Emma Siemasko is a writer, storyteller, and content marketer. She founded Stories by Emma to help companies tell their stories through copy and content. She specializes in content marketing, freelance writing, SEO, and general marketing consulting.
I run content marketing at Grasshopper, the entrepreneur's phone system, and have experience working at an agency. I have experience with content strategy, creation, design, and promotion across a wide range of businesses. I have written extensively about content marketing for various publications.
I am a writer, through and through. I have written web, social media, blog, landing page, and other copy, specializing in SaaS publications. I can give advice on how to write better, how to find good freelancers, how to build an audience with good writing, and how to consider SEO in the process.
When you're starting out, it's really good to comment on other people's posts who are writing about similar things. Do all you can to connect with people writing about similar issues as you, whether that's in blog comments, email exchanges, guest posting, or in forums. I also think content exchanges can be great- guest posts and that sort of thing.
Showing your authority can be helpful, too. Go on Quora and find all questions you can answer. Don't necessarily link to your posts, but get people curious about you and what you do. If you're providing them with relevant information on Quora, they'll be likely to check out your blog.
I wouldn't focus on charging per word either, though this can be helpful once someone gets more specific with you about what they're looking for.
When you're giving a price, think about 1. how much research the piece requires 2. how much time it will take you to do this research 3. how much insight you'll need to have about the site's "personal" brand 4. how specific and original the work will be 5. how much experience you have writing pieces like this. 6. how many revisions you are willing to do.
1,000 words off the cuff is a lot different than 1,000 words that have been well-researched, edited, and revised.
My feeling is that you're asking how much you should charge for travel writing in general. For a 500 word travel blog post that required "light research", I would charge at least $100.
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Emma was extremely knowledgeable about content marketing. I had sent in a group of questions before hand which she prepared for which was purely awesome because I have literally idea after idea of actionable items now. Very friendly and was able to handle my bouncing around of questions with ease. Highly recommended from a very picky provider. Will use Emma again in the future without a doubt.
Highly, highly recommended. Really enjoyed my call with Emma. I wish I had the opportunity to work with - and learn from - on my team full time!
Emma is a fantastic marketer who gave me some great, out-of-the box advice for planning and executing a niche and personalized marketing campaign. Her advice rocks, and I look forward to more calls.
