The Savvy Scribe

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Welcome to the Savvy Scribe Podcast, I'm so glad you're here! Before we start the show, if you're interested, we have a free Facebook group called "Savvy Nurse Writer Community"

I appreciate you following me and listening today. I would LOVE for you to subscribe: ITUNES

And if you love it, can I ask for a Savvy Nurse Writer Community on Facebook and visit savvynursewriter.com to help you get started today!

Support the show

FOLLOW & REVIEW THE SAVVY SCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS

I appreciate you following me and listening today. I would LOVE for you to subscribe: ITUNES

And if you love it, can I ask for a review? Select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.”

If you’re ready to start exploring if freelance writing is your next PRN job or even full-time, I invite you to check out the Savvy Nurse Writer Community on Facebook and the Plan Produce Profit  + Writing Skills Course to help you get started today!

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to the Savvy Scribe Podcast, I'm so glad you're here! Before we start the show, if you're interested, we have a free Facebook group called "Savvy Nurse Writer Community"

I appreciate you following me and listening today. I would LOVE for you to subscribe: ITUNES

And if you love it, can I ask for a Savvy Nurse Writer Community on Facebook and visit savvynursewriter.com to help you get started today!

Support the show

FOLLOW & REVIEW THE SAVVY SCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS

I appreciate you following me and listening today. I would LOVE for you to subscribe: ITUNES

And if you love it, can I ask for a review? Select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.”

If you’re ready to start exploring if freelance writing is your next PRN job or even full-time, I invite you to check out the Savvy Nurse Writer Community on Facebook and the Plan Produce Profit  + Writing Skills Course to help you get started today!

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to the Savvy Scribe Podcast, I'm so glad you're here! Before we start the show, if you're interested, we have a free Facebook group called "Savvy Nurse Writer Community"

I appreciate you following me and listening today. I would LOVE for you to subscribe: ITUNES

And if you love it, can I ask for a Savvy Nurse Writer Community on Facebook and visit savvynursewriter.com to help you get started today!

Support the show

FOLLOW & REVIEW THE SAVVY SCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS

I appreciate you following me and listening today. I would LOVE for you to subscribe: ITUNES

And if you love it, can I ask for a review? Select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.”

If you’re ready to start exploring if freelance writing is your next PRN job or even full-time, I invite you to check out the Savvy Nurse Writer Community on Facebook and the Plan Produce Profit  + Writing Skills Course to help you get started today!

Welcome to DAY SEVEN of the 7 Day Nurse to Writer Challenge. If you haven't listened to the prior episode, I recommend you go back and start at Episode 116.

If you haven't joined the challenge yet, here's the link to join: https://savvynursewriter.com/challenge/

Here we go into DAY 7!

You did it! You hopefully have been able to discover

-   Why you want to start a freelance writing business

-   When you will start your freelance writing business

-   The Types of Writing health writers do –  and choosing yours

-   How to structure a blog post for clients and steps to become a content specialist

And today

-   Who you want to write for

Don’t be Superwriter.

We call the people who try to do it all a generalist. Generalists often think they can write anything. This might be true, but companies don’t want the generalist. When trying to figure out your freelance writing niche, think about what clients are willing to pay for, and what you enjoy writing about.

After you discover your freelance writing niche, it’s time to make it visible. You can put it all over social profiles like your LinkedIn and Twitter, but don’t ignore your website and your email signature.

Think about:

·   What area do I work in (that I actually like)

·   What hobbies do I have outside of work?

·   What am I curious about?

·   What work have I done in the past?

Clients to pitch

Make a list of blogs or publications you generally like to read. Search on google “Write for us __name of publication_” or “Editor for ___name of blog__”

If you want more ideas, how to craft a pitch that will be read, and more, I invite you to sign up for my course: Plan, Produce and Profit

I really hope you liked this challenge and are ready to uplevel with the membership and course!

Welcome to DAY SIX of the 7 Day Nurse to Writer Challenge. If you haven't listened to the prior episode, I recommend you go back and start at Episode 116.

If you haven't joined the challenge yet, here's the link to join: https://savvynursewriter.com/challenge/

Here we go into DAY 6!

How are blogs structured?

Like I said before, I think this is the best place for writers to start. You can grow your business quickly with blog posts. Ofcourse, growing your business has to start with one client. Inside my course, you can learn HOW to pitch and how to gain clients. You’ll also be able to be a part of the Insiders Group after you graduate to pitch clients and subcontract with me for your first (and multiple) paid assignments.

Plan It Out

The first step to structure a blog post is to plan the content strategy. You have to ask: Who is your audience? This should not be an overall topic like “pet lovers”. If you write blog posts about all different topics, you won’t be found because you won’t look like an “expert” in anything. Try to scale down (or niche down) to see if you can specify what it is you exactly want to provide information about.

Be the Guide

Then, guide the reader. You can do this in several ways. Start by making blog posts answering:

·   How to

·   Why

·   What you can do to

Make sure you’re helping your reader, not trying to sell them on your product. For example, this post is about effective ways to structure a blog post. I sell packages to help business owners in their content strategy, blog management, and social media, but I also help them. I give it away, though for people to do themselves.

Set Up Systems

Even though I wrote this blog post to help business owners write their content and structure a blog post, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a link in here for me to help you. You have to have a call to action for your reader. Think about what you want them to do next. The purpose of blogging is to grow your business. Ask yourself, what do you want your reader to do next?

o   – Sign up?

o   – Click on a link?

o   – Download something?

o   – Share it?

Set up these systems to make sure they work correctly if someone clicks the link.

Headline

I like to do this last after I have the entire post was written, and I know two things:

o   – What exactly I wrote

o   – What problem I am solving

Add an image after your headline to start your content.

The Introduction

I usually write my Introduction second to last. It is essential to structure a blog post to help you introduce the entire post. A good introduction helps engage the reader and guides them to want to learn more from your content presented. What to include in an engaging introduction :

o   – Ask a question and make sure it’s relevant to the post

o   – Tell a story

White Space

After the introduction and before the body of the article press enter twice. This helps your eyes take a break. You can add an image before the post as well.

The Body

Writing for the web is different than writing for magazines or newspapers. People want to read but really people want to skim. The body is composed of the main points of your article. To make it easy on the reader include things like:

o   – Lists

o   – Bullets

o.  – Social breaks “tweet this quote” etc.

When you write your body, try to think of a topic sentence and follow with evidence. Keep in mind though, only to make your paragraphs a

Support the show (http://www.thesavvyscribepodcast.com)

Welcome to DAY FIVE of the 7 Day Nurse to Writer Challenge. If you haven't listened to the prior episode, I recommend you go back and start at Episode 116.

If you haven't joined the challenge yet, here's the link to join: https://savvynursewriter.com/challenge/

Here we go into DAY 5!

As for types of writing, here are the answers.

Types of writing

Freelancers have several types of writing they can do. They include

-   Blogs
-   Web articles
-   Ebooks
-   White papers
-   Magazines
-   Courses
-   Copy (words) on websites
-   Sales pages
-   Newsletters and more.

I know we have patient stories we want to share. Save those for your friends. The writing companies want you to go beyond the bedside. Maybe you have some educational background and want to teach nurses. You can write for nursing websites.

When I started, I chose blogs because I liked a conversational tone, and they are easy to write. I had a toddler and a school-age child at the time, and I knew I needed something easy.

That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

What is a blog article for a health company?

Blogs are articles that combine essential elements of facts and opinions from subject matter experts.

Usually, articles that health companies want aren’t first-person focused (save those for your personal blog). Instead, they are generally third-person facing educating patients and consumers. With health tips, advice, etc.

Creating a health blog post is not as simple as they look when you read them. You have to pitch topics no one else has written on (or if it is the same, you have to make it better), and then you have to have some incredible research backing up what you know. You also have to provide evidence-based research (duh - we know that).

To make yourself a better writer, you can start to study social media platforms, how to write better, and search engine optimization. This will uplevel you from health writer to content specialist.

Today’s activity is to think about the TYPES of writing you would like to do and make a list. Research a little bit about the ones I gave you.

Tomorrow, we’re going to dive into HOW blogs are structured and how you can create an incredible post for a client.

Welcome to DAY FOUR of the 7 Day Nurse to Writer Challenge. If you haven't listened to the prior episode, I recommend you go back and start at Episode 116.

If you haven't joined the challenge yet, here's the link to join: https://savvynursewriter.com/challenge/

Here we go into DAY 4!

Today we’re talking about not so much a time management activity, but a productivity activity. This is also one of my favorite topics because it has literally changed my life.

It’s called Batching.

Batching Work to Achieve Productivity

When I talked about managing your time, you may have noticed that you can do a lot within your day. It’s VERY easy to become distracted and multitask in this type of business.

In order to start batching, you have to first stop multitasking.

Every time you try to do something while you’re working on something else, you now have made your brain change. You have to now focus on something different, which is mentally draining.

Did you know that multitaskers experience a 40% drop in productivity, take 50% longer to accomplish a task, and commit up to 50% more errors (thanks, Neil for that statistic).

How I use batching for writing assignments

I use batching in all areas of my business, such as:

-   Pitching
-   Podcasting
-   Social Media
-   Email creation
-   Writing assignments

When I sit down to write blog posts or even assigned work for a client, I prioritize.

For example, when I write up challenges, like this one, I don’t ever do it from beginning to end.

I start with a prioritizing system. When I have multiple assignments from clients, I break them up into different “batches”:

-   Research
-   Outline
-   Draft
-   Finalize
-   Format

I use my tool called Clickup to take the articles through the process. ClickUp lets you move the “card” through the stages (research, outline, draft, finalize, and format).

For my ideal work week, I will do a day of batching for research for all the articles I am writing. Then, I will do a day of outlining, etc.

When I get to the most challenging phase, for me, drafting, I don’t do all the writing for every article that day. It can be too draining. That’s why there’s always another day. That’s also why you want to protect those hours of power and protect your time to grow your business.

Today, I want you to make your list of things you can batch and start adding it to your ideal workweek.

Now that we have your why and your time management figured out, tomorrow we’re going to go into what most nurse writers are writing for money…blog articles.

Welcome to DAY THREE of the 7 Day Nurse to Writer Challenge. If you haven't listened to the prior episode, I recommend you go back and start at Episode 116.

If you haven't joined the challenge yet, here's the link to join: https://savvynursewriter.com/challenge/

Here we go into DAY 3!

What Is an Ideal Work Week?

An Ideal Work Week is your incredibly optimistic version of the way you’d love to spend your time each week. 

It’s not a dream but a reality. You map out your week from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed and see where the gaps are. Let’s get started.

Ideal Workweek process

Start with a blank piece of paper or Google Doc.

Remember, in the last lesson we talked all about the hour of power? I want you to map that into your schedule first. Then, add in your hours for your job (I know, if it’s nursing, it can be scattered, but make a general guess). Now, add in the demands of life, children’s activities, etc.

You are going to have a different week than anyone else.

Now, take your planner calendar. I use Google Calendar because of everything talks (and it’s free). I love the fact that I can share it too with my son and husband. I also like that I can make an idea work week and not share it with anyone but myself to help me plan. This helps me know if I am protecting my ideal work week and my time.

Test it out

Try it out for the rest of this week. You will make tweaks; that’s normal. Start to match up your low energy activities with your high energy ones.

I laid out my plan for next Tuesday below:

4:45-5:00am – Wake up, make coffee, feed animals, stretch

5:00am-7:00am – TWO Hours of power – deep writing work

7:00am-9:00am – Tend to garden, wake up boys, make breakfast, workout, shower, laundry, cleaning, start virtual learning

9:00-11:30am – Virtual learning next to son. Keep laptop nearby and do small tasks (respond to email, social media)

11:30am – 12:30pm – Break, make lunch, call for appt, get mail etc.

12:30-3:00pm – Virtual learning and checking more emails and assignments, fold laundry, clean up

3:00pm-3:30pm – break time, take a walk/bikeride with my kids

3:30pm – 5:00 pm – prep dinner, put laundry away, make phone calls

5:00pm – 6:00pm – dinner prep and eat

6:00pm – 8:00pm – Deep work again

8:00pm – 9:30pm – bathe kids, put them to bed, catch up with husband

9:30pm – 10:00pm – wind down and go to sleep

My biggest tip is to make sure your energy levels line up with your tasks to be done during that time period. If you don’t, you won’t be productive.

While you’re testing your calendar, feel free to adjust.

"My ideal week isn’t working."

Sometimes, we can’t get the real calendar to match up with our ideal work week calendar. I’m sure this happened to many parents who are doing the virtual learning. I used to have ALL DAY to myself grow my business; now, it’s far from. I had to take time to readjust. It takes time, and I am still readjusting as our weeks go on.

Again, this looks different for everyone, but the key to remember is that 100 percent is generally unattainable, so that can’t be your benchmark for success.

Accept that perfection isn’t the goal

Your ideal work week will never be perfect, and that’s okay. We will have vet appointments, personal appointments, or days we need to focus on ourselves instead of working. It’s important to realize that it’s okay (and even normal) if your expectation doesn’t meet reality and to accept the things you can’t change.

Try it out. If anything, I guarantee you will see som

Welcome to DAY TWO of the 7 Day Nurse to Writer Challenge. If you haven't listened to the prior episode, I recommend you go back and start at Episode 116.

If you haven't joined the challenge yet, here's the link to join: https://savvynursewriter.com/challenge/

Here we go into DAY 2!

Time Management

Today we’re diving into time management.

I love this topic because it’s how I grew my business from 0 to $15K in my first year as a writer, with only working 4 hours a week.

I have perfected my time management over time, but with the changing “seasons of life” (ahem, COVID-19, and virtual learning), changing the way I work in my business time is critical to my business growth.

There are three time management activities that I want you to take on in this challenge. Each of them will be presenting over the next few days. Those three are:

1. The Hour of Power

2. The Ideal Workweek

3. Batching

Time management helps you work smarter to work LESS.

Let’s start with the Hour of Power!

Back when I started my business, in 2015, I had some stressors/life responsibilities:

• My kids were 2 and 10 years old
• I had my husband
• A Great Dane Puppy
• I was completing my BSN online
• I was still working full time
• My son was in baseball
• My other son had preschool and private speech therapy

I had the thought, “Maybe I’ll quit the business. No, I will just quit school.I feel like a bad mom, wife, and student.”

Then, I realized I just needed ONE hour to myself for my business. THAT’S when I discovered my hour of power.

My hour of power was the time when my son went to preschool.

This was when I was able to get most of my work done. It was only an hour, but an hour that I truly needed. It was at the prime time in my day when I can focus the 10 AM is was I could concentrate the most, and I didn’t know why. I’m not sure if it’s because I knew that that was my hour, or that was when I felt the most awake and ready to work.

Thankfully, my son went to preschool from 9-11 am, so the 10 am hour of power was utilized very well! During that time, when I use it to the fullest, I git some incredible results. I wrote articles, finalized drafts, created pages for my website, products, etc, all under this hour of power. And, you can too!

How Can You Use The Hour of Power

Think about your business goals.
Write down a big list of things that you want to accomplish. Maybe it is something from your goals or maybe something entirely different.

Just Say No to Social.
Try NOT check Facebook or emails during this time. Use that for when you get some down time, like when the kids are eating a snack.

Rise and Shine.
I do get up most days before 5 AM, whether it’s to drink a cup of coffee before the kids get up and prepare them for school in their day, or just to start some writing (like right now). That usually is when I can get some work completed but, most of the time, it’s researching and answering emails. I am not fully awake unless I exercise that early, so my brain is kind of foggy. My husband tries to help me try to start writing in the night time, though this doesn’t work too well when I get up before the sun. I get too sleepy, as one would imagine.

Are You a Night Owl?
If your kids sleep well, and you are a night owl, this may be an hour of power time for you. My body is most awake after exercising, so this is the best time for me when I exercise in the mor

Welcome to DAY one of the 7 Day Nurse to Writer Challenge. If you haven't listened to the prior episode, I recommend you go back and start from Episode 116.

If you haven't joined the challenge yet, here's the link to join: https://savvynursewriter.com/challenge/

Here we go into DAY 1!

The Question of WHY

Why have a why?

Knowing your why will help you stay motivated in your business every single day. It will make your work doable when you are having a bad day, and it will help give your customers the best experience you can.

What drove you to branch out?

Start with this question. What was the driving force? Sometimes, we hit rock bottom. You are working in a terrible job with no opportunity to advance. Other times, you just wanted out! So, you are taking a leap. What drove you to think about starting a freelance writing business?

What are your core values?

This is all about YOU, your COMPANY, and the message you want to convey to your clients. It’s not hard to think of your core values because they are already in you, but you have not yet brought them out.

Examples of core values may include:

• Respect - For yourself and your clients
• Quality - Deliver quality work.
• Relationships - To create and grow relationships with clients.
• Promote Health - If you are a healthcare writer promoting health in an evidence-based practice way is essential.

Why this?
This is a branch off of your core values. Why did you go into business? What drove you? Also, think about what things you will NEVER do in your business. That may be easier to think of than never trying to think of why do you do what you do.

What do you love about what you do?

Think about 5-7 things that make you love what you do. Put that into your why because it’s a motivating factor. 

Now what?

You should have a nice list of positive core values and “whys.” The key now is to narrow them down into your four favorites. If you do more than 4, you won’t remember it and those who remember it will live by it more. You should be able to simply explain your why.

Need to go deeper on your why?

Tomorrow we’re going to dive into how to fit this business or side hustle into your already busy day. It’s my FAVORITE thing to talk about – time management.