It’s been a crazy year. And no one honestly knows what is ahead both in terms our freelance businesses and our every day life. It’s super easy to get weighed down in the layers of uncertainty. But the best way to prepare your business for the next year and lessen your stress is to take action by learning new skills and making connections.

Because the ASJA in-person conference was cancelled, we are holding a virtual version of the conference. In July, we had a fabulous track devoted to Journalism and the Books track is scheduled for September. And starting next Tuesday is the Content Marketing Track, which I have had great fun of organizing as the track chair. Click here register and get more information

But more than just a bunch of sessions that you attend on Zoom when you remember, I want this track to create something I know that I’ve been missing, a community and shared experience. We need each other right now – for support, ideas and leads. Yes, my Freelance Content Marketing Writer Facebook Group is a supportive community. But this will be smaller and you will be learning new things with other writers, which means a shared experience.

You get access to 14 sessions on a wide range of topics, including some top experts including Clare McDermott, Ann Glynn, Melanie Deziel, and Ed Gandia. We also have editors from AP News Content, Mashable, Skyword, IDG, Contently, Vox, and more. Plus, you can sign up for Snack Chats, and have access to the attendee only FB page. Check out our schedule here.

One of the things I am most excited about is how affordable the track is. If you are an ASJA member then the cost is $60 and only $90 for non-ASJA members, for 14 sessions. You can also sign up for the entire conference for $250 for non-ASJA members, which gives you access to all the Journalism track recordings and the September book sessions.

I am positive that if you attend the majority of the sessions and participate in the FB group then you will earn at least your $90 back (and very likely 10 or more times) with a new idea, market, skill or connection.

Here are three ways the track helps grow your business:

• Discover new ways to find and land new clients.
  • Learn how to select clients that are likely to be a perfect match, by hearing from other writers who share what they learned from getting fired.
  • Get inspired by Leslie Lang’s story of how she went from 0 work to $8K in 30 days through aggressive marketing.
  • Increase your rates after learning how to add value to your clients. Ed Gandia, host of the popular “High-Income Business Writing” podcast, explains how.
  • Create a plan for transitioning from journalism to content marketing after attending Dan Hatch’s practical session.
  • Ask top content marketing editors your most pressing questions to learn how to land more gigs and become editors’ favorite freelancer.
• Learn new techniques for creating content that thrills your clients (and their customers). By staying on top of new trends and techniques, your clients will see results from your content and hire you for more projects.
  • Put Clare McDermott, former editor of Chief Content Officer magazine, and her session on content marketing trends on your list of must-attend sessions.
  • Hear from the SEO masters about current SEO trends and techniques, including Michael Fitzgeraldwith The Boston Globe Magazine, Barry Schwartz, the news editor at Search Engine Land, Pete Meyers at Moz, and Amanda Chan, the director of content strategy for Bustle Digital Group.
  • Add video scriptwriting to your list of services after learning the secrets from one of the best in the industry — Daniel Littlewood is the executive producer of The Explainer Studioat Vox Creative.
  • Find out headline writing secrets from Philip Garrity, editor of Contently’s “The Freelancer” blog – and get a chance to receive feedback on your own headlines.
  • Discover how to find and manage content marketing sources as Ann Glynn, editorial consultant to the Content Marketing Institute, shares her secrets.
  • Learn a proven method for coming up with new story ideas from Melanie Deziel, author of The Content Fuel Framework: How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas, founder of StoryFuel, and the first editor of branded content at The New York Times.
  • Hear from Adam Clement, the creative content manager for AP Content Services at the Associated Press, on how to create content in times of crisis and change.
• Make connections with editors and other writers.
  • Join the exclusive attendees only Content Marketing Track Facebook group, which will be active during August to help you replicate the experience of an in-person conference as much as possible – make new writer friends, talk about the sessions, ask questions.
  • Pick from more than 7 different “snack chats,” which are intimate, hour-long video networking sessions, to meet other writers with similar interests. These are open only to people who register for the full conference or the full Content Marketing Track.
  • Chat with other attendees during the session using the Zoom chat feature.
  • Ask questions during the live sessions (to speakers and panelists) using the Q&A time at the end of each presentation.
  • Sign-up for an accountability buddy. For this track, I will be pairing attendees who want an accountability buddy with another writer to help you make even more connections.

And as a bonus, we have two sessions that cover moving between freelancing and full-time work. Many freelancers often make several transitions between the two roles during their career. Because every company needs content, content marketing writing experience gives you many more options both as a freelancer and full-time employee.

I get no money from you registering to attend. I have nothing to gain personally. But I’ve devoted much of my career to helping writers. And I really want each one of you to have the career that gives you the income, flexibility and personal satisfaction that you want. This is an amazing opportunity to to learn from some of the most talented content marketers at very affordable price – about the cost of a nice dinner out.

With the conference starting next week, it’s officially last minute. The Facebook Group launches today and the sessions start Tuesday. You owe it to yourself to invest in your business. You are worth it.

Get more information or register here. Let me know if you have any questions about the conference. I am looking forward to meeting each one of you.