By: Yuwanda Black
If you want to increase your freelance income, find your unique voice. What do I mean by this?
A personal story: About three years ago, I started to market myself as an “conversational” writer. Meaning, my writing connects with readers, not by polished so that it sounds like business speak, but by being conversational in tone, as if the customer were sitting right across the table.
I enjoy this type of writing; it fits my personality. Hence, it flows more easily. And, you know what, my income has increased because of it. I can’t attribute this change to so-called better work, but because it flows easier, I’m able to work faster and with more creative juices flowing.
Sure, I can still do “business speak” pieces. But, I enjoy the conversational, more chatty pieces better because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 40 years on this earth is that people want -- and need -- a human connection. And, this usually occurs in the simplest of ways – a dash of humor here, a universal anecdote there.
Big words, pie charts and spreadsheets all have their place, but people buy – whatever – because a human connection is made, hence, a relationship can be developed.
So, how do you differentiate yourself from all of the other freelance writers who may be smarter, more experienced, better educated, etc.? Your personality. It’s what makes us all unique.
To give a couple of examples, I get sucked into Jenna Glatzer’s articles every time I run across one of them. Her sense of humor is outrageous and she tells you all kinds of quirks about herself on her website. She’s the Editor-in-Chief of absolutewrite.com, a good freelance writer’s resource, by the way.
Darren Rowse over at problogger.net is a bit more reserved online, but his genuineness (eg, trusthworthiness) as a person is very evident throughout his blog.
The last few days, I’ve been wrestling with starting a personal blog. I started thinking about this because a few weeks ago I mentioned on my site (InkwellEditorial.com) that I was running my first marathon in November. Since then, I’ve received personal inquiries (eg, how long have I been a runner, where is the marathon, how old am I, etc.).
So, I started to think, should I start a personal blog? And, if I did, how personal would I want to get. I still haven’t quite figured it out yet, but I know I’m somewhere between Jenna and Darren.
NOTE: I mentioned the marathon because I wanted to explain to readers why I was putting off publishing a promised e-course.
Anyway, my point in this post is, figure out what voice you’re most comfortable with and carve out a niche for yourself doing that type of writing – even if it’s just a small niche. It will pay off simply because you’ll enjoy those types of assignments more.
Now that you know why you should find your unique voice, how do you go about it.
How to Find Your Unique Voice & Capitalize On It
Follow these 3 simple steps to find your unique voice.
1. Assess your sense of humor: OVERALL, is it dry, sarcastic, witty, self-effacing, dark, etc.
2. Ask 3-5 close friends to describe your personality: Sometimes, the way we see ourselves is completely different from how our friends view us.
3. Write freehand: When you're writing just to write -- just for you -- what is the general tone of it?
By doing these three simple exercises, you should be able to get a pretty good idea of the kinds of writing at which you would excel.
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