Hey, ProWriter!

Today is Food Day in the United States, and no, I didn’t make that up.

Sounds silly, right? Do we really need a day to commemorate a totally mundane thing that we all need to do, uh, every day?

But today isn’t a day for going ham on a chocolate cake like that kid from Matilda.

Food Day was launched in the mid-70s as an Earth Day-esque observation to reflect on challenges related to how Americans consume food, from poverty and hunger to nutrition and health issues.

So if you eat food today, all we can say is: eat responsibly.

If you’re craving more career-focused sustenance, here’s what’s on the menu:

• How do you stand out when 1,000 people applied for the same gig?

• We’ve got a juicy AI section this week. Must read. Not kidding.

• Why we call this week’s influencer the Tony Robbins of sales copy.

• What the heck are you working for, anyway? 🤔

• Lots of finance-focused gigs this week, some paying $100/h!

Let’s do it!

- Dave and Dusten

#ProWriterTips 💡

Always, always, always apply IF…

Last week’s ProWriter Tip warned desperate job seekers to avoid the “spray and pray” technique of applying for every single job you see hoping for a hit.

But the reality is, a lot of writers do exactly that.

And at some jobs boards (particularly LinkedIn), you can actually see how many people are doing exactly that:

Here’s the problem — what do you do if you happen upon a gig like this, and you are actually extremely qualified for it?

This isn’t just a job you want, it’s a job you have experience doing. It’s in a niche that you have a proven track record in.

But over 1,000 people have already applied. 😭

Did you miss your shot?

Nope. Apply anyway.

Hear me out! 🔊

You would think that applying for a gig 1,000 people have put in for is a waste of your valuable time. And it’s not unreasonable to think that.

Heck, even Dusten, a guy who hires writers, thought that until very recently.

Here’s what he said at our pitch meeting when this topic came up:

“There’s this idea I always run into with writers that if a job post has been live for a few weeks, or you can see that a bunch of people have already applied for it, that it’s just too late to apply and be noticed. 

But the truth is, most people who apply for a job, any job, are completely unqualified. 

I've talked to a lot of recruiters lately about this, and they've told me that every employer has their own method for sorting through applications -- some use software programs to screen for specific keywords, others form committees for a more manual search. 

But unqualified applications always end up in the recycling bin. 

What’s left, even out of 1,000 applications, is a handful of qualified applicants. 

So if you’re really qualified, you should always apply. You might not get the job, but your application won’t go unnoticed.”

Again, remember that your job search should be targeted. It might be harder to stand out if you’re just starting out (something we’ll address in future issues).

But if you are genuinely qualified, always apply.

It doesn’t mean you will always get the job, but you don’t have to worry as much as you think about not being seen.

Stuck in the jobs board grind? We’re going to be sharing tactics for developing client relationships in the coming months. Stay tuned.

Want to check out all of our Writer Tips for free?

📺🎙️A word from our sponsor📲🤑

Pop quiz: How can you show a potential employer that you’re a good fit for the gig?

How about a zexy portfolio? 🕺💃🏽

That’s right, ProWriter is our sponsor once again.

ProWriter isn’t just a newsletter. It’s an entire resource for helping freelance writers launch their writing careers.

When you become a ProWriter member, you get:

✔️ A free portfolio to highlight your hard-earned skills and experience

✔️ Workshops, courses, and other resources to improve your skills

✔️ Access to a community of peers and coaches to help you succeed

Ready to grow your writing career?

Eye on AI 🤖

In this section, we bring you the top stories about AI that actually affect you. Mostly so you can stay informed, but also, worry less.

ProWriter attended a big ‘AI in marketing’ event. Here’s what we learned.

As subscribers well know, a big part of what makes the ProWriter newsletter special is that its authors are content marketing agency owners (i.e., the kinds of people who work with people who hire you, and sometimes, hire you themselves).

So in addition to resources and career tips, we also like to provide freelance writers with insider knowledge on what’s going on at the high level in their industry.

Especially with evolving and contentious topics like AI.

Dusten participated in an AI Summit last week, which brought together marketers at big brands for a series of workshops on how AI is being used in marketing right now.

We talked about how AI tools can be used in content creation workflows, whether or not the tech would “stick” long term, and yes, even what to do with writers.

Here are some of the big takeaways:

• Yes, things are pretty ‘extra’ right now. This was a sentiment expressed by Dr. Lisa Palmer, an AI business strategist and advisor to tech firms. She characterized AI as a “tidal wave,” and said that like any new technology, it will ebb and flow. Right now, we’re in an era of “high hype,” so if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, so is everyone else. It’s definitely not just you.

• AI is here to stay. That said, Dr. Palmer and others do think that the technology is a permanent fixture from here on out, even if we don’t know exactly what that looks like yet. Others in the various workshops cited workflow benefits that are simply too large to ignore, even if they’re getting bogged down right now vetting “the new AI tool everyone is talking about.” Annemaria Nicholson, Operations Manager, AI & Content at Salesforce, said we’re in a “space race” of AI tools. There are no clear winners yet, but there is definitely a lot of interest and a lot of testing going on at big brands.

• Serious benefits, serious concerns. The biggest benefit most marketers cited, by a mile, was time savings. The potential to 10x content and streamline clunky marketing workflows is definitely there. But one major drawback preventing full adoption is trust. Many of the tools being tested have inherent cybersecurity risks that aren’t totally resolved yet. As well, marketers are still worried about the accuracy of the content being produced. For this and other nuanced reasons, some marketers expressed challenges in implementing AI tools outside of safe testing environments (i.e., really using AI for real in their workflows).

And writers?

While many writers are worried about being replaced by tools like ChatGPT and Jasper, which can pump out 1,000 blog posts in the time it takes a freelance writer to tweet “screw AI!”, most of the marketers who work with writers did not seem keen to replace them.

The time savings cited by marketers seemed to mostly apply to work that was falling on their desks due to overworked agency partners unable to take on new tasks in a reasonable timeframe.

Jessica Hreha, Head of Global Integrated Campaigns & Content Strategy at VMWare, specifically called out the continuing value of real human writers, though she did note that writers will need to understand AI tools and be able to integrate with them.

How? Noah Kravitz of NVIDIA recommended using AI tools as brainstorming buddies, or to summarize the highlights of complex content, as a couple of ways writers and other content creators can experiment with them.

Here’s the upshot for writers and content creators:

Start experimenting with some of the top tools you keep hearing about.

You don’t need to become an expert, but if your employers are asking you about these tools, it sounds like it will help to have some familiarity with them.

Not sure where to begin? “Pick one thing,” said Dr. Palmer. Pick the most annoying thing about writing (some of the tasks Noah mentioned above would definitely qualify for us) and see if an AI tool can help you streamline it.

And, it sounds like there is a major opportunity for freelance writers to establish relationships with big brands right now.

Internal marketing departments are swamped with work, and their agency partners are too busy to help them out.

Swing in and take some of those writing tasks off the desks of the marketing managers at the brands you’re pitching. It sounds like they are desperate for some relief.

Other headlines:

• Last week’s ProWriter Newsletter painted a rosy picture of marketers adopting AI tech. This week, a new survey finds that 70% of marketers are feeling pretty overwhelmed by AI’s effect on the industry. The main problems? Too many new tools and nobody knows how to actually use them.

• But it’s only going to get worse as the new businesses in many VC portfolios are increasingly AI-focused. Y Combinator’s latest cohort is about half AI-related startups, while Peak XV’s is well over 70%.

And while it’s still not entirely clear what effect AI will have on our jobs, there is one small thing we can apparently stop worrying about: the end of the world.

Permission to chill comes from Yann LeCun, an AI scientist often considered the “godfather” of AI.

He says that more intelligence doesn’t necessarily indicate a desire to dominate, pointing out that some of the smartest people who ever lived (like Albert Einstein) tended to die without having amassed great riches or become evil, despotic leaders of entire countries.

(Looking at your own political leaders these days, you might be inclined to agree.)

Additionally, he points out that AI models don’t even understand the world they’re a part of, which would make it difficult to take it over.

"[the AI] just do not understand how the world works," LeCun said in an interview. "They're not capable of planning. They're not capable of real reasoning.”

What’s more, we human meat socks often underestimate our own, unique abilities:

"We do not have completely autonomous, self-driving cars that can train themselves to drive in about 20 hours of practice, something a 17-year-old can do," he noted.

Of course, if the robots have already gotten to him, this is exactly the kind of thing they’d make him say.

But you can read unpaywalled snippets from his interview here and decide for yourself.

100 content people you should be following 🤝

We made a big list of the most successful and influential voices in marketing.

The main thing they have in common? They post free content advice that will make you a better writer.

This week, here’s who we think you should follow + connect with on LinkedIn: 

#96 Devin Reed

Devin is a content marketing strategist and Head of Content at Clari. He has worked in various content and advisory roles for recognizable software companies, most notably, the revenue intelligence platform Gong.

Here’s why we think he earns a follow:

1. He’ll up your conversion copywriting game

Devin started his career in sales, so everything he has to say about content is informed by that experience.

This means that if you want to be the kind of writer whose work nudges people to actually, like, do stuff (click buttons, subscribe, download, purchase, etc. etc.), then Devin is your Tony Robbins.

Even if sales pages and ad copy aren’t your bag, the kinds of tactics Devin shares can make any writer’s toolkit more robust, and their copy more engaging.

2. He has one of the best newsletters on LinkedIn

If you’re still having trouble with your social game on LinkedIn and want to dip your toe in another way, Devin has a fantastic monthly newsletter enjoyed by 30,000+ subscribers called The Reeder.

You’ll get more copywriting and conversion tips here, but also, more in-depth stuff on things like content strategy and personal branding, both important for writers at any level.

You’ll also get discounts and first looks at ebooks and courses Devin is rolling out.

On that note (and this is a free plug, Devin is not paying us), if you can get your hands on his playbook, Content that Converts, do it. It is just full of good stuff.

In the meantime:

👉 Connect with Devin on LinkedIn

Makes you think 🤔

What’s your endgame?

We have one final thought to leave you with this week, and this time, it’s a quick one.

How will you know when you’ve “made it” as a writer?

I’m sure you’ve seen freelance writing gurus making promises about six-figure incomes, or working from some beach bungalow in the Maldives.

But here’s a newsflash: everyone in every profession wants more money.

That’s not what we mean when we ask what your endgame is.

Sure, maybe right now, you’re at a tough point in your career where money is the only part you can think about.

We get it. It happens to all of us. I promise.

But you still need a sense of something to work towards. That’s the endgame.

So, what is it?

What’s the ultimate destination for your writing career?

• Do you want to become a creative director at a big agency, calling the shots for an entire content operation?

• Do you want to become a successful freelance writer who others look up to? Who creates courses and programs to help other writers become professionals?

• Do you have a novel, or a screenplay you’re trying to write?

What’s the endgame?

Again, maybe you’re too heads down trying to get paying gigs to worry about this stuff right now.

But here’s why it’s important. Here’s why you should still be taking careful steps in your career toward some sort of goal.

Because you can get stuck in a rut of chasing low-pay gigs that never help you grow, and never teach you the valuable skills that employers will pay big (or at least decent) bucks for.

And if you do get stuck there, burnout is next.

What started out as a fun, creative career working from home leaves you disillusioned and cynical.

Everyone’s gotta do what they gotta do sometimes to keep the bills paid.

But even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard, you need to remember your goal — your endgame — and make sure you made some progress toward it each month, each week, each day.

You’ve got this. 💪

📱 Share your goals with us! Tweet us @ProWriterHQ with the hashtag #myendgame

Top Freelance Writing Jobs 💼 

1. Seer Interactive is looking for a U.S.-based finance writer for a cool $70-$100/h. Apply on LinkedIn.

2. If that one doesn’t hit for you finance heads, Motley Fool is also looking for writers for $100/h. Apply here.

3. Science writer? New Scientist is open for pitches. $1CPW if you get the gig. Learn more here.

4. Motion Recruitment is looking for a web copywriter for a software client. $40-$52/h. Apply here.

5. If whitepapers about logistics are your thing, FreightWaves is looking for a content marketing freelance writer. Apply here.

6. Retirement Living is looking for a senior healthcare writer for about $40/h. Apply here.

7. bohan Advertising is looking for a Content & Product Copywriter to help them with a raft of pretty typical digital copywriting duties. Apply on LinkedIn.

8. Venture 4th Media is looking for a healthcare tech writer to help a client with ghostwritten LinkedIn posts. Apply here.

9. IFG is looking for an email copywriter for a newsletter that is read by 30,000 startup founders. Apply here.

10. L2TMedia is looking for remote automotive blog writers. Apply here.

Don’t forget — all the jobs we post here are remote and we privilege gigs with transparent pay.

A handful come from our personal networks and aren’t on any jobs boards… yet. So get on ‘em.

Wait! One more thing… 📣

One last reminder that we are still taking your questions over here at the ProWriter newsroom!

We’re looking for topics to cover in future newsletters, and we figured, why not just ask our 10,000 subscribers to tell us the topics they want to hear our take on?

You can reply directly to this email with your questions.

So far, we’ve been getting stuff like:

• How do I transition into a different niche with no experience?

• Do courses really help you learn freelance writing?

• How do I address my inexperience with a client if I’m just starting out?

The more niche your question, the better!

Remember what your grade school teacher always said — if you have a question, a bunch of other people probably have that same question, but are too shy to ask.

So, ask!

Thanks for reading, ProWriters!

Let’s have a great week.

Dave & Dusten

P.S. Want to look smart to all your friends? Forward them this newsletter.

If you’re that friend, subscribe to The ProWriter Newsletter here.

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Until next week, see you on Twitter and LinkedIn.