Hello Everyone!

Quick little update about Content Connect: Based on audience feedback and market shifts, this newsletter is going through a slight metamorphosis. Not a full-on egg to imago (I had to Google that) sitch, but more like a little newsletter larva turning into a more beautiful pupa.

In less 4th-grade scientific terms, Content Connect will now focus more on content marketing over freelancing. You'll get interviews (free consulting) from top content marketers, the best content marketing social posts, and links to the most recent can't miss articles and reports. And I'll never abandon the "Sharpen Your Writing Skills" section, because then who would I even be anymore?

I also have 6-7 amazing interviews from freelancers in the queue, and it would be a disservice to the world not to share them.

Anyway, I'm going to do my best to round up the resources that will keep us all on top of the content marketing and writing game. Let's do this.

As always, thank you for reading and for being you!

Wuv,

Ashley

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Expert Interview | Blair Sharp

1/ Tell me more about yourself and how you got started with your career.

I was super creative when I was younger but kinda lost interest in my late teens. My college lifestyle took over, priorities shifted, and I didn’t write much until I was in my early 30s.

In 2019, I started writing for a local blog and fell back in love with sharing my ideas through writing. I wrote many one-off articles for various publications and started creating alcohol-free content on Instagram in late 2020.

In the fall of 2022, I decided to find some recurring clients while still working full-time as a psychometrist at the Mayo Clinic (I test people’s thinking). I sent a cold Instagram DM to a treatment center, and it worked! I still write for them today.

After that, I started working fewer hours at my job, continued adding to my client roster, and eventually switched to part-time in October 2023.

Today, I write blogs, emails, and social content in the mental health, wellness, and family spaces. My words are in Insider, SheKnows, Parents, The Bump, and Rescripted, among others.

I create content for other freelancers on LinkedIn and write a weekly newsletter called Hey Freelancer! where I share my real-life experiences and advice for getting clients, growing a personal brand, and everything you need to succeed as a freelancer.

People always ask me about going full-time freelance, but my current schedule works for me! I’m not aiming for six figures anytime soon. I just want to do work I love with clients I enjoy and live a happy and content freelancing life.

2/ What advice do you have for freelancers to land clients? What are some of the best ways they can build their business?

Landing clients can be the trickiest part of freelancing, especially if you’re just starting out. Having a “freelancer toolkit” is key—spend time on cold outreach, social media, browsing job boards, and talking to other freelancers in your industry to get referrals…there are so many ways you can get clients, but you have to put yourself out there and do the work.

I’m also a big fan of social media and having your own personal brand. When you’re visible, your potential clients are more likely to come straight to you!

Sharpen Your Writing Skills

Marketing Goodies

You know Erica Schnieder from Twitter? Yeah, that one.

She put out a killer template that will help you grow your personal brand as a content marketer: Personal Content Guidelines Template. It's free. And rad. Check it out.

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