We all have hobbies or avocations of some sort that can contribute to the way we write. They may give us extra knowledge that other writers don’t have, they may create connections with shared interests, or they can directly improve a product’s offering. As a freelance copywriter, how could you tie in your hobby with the content writing services you offer?
The first, most obvious way is how you promote yourself. This you do by including the hobby or avocation in your profile, casting calls, and idea orders.
- If you have advanced skills and knowledge in a particular avocation, there is no reason why you should not include it in your resume and any profiles you put up on the Internet. It is valid experience, after all.
- Whenever you see a casting call or request for writers that looks interesting, check the client’s website to see if it reflects any of your avocations or interests. If so, bring it up in your response: “I’m a photographer, as well as a writer. I noticed you have great photographs on your website.” This establishes personal rapport, which will help them remember you.
- You can draw from your avocational experience when you give article ideas to clients who ask for them. For someone looking for a travel site blog topic, you could offer: Photographing Lights at Night, Photos of Famous Sites, How to Photograph Water Scenes.
The second way to tie in your hobby is to use it in your writing assignments as anecdotes, analogies, and how-to descriptions.
- Anecdotes are stories told to illustrate a point. If you are a sports hobbyist and the content you’re writing is about how to improve overall physical stamina, you can tell a story from your sports experience that illustrates the need for good stamina. Anecdotes are the paragraphs that start with, “For example…”
- Analogies are comparisons between two things to clarify. In the sports example you could say, “Although these shoes are not made for rugged mountain climbing, they will last a long time when used appropriately as walking shoes.”
- How-to descriptions will draw on details of your avocation, which you would use to attract customers to a related product or service. For example, “This tennis racket is perfectly strung to enable placement of the ball exactly where you aim it.”
In this way a personal interest in music could provide content for CDs, performances, instruments, songbooks, or lessons. And it could be used to illustrate sound enhancement (hearing aids, speakers), legal services, or drugs that reduce stress (e.g. while performing).
Before leaving this blog, you might want to practice using your avocation with different types of content. The more unrelated the better, e.g. hair products and antiques. Make it silly and fun, then look for opportunities to use it in actual assignments.
Susette H is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
