Journalist Turned Freelance Writer in the ‘90s, Now a Digital Nomad
This article is part of Fud’s Meet the Mentor series, where experienced and proven side hustlers talk about their experiences and share personal advice to start, sustain, and scale your business or side hustle.
Interested in more success stories? Join the Fud community and subscribe to our newsletter.
Elaine Shelly started freelancing and doing side hustles a long time ago. When she got ill partly due to the stress of her job as a journalist, she thought she needed to find a kinder, gentler way to work.?
Around 1991, she left her job as a journalist at a daily newspaper and explored more fulfilling and sustainable ways to pursue her passion: writing and journalism. Since then, she gained skills and experiences she would never have encountered if she had stayed in the newsroom.????
Some of her amazing accomplishments include getting a journalism fellowship and publication at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and teaching at elementary schools, colleges, and universities. She also delved into grant writing, launched several freelance-related businesses and aspires to start a freelance agency soon.??
When Elaine started focusing on her freelance writing business during the pandemic, things just exploded unexpectedly.?? She then decided to hit the road and become a digital nomad. She moved to San Miguel, de Allende and stayed there until last July.
She is currently doing some work in the States, and when she gets a little bit stronger, she plans to go back to Mexico.
With over 30 years of experience in freelancing, Shelly shares the challenges and opportunities of:
??Freelance writing and Journalism in the ‘90s
??Using ChatGPT in writing
??Finding leads in Fiverr and proactive outreach using Google
??Becoming a digital nomad
Let’s dive right in.
Freelance Writing and Journalism in the ‘90s
Back then, it was really difficult being a freelance writer because everything was still being done by snail maiI even though I had a computer and access to email. So, you write a pitch to the editor, you put it in a mail, and just wait and pray. It was a very slow and tedious way to get work so I did a lot of other things.
In the meantime, I did Live workshops, I focused on home-based businesses in the mid-90s before everybody had computers, and did administrative work for those home-based businesses. That was probably one of my most successful businesses other than my freelance business now.??
One of my first stories was when I went to my local newspaper and said, “There’s gonna be a Bluegrass Festival in our area, and I want to go and cover it. Do you want the story?”
I went in person to the newsroom and introduced myself to the editor. They saw who I was and saw my enthusiasm for going to the Bluegrass Festival. When I got back from the festival, they read the story and set up an interview with a local girl who’s been winning a lot of Bluegrass festivals to include her in the story.??
Turns out, it was Alison Krauss.?? She had just recorded her first song and she’s switched over from a fiddle player to being a well-respected singer. I got to interview her as a child.??
Becoming a Digital Nomad
I knew I wanted to go to Mexico because I thought I could do a soft landing there. It is a foreign country but it’s not so far away from the States. Mexico, by large, has a good internet system. I want to become fluent in Spanish and I wanted to go to a place where if I wasn’t fluent, I could still navigate the day-to-day activities.?
Initially, I was looking at some beach locations, and somehow, I came across this place, which was described as an artist community. That took my focus. I started studying and reading about San Miguel and learned there’s a very large expat community from the US and Canada.??
So I got on a plane and went and took the business with me. I continued meeting with people in Zoom and getting new clients when I could. Because freelancing is flexible, I had the time and space to go out everyday and practice my Spanish by going to stores and making myself ask something. I learned a lot about interacting with people in a different language in a different culture just by those day-to-day interactions.
The cost of living in Mexico is significantly lower than in the States. With the same level of income, while you might be barely getting by in the States, in Mexico, you have more financial flexibility. It’s great.??
The good thing about being a digital nomad is that people didn't know I was in Mexico unless I told them. It didn’t impact my business at all. As long as I’m somewhere with a good internet signal, my clients really don’t know and don’t care where I am.
Having a Niche in Writing
It’s not mandatory that you specialize, but it certainly has helped me. Because of specializing in writing about healthcare disparities, it helped me get a journalism fellowship from MIT. That was really my pride and joy, that I got paid very well to research disparities of long Covid in black women. I spent a year doing research and writing about that and got published in the MIT Tech Review which feels pretty good.??
I think with writing and journalism in particular, yes, maybe niching some will help. But I also think if you get too specific, then you could miss a lot of opportunities. So, yes, I specialize in healthcare disparities, but could I write a story on Monkeypox? Yeah. And I'm not gonna turn down good opportunities just because I have this niche.
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Other Tools for Writing
I think freelancers have to be aware of the ethical and unethical uses of AI. With journalism, I do not use AI. The expectation is that I will do the research and I will do the writing. So, to maintain that unspoken agreement between the editor and I, I don’t use AI for that.
But for my business clients who want a website built or a blog constructed, I'm using AI and I'm letting them know and getting them to agree that that’s ok. It really helps me complete assignments a lot quicker.?
For example, last year while still in Mexico, I connected with a friend who wanted to submit this application for a multi-million dollar grant for her organization. With her permission, I used AI to assist in writing the grant and developing the budget. The whole packet ended up being 20 pages and I finished it within two weeks. If I had written it out myself, word by word, It would have taken me twice as long, a full month, to finish it.??
Some tips on using ChatGPT and other tools
I use ChatGPT a lot and I use the free version more than the paid version. For people considering using ChatGPT for their online businesses, I will advise you to use the free version as much as you can and don’t get the paid version until you get an assignment where you actually need to use it.??
I’ve used some of the platforms that will measure the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of an article and give suggestions on keywords and how many times the keywords should be used within the article. I’ve also used platforms that are similar to ChatGPT and that will produce a 2000-word blog article in less than a minute.??
Another advice that I will give, especially if you’re using any kind of AI to produce a blog article, is don’t just take anything AI produces and post it online. Read through it, edit it, add things, take things out because ChatGPT has a certain writing style that isn't always good and sometimes can be repetitive.
I consider myself to have a business that is AI-assisted. I still do the work and I consider AI as a junior writer. I read everything that a junior writer produces.
What’s next for Elaine???
I’m slowly but surely developing an agency. I’m starting a program to offer businesses free websites and then if they like the free website and want to work with me further, then we can suit it up and make it a little bit fancier.
领英推荐
It’s a way for people who are just getting started to have an online presence where they can get their leads that they need.
I really enjoy mentoring young freelancers and I want to pull in enough work so I can divide it among a group of young freelancers that I have working for me from time to time.
What are your main sources of leads?
Right now, I get the bulk of my customers from Fiverr. It has brought me some really interesting clients from Jordan, Europe, a lot in the US, and a couple in Mexico. So Fiverr has been a really good source of leads for me but I don’t want to solely depend on it.
The clients I’ll get for my business offering free websites, I’ll get those leads from Google. Just doing Google search and seeing what businesses don’t have websites and contacting them through proactive outreach.??
Any tips on how to take the leap and get started?
Testing the Waters??
As freelance writers, there’s a ton of places to test the waters. You can start at your local newspaper or find a safe opportunity. There are tons of businesses that need writers for different reasons and will be happy that you just want to do the thing they’ve been worrying about and putting off because they have no time. So find those safe opportunities to jump in as a freelancer.
Being an Introvert??
I’m an introvert but I have a marketing personality who goes out and talks to all these people. I encourage people who are introverted and think they can’t get out there and be aggressive with the marketing to check out their different personalities and maybe parts of themselves who can do that work.
Having an Online Presence??
It’s really important to have a digital presence and tell your story. I’m trying to have as much digital presence as possible with LinkedIn, putting out a newsletter, and Twitter presence. And again, if you’re an introvert, get your outgoing personality to do the social media tasks.
Work ethics > Writing skills??
Your writing skill is important. With that said, editors want to work with writers who are easy to work with because they can get your writing in shape but they would want to work with writers who respect the deadlines that are set, do their job well, and report their articles well. That will get you a lot further than being a primadonna who writes well.??
Connecting with People??
I've had a couple stories published with Vice News. I was on Twitter one day and saw that this person just got hired as editor in Vice News. So I sent them a little message, I said, “Congratulations on your job. I’m a freelance writer, I specialize in writing healthcare disparities. Hope you enjoy your new job.”
That was it. A couple of months later, that editor contacted me, gave me a story and asked me to write a pitch based on the topic, and I did. Next thing I know, I got an assignment.?
Connecting with people and being polite is basic stuff, nothing fancy, not marketing with a half twist. And we all know how to do that.
If not, know that you can practice interacting with people. Even the people in your house, go be around some people and talk to them.
Fighting Imposter Syndrome??
A lot of the writers I’ve mentored have a huge imposter syndrome. And it’s not true. Your expectations of yourself are probably a lot higher than your client’s expectations. You do your best and you let go. Move on to the next thing and don’t spend a week in bed worrying your writing is not good enough. It is good enough.
And if it really isn’t good enough, then make it good enough. Go take a class at the community college on writing, punctuation, and grammar. Make your writing good enough and get out there.
Shelly hopes this kind of conversation can inspire local entrepreneurs who are just getting started and spark ideas within them to apply in their own ventures and open up even more freelance opportunities.
??Recommended Experts and Mentors??
Follow and subscribe to become a member to get the content, community, and mentorship you need:
??Fud Tools and Offers??
Check out these cool platforms and amazing offers from our partners to help you hustle smarter:
??Step-by-Step Guides??
Enroll in these guides to build and master your side hustle. All our guides are created by vetted and proven experts:
MONEY don't IMPRESS me ???? having MORALS & STANDARDS does ???? ??
5 个月You go girl