Ashley R. Cummings
@ashleyrcummings
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Freelance writer for SaaS, content marketing expert, and work-life balance advocate. Content Connect:
Let's work together 👉
Joined October 2008
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14 years ago, I was making $38,000 a year.
In 2023, I 10Xed that revenue.
How did I get there?
I bet on myself.
I spent 6 years working at a 9-5.
And my job wasn't easy.
I arrived every day at 4:00 in the morning.
The bulk of my job wasn't conducted in my native language.
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Freelance isn't code for "someone who will drop everything and do whatever you want at a moment's notice."
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How to fail at marketing/advertising:
Hire a creative team and then tell them what to do.
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There are 3 things that make freelancing worth it for me:
-I rarely work more than 4 hours/day
-I make six figures
-My business fits in a backpack
I've been freelancing for 10 years with lots of ups and downs. Here's what I wish I would have known/did know that was helpful.
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How to fail at marketing:
Decide you know what your audience wants without talking to them.
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CEO of taking screenshots of cool ideas, brands, stats, marketing ideas, etc. that I want to research and then never looking at said screenshots ever again.
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“This is our 500th LAST attempt to reach you.” -email marketing
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Who are my freelance/content marketing women who are looking to grow on Twitter?
We need more female voices, and I have an idea. DM me.
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Freelancing is weird.
One day you feel like you may never have work again.
The next day, you get a slew of new leads and feel like you’ll never catch up.
You gotta have a strong stomach for this roller coaster ride.
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Emailing any professional and asking them for an hour of their time to ask for their thoughts about your business is called...consulting.
This is a paid service.
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I just got a new client and they paid my invoice THE SAME DAY I sent it.
Drinks on me.
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Give a writer a style guide, 3-4 examples of content that hits the mark, and a content brief, and your writer will blow your mind.
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About to send a “no, I cannot discount my rates 50% for your ginormous SaaS company.”
I’m a tiny one-gal band with an in-demand skill and a family to feed. This company has the budget.
That’s all.
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When a potential client emails me, I send them a detailed email that outlines my experience, prices, and processes.
Wanna see exactly what I write?
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As a marketer, I should not say this…
I do not like SMS marketing.
STOP.
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If I had a dollar for every time I was ready for a Zoom call 3 minutes early, and then started reading something and forgot and ended up being 3 minutes late.
Am I alone?
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I’m just a girl
standing in front of the content marketing event space
asking for more female speakers
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Behind every CEO thought leadership piece is an underpaid writer who’s had too much coffee.
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I've had a lot of recruiters pitch me in-house content director and editor-in-chief roles lately. Thank you for thinking of me.
But, many of these would be a significant step down in terms of pay, hours, and flexibility.
Yes, reach out to freelancers, but also offer this:
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When someone emails me about my writing services, this is the email I send back to them. It outlines everything they need to know when working with me. I tweak it a bit for every client.
Wanna see it? 🧵
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Dear everyone: I just sent out my email with the subject line, "Subject line."
The best part? I wrote a post YESTERDAY about how to write a killer subject line.
It's been a really long week. Ya win some, ya lose some.
I will report back on my open rates.
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Are you a writer or a marketer?
Have we e-met yet?
I bet we would like each other.
Fist. Bump. 👊🏻
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When another freelancer sends me an invoice, I pay it the second it enters my inbox.
It’s the best way to say thank you for hard work and timely delivery.
💃🏻
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Don’t edit immediately after you write.
Let your brain reset and come at it with fresh eyeballs.
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How to vet a client?
Ask for a deposit.
There you go. That's it.
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Being a writer is just constantly googling "what's another word for this word I've already used 500 times."
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Want a successful content writing team?
You need:
-a brand book
-customer profiles and ongoing customer research
-an SEO pro
-a project manager
-freelance writers that specialize in your niche
-an editor
When you ask one person to do all of this, you're asking for failure.
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As long as the internet is a thing, content marketing will be a thing.
Writing is a great career, English majors (and non English majors too).
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How I 3xed my income last year:
My kids went to school.
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How to raise your prices:
Quote really high for projects you don’t want to do. And then see what happens.
This is a joke. Or is it?!?
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Writers shouldn’t spend all their time writing.
Writers are also collectors.
Spend time finding stories, looking at data, thinking, talking to people, walking—collecting.
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I genuinely enjoy content marketing. Like…get excited about it. You?
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Everyone: Oh, you're a writer? Cool. What kind of books do you write?
Content and copywriters: Erm.
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Marketing 101: either learn how to write or hire a good freelancer.
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Written content should be front and center of every ecomm/SaaS/B2B site in 2022.
Invest in content marketing. Team up with good writers. Refresh old content. Update case studies. Dust off and repurpose your blog. Don’t bury your newsletter opt-in in the footer of your site.
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Writing a good article takes a loooooong time.
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Writing is:
-research
-SEO
-interviews
-data analysis
-snacking
-client management
-editing
-rewriting
-style
-tone
-voice
-reading
-thinking
-practice
-tracking trends
-discovering stories
-pitching
-connecting with readers
-vacuuming
-content strategy
-marketing
What I miss?
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Me to myself: Ahhhhh! I have no bandwidth to do anything else.
Me to interesting new clients: yes! I’d love to write for you.
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Do freelance writers need a website?
IMO: yes!
A website is:
-a mark of professionalism
-a house for your portfolio
-an easy way to screen clients
-a good way for clients to find you
-a branding tool
And you can set up a WP or square space in a day.
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I get most of my clients via referrals.
This year, I'm cold pitching a few publications/blogs that I want to write for.
Wish me luck. I do this never.
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Dear Gen Z,
Go to your room with a book and don’t come out until you know periods are punctuation, not an act of war.
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Tippity-tip for marketing managers:
the best time to contact an in-demand freelance writer is 1-3 months before you need the content.
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Freelancing is just managing feeling like you have too much or not enough work. All day. Every day.
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TW: Sexual assault.
I saw the 1st preview of Prima Facie in NYC yesterday and I cannot stop thinking about it.
The writing by Suzie Miller was phenomenal. The acting by Jodie Comer was moving. The message of rampant sexual assault with little consequences and a legal system
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I'm FINALLY building out my official list of experts to source quotes from.
If you're a/an: e-commerce, DTC, marketing, advertising, retail, Shopify partner, freelance, creator economy expert, and you want to be included on my "request for quotes" list, DM me your info.
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Something I wish I'd learned much earlier in my freelance career:
What seems like a lot of money to you doesn't seem like a lot of money to a big company.
Charge more. You're worth it. You have bills to pay.
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Six-figure freelancing is possible, but are you ready for the truth?
It's not possible straight out the gate unless you have access to a magic lamp with a genie in it.
Here's what it takes. A thread for your eyes only!
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Someone copied one of my LinkedIn posts word-for-word.
Is this a rite of passage?
It looks like it's performing well on his account, so that's good.
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If you hire a professional freelance writer, the only things you should have to do are:
-Send a style guide
-Fill out a content brief
-Provide the last pair of eyes for final review
The freelancer will do the rest.
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Other freelancers aren’t your competition.
They’re your partners.
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In what year do you think they will start putting the recipes at the TOP of the article?
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To be a writer is to be retargeted constantly with whatever products you're researching for your clients.
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Unpopular opinion:
If you want to say "leverage," "actionable," "seamless," or any other marketing word, then say it.
Not that big of a deal. If it's the right word, it's the right word.
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I need a day between Sunday and Monday where I just read newsletters and answer emails.
Who is with me?
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Job listings —
You must:
-Have 50+ years of experience
-Have started astronaut training
-Bench 250lbs min
-Demonstrate acceptable party trick
-Duplicate a Picasso
Pay:
-$12-$14/hour, depending on experience
Apply here.
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Here are my content predictions for 2023, especially in light of AI content...
1. Everyone will continue to go gaga for AI tools (ChatGPT).
Marketers will use these tools to generate generic and boring content. Smart marketers will use these tools to generate ideas to tweak.
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I started "writing" an hour ago, and I'll I've done is check social media and read articles.
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I subscribe to tons of marketing newsletters.
I also want to rewrite 90% of them bc they are far too long.
Newsletters aren’t blogs.
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A long-term client I ❤️ has given me 3 months' notice that they are moving their content in-house.
This level of consideration is 🔥💃😎. I usually save a week of my month for them. And I turn down new clients to accommodate.
This gives me enough notice to find a new client 👏
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I am looking to interview female creators who quit their traditional 9-5s to try and make more money and carve a new path for yourself.
Is this you? Can we please get in touch? DM me.
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I just blocked a freelance designer. Sent me a terrible pitch, hounded me relentlessly, and then called me a liar when I told them I went another direction.
This is not how to get work in any industry.
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Want to get better at writing?
Study articles that are performing well.
What is happening in the intro? What is the structure of the piece? Tone? What experts are included in the piece?
Dissecting articles is a great way to become a better writer.
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I’ve said it once and l’ll say it again:
Writers do homework for a living.
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One thing that took me far too long to learn as a freelancer:
💰 What seems like a lot of money to you is NOT a lot to a large tech company.
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It takes a lot of reading, research, trend analysis, and creativity to produce a killer article.
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Every marketing department should have a timing person so you don’t do things like — I dunno, air a jovial Applebees commercial in the middle of/on the same screen as news of a tragic invasion.
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Wowee. Woke up to 10K followers. Thanks for following.
I tweet about writing and content marketing.
If you like my content, do you know who you are going to absolutely love?
The following people:
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I think my new client red flag is: "We want SEO content."
That said, I always employ SEO strategies and optimize my posts to rank in the top spot. ALWAYS.
But content isn't for search engines. It's for humans who want to buy your products.
The second you start "writing for
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If you're not the on-call writer for everyone in your family, are you even a writer?
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I count myself lucky to have a successful freelance writing career. I work for several clients that I love and have a steady flow of leads.
But, getting here didn't happen overnight. Here are some things to know about my journey. 🧵
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Don’t ask freelance writers to write the article and also find a place to publish it for you.
No.
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Who else wants to see if they can fit 3 weeks of work into the next 4 days?
Read, set, go.
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This year I'm on target to 9X my salary from when I was working a 9-5—which required me to speak all day in Russian and have a MA.
It's not easy. It's taken me 11 yrs, robust networking, and implementing thousands of edits.
But, it's possible. Here are some growth tips.
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Sorry to the 49 salespeople who will be contacting me bc I entered my info to access your report.
I'm just a lowly writer with no intent to buy.
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How do I get work, you ask?
I get a ton of my business from client referrals and referrals from other freelancers.
I also pass on work to other talented freelancers when I am booked.
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There are no rules on how you get to run your business and your life.
My husband and I are unconventional in a lot of ways.
I travel a lot—alone and with my family. In fact, we’re headed to Greece for 3 months tomorrow. Yay.
My husband does most of the cooking. I do most of
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4. Take the lead. When I first started, I let clients dictate everything. It's a recipe for disaster. Take the lead from the first call. Let your clients know how you work, what your processes and prices are, make them sign your contract, etc.
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It is absolutely unacceptable to ask professionals to complete these kinds of tasks for FREE as part of the interview process.
NOPE.
This is textbook red flag.
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Don't list "InDesign" and "WordPress" as requirements for a copywriter. InDesign is for graphic designers, and WordPress is for web designers.
How is this happening? Writers: research, interview, and write. If you need someone to do graphics/website, that's not a copywriter.
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Just getting started and don’t have samples yet?
Write a spec post for a client you would like to write for one day.
I did this when I started. I wrote 5-6 pieces that showed I could write and used them until I had real samples.
No shame in this game.
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I cannot read blogs that don’t have headings and subheadings.
It’s physically impossible.
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Hi! I pay invoices Net-Immediately. Do you? If not, why not?
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Did you know I manage a group of 42K freelance writers?
It's a great community.
Would love to have you join. 👇
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Writers, do yourself a favor:
Schedule time off the day after a HUGE deadline.
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