Partner and prosper: How to work with other freelance writers
Other freelance writers are not the enemy. In fact, they’re your friends.
In this episode, we discuss how we partner and work with other freelancers.
There are plenty of ways to collaborate with other freelancers. This podcast is one of them!
But you could also:
Go to conferences together
Partner on projects with designers, SEO specialists, or social media managers
Help shared spaces (think Slack or Facebook groups) grow by participating actively
Host a writing retreat (we did it—and loved it)
Kaleigh partnered with Paul Jarvis for Creative Class. They co-taught, planned the lessons, and even ran a podcast together. Other freelancers have done lead magnet swaps ( i.e. you share their content with your audience, and vice-versa.) It’s a great way to share valuable material with both your audiences.
But the key takeaway? It has to feel right.
When shouldn’t you partner with other freelancers?
We’ve seen a lot of affiliate marketing in our time. Someone selling someone else’s course for a kickback. That doesn’t really resonate with us. But promoting something that I think is really valuable without expecting money in return? Sure.
“I don’t want my advice to be financially incentivized.”
When you have an audience you have a responsibility to them. You have to do what feels right for you, and what makes sense for your business. Just think of it as a personal gut check.
Example: you’re working with a designer to create a case study for a client. Both of you are getting paid. The financial implications are super clear and spelled out in the contract, so there’s no grey area, and that feels great.
But when people are hiding where the money ends up? It can get murky.
You always want to know why someone is recommending a product. Just who exactly is getting those kickbacks? That’s why we recommend approaching this subject with healthy skepticism.
The group project of doom
Whenever people ask us to partner with them, we make sure to run through a mental checklist first.
Do you trust them? Are you friends?
Is this a good opportunity for both parties?
Or are they trying to partner with you just to get something out of you?
It can feel like being back in high school. Are you going to be stuck in a group project with the lazy kids and end up doing all of the work? That’s why you have to be very clear about who is doing what in the contract.
Here’s a cautionary tale for you. Kaleigh once had the opportunity to be an instructor for a platform that does group lessons. The company talked it up: a flat fee up front, 50% of ticket sales, promotion, etc.
Kaleigh did a bunch of prep work for it. But two weeks before the class opened they had only sold three tickets. So they scrapped the class.
“I sent an invoice for what I had done so far, but they said they didn’t have a budget for that since the course wasn’t launching and couldn’t pay me anything. And there was nothing in the contract that said if the course is canceled we’ll still pay you. So…I learned from that.”
The key takeaway? Protect yourself when you’re collaborating with people you don’t trust implicitly. Have a contract that covers everything.
Why you should always read the fine print
Clarity around what’s required is key.
Something might sound like a great opportunity but when you dig into the details, you realize it might not be a fit for you. They might ask you to promote them on your channels but if they’re not a fit for you? It’s not a great look.
The wrong kind of partnership can really weaken your brand. Sometimes you see people promoting tons of other people's stuff and think—well, where are you in this?
When you partner with someone you’re aligning yourself with them. So make sure you know who you’re dealing with. Make sure that you trust them.
If you’re not sure whether something is a good fit for you or not, ask around. It’s great to have a network of people you can turn to in tough times. And a lot of the time you can be too close to an idea, so it’s important to have an outside view.
Strength in numbers
One of the upsides of partnerships is it really gives you a push to do something you might be scared to do by yourself. We might have never done this podcast alone. It would have been hard talking to thin air! And we both knew we’d have a better time and ship a better product working together.
You don’t need to partner with everyone under the sun. It’s best to be super selective about it.
If you have an idea and don’t want to go at it alone, then seek out a partner. You just have to make sure you feel right about it. And make sure that the other party is equally invested in it. And when you find that person?
That’s when partnerships become prosperous.
This season of FWCP is brought to you by Eva Gutierrez, creator of the Client Acquisition System.