When you write like a boss, you bring in new, higher-paying clients. And when you do it right, you become your own boss (instead of having a boss). Here's how to get there:
1. Use simplicity
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” – Steve Jobs
I don't know what mountains Steve Jobs was trying to move (because he mostly moved small things, like the iPhone and the iPad). But Steve did know that simplicity can massively…move businesses.
Simplicity allows you to cut to the core of your brand. This means that you'll scream less. And make more money in the process.
2. Become interconnected through the words you write.
“It is not the amount of knowledge that makes a brain. It is not even the distribution of knowledge. It is the interconnectedness.” James Gleick
The geeky term for online interconnection is called “semantic search.” Semantic search seeks to improve search accuracy by understanding the context around the content. And content with context is what grows your business.
Google is semantic search on steroids. And semantic search is how you avoid kitsch in your content.
For example, my miniature dachshund is often referred to as…a “wiener dog.” So, when I'm signed into google and type “wiener” into my search bar, it knows that I probably want to search for something related to wiener dogs (and not something that Anthony Weiner sexts).
Your words keep you interconnected on the web.
Wiener's not necessary. But cute wiener dogs never hurt…
(photo of my pup @karmathedoxie captured by moi).
3. Use small words (they're the secret soul of your brand).
Big words mean bupkes. Bupkes! Take the word “penultimate” for example. It'll make your customers tune out. And tuned out customers make you next-to-last (see what I did there?)
Smaller words give your brand a smarter soul. And small words staked out on your site builds a human brand.
See, even Fred Armisen thinks so:
4. Build your community
Building an online community is not only fun. But it adds credibility, and it's one of the best ways to generate business leads.
Build your community by measuring your data. Start small if you're just starting to write. Install Google Analytics so you can get a baseline. You'll slowly start building a tribe by entertaining and educating your audience.
Twitter's new analytics dashboard includes detailed data on all tweets. Use CircleCount if you want to build your community on Google Plus (shot out to the Internet Archaeologists looking for Google Plus in 2018!) I use Sprout Social because it dives deep. It tells you things like how many new followers you get, and how many people actually click those links you tweet. For example, here are my Twitter stats from Sprout Social for the past 15 days:
(p.s. I have zero affiliation with Sprout Social, other than getting a free t-shirt in the mail after writing this post).
5. Build your idea muscles
It's all too easy to forget that you need to regularly write. You'll let your clients take priority (guilty). Or you'll start a new hobby (or three!) to procrastinate (again, guilty).
But when you focus on building your idea muscles, your business benefits.
It's the same concept of building muscles to get that amazing beach body. Building muscles for ideas give you more ideas to write. And lots of ideas allow you to write like a boss.
6. Build momentum
Stop getting (mentally) wiped by building momentum. And start using writing as your wave to freedom.
As my friend Bryan Kramer writes in his book Human to Human, “…like a wave in water, ideas make their way through the connected internet much in the same way…ideas are the energy force, and the strength of the idea determines the speed that it travels across channels…”
Ride the wave from freelance to freedom by building momentum. And by being your own boss.
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