Editor’s Note: This post recapping my freelance content marketing activities in January was originally published on LinkedIn.
It’s been just over a month since switching into my new role as stay at home dad and content freelancer and strategy consultant. Whew!
My freelance content marketing lesson one
Don’t do this before the holidays, especially if you have kids that are going to be home from school on winter break.
The holiday break is exhausting for any parent not just us newbies, I am sure, and more so when you’re trying to understand you work capacity, create a routine and exceed expectations for your clients.
On the flip side, I did get to work on some cool projects the last few weeks, including a handful of videos for UserTesting and their company and sales kickoffs, Veracity’s podcast interviews with Mac Prichard and Artlandia’s Misty Tompoles, professional style advice with my favorite realtors and stylist, and a special project that Melissa Barker will soon be releasing.
And, of course, I continue to help Act-On with blog posts, their holiday video, Nina’s weekly videos and the Rethink Marketing Podcast.
P.S. I am just reading this about a year later, and it really doesn’t get any easier managing full-time dad duties and being a freelance content marketer. There seems to always be some season or event that is going to throw off the schedule. It could be sick days or spring break or summer break.
The good news is that I have been busy enough that I can turn down projects that I don’t want to do. I have been on the other side of that fence in years past and it was incredibly hard.
In those times when I am overbooked writing a series of nurture emails for a demand generation team or editing a bunch of videos for a new campaign, I have to remind myself that my first job is to be dad to my kids. There can definitely be a pull toward my computer after I have picked them up from school. In those times, I remind myself that a lot of parents would love to be in this position to spend time with their kids playing or exploring or simply going to go get an ice cream cone.