How a writer went from being a nutritionist to a professional writer

​This episode is for those of you who have ever wondered:” is it possible to make a living as a writer?” The summarized version is basically this…well it really depends.
 
Are you willing to channel your inner Mad Men, and be the creative department, and the client accounts department all rolled into one? And if you’ve never watched Mad Men, I’ll put it into terms you can understand.
 
Are you willing to be your own marketing department, and do the work, while keeping track of your expenses, and handling duties typically reserved for HR professionals in “regular” workplaces?
 
Not sure if that’s something you can handle? I dedicated an entire episode to talking to a fellow writer, I met in a Facebook group for independent freelancers, Leesa Klich, about how she made the switch from professional nutritionist to professional writer. Listen in to get a better sense of what being a professional writer is “really” like.  Since that’s what I do as well, the episode is a compilation of both our opinions.
 
An important hint: it’s not all pyjamas, and glorious muses. But in some cases, that’s an occasional, additional benefit.
 
What this episode covers:

• The proper way of spelling and pronouncing Leesa’s name (because as someone who has my last name misspelled all the time I know the feeling)
• What Leesa does and the niche she specializes in.
• How Leesa’s fascination with the human body and physiology lead to her interest in pursuing the work she does today.
• How learning the skills of a nutritionist and someone asking her to write a blog post lead to her transition into being a professional writer, rather than a nutritionist.
• Why Leesa believes that working with people that have such amazing skills that you don’t necessarily have can really elevate your skills as a writer
• Leesa’s advice to other writers: “other peoples’ opinions of you is not a reflection of your skills as a writer” and why that’s important
• Why Leesa believes that when all else fails with the client relationship, you started working with them for a reason (and why that will help make the whole process easier)
• The importance of adopting a “let’s work together/ negotiation skills”-focused approach when dealing with clients
• How getting on the phone can make a big difference when dealing with clients (I second that opinion) and we talked a bit about why we are both huge believers in solving client issues over the phone
• When dealing with clients that don’t understand the marketing world, “content strategy” doesn’t mean anything to them, and how to work around that.
• Why Leesa is a huge believer in occasionally offering free content strategy calls to her email list and how the changing nature of ideal clients factors into this.
• Why we’re both believers into not only sending content but offering value. We both agreed it was because they need to get to know the person behind the message rather than just the message.
• The one thing people forget about in terms of professional writing, the combination of customer service and actual writing to produce a profit. And why client relationships are so important.
• How other peoples’ involvement directly is so important, and relationship building. Always other people to learn from.
• How Facebook’s role in Leesa’s business has changed.
• Leesa’s social media for business rule: “no social media until the evening” and why setting some sort of rule is so important.
• What Leesa looks for in her Facebook group interactions, in order to get something valuable out of it
• A tip I added in: the importance of social media automation
• A valuable experience that Leesa had when she regularly committed to Facebook Group interactions: how finding someone with similar interests has been huge for her, who has from a completely different country.
• How Leesa filters out the good health research from the bad health research: “you got to filter by review”
• Why a study’s bias is about not just sponsorship but also statistics
• How the free and open lines of communication of Twitter help Leesa keep up with the changes in her field
• Why the blogging and content marketing blogging community also helps Leesa stay current
• How to go outside the bubble of the information that’s being fed to you on places on Facebook and being open to the criticisms of it.  And why that’s so important.
• What is the done for you content model that Leesa uses? And how it has helped grow her business…
• The most important thing to remember to achieve results as a writer: the big picture. Helping clients achieve revenue and results.
• Leesa’s tips for writers and marketing professionals that want to use the done for you model: customize for yourself, and also know exactly how many other people will get that blog post.
• Why the 50th sale of her done for you posts are always discontinued.
• How the done for you content model works…
• Leesa’s tips on simplifying medical professional’s language and writing…
• How taking simple science writing courses have helped Leesa train herself to be a writer in her field.
• How keeping in touch with people over social media about their health concerns helps Leesa discuss the subject matter in a way that makes sense to the general public.
• Why Leesa does all her editing 24 hours before it’s due.
• Her recommendation for editing:  The Hemingway App for simplification and also Grammarly, for proofreading and grammar, and also ProWriting Aid. But…you still need your brain despite how good these tools are, and here’s why.
• Why quality is more important than a “random 500-word blog post on why you should drink more water.”
•  The importance of promoting the blog posts you write.
• Leesa’s average work day: “no average days, but average mornings” and why she loves being able to change her time frames around, thanks to working from home. She has kids and this makes it easier to add driving them to school and etc. into her schedule.
• Why Leesa is a major believer in logging her time.

 
About Leesa:
Leesa Klich is a Health writer, blogging expert, research nerd. She helps health & wellness professionals attract more email subscribers & clients using their blogs. She moves them from feeling stumped & overwhelmed to confidently & consistently showing off their expertise. And she makes credible research-based blogging both strategic & easy, which saves them a ton of time, so they can focus on what lights them up in their business & life.
 
Where you can find her online:
 
Leesa’s website: https://leesaklich.com/
Follow her on twitter: https://twitter.com/LeesaKlich
Find her on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/leesa-klich-msc-r-h-n-6ab0a621
Give her Facebook page a “like”: https://www.facebook.com/ScienceForHolisticHealth/
 
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