Season 2 Kickoff - A New Journey of Empowerment and Opportunity in Freelance Writing

Talk Freelance To Me - Where Self-Employed Women Writers, Freelancers, and Solopreneurs Meet to Master the 1099 Contractor Lifestyle

In this episode we kick off the second season of The Talk Freelance To Me Podcast! Listen in as host Ashley Cisneros Mejia shares what you can look forward to in the season ahead. Hear some of the key insights from PodFest Expo including content creation and monetization strategies. You'll hear about practical tips for networking with fellow guests, making collaborations easy, and starting beneficial brand relationships. Plus, hear about Talk Freelance To Me’s new intern and gain insight into upcoming episodes focused on the nuts and bolts of business. Tune in to hear about the next chapter of Talk Freelance To Me!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Strategies for networking with other podcast guests to build your network 
• Tips for making it easy for collaborators to share your content on social media 
• Approaches for starting relationships with brands

About Ashley and Talk Freelance To Me
Talk Freelance to Me™ is a multimedia company that helps women writers monetize their gifts to live life on their own terms. Led by 20-year freelance writer, journalist, and entrepreneur Ashley Cisneros Mejia, the company achieves this through the Talk Freelance To Me™ Podcast featuring interviews with freelance writers and freelance creatives, online programs like the Freelance Success S.Y.S.T.E.M.™ Course, and other digital products.

The Talk Freelance To Me Podcast helps busy moms and caregivers start freelance writing and other freelance creative businesses, so they make money on their own terms in a way that accommodates their lives.

Ashley’s mission is to give women the tools they need to take massive action in monetizing their talents through the power of freelance. Ashley teaches about freelance and entrepreneurship, sharing her own lessons learned, and interviewing amazing freelance professionals.

Full show notes here.

Transcript

Ashley Mejia: 0:02

Welcome back to Talk Freelance To Me, the podcast dedicated to uplifting the voices of women freelancers everywhere. I'm your host, Ashley Cisneros Mejia. I'm ready to start a new journey with you in 2024. It's so good to be back with you to kick off a sparkling new season, and I really can't wait to share a little bit about what's in store for you. So, whether you're tuning in over your morning coffee, taking a midday break or winding down your day, I hope you know how much I appreciate the fact that you're listening and that you're here. This season is incredibly special to me. First, it means that I actually got the first season done and out, so this season is a renewed commitment to the sisterhood of freelancers.

Ashley Mejia: 0:48

As you know, I'm primarily a freelance writer, so a lot of my content is about freelance writing, but I've also worked nine to fives as a newspaper reporter. I've worked as a magazine editor, a tech writer, a marketing manager, a public relations professional. I've been a social media strategist. I've started two digital marketing agencies. Most recently, I did communications for a political campaign for an election here in Florida. So I want to serve all women creatives who've embraced the freelance lifestyle. I am a girl's girl. I love supporting women and girls, and I've always believed in the power of collaboration over competition. This belief is woven into this podcast and this company. I'm all about abundance. I know that there's enough business. There's more than enough business and opportunity for all of us far more than we could possibly capture. So I'm embracing that. I'm really excited to share that. We've already recorded a couple new episodes, and in these we join forces with fellow freelance writers, fellow business coaches who help writers that I deeply respect and admire. Their insights are game changing and I can't wait to share some of their wisdom with you soon. This season, it is all about serving you and helping you redefine entrepreneurial success on your own terms. So, to start, I want to share a few takeaways from a recent experience that I think is going to influence our journey together this season.

Ashley Mejia: 2:25

I had the opportunity to attend PodFest Expo this is a national podcasting conference and then offered sessions not just for podcasters but for all content creators and freelancers. So even if you don't have your own podcast maybe you're interested in having one or maybe you're not you can still get insights from this conference and find them relevant. We explored topics from AI to content creation, monetization, customer acquisition and so much more. Here are three notes that I jotted down that I wanted to share One. So, if you're a guest on a podcast, did you know that you can and should be thinking about networking with other guests who've also been on that same show? You now have something in common with them. One tip was to actually mine the episode list of shows that you have appeared on and think of these folks as new contacts, new clients, even new referral partners. You can find them on LinkedIn and mention that you've both been on the same podcast together as a way to break the ice. Second, when you're collaborating with someone on a project, you want to make it easy for them to amplify the project on social media, for example Instagram. Instead of just tagging them and again, this is for Instagram specifically go ahead and designate them as a collaborator on the post. That way, all they have to do is click accept and the posts that you've created and caption will automatically appear on their feed and they don't have to do any other work. The name of the game is to make it easy for folks to share your content, your projects and initiatives. Third tip is, as you are growing your audience, whether you're a blogger, influencer or a podcaster.

Ashley Mejia: 4:16

A lot of people think about brands, partnerships, sponsorships and advertising deals, but when you're in the very early stages of building your community, you may not have those numbers yet, but there's a strategic approach that you can do to start laying the ground work for relationships with brands. Start by identifying brands that you actually use and love, and think about brands that align with your content or that are relevant and useful to your audience. Reach out to the PR departments at these companies and ask for free samples or discount codes. This is what you're going to do. You're going to take these samples and you can use them in goodie bags for giveaways for your audience. You can do this on your blog. You can do it on social media with your email newsletter. Lots of people love getting free stuff. They enjoy contests. So you're starting, you're engaging with your community, but you're also kick starting a relationship with these brands by including their products, like their samples or even coupons, in your giveaways. You're already creating value to these brands by introducing their brand to your community and later, as you grow, you can revisit the same partners, and your approach isn't cold. They're going to know that you're someone who's already introduced their products to an engaged audience. It's kind of a win-win strategy because it paves the way for a future fruitful business relationship as your platform expands.

Ashley Mejia: 5:47

These insights have given me a couple new ideas for the season and I'm excited to explore them further. Next, I want to share in our next episode we're going to be talking more about this conference with our new intern. Her name is Lauren. She's a University of Central Florida student here in Orlando and we attended PodFest together. It was her first project, if you will, as part of this internship. I'm thrilled to have her on board and excited to introduce you to her next episode. Also, we are going to be adding in more solo episodes.

Ashley Mejia: 6:23

The interviews are going to continue because, quite frankly, I enjoy them. I love connecting with other people, but I found out through your feedback that you want some more about the nuts and bolts of freelancing and business, especially in today's ever-evolving market. So a lot of people think of entrepreneurship like Shark Tank. They think of boardrooms and bustling startups, but I believe that there's beauty and the simplicity and the sovereignty that freelancing brings to our lives, and that's the narrative I'm going to be advocating for here. So this season we're going to get granular on topics that you've told me matter most to you. For example, how do you find well-paying clients who not only pay you well but respect your boundaries and even resonate with your same values? What's the secret sauce to cultivating client relationships that just fit? They just make sense? We're going to be talking about all this in a whole lot more.

Ashley Mejia: 7:20

Keep an eye out for new resources, toolkits. We're creating those for you all to empower you and your freelance ventures. We're committed to equipping you with things that you need to reach your goals this year and beyond. So here's where you come in. Here's what I need from you. I need to know where you want to go, your dreams, your goals, your questions and even your stories. Share them with me so that we can explore this freelance marketplace together. You can reach me at Ashley at TalkFreelanceToMecom. You can also find me on social media Most platforms. I'm at the handle at TalkFreelanceToMe.

Ashley Mejia: 8:01

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast rate, review us and share us with a friend. So, to wrap up, I just want to say, whether you are riding up a storm, you're designing something, your masterpiece, or crafting a new strategy, I just want you to know that I see you, we see you. We know what it's like to run your own business as yourself and maybe a VA. We believe in you and we're here every step of the way. So stay tuned, enjoy the ride and remember. In the world of freelance, you steer the ship. And with that we've come to the end of another episode. Please make sure you hit subscribe if you haven't already done so, and give me a five star review on Apple. This will help out a lot in reaching more listeners with our podcast. I invite you to check out the show notes and grab my free Nitches Get Riches freelance writing worksheet. You can use it to brainstorm the best niches for your writing business and if you're not a writer, you can still use it to get business ideas.

Ashley Mejia: 9:10

And until next time, this is Ashley Cisneros Mejia at Talk Freelance to Me. Don't forget we all get this one precious life. Don't constrain yourself to a box that you were never meant to fit in. It is your right to profit from your own creative gifts. This podcast was created by Ashley Cisneros Mejia. Our intro music was composed by the one and only Donna Raphael of World Instrumentals. Talk Freelance to Me is a product of Fenix Creative Studio.