I did it! One entire year of freelancing has been achieved. What a year to choose to go out on my own.

I mention content strategy a lot when people ask me what it is that I do, and I always get a look of confusion as a response. So here’s a rundown of what content strategy actually is to me, and how I use it to help businesses of all sizes.

In these uncertain times it can be really scary to hire someone as a full-timer or part-timer, but embracing freelancers is something I really think New Zealand businesses need to consider.

This is the book that all small business owners and entrepreneurs should have on their coffee table — in fact keep it on your desk for motivation and inspiration exactly when you need it.

You read that right. Freelancers are cost-effective. Let’s get back to basics first and explain what a freelancer typically is. They’re people with a set of specialist skills who offer their services to businesses or organisations for a set period of time, whether it’s for a one-off project or on an ongoing basis. Freelancers tend to charge higher hourly rates, but this doesn’t mean they’re always more expensive. Let me explain.

Over the last month I started to worry. Not so much about work, but more about the pile of business cards I had printed at the beginning of the year that I haven’t been able to hand out.

In the content marketing realm, there is often a huge number of channels to populate, but there’s always limited time and resources to get the right message to all of them. A content pillar comes in handy as it’s essentially the foundation on which all your content can stem.

Boy did I pick an interesting year to jump into the freelancing world. As an Auckland-based freelancer, as of 12pm on Wednesday, 12 August, we’re all going back into COVID-19 Alert Level 3 lockdown.

Outsourcing is one way to ensure all parts of your business function like a well-oiled machine, while also ensuring you don’t burn out from overexertion.

Every month I learn something new during my freelance career, and this month I learned to appreciate the power of word of mouth.

This month seems to have been the month of organisation. When I first started the road to self-employment, I set myself up with my seven-year-old laptop at my dining room table and got stuck into it. I made the dining room look like it was always in a bit of a state and my fur babies made one too many appearances in my Zoom meetings. I needed my own space.

Running a small business is a huge job! We tend to have big goals and limited resources so it can be very tricky trying to stay on top of everything while also making sure business is growing steadily. Here are 10 things to do at the start of each month to keep your business functioning smoothly.

Think about it. Are you more likely to buy a product because the brand shouts about how good it is, or because a friend, or someone you know of, sings its praises? Most people are aligned with the latter.

Webinars are an incredible source of information. They’re also fantastic in the way that, often, you can tune in at a time that suits you.

Hello from month six of my freelance journey! COVID-19 lockdown (now in alert level 3) is still in place, but I am so pleased to let you know I am thriving!

There are a few steps you need to take to set up Instagram Shopping for your business. Maybe get a coffee or a wine ready, depending on the time of day you’ve started this mission.

Your Facebook ad account is where your business’ ad campaigns are created and reports are generated. Within this section, you can set up an agency as an admin of your Facebook ad account. They will be able to create and edit ads throughout their lifecycle, should they need to, and provide you with stats as the campaign runs.

A question very often debated in the content world is what should be done first: content or design.

The answer? Both.

A content audit provides an insight into all of the content on your website, how often it is accessed, and whether it’s up to date or not. You’ll be able to see what type of content is performing best, and what content needs a good refresh or redirect.

Well, the world does love to throw curveballs doesn’t it! During month five of my freelance journey, COVID-19 caused a countrywide lockdown in New Zealand. Many businesses shut up shop, and those who could started the working from home experience.