We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Heaton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Emily, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

In my experience as a freelancer and a party-of-one in my business, I’ve come to realize my success stems from three things:
1) Networking
2) Perseverance
3) Positive attitude and goals

Networking:
I would not be where I am today, comfortably freelancing, if I didn’t have an amazing network of friends, former co-workers, and leaders whom I have the pleasure of working with as a contractor now. The saying “it’s all about who you know” has proven true in my work context as a freelancer! And I highly encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to steward work relationships well! It can provide amazing future opportunities in ways you might not anticipate!

Perseverance:
I love organization, list-making, and project management, but even with that enjoyment, it can be a lot to manage all my clients, billing, invoicing, taxes, communication, etc. I think an important addition to perseverance is consistency. Find a system that works and be consistent so you can set yourself up for success in your work rhythms.

Positive attitude and goals:
When you are your own boss and co-worker, it’s easy to get defeated or discouraged, wondering if you’re going to make it, wondering if you are good enough, etc. With no team or boss to invest in you directly, it’s important to maintain a positive mindset and set goals for yourself. I now look back at goals I thought were too lofty, but I still set them and wrote them down…and I’ve surpassed them. Celebrate your wins and keep moving forward with your goals!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Emily Heaton, and I am a freelance copywriter. My business is called “Words By Emily,” and I work with a variety of clients on a variety of projects for their businesses. Whether it’s social media captions, graphics, campaign emails, editing, blogs, or creative writing, I offer a large scope of creative-driven or marketing-driven work to connect businesses with their audiences.

The way you craft your words as an organization can be so powerful or…it can fall flat. I am here to freshen up your brand’s voice, add a warm tone to stuffy lingo, and inspire your audience to connect with your team’s mission!

What sets me apart from others is my ability to adapt to your company’s communication needs. Rather than limiting my services to one lane, I find out the scope of the communication-related work needed, and I create a package customized to each of my clients. This means for some, I’m creating graphics, for others, I’m editing a podcast and writing show notes. One agency has me writing monthly social media captions, and another has me repurposing blog content into emails and social media. One client likes to send me assignments for creative projects like video scripts, and I love the variety.

So…don’t let the term “copywriter” confuse you. I want to hear about your organization and how I could support with communication, whether it’s on a more technical end, or spanning over to the creative side.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Without a doubt, relationships and/or connections have been the lifeblood of my reputation in my freelancing career. The ability to foster strong relationships is key when you need to network down the road. And my favorite part of this is…none of these relationships were started with the goal of gaining clients. It happened organically, and it’s been so enjoyable to see the network grow as mutual friends become aware of my business and begin to reach out.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I think a large part of growing my clientele has been a willingness to try new things and then move forward with confidence! I love variety, I love learning and supporting clients in various ways, and in return, I have a diverse set of work I get to do. This has opened doors for new clients as I confidently step into projects.

I’ve always been someone with diverse interests, and I love to try new things. I get excited about creative projects, and I also love to work on monotonous tasks at times. I love to strategize, and I love to create! My ability to adapt in each of these areas opens opportunities for growing my clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wordsbyemily.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/words_by_emily/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wordsbyemily
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/emily-g-heaton

Image Credits
Spencer Heaton