For June’s Verblio (formerly BlogMutt) Freelance Writer Spotlight, we’re excited to feature Paul Davis, a professional freelance writer who began his career by writing for Verblio.
We don’t get too many surprise visitors to our small office in Boulder, CO, so when Paul dropped by while passing through town, we couldn’t resist the chance to sit down and catch up with him in person.
Paul with his wife and adorable kids
Back in September of 2014, Paul found Verblio through a Facebook ad while looking for additional income sources to support his brand new business. He had worked as a content writer in the past, helping his parents with their small non-profit, but he didn’t have all of the fancy credentials offered by many of his competitors. Verblio was a perfect fit.
Unfortunately, Paul’s first small business didn’t last:
“When that business fell through, I returned to [Verblio] because it was one of the few revenue sources that seemed predictable, and it was!”
(Read more in the profile Paul wrote about his journey back in 2015.)
For his first Verblio post, Paul wrote about using “capture planning” to win government contracts. If you don’t know what that is, the important thing to know is that you’re not alone. Paul has a certain gift for selecting topics that are too challenging for other writers.
Once Paul got some momentum going, this ‘gift’ quickly helped him find his Verblio niche: anything and everything that no one else was willing to write. He took on (and aced) some of Verblio’s most technical topics, things like CAD drawings, software integrations, and microfinance.
Fast forward to the end of 2015, when Paul was writing up to 10 posts per day on Verblio. By the time he reached Level 8, Paul had gained the confidence (and contacts) to start working with private clients. His on-paper credentials now included over 600 published blog posts for hundreds of different small businesses. He had written for IT firms, SEO agencies, hospitals, and law firms.
Today, Paul doesn’t write for Verblio as much as did a year ago, but he still uses the platform to supplement the income he receives from his private clients. “I have managed to build out several regular and one-time writing clients,” he says. “…Because of the many posts I published here, I was able to clearly determine who I loved writing for, how to help them with content and marketing, and how to find them. Writing nearly full-time for [Verblio] for a year gave me such a kickstart to my freelance writing career.”
“Writing nearly full-time for [Verblio] for a year gave me such a kickstart to my freelance writing career.”
We simply love hearing stories about writers using Verblio to launch their careers, and we’re working hard to be a platform that supports writers at every stage of that process. Verblio is all about relationships, and it’s relationships like this one that help us get great content to our customers and provide support for great writers like Paul.
So, why does Paul think Verblio gave his career a boost?
As Paul puts it, it’s not just the writer who must qualify to write for Verblio, it’s writing for Verblio that qualifies someone to be a writer. The more you write, the more you learn, and the more you gain confidence in your niche.
Sometimes, of course, there are small hiccoughs along the way. Paul laughs that once, he tried out a post about “comparing women’s lingerie to the movie 50 Shades of Gray.” Although he professes to steer clear of the stranger topics, Paul realized this was a stretch for someone who had not actually read the book (nor tested out the lingerie). It’s a good thing he has other strengths as a writer; needless to say, Paul doesn’t see himself as the next E.L. James.
Needless to say, Paul doesn’t see himself as the next E.L. James.
Image via Wikipedia
With a healthy group of private clients, Paul says that Verblio now provides a different resource for him than it did back in 2015. “I am a high-touch, highly personable marketer,” he says, “so I need to be able to develop relationships face-to-face. Because I need that to develop private clients, I highly value Verblio for providing work when I don’t have the time to build those relationships.”
“I highly value [Verblio] for providing work when I don’t have the time to build those [client] relationships.”
According to Paul, “The best/worst thing about the freelance writing business is the pay: and it’s the best and worse thing.” He goes on to say that because great writing can be so valuable, many customers are willing to pay good sums for content that creates conversions and leads. “But,” he says, as an independent freelancer, “those customers can be hard to find, so we have to build up relationships with other organizations (like Verblio) where we can get regular work consistently.”
Paul Davis on the Job
Incidentally, Paul’s writing business, Paul Davis Solutions, is now on track to double last year’s revenue and there are no signs that Paul will stop there.
To our team, this all about matching. Small businesses often can’t afford a full-time writer, but they still need quality content. And for freelance writers, the challenges of finding and caring for a customer base can sometimes leave gaps in their income. By providing a flexible income source for writers that’s there when they need it, Verblio is able to give our customers exceptional value in their content.
Catching up with writers like Paul is a great reminder of why Verblio exists and it helps keep me motivated to make Verblio the best writing platform out there. Why not give our content a try? You just might find the content writer(s) of your dreams!
