Category: Guest Posts

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

Creatives: How to Get Your Work Seen

Being a creative entrepreneur is a unique and challenging experience where uncertainty can be a constant obstacle. Succeeding in a field such as art, fashion, music, or writing requires that people see and engage with your work, and achieving this can be challenging. By taking the right steps and being willing to leave your comfort zone, you can have the creative career you’ve always dreamed of.

You Need an Audience

For your work to go anywhere important, you’ll have to get it in front of the right people. If you create visual art or clothing, starting with local shows and events can help you get your feet wet and reduce anxiety about how your work will be received. These initial audiences can also give you a good sense of how your work may be interpreted and help you tweak aspects that aren’t resonating. Consider submitting work to trusted publications and contests too. Network and collaborate with fellow creators to share contacts and networks and speed up this process.

A Business Can Legitimize You

As you grow in your craft and attract more customers or clients, you’ll encounter tax requirements and other legal restrictions that make it beneficial to have an LLC. Structuring your business as an LLC empowers you to do business under a protected name and can reduce your personal liability in case your business faces legal or financial difficulties. LLCs also yield tax benefits. Each state has its own rules for LLC formation, so check the rules in your state.

Marketing Is Key

You must believe in your brand if you want others to support and invest in it. Marketing your work can be nerve-wracking, but it’s necessary to expand awareness of your brand. One way to help make your work more marketable is to create a quality logo. A logo gives potential customers brand awareness and differentiates you from other artists and competitor businesses. Hiring someone to design a logo can be expensive, but online tools are available that allow you to do it yourself for free. Select icons, insert words in a variety of styles, and choose colors that resonate with your brand.

You Need Space To Work

Having a consistent and peaceful place to work on your craft is invaluable for growing as a creative. Instead of renting an external space, consider updating an old/unused room into a new multipurpose room to suit your needs. This is a great way to save money and potentially add value to your home. After making any significant improvements to your property, record these changes so the home might appraise for a higher value when the time comes to sell it. Be mindful of the costs of potential renovations and how much space you really need.

Believe in Yourself

Putting your work out there is scary and takes confidence and resilience. Consider starting a business to simplify the financial aspects. Design a logo to increase brand awareness, and use creative marketing techniques to attract attention and stand out. For additional help with marketing your creative endeavors, contact The Smart Cookie Philes.

#GuestPost: Becoming a Freelance Writer During School or Post Graduation by Katie Conroy

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

Do you have a knack for writing compelling stories and engaging your readers? If you’re still in school or you’ve just graduated, you could earn money by becoming a freelance writer, working as much or as little as you’d like. Here, The Smart Cookie Philes shares some tips on how you can hone your skills, find writing gigs and attract clients: 

Enhance Your Writing Skills

Getting a degree in English isn’t the only path to becoming a successful writer. A degree in journalism, communications, or linguistics can also lead to a fulfilling and rewarding writing career. Additionally, you can take classes in creative writing at your local community college, attend workshops and seminars, and submit your work to writing contests: some of them will even give you feedback that will help you further develop your craft. 

Besides language arts, there are many college majors you can parlay into writing gigs: technical writers are in high demand, so if you have a gift for clearly explaining complex things, you can find yourself a niche and write about finance, technology, mechanics, cryptocurrency, or physics. And if you want to get a competitive edge, become a social media maven and learn all about SEO and online marketing, and improve your skills by writing blog posts and other content material for business websites. 

Find Writing Assignments

Build a writing portfolio with samples of your best work. Make sure its design is simple, uncluttered, with fonts that are easy to read and add thumbnail images to make each sample stand out. Don’t forget to include your email address and other contact information! 

Creating a professional-looking portfolio and posting it on online platforms dedicated to showcasing writers’ talent will help you get discovered by potential clients. Post some of your work on your social media accounts and link them to your website so that people can easily find you when they need your services. 

Attract and Retain Clients

Once you’ve decided to make a career out of the written word, you need to find a market for your work. One of the best ways to get published is to find your niche and start writing for a target audience. If you have specific knowledge on a particular topic, you can share your expertise via blogs and ebooks and start making money. Grant writing, technical writing, and ghostwriting are all lucrative options for freelancers. B2B vendors and creative agencies usually have in-house copywriters, but small businesses may not have technical writers on staff and may turn to freelancers for their white papers, blogs, advertising copy, and press releases. 

If you’ve just graduated and aren’t sure where to find your first writing gigs, the internet is a good place to turn to in order to find clients for your budding business. Browse through online job boards and find writing assignments you feel comfortable completing. Each time you deliver stellar content, your clients will keep coming back for more.

If you’ve ever thought of becoming a freelance writer, there are many avenues you can explore whether you’re still in school or you’ve already got a degree. Online platforms let you showcase your writing, and an increasing number of clients are looking for fresh content from people just like you. So get writing and get the gigs!

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