I?m a sucker for reality shows.
Not the ones with twenty-five sleazy women throwing themselves at a man for a rose, nor the drama of the self-obsessed Kardashians, or who slept with whom from Jersey Shore, but the performance reality shows ? American Idol, Dancing with the Stars ? you name it, I love it.
But the one show I just can?t get enough of is the one where entrepreneurs plead with savvy investors to give their businesses a boost ? Shark Tank, and the Canadian version, Dragon?s Den. Unlike Dancing and Idol which I bury my love for deep within my closet full of secrets, watching when no one else is around to judge, I justify my hours spent watching Shark Tank as fuel for my freelance business success.
I?ve learned a lot about running a freelance writing business from watching the Tank and I?d like to share those pointers with you.
Shark Tank Lesson 1: Know more about your topic than the person you?re pitching.
Nothing drives the sharks into more of a frenzy than entrepreneurs who don?t know their market. These savvy investors always ask about the size of the market, sales projections, competitor products, and how the industry is expected to grow.
The same goes for pitching an article to an editor (whether they?re a shark or docile dolphin). If you want to write an article on a little known disease that only 1% of the population suffers from, you?re likely not going to get it published in Women?s Health, which appeals to a much broader market.
Knowing the publication, who their readers are and what they?re interested in will help you craft your pitch into a successful sale. And being able to answer editors? questions about your topic immediately will also boost your ability to sell the piece.
I recently pitched an article on a local yoga studio that was hosting special partner yoga classes for Valentine?s Day. Great idea, said the editor ? how many other studios are doing this? Because I had researched the piece, I already knew that at least three other studios in the area were hosting these special Valentine?s Day workshops and was able to get back to her immediately with my research findings.
Shark Tank Lesson 2: You must live your business day-in, day-out.
I?ve seen a number of deals fall through in the Tank because the entrepreneur wasn?t willing to quit their full time job to pursue their endeavour full-time or simply didn?t seem very committed to the product. I?ve also seen deals made for products that had little to no sales but the entrepreneur was clearly passionate about their business and the Sharks realized they were willing to work day and night to make their company a success.
I once had a journalism instructor who said, ?The most successful freelancer writers aren?t necessarily the best writers, they?re the ones who work harder than anyone else.? This just proves if you put in the time and effort on a daily basis, you?ll be successful.
Shark Tank Lesson 3: Pick up the phone.
After the product demo, the Sharks always want to know, ?Do you have any sales?? This is typically where the pitch either floats or drowns.
If you watch Shark Tank as often as I do, you?ll begin to notice a trend. The deals that get made the most are with entrepreneurs who haven?t been afraid to pick up the phone, cold call retail chains and get their products in distributions channels. The ones that fail are the entrepreneurs who say ?I don?t have the contacts? or ?I don?t know who to call.?
The Sharks tear these people to shreds ? and for good reason. Making a phone call is sometimes the only thing you need to do to separate you from a wanna be to the real deal.
When I was starting out as a freelance writer, I didn?t have any contacts at all. The only editor email addresses I had were the ones that were published on websites. As you know, most major magazines don?t publish editors contact information other than the generic editor@magazine.com ? which most often go into a large junk file and are rarely passed along to an actual editor.
Picking up the phone, speaking with the receptionist and asking for the contact information for a certain editor may be the only thing that stands between you with an idea and you with an article in their publication.
Shark Tank Lesson 4: It?s all about the MONEY.
Kevin O?Leary is famous for being brash, and is often criticized for his lack of empathy for hardworking entrepreneurs who for one reason or another aren?t bringing in millions in sales. But one thing O?Leary always says has stayed in my mind since the first day I heard it. ?If it isn?t going to make me money, I don?t do the deal.?
The same can be said for accepting freelance assignments. Too often, freelancers starting out in the business get offered jobs that pay peanuts and accept them because there?s nothing else on the table. This is not a good reason to do a job.
While I, too, have accepted low-paying gigs, I have only accepted them when I felt that there was a future possibility for more, higher-paying, work. Case in point: I regularly contribute blog posts to a website for a beauty magazine. While the posts pay very little, they don?t require a ton of work and are relatively easy to write, but most important, it keeps my foot in the door with the magazine ? which pays significantly more than the blog posts. To quote O?Leary: ?There?s money in this? ? so I continue to do it.
I hope you enjoyed my lessons from the Tank. If you don?t already watch the show, give it a try ? you may find the inspiration you?re looking for to kick start your freelance writing business.
Lisa Evans is a Canadian freelance writer who splits her time between her hometown Toronto and Chiapas, Mexico where she lives with her boyfriend and cat. Visit her website to learn more.
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