New Content Marketing Opportunities Are Emerging For Freelance Writers

by Gary McLaren

There is a popular expression, "When one door closes, another one opens." If you are having difficulty securing freelance assignments for magazines then maybe you should consider offering your professional writing services to those who are involved in content marketing. What? You don't know what content marketing is? It's time you knew because this a job "tailor-made" for professional writers.

Now I know that the 'door' to freelance writing for magazines hasn't really closed but let's be honest, over recent years it has been a tough market in which to compete. Many magazines have folded and many more are struggling to generate decent revenue. This is reflected in the rates paid to freelancers. When did you last see a magazine raising the fees they pay to freelancers in line with inflation? It does happen, but it is very rare.

You could blame the digital publishing revolution for this state of affairs. But stay with me because you will discover that the digital publishing is also opening some new doors for freelance writers. One of these opportunities is content marketing.

The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) defines content marketing as "the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty."

This type of marketing is not only for businesses and online marketers. How many of you recognized the similarity to what we recommend for authors when building an author platform? The way to become a bestselling author with a strong platform is not to keep messaging "Buy my book", "Buy my book". An author needs to engage with his or her readers with conversation and interesting content.

As CMI explains, consumers today are inundated with so many traditional advertising messages that they tend to shut them all out. They record television so they can play it back without the ads; they pay less attention to magazine advertising; and they are experts at reading web pages without even noticing the banners and Google ads.

What does work is delivering content that is interesting and helpful and which engages the audience. And this is where it gets interesting. The content marketing world has one very big problem and it's hurting them, right from the biggest companies down to the smallest enterprises. Can you guess what the problem is?

Creating good content.

In their B2B Marketing Trends Survey 2012 Report the company Curata identified two major content marketing challenges facing B2B (Business to Business) marketers. The biggest challenge is creating original content, and the second is finding sufficient time to craft copy.

CMI’s own report, B2B Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends, reflects the same difficulties explaining that "...producing enough content is now the biggest challenge across B2B marketers, at 64 percent, as compared to producing the kind of content that engages..."

One trend to watch is the percentage of the markets who outsource content creation. In CMI's survey the percentage who outsource was 44% in 2012, down from 58% in 2011. Although there was decrease that 44% still represents a large number of opportunities for professional writers.

The survey also found that on average B2B marketers spent 33% of their marketing budgets on content marketing, up from 26% the year before. More than half indicated they would increase their spend on content marketing in the next year.

It's not only B2B content marketers who need help, it's also B2C (Business to Consumer) marketers.  This November 2012 B2C report from CMI reveals that the main difficulties faced are very similar to those in the B2B sector... but they also have a lack of budget so finding clients may be a little tougher!

How to Get Started in Content Marketing

Do you match what organizations look for in a professional writer? The organizations who hire writers for content marketing need professionals who:

• Are trustworthy and reliable.
• Are able to work to a schedule and meet deadlines every time.
• Seek to understand the client's social media objectives.
• Can deliver content that matches the client's voice.
• Understands there are different customer "personas" and writes appropriately for each group.

One of the first steps to working with content marketers is putting together a portfolio of content that you have created. Prospective clients will look closely at your writing ability and style. If you already have a blog of your own, chances are you have some great content to draw from.

Identify and build a list of potential companies and online businesses to approach. If you have never tried to sell your professional writing services outside of magazines before, I recommend that you check out the bestselling book The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman. Apply his techniques to your prospective content marketing clients, keeping in mind that the book was written a decade or so ago before digital and social media exploded around us.

Further Reading on Content Marketing

Content Marketing Research
What Type of Content Can I Create?
Inbound Marketing Articles at HubSpot
Content Marketing: Think Like a Publisher (book at Amazon)

Have you tried writing for content marketers? Do you have some experiences to share, either good or bad? Any tips for other writers? I welcome your comments and insights on this topic.

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