So you want to be a freelance writer. It’s a great job that comes with great perks: working from anywhere in the world, setting your own hours, no commuting, financial independence and more.

But to be successful, you need to know what your potential clients want in a freelance writer. As a Content Manager, I’ve tested dozens of writers; the ones I keep on our payroll are the ones that do the following attributes.

1. Be Reliable

The number one trait I look for in a writer is reliability. …

I was asked the other day, “When did you suddenly become a feminist?”

The question took me by surprise as I’ve never been quiet about the fact that I believe in gender equality and women’s rights.

It did, however, make me think about all the events in my life that went into making me a feminist.

But there’s hope. You can learn a lot about yourself and life after a crappy event. Here’s what I learned when I got laid off without notice on a Thursday morning.

The Rollercoaster of Emotion

If you’ve ever been laid off, you can probably remember it in vivid detail. The initial confusion turning into an instant spike in adrenaline and then straight into horror.

I was asked to step into a conference room for a quick chat. Turns out it was a quick chat to tell me that the company was doing layoffs across the country (we were consultants and worked on-site at our…

When you’re looking for a music video or a how to do something video, you probably jump on YouTube. But have you ever thought of using YouTube to learn more about content marketing?

YouTube has a surprisingly amount of quality videos that cover content marketing, including ones by powerhouses like CMI, Neil Patel and GaryVee. But don’t dismiss lesser-known names — they have some great videos, too.

Below I talk about eight of my favorite videos on content marketing and what they cover. Let’s get started!

What Does Content Marketing Look Like in 2019 — Neil Patel

This is a great, short (running just under six minutes) by Neil Patel…

Are you tired of hearing that your company has to use content marketing in order to succeed? It’s a term being thrown around a lot in the marketing world, but a lot of people aren’t buying into the idea that content marketing is the end-all-be-all yet.

But you should.

Content marketing can take your business to the next level by getting more people on your site and interacting with your brand. Don’t just take my word for it though: Check out these statistics that will show you exactly how important content marketing is to your company.

And What You Should Take Away From Them

While content marketing is still a relatively new industry, there are still plenty of experts who either helped pioneer the industry or who saw the incredible benefits of CM and jumped on the bandwagon right away.

These people are a font of wisdom—if you are willing to listen. Let’s break down what they have to say.

What separates good content from great content is a willingness to take risks and push the envelope.

– Brian Halligan, CEO & Co-founder, HubSpot

This is true of most everything in life, including content marketing. If you just write the same type of content in the same format and style you always have, your audience will eventually get bored, no matter…

As content marketing becomes more and more popular in the marketing world, it’s being touted as a cure-all. And while it’s true that content is critical in helping businesses not only widen their audience but build trust and engagement with their current audience, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine.

Let’s take about the dark side of content marketing — the things you don’t want to hear but need to.

1. It doesn’t work overnight.

It takes time for your content to build momentum. Posting one blog won’t radically change your business. You need to develop a catalog of content, consistently, to start seeing real results…

In order to successfully sell to your customers, you need to know who your customers are. We recently talked about the importance of the buyer’s journey, or the progression of a potential customer through a framework that ends with, ideally, a sale.

But to get the buyer through this journey and purchasing your product, you need to understand who they are and what’s important to them. The more you know about your ideal buyer and what kind of information they need to make a purchase, the more personalized your content can be.

WHY YOU WANT TO CREATE BUYER PERSONAS

As an example, Small Business Trends reports that…