I was so impressed with Kathryn Hawkins’ blog post for freelancers about working with content marketing agencies that I wanted to ask her a few follow-up questions and share more of your insight with you.  Kathryn has a unique perspective because she was a freelance writer for many years and now owns Eucalypt Media, a content marketing agency. She was gracious enough to answer a few more questions and provide us with more great advice. Thank you, Kathryn!

Jennifer: What do writers transitioning from traditional journalism/consumer pubs to content marketing need to know and understand about content marketing strategy?

Kathryn: Content marketing requires all of the same skills as traditional journalism, in terms of developing an informative, entertaining, and well-sourced story. When it comes to content marketing, you’ll often need to be more aware of where your data comes from—i.e., not sourcing statistics from or quoting the company’s competitors without the client’s permission—and the client may have more overall control of the tone and messaging of the story than a magazine editor would. Then again, many magazines make a concerted effort to provide content that appeals to their advertisers, so the corporate-influenced messaging is just a bit more overt in this case. Still, developing a good, informative, and accurate story should be the first concern of any content marketing writer, regardless of the end client.

Jennifer: How important is having a niche or industry experience in content marketing? How much experience on a specific topic does a writer need before you will assign a story in that niche?

Kathryn: Having a particular niche or two can be extremely beneficial, and in general, I prefer to hire writers who’ve gained at least some of that industry experience in traditional media or have expertise in the field itself. Writers with experience writing about topics such as technology, science, law, finance, and health for high-level B2B audiences are particularly valuable, since those can be difficult subjects to learn well.

Jennifer: If a writer doesn’t hear back from an agency, should they follow up? Any tips for following up?

Kathryn: There’s no harm in following up, but I wouldn’t be overly aggressive about it—I’d say wait a month or so unless you know that the agency is in the process of staffing for a particular project that fits your skill set, and I’d recommend sticking with email rather than trying to make contact by phone. When you follow up, make sure to spotlight any new industry experience you might have gained since your previous letter, since this may make you a more marketable candidate.

Jennifer: What common mistakes do you see writers make in their LOI’s?

Kathryn: Not being clear about the publications you’ve written for and your industry expertise. Agencies aren’t necessarily going to download your samples or click through to your website without some motivation for doing so—make sure to identify specific publications and/or corporate clients that you’ve written for in your LOI, and customize your messaging to fit that agency’s specialties.

If the agency focuses on health-related content, start your message off with details of your background in the medical field and any publications in that industry that you’ve written for, for example. I anticipate that LOIs, by their nature, are form letters, but I’m much more likely to pay attention if the writer customizes it enough to demonstrate why she is particularly equipped to help our agency.

Jennifer: Any other advice that you want to give freelancers?

Kathryn: It may just be me, but I always cringe when the letter starts with “Dear Ms. Hawkins,” as no one has ever called me that in real life except for a supermarket cashier or two. Keep it professional, but don’t go overboard on the formalities—first names are fine!