Hey, ProWriter!

Last week saw the spookiest calendar coincidence of them all… A Friday the 13th in October!

You made it here this morning, so that can only mean that your mirrors are unscathed, you didn’t trip over any black cats, and your good luck is safely intact.

Just… don’t look behind you, okay?

The spine-chilling October Friday the 13th usually happens once every 11 years, but the next couple are coming 6 years apart (pesky Leap Years!).

Still, if you’re the superstitious type, you don’t have to worry about this particular sinister synchronicity again until 2028.

Here’s what we have today for all the Final Girls in attendance:

• We take on a common job-hunting tactic that doesn’t really work 

• How many marketing teams use AI? (And what you can do to stand out)

• This top content marketing voice teaches big lessons in bite-sized posts.

• Waiting for a flow state to get your work done? Try this instead.

• Got some juicy gigs waiting at the bottom, as always!

Let’s do it!

- Dave and Dusten

#ProWriterTips 💡

A job-hunting tactic that guarantees burnout (and what to do instead)

We once got an email that went something like this:

“Dear [NAME], I’m a PROWRITER freelance writer, and I want to pitch you an idea for your blog!”

Now, I’m guessing you can see what happened here.

We got AUTOMATED.

This email is the result of automation software used to mass-pitch a huge list of potential employers in just a few clicks. How does it work, you ask?

You just swap out FIRST NAME and INDUSTRY in a generic script and voila, you can apply for hundreds of jobs in minutes (long as you don’t screw that part up, like this writer did).

I’m sure nobody here would dare do something this spammy. But we’re use this extreme example to make a point about applying for gigs.

When you’re starting out, or you’re in a tight spot after having just lost a client, it can be tempting to apply for every job you see.

After all, getting gigs is just a numbers game. If you send out 100 resumes, you should be able to land at least 1 job, right?

But there are two big problems with this approach:

1. It doesn’t work

2. It burns you out

You might get some attention doing the ‘ol “spray and pray,” but usually, it’s going to come from employers you don’t want to work with.

Employers hiring whoever shows up at the top of their inbox aren’t looking for highly-specialized talent, which means they will devalue your work, and the pay will almost certainly be 💩.

Hardly a stable gig.

The other problem is that spray and pray is a path to burnout. Not just for your job search, but for your career as a freelance writer.

You might be able to get 30 applications out on that first day, and you will feel pretty proud of yourself for that.

But then on day two, there are no emails from employers in your inbox. And you already applied for the low-hanging fruit. the jobs you kinda wanted.

Keep repeating this day after day and you can see how you’ll run out of steam pretty quickly.

You quickly end up spending more time looking for jobs that are less appealing.

So what do you do?

Even though it sounds counter-inuitive, you should spend less time looking for a new gig.

But the time you do spend needs to be highly-targeted.

Spend that Day One Energy making a big list of potential clients, make connections on LinkedIn, and make a plan for reaching out to new contacts with purpose each day.

And here’s the kicker: stick to your niche(s).

Dave said it best when we passed this topic around the ProWriter Slack last week:

“My #1 turnoff is an overly-generalist ‘I can write any assignment’ kind of writer. What that tells me is, you’re just going to try and figure it out as you go, which just never ends well. Even if a writer doesn’t have a ton of experience in their niche, if they can point to something they do well, I will be much more likely to hire that writer than a generalist who says they can do anything.”

If you’re just starting out or still spinning wheels after a few years in the game and need to make a change, don’t waste time applying to every job you see as a generalist.

It feels right, because it opens up every niche and potential gig to you.

But the truth is, it’s a turn-off for employers.

And it’s just going to burn you out.

Figure out what niches you want to work in, get a couple of portfolio pieces that prove you can do it, and then focus on applying for jobs you’re actually qualified for.

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📲🤑

Say, how are you going to show a potential new employer what a big shot you are when you pitch them?

Yep, 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.

More than half of marketers are using AI

A whopping 63% of surveyed marketers say that they’re using AI in some form as part of their duties.

That’s according to Dentsu’s annual media trends report, which you can download in exchange for the typical bits of personal data here.

The efficiency of content production seems to be the main benefit cited. Many marketers are experimenting with use cases in ad optimization, research, image generation, and pretty much everything else you can imagine.

The report takes pains to point out that AI technology faces choppy waters ahead, as both legal and regulatory challenges arise. Marketers seem to be in an experimental phase with the technology, and whatever the final playing field looks like is anybody’s guess.

But a vast majority of their bosses seem to think AI is here to stay. Per the report, 91% of CMOs see AI as the future of marketing, not a trendy flash-in-the-pan.

Other headlines:

• Google Image searches now come with AI enhancement (new search tools, and it will also watermark images that are AI-generated).

• Adobe has also debuted an icon to warn browsers about AI content which they liken to a “nutrition label.”

Lastly, we participated in a closed marketing webinar hosted by the design agency Superside about content strategy in the AI era this week.

One of the big takeaways? The value of SMEs.

The kinds of insights a good SME can provide make content more unique and more valuable to readers.

Why does that matter to you?

Here’s the clincher: AI can’t create SME insights. 

It will try! But it will fail. And no human writer can really Google around for the unique value an SME can provide, either.

This points to something we often say we think every writer should be doing: building professional contacts in their niche so that they can do a quick quote/link swap.

You can start looking for connections on LinkedIn using this list of criteria, or, build relationships using services like HelpaB2BWriter.

Or, you know, both?

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: 

#97 Lashay Lewis

Lashay is a content strategy advisor for growth-stage SaaS startups and is recognized by the LinkedIn community as a Top Content Marketing Voice.

Here’s why we like her:

1. She keeps it short, sweet, and nutritious

Not all LinkedIn thought leadership is created equal (one of our editorial team said that her feed is full of, how did she put it? “Windbaggery.”).

That’s why we like lean content that gets right at the problem and gives you a tactic or strategy you can use now.

Lashay doesn’t waste any time in the wind-up. She gets right to the problem she’s trying to solve, and is crystal-clear in breaking down the solution.

No waxing philosophical, no thinking about loud; just tools to get stuff done.

We love her content because it’s smart, it’s visual, and it’s easy to grok (we have a handful of these posts screen-capped and saved to our swipe files).

2. Her community

Lashay is highly respected by others in the community, including several other entries on our list here (and the founders of the company).

This means not only will you get a lot of value from her posts, you’ll also get value from scrolling down below those posts and following the threads that pop up.

Here’s a good example:

You’ll also find more people to follow, since Lashay has built her page into a salon of smart marketing pros.

If you’re looking for insightful content marketing advice that works, or you simply want to be part of a marketing community where the smart kids are hanging out, you’re going to run into Lashay sooner rather than later.

So don’t waste any more time:

👉 Connect with Lashay on LinkedIn

Makes you think 🤔

How do you get stuff done without ‘flow’?

We all know how good it feels when you find a rhythm.

When you’re in the zone. Focused.

Everything is just clicking. The blog posts, emails, and ebooks are writing themselves.

You look back at your draft, and, what’s this? No edits!

And there are a couple of lines in there that make you go:

This, my friends, is “flow.”

And if you’ve experienced it, you know how intoxicating it is.

But there’s a dark side to flow.

Because everyone hits a wall at some point.

Maybe it’s not the most exciting work, maybe you’re thinking about the weekend, and maybe you’re just bored.

And in those moments, it’s easy to lose a ton of time hoping that “flow” will magically appear to bail you out at the last minute.

But it doesn’t.

And the clock keeps ticking.

And soon, you’re out of time.

You wasted a whole day waiting for flow.

You’re worse off than you were before. You’re still stuck with the boring assignment, and now you need to make up time somehow.

Maybe that means nights and weekends, or maybe it means punting another deadline and disappointing a client.

Either way, it’s a bad place to be.

You don’t want to be there.

But how do you get out of the rut?

What should you do if “flow” won’t show?

Nir Eyal, writer of the best-sellers Hooked and Indistractable, has a simple, practical tip for staying out of that “waiting for flow” zone that kills productivity.

Turn your task into a game.

And here’s the twist — it doesn’t have to be a fun game.

Here’s Eyal:

The next time you have to respond to those dreaded emails or finish a blog post, you might give yourself only 20 minutes and see how much you can do. You don’t have to enjoy it or find a magical state of flow, but you will accomplish much more than you would if you had just let it languish on your to-do list.

Turning it into a game doesn’t need to be all that creative, either.

You can break the task into smaller parts and create rewards for completing the small tasks.

You can simply set a time limit.

You can also change your perspective, what Eyal calls “looking for mystery” in what you’re doing.

But no matter what, don’t wait on “flow.” The second you feel yourself procrastinating, turn your task into a game.

It won’t be perfect, you won’t be as proud of your work as Antonio Banderas up there, but one thing you can count on is this: You’ll get more done than you will waiting for “flow.”

You can read Eyal’s full column at Psychology Today for more ideas.

Top Freelance Writing Jobs 💼 

1. Directive is an agency looking for a SaaS copywriter for $45/h. Apply here.

2. Creative Circle is looking for a senior B2B brand writer for $44+/h. Quick application. Apply on their site.

3. Galorath Incorporated looking for a contract tech/SaaS copywriter who sounds like they’ll be a strong #2 to the VP of Marketing. Apply on site.

4. Forbright Bank is looking for a freelancer who can write about digital banking/fintech. Easy Apply on LinkedIn.

5. Artisan Talent is looking for a contract B2B marketing copywriter for $33/h. Apply on the company site.

6. A short one, but a good one: Russell Tobin is looking for a tech writer for a short-term, 60-hour project. It pays $50/h. Apply on LinkedIn.

7. If you’re ready to call it quits on freelancing, Seeking Alpha is looking for a full-time financial writer. $70-$100k/y. Apply here.

8. Solomon Page is on the hunt for a medical copywriter, $40-$45/h. Apply here.

9. Fortune Writers Inc. is looking for a part-time financial writer, pays $40-$50/h WEEKLY. Apply on LinkedIn.

And, some miscellaneous gigs that are a bit outside our wheelhouse, but look like fun:

1. What Now Media Group is looking for a freelancer to write about restaurant news.

2. If you’ve been waiting to be paid well to write about wine full time, Firstleaf needs a full-time copywriter and will pay $90-$100k/y.

3. LaSalle Network is a non-profit looking for a contract writer to work on communications materials for parents and schools.

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… 📣

Here’s your weekly reminder that we have two big, BIG needs from you!

As you know, we’ve recently opened replies to our audience of 10,000 subscribers.

The idea is, we want feedback from you — ALL of you —so that we can be absolutely, positively sure that we’re providing relevant content and market insights to help you grow your career week after week!

We’ve gotten a great response so far… but we want MORE!

So if you found this newsletter valuable and you haven’t already answered these two questions, please click through to LinkedIn and take a moment to do so:

👉 Help us make our REALLY LONG LIST of the best content people to follow!

👉 Ask Dusten Anything about growing your freelance writing career!

(If you’ve participated already, a little ‘ol share wouldn’t hurt!)

Thanks for reading, ProWriters!

Let’s have a great week.

Dave & Dusten

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Until next week, see you on Twitter and LinkedIn.