Wise Marketing Secrets Interview Series with Corinne Kerston

Corinne Kerston is a freelance writer and blogger for hire. She specializes in online marketing, business branding and B2B and B2C content. Her goal is to help businesses boost their exposure through engaging, well-written content. Connect with Corinne on her website or Twitter.

How did you start out as a marketer?

Well, I started out online as a freelance writer, which I still am today. As far as getting into marketing, it really started with a thirst for knowledge for boosting my business.

I found that marketing and online business was something I was just really interested in, so I started learning as much as I could, and writing more and more about it.

Looking back, what is your hardest struggle when it came to delivering results?

I think the biggest struggle was the learning curve. Not only in the freelance writing business, but also business in general; marketing and growing a business.

How did you get your first client back then, and what kind of service did you do for them?

Like I said, I started as a writer. I built my website, a pretty basic one at that, put some samples that I wrote on it, and just started applying.

I landed a couple of clients and took off from there. In fact, I still work with one of my earlier clients today.

What do you find most rewarding about what you do?

I love what I do. I love helping clients boost their business with content, I love meeting people online and I love that I get to stay at home with my children.

We have a lot of readers who are bent on becoming freelancers, aside from freelancing how else can someone earn online, and what is your advise?

This is probably one of my most favorite topics.

It makes me sad to see people that have hopes of making a good living online start a blog, throw some ads on there and wonder why they aren’t making the money they’ve heard about. There are so much better ways to make money online.

You could sell products, either physical or digital. If you are crafty enough to make something, you can do it on your own website or on a marketplace site like Etsy. Or you could sell digital products such as e-books, courses or webinars.

You could also sell services such as freelance writing, photography or virtual assistant services. I see more and more people offering coaching as well.

If you were given the chance to build your career all over again, what would you do differently so that you will achieve your dreams faster?

I probably would start networking a lot earlier. Not just networking to get clients, but networking with other freelance writers and bloggers to really build my business.

A lot of my current work comes from referrals and people finding my website through guest posts and other outreach methods.

How is your typical work day structured?

Not very well, honestly. Mostly because it revolves around my kids’ schedules. I have one in preschool and one in elementary, and they finish school at different times. So I work when I can.

But basically I spend the first half an hour to an hour on email, commenting on other blogs and social media. The rest of my work hours are spent differently, depending on what client work I have to do, and of writing my own blog.

Can you tell us about a past situation where you had to juggle multiple projects with competing deadlines?

Gosh, every day is a juggle. The key for me is scheduling everything. I use a planner and write down client assignments, guest posts and other things to do.

I make sure that I don’t overschedule myself on a certain day, while still making sure I make all my deadlines on time.

What do you do to stay up to date with new marketing techniques?

I read. A lot. I read blogs and books on marketing and business. I have a list of blogs I like to visit each week, and I make it a point to spend part of my day catching up on the latest blog posts.

Can you tell us about a project you’re most proud of from your past work history?

Probably my own site, Corinne Kerston. It basically started as an online portfolio for my writing career. Over time the blog kind of took over.

Once I started focusing on my blog as a business itself, marketing it and just trying to get it out there more, I naturally started making more connections, which also helped my writing career grow.

What advice would you share with other Marketer’s who want to become more productive?

Don’t try to do everything. Make a list of goals and break them down step-by-step. Focus on a step at a time, because no successful business was built in a day.

Also, don’t try to do everything when it comes to marketing. Focus on where your audience lies and what will get their attention.

Whether it be through content, email, social media; figure out what will make the most impact with those who will eventually be your loyal buyers, and focus your marketing methods on that.