Stretch Out, Stay Flexible
Greetings Freelancers! I am an editor but I come in peace!
Let me introduce myself. My name is Amanda and I’ve been a professional editor and a writer for seven years. I’ve run the spectrum when it comes to the writing and editing industry, from my early days as a music journalist to the more recent corporate world of B2B copy editing and I’ve lived to tell the tale. Currently, I spend my days as a Community Manager for RunMyErrand (a start-up based out of Boston) creating marketing strategies on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which is a fancy way of saying I screw around on-line all day and get paid. Woot!
But I digress. You, reader, come to this valuable blog site to learn how to make it in this tough and unforgiving industry, and to that I have but one piece of advice for you: Be flexible.
Within the writing and editing industry, the opportunities for job growth and change are constantly appearing, disappearing and reinventing themselves. Who knew when Facebook first popped up that there would be lucrative marketing opportunities on-line for nearly every company in the world? Who knew that Twitter would become such a powerful beast in terms of information sharing and driving website traffic? Who could have guessed that blogging would become the bread and butter for so many wonderful writers to launch careers?
I started my career as a traditional print journalist chasing all of the news that was fit to print. Today I focus my energy on keeping up with the breakneck speed of new and changing web growth and trends, and I never let myself get too comfortable. Hence why I say to you, keep on top of what’s new and trending because what’s hot today may not be around tomorrow and those of you who are flexible and open to the wild changes will always find a new opportunity for employment.
Stay sharp, freelancers, and do your best to stay ahead of new technologies and you’ll always find new and innovative sources of income to keep you writing!
Nice post Amanda! But I have a question – what is the best way to stay on top of these trends? Like pretty much everyone else, I feel like I spend so much time Tweeeting, FBing, and figuring out what’s hot, I don’t get as much writing done as I’d like. Do you have any suggestions for keeping abreast of new developments in a time-efficient way? Thank you!
Barbara
Barbara – Thanks for your question. I will be addressing this in my next blog post! Great idea!
“Staying Organized and Staying on Top of the Industry.”
Hi Amanda,
i just had a look on RunMyErrand web site, it looks
great !
It should be quite interesting to work there..
But don’t you think that this website is gonna hit the ground pretty soon like many others…!?
I am always wondering if it’s not too risky to work in such environment.
Of course, working for Facebook or twiter nowadays is attractive..but what about 3 to 4 years ago….
What makes you think that RunMyErrand will work !?
Are you growing fastly ? are you making close to break-even ?
Many Thanks dude
Hi Amanda,
I’ve read your post and found it really interesting.
But I would like to add questions to what Olivier said,
for I am a big admirer of that concept.
I guess he tackled a pretty interesting subject and an interrogation just popped out of my mind.
With the strong development of concierge services offer, in the companies, and other places…do you think RME will grow representing more and more a real alternative or it will disappear?
What about the runners, is the economic crisis a sort of “asset” to your business?
Would RME be as attractive as it is getting, if unemployment goes down?
Thank you for your answers, these new businesses based on networking/communities are really interesting. i would like to have a better understanding of it.
Hello FX –
RME is growing out of a need for more time in one’s day, it would appear. Every can use a helping hand from time to time, whether you are wealthy, broke, single, married, etc. We have become a nation of extremely busy people and the concept of neighbors helping neighbors, while not new, is certainly something that everyone can get behind. We are more than a concierge service as we function as an open marketplace through which Senders can post errands for whatever fee they wish, and Runners can accept or counteroffer these errands. The Runners are alerted via geo-targeting to ensure that Runners in your immediate area are alerted first.
I don’t think the economic crisis has been terribly important to our company growth. I think daily life and every growing to-do lists keep our customers returning. I know I can certainly use help from time to time, whether it be moving a sofa or building some damn annoying Ikea furniture (that refuses to build itself despite my yelling at it.)
Most of our Runners are professionals who happen to have some free time in their day and don’t mind helping a neighbor. It would appear that people have gotten behind the heart of community building more so than yearning for that extra $10 in their pockets, although no one has ever complained about making a few dollars for helping some run an errand.
I’d be happy to answer any further questions you have. All the best, Amanda
Hi Olivier,
We have never yet had an issues with breakage or injury or any libelous issues of that matter. Each Runner is hired as an independent contractor. Each Runner is also background checked within a variety of security checks to ensure the safety of every individual. The fact that no money ever need change hands in person also helps to ensure the safety of all individuals involved. We do a very thorough screening of every Runner candidate (I do these personally) to ensure that our Runner team is the best. We have CEOs, young professionals, pilots, college students and young retirees who make up the majority of our Runner community.
Our fulfillment rate is over 90%, and the few errands posted that are not picked up generally have a good reason for being missed. i.e. errands posted in the middle of the night or posted for a very low price. You are put in direct contact with your Runner before the errand takes place, so all details can be discussed beforehand and all plans confirmed.
I hope this helps! Thanks very much,
Amanda