No writing lesson today guys. This one’s a bit more general.
Recently on the Creative Class Podcast (the one for freelancers I co-host with Paul Jarvis), we tackled a topic that’s been bouncing around in my brain: Are people who work for themselves and sell things *really* the enemy?
Paul and I both sell digital products online, and even though it’s new to me, I find myself feeling caught in the crosshairs of this conversation.
Because, well...now I’m part of it.
But does that mean I’m “the enemy”?
God, I hope not.
Now, yeah. I get it: There 100% are self-employed people out there who will try their damnedest to hawk their crap at you. They’ll send you random LinkedIn messages and Facebook friend requests just to ping you the moment you accept with a sales pitch.
And that sucks.
But it’s not the rule across the board. Not everyone fits into this category just because they work for themselves and also sell products.
Adding sustainability to a freelance writing business
I mean, think about it: It’s not easy to run a freelance writing business.
Making it work for the long-haul requires a lot of hard work, a dash of luck, and great timing. Also, did I mention WORK?
But lately it seems like when people introduce products (or even productized services for that matter), there’s an outcry of, “HOW DARE YOU, SCAMMER!?”
(Paul pointed out that Adam Wathan tweeted about this a while ago and it’s just so true.)
Even worse: Sometimes the angry folks revolt and do things to hurt the freelancer.
They mark emails as spam when they’re not, which can lead to that person’s email marketing account being suspended. (Better: Just unsubscribe.)
They report purchases as fraud or file disputes when they actually paid for the item, but just decided they didn’t like/want it. These chargebacks and reports can also lead to account suspension for the business owner. (Better: Just ask for your money back.)
They rant on social media and/or subtweet about business owners and their products, spreading their rage around. (Better: Just reach out to the person in a non-public forum and share your two cents directly.)
See what I mean? It can get ugly pretty fast.
While I’ve been fortunate not to have run into many of these issues myself, my audience is still fairly small. (And...now I’m crossing my fingers it doesn’t happen. I need your love and approval pleaseandthankyou.)
But the thing is: This does happen more often than you’d think.
Freelance writers CAN sell things without being gross
While you might just be working hard to make your one-woman freelance writing business more sustainable, you now have to factor in the added weight of criticism and complaints from the naysayers who just want to crap on what you’re doing.
(In all honesty, most of these are what my husband and I call “you’re not mad at ME” situations. The person is pissed off about something, but who they’re venting at or what they’re venting about isn’t the real source of anger.)
So what I’m saying today is: Don’t lump us all into one steaming pile, eh?
Maybe sift through and find the good stuff. And if you can’t find it, don’t get angry. Maybe just look somewhere else and let the rest fade away as noise.
There are plenty of online “makers” who, well, they’re gonna make stuff. And they might sell it, too.
But most of the time, it’s not coming from a place of greed or HELL YEAH, CAPITALISM!
Maybe it’s more of a, “Hey, I’ll try this and see if it's interesting/popular/valuable for people...and maybe they’ll buy it.”
That’s where I’m at, at least.
This article originally appeared in my newsletter, A Cup of Copy. Sign up and get these free tips sent right to your inbox every other Wednesday.