I boarded my plane home to North Carolina this week with my notepad and head full of new ideas for my business after attending the ASJA Client Connections Conference in Chicago. I am exhausted, energized and already counting the days till the ASJA annual conference Connect for Success in New York City from April 30 to May 2.

It was a fantastic conference. I learned new tips about content. I hung out with old writer buddies and met new ones. I had my first deep dish pizza. I wish that each of you could have attended the conference as well. But as the next best thing, here are seven things I learned at the conference:

1. Find your one great story. Jay Heinrichs was everything you hope for in a keynote speaker. He was funny, inspirational, and information. He made a lot of fantastic points, including that writers should focus on being influencers and learning to shoot videos. But it was slide #15 that really resonated with me and will haunt me until I fulfill its mission. He explained that in the long run your career is going to depend on one issue that you are passionate about. I realized while sitting in the hard auditorium chairs at Columbia College that I haven’t found “my” story yet. I need to find the story that I was put on this earth to tell and figure out a way to share it with my words. And honestly, it doesn’t matter how much money I make or many national publications if I don’t find that one great story that makes me feel like my career was a success. I’m not sure what it is, but he reminded me that I need to keep searching until I find it.
2. Associations are a fantastic market for content marketing writers. During Content Connections, I met several writers who are making a great living by working primarily for associations in various industries. I didn’t realize that almost every association publishes a magazine for their members, so they are constantly in need of well-written content. These publications are also a great place to write journalistic stories without the hassles of the glossy consumer magazines. I had no idea how many associations were out there until I did a Google search. During Client Connections, I spoke with two editors of association magazines who were looking for writers to write journalistic style features. One of my goals for 2015 is to more fully explore the association market.
3. It is very possible to make a six figure income as a freelancer if you combine both content marketing and journalism. I met two writers who will make six figures in 2014. One of them was earning just $24K two years ago and has doubled her income each of the past two years to reach this milestone. While both writers worked their tails off, they both are moms who had lives outside their computer as well. If they can do it, so can you.
4. The key to high earnings is to have regular clients. Both of the new members to the six figures club credit their stellar year to regular clients. One earned $40K from a single client and the other had a $20K client. By having regular clients, you reduce your marketing time significantly which increases the time you have for writing. When you are very familiar with a client’s style and the subject matter, you can produce high quality content in a shorter amount of time which increases your hourly rate.
5. Everyone has a niche that is marketable in the content marketing world. Wendy Helfenbaum and I led a workshop where we guided participants through my five step process for finding markets in your niche. Several of the attendees told me that their niche wouldn’t work for content marketing. And they were correct–the niche that they were primarily writing about for journalism outlets didn’t translate well to content. However, when I asked more questions about secondary topics they wrote about, hobbies, past jobs, and volunteer work we came up some great niches. I am pretty sure that I heard my favorite niche of all time on Thursday–Women’s Roller Derby. So if you think you don’t have one, think outside of the box and keep brainstorming till you find the right one.
6. Look for potential clients everywhere. When consumer pubs were the mainstay of a writer’s income, it was easy to target potential clients. All you had to do was peruse the shelves at Barnes and Nobel or search through the handy Writers Market. But with content marketing, one of the best part as well as the biggest challenge is that there are countless numbers of clients and they are often in places you have never thought of. Jennifer Fink talked about finding a client while looking through her junk mail and finding a newsletter for a local client. And I found one of my biggest clients while talking to a fellow soccer parent on the sidelines.
7. Being around other writers is energizing. Interestingly, I learn as much from the meetings with fellow writers over coffee as from the sessions themselves and honestly networking with other writers is primarily the main reason I attend. While the content at a conference is great, I always get the most out of the relationships I build with other writers both in terms of someone to bounce ideas off of throughout the year as well sharing job leads with each other.

I actually am sad as a finish this recap, because it means that the conference is officially over. I really love the regional ASJA conferences and can’t wait to attend another one.

What did you learn at Content Connections?