The Lady Gaga Guide To Epic Freelance Writing

Lady Gaga – you either love her or hate her. She is an undeniable phenomenon, and with lightening speed, she has secured her place at the very top of the pop culture pyramid. Nobody really knew of Lady Gaga four or five years ago. And today, she is everywhere.

Lady Gaga may be controversial, but she did a lot of things right. Her meteoric rise to fame can be attributed to brilliant marketing, steadfast devotion to her crazed fans/Monsters, a hearty dose of the unexpected all against the backdrop of an amazing talent.

As freelance writers, we have a lot to learn from Lady Gaga. And so I present to you The Lady Gaga Guide to Epic Freelance Writing.

Believe in yourself

As Gaga would say, you were born this way. The desire…the need to write courses through your veins.

Don’t deny your implicit talents.

Don’t reject your skills or second guess your capacity to excel.

If you are going to succeed as a freelance writer, you need to believe in yourself. Period.

Differentiate

I am not suggesting that you show up to your next client meeting in an egg pod wearing 24 inch heels and a raw meat suit. However, to be noticed in the blogosphere, you need to be different.

This is The Freelance Writing Blog (blah) – but I am writing to kick my readers butts so that they will acknowledge their talents and earn more!

That’s my angle. What’s yours?

You can differentiate on the basis of topic or tone or service. I tell my freelance writing clients that I’m different than other copywriters – my turnaround is lightening fast, I’m always on budget and I work independently (no hand holding required).

Think of ways in which you can command attention and inspire confidence. What makes you different?

Give your fans what they want

Lady Gaga is arguably one of the most doting celebrities on the scene. She indulges her fans’ needs in an incredibly intimate and attentive manner, and they, in turn, are steadfastly loyal. Gaga fills a void and makes her fans feel great when they ‘connect’ with her.

As freelance writers, it’s important that we provide our clients and our readers with exactly what they want. Understand your stakeholders’ pain points and solve their problems. If you can make them feel good about the interaction (whether it’s as a result of the Ebook they download, or the case study that you write or the article that you craft), they will pass on repeat business.

Choose messages that resonate for your audience

Lady Gaga identified with the marginalized misfit and she knew that if she wrote songs with that profile in mind, she would find success. Turns out, everyone is a marginalized misfit to some degree, so her message is ultimately universal.

But freelance writers need to be able to use the same laser sharp focus to zero in on those messages that will have impact.

Know your audience, eliminate gratuitous language, choose words that pack punch and tell it like it is.

Capitalize on your talent

If you are a gifted writer, don’t settle for lousy pay! Don’t do it.

You are talented and you deserve to be compensated accordingly. You are providing a valuable service.

Set your sights high, think big, expect success and don’t be shy about demanding a respectable rate.

Lady Gaga probably wouldn’t settle for crap pay, why should you?

Take criticism with a grain of salt

Lady Gaga could care less about what others think. She’s got a thick skin, and I suspect that criticism serves as fuel to drive her closer to her goals.

And yet, recently, Gaga inadvertently made some offensive remarks (using the ‘R’ word) about individuals with disabilities. When it was brought to her attention, she immediately issued a very genuine and heartfelt apology. And she went a step further – she started to crusade against the use of the offensive term.

It’s important to ignore criticism borne from jealousy or power or misdirected ‘expertise’. But sometimes, criticism can open your eyes, and even Lady Gaga understands this.

Writers are particularly sensitive to criticism. We need to trust our own instincts, but also be open enough to learn and grow.

Are you a Lady Gaga fan? Does she inspire you to be a better copywriter?

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Tagged as: copywriting, Freelance Writing, Lady Gaga