! Yes, it's laborious, but it'll find grammar errors quickly. If you can't read a sentence within one breath, a running-reader can't parse it.

And, ask yourself if you're following the pyramid structure; if you're not, adopting this will help you cut word count + increase precision.

#promo - September 05, 2024 at 08:22 AM

Hi Superpathers!

L&D, HR and psych are fascinating sectors; to help us writers keep learning, I'm setting up an informal session, where we can share ideas and learn from each other, so we're providing those new insights our clients love. All times are in BST.

More here

#content-collab - September 04, 2024 at 09:00 AM

It's not my job, but I've written about it a lot/work in the L&D/HR space about best practices, the impact it makes, etc.. Happy to contribute if helpful!

#general - September 03, 2024 at 01:33 PM

If I'm on a project and I have other work I can do, I tend to just crack on with other work - again, unless they are a serial offender.

I track my time (for my knowledge), so I'll still deduct that time (e.g., the 15 mins to get to the computer, review the agenda, prompt them, and sit and wait).

If they keep doing it, that's cause for a proper conversation.

#freelance-talk - September 03, 2024 at 09:19 AM

Ohh thanks!!

#freelance-talk - September 03, 2024 at 08:50 AM

Has anyone here used a business mentor? I'm a good writer, but not great at business. I don't want a coach, I'm not spending thousands on mindset etc. That's all good.
If you did, how did you find your mentor, and what were the results?

#general - August 22, 2024 at 02:05 PM

Bird by Bird, Anne Lmont, and Ted Hughes, Poetry in the Making (it was written in the 1960s for teachers to lead great poetry classes, but it's super useful)

#freelance-talk - August 09, 2024 at 05:29 PM

NDA, yes. But if you want a senior freelancer with industry experience, it's likely they'll have worked with/work with a competitor.

We're only as good as our last jobs and our reputations; if we get known for trading in secrets, we'll be out of business very fast.

#general - July 24, 2024 at 06:59 AM

Hashtags aren't a huge part of LI, but they are useful. e.g., in the UK, we have #CopywritersUnite, which is a nice easy way of finding other writers, joining relaxed events, etc.

#freelance-talk - July 23, 2024 at 05:30 PM

Totally get it. Sometimes a strategy is to get going and learn with each post 🙂

#general - July 23, 2024 at 05:30 PM

yes!

#general - July 23, 2024 at 05:29 PM

Ahh, gotcha! I only have 10 hours per week with them, this could be a good way of maximising ROI.

#general - July 23, 2024 at 05:24 PM

Me again. How do people find the right hashtags for LinkedIn?

#general - July 23, 2024 at 04:56 PM

Both of what Nadine? 🙂

#freelance-talk - July 23, 2024 at 04:07 PM

By "building the rhythm", I mean that, if you're starting from scratch, sometimes unfocussed clients are keen to just get everything working.

#general - July 23, 2024 at 04:06 PM

My job is to get booked meetings; so everything has to ladder up to giving the ICP what they want and need, etc.

#general - July 23, 2024 at 04:05 PM

Maybe some of us could hve a quick chat?

#general - July 23, 2024 at 04:04 PM

They're not execs, they're middle managers :) How does a newsletter add value to ABM @Dusten?
@Brinda Gulati yes, interesting. Does long-form add value to ABM?

#freelance-talk - July 23, 2024 at 03:52 PM

F*ck that!!

#general - July 23, 2024 at 03:51 PM

LinkedIn question: I'm ghostwriting for a new corp. client, doing a lit of content repurposing. Some webinars have really great insights, which are too long for documents/carousels.
Are LinkedIn articles helpful as part of an ABM strategy? or should I chunk the info into a series of posts?

#general - July 23, 2024 at 03:49 PM

@Nadine Heir interesting! I'll try that out and et you know how I get on.