By Dee Weeda, AAEA Member
Reflecting on my career, every cliché in the book comes to mind, and ironically each one is true. If I could talk to my younger self, I’d start by saying, “Experience is the best teacher, if you pay attention!” Here are the lessons I’ve learned from hiring freelancers and from being a freelance ag marketing communicator.
A square peg doesn’t fit in a round hole. Only the most talented technical writer has the mindset or ability to produce a colorful personality profile, and personality feature writers run into roadblocks when asked to write technical descriptions. In my case, speech writing has always been hard, and I don’t enjoy it, so I avoid those assignments. Do what you do best.
Make the grade. Every paper will not earn an A.A valuable realization came in college when I lazily repurposed an “A” paper from a freshman writing course for the first assignment my sophomore year. The red ink throughout and “C” scrawled at the top quickly told me that every teacher ‒ aka “client” ‒ has a different level of expectations and requirements. Shifting my style to fit the assignments decreased the red marks and raised the grade.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The client company’s communications style, tone, format and messaging comprise an excellent guide for a freelancer and can go a long way toward helping you meet expectations. Ask for examples. Review websites. Read their publications.
Change it up. Gone are the days of long graphs of gray copy. Digital media require that information be delivered in short, concise bites. Vary sentence length. Change sentence structure. Use bullets. Write subheads to deliver the message and draw the reader’s eyes through the content.
Old dogs must learn new tricks. When I started my career, we wrote for print or broadcast. Today, even though the communications goals may be the same, writing a feature story, website copy, Facebook post or Tweet is very different. Learning how to adapt the message to the medium, thinking not only about words, but images and graphics, will increase your worth as a freelance communicator.
Focus on the benefit. Always consider what the reader or viewer will learn or take away from your piece.
Proof. Proof. Proof. The fastest way to fail as a freelancer is to send copy that is marred by overlooked errors. Let it sit. Print it out. Read it backwards. Correct the typos. But be sure you allow time for proofreading ‒ the second key to failure is missing the deadline.
Learn and get better. Through the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from some of our industry’s best. I was shocked the day Gary Vincent, previously an editor with Successful Farming, handed me his copy and asked me to edit it. His comment: “Every writer needs an editor.” That stuck with me. To learn and get better, I work with a copy editor and proofreader. When I’m doubting my ability or need a new approach, I turn to a professional writing coach.
May some of the tidbits I’ve learned along the way help you in your career!
Dee Weeda is a Kansas-raised farmer who makes her living in ag marketing communications. Dee wrote her first news story in 4-H, bleeds purple and has a passion for cows. For nearly 40 years she’s enjoyed working for some of the industry’s top agencies on communications for leading companies like Pioneer, Pfizer and AGCO. Today she operates Dee Weeda Communications from her home in Southwest Iowa. She can be reached at [email protected]. Life is good.