Freelance Writer + Researcher
ActiveCampaignI'm looking to bulk up the network of freelance writers I work with. If you:
1 - Have some journalism chops / clips / experience
2 - Are willing to do your own outreach to sources
Can we talk? Im looking for writers to contribute to a new website we're making for ActiveCampaign for franchise marketers and executives. Full pitching details in the comments.
I pay fast and (I hope) the expectations are crystal clear. Pitch me!
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Hi! Looks like you have interest in writing for ACHQ, the Active Campaign publication for franchise marketers. Below is everything you need to know. Questions? Email or book a call with me. [Links at the end of the JD]
1- Big-picture questions:
What publication is this for?
Active Campaign is a suite of marketing tools for a wide range of customers and audiences. With the acquisition of OneSend they are looking to make further inroads into franchises and multi-location businesses.
Your work is part of a larger whole containing videos, guides, and other content to meet the needs of this audience. It will appear as a subpage of the Active Campaign website: https://www.activecampaign.com/franchise/resources.
Who is the audience?
Franchise marketers of up and coming franchise businesses (think 10s or 100s of locations, not 1000s). In multi-location businesses, there is often a tension between the needs of the individual stores (the franchisees) and the central headquarters (the franchisor).
The franchise marketer has the thankless job of overseeing a central brand and messaging but ensuring it is localized to the needs of each individual store. Too loose, and the brand will erode as well-meaning franchisees make their own marketing. Too tight, and the brand will be out of touch with the needs of each individual location.
Additionally, there are a handful of marketing agencies that specialize in franchise marketing that are also potential users of Active Campaign on behalf of clients. This is our secondary audience.
Common franchise industries include pet care, home services, fitness, and food service.
Active Campaign helps this audience with templates, centralized branding elements, and approval flows, among other things.
What is the goal of the publication?
To provide career advice for the franchise marketer and earn hardwon trust among our audience. Articles should not mention Active Campaign.
Ideally, after reading an article, they sign up for the newsletter.
How will my work be shared and distributed?
Via a regular newsletter to franchise marketers and franchise marketing agency leaders and through Active Campaign social channels.
- 29K Facebook followers
- 20K Instagram followers
- 13K Twitter/X followers
- 18K YouTube subscribers
- 142K LinkedIn followers
Articles are also shared as sales enablement and with selected partners to distribute.
Do you have some boilerplate I can send to a potential interview subject?
Sure! Try:
The interview is for ActiveCampaign, a marketing platform with more than 200,000 users. Our conversation will appear as a Q and A and will be posted on their website and distributed to more than 200K social media followers across all platforms as part of a company-wide effort to serve the franchise space.
As part of that effort, we’re creating videos and blog posts for (and by) franchise marketing experts — that means you.
I have an idea that’s not a Q and A.
Send it to me! I’m open to assigning multi-source stories for higher rates.
2- What you’ll be writing:
Q and A’s with franchise marketers of North American franchises. Each piece should contain:
- A conversation with a franchise marketer or franchise marketing agency leader based in North America
- ~1500 words, including intro. You are welcome (and encouraged) to deliver a longer draft and have me cut it down.
- Q and A conversation and formatting.
- Write a brief intro to let the reader know some of the insights to come, offer context on who your subject is and why they are credible, and then write an edited version of your conversation with the questions bolded.
- A headshot or photo of the subject
Current examples:
- How Larisa Walega of Ziebart Built an Eight-Person Franchise Marketing Team
- Why Jeff Miller and YogaSix Created Their Own Holiday
- How Painting With A Twist Increased Email Revenue by 25%
Suggestion: Use a tool like Riverside or Granola to transcribe your conversation and edit the transcription directly.
Things I’ll be editing for:
- Show don’t tell. Support all claims and advice with examples. “Can you give me an example of when your company did that?” and “Can you give specific numbers or examples here?” or “What tools do you use for that?” should be questions you have at the ready. The reader is hungry for examples and that is my most common edit.
- Tone should be authoritative but helpful. You’re the reader's knowledgeable friend that they are taking out to drinks and asking for advice. You want to deliver insights and advice, but in a way that is empathetic and enjoyable.
- Surface some insight about what it takes to do the franchise marketing role well. Examples can include mindsets (“having a growth mindset”), workflows (“here’s how we ensure brand consistency”), career advice (“here’s what I’m looking for when I hire marketers”), or candid observations about the space (“marketing is not respected as much as it should”)
- Is this interview actionable? Actionable = changes the mindset or behavior of the audience. After reading do I know what I should do next as a franchise marketer?
- Credibility builders. Tell the reader why they should listen to this person. Include that in the intro, or even the headline. Maybe it’s the growth of the franchise. Maybe it’s the fact that they are the only marketer. Maybe they are only 25. Maybe they won some awards or recognition. Maybe there was a campaign they launched that was impressive or creative. You have lots of options here, but there needs to be something.
- Soft skills advice. Advice on time management, burnout, keeping a team energize, creative energy are all welcome.
Things you should avoid:
- Overly personal details. This is not a celebrity profile. Beyond the basics, we want to avoid their hobbies or family life and learn something about how they work.
- Promoting Active Campaign. Leave that to us. The goal here is to write interesting, useful stuff.
3- The submission process:
I’m a freelancer, too. My goal is to reduce turnaround with clear expectations. The process:
- Email me with a franchise marketer or franchise marketing agency leader you’d like to interview. Can be a link to their LinkedIn or about page. As long as it's a North American-based franchise marketer and no other writer is speaking with them, I’ll say yes.
- Deliver a draft via Google Doc that contains:
- Introduction
- Q and A formatted as an interview
- Your headshot
- Subjects headshot
- Bio
- Logo of company (and confirmation we have permission to use that logo)
- I will edit once, editing minor suggestions directly. I will only ask for revision if any of the “Things I’ll be editing for” are not met.
- Typically you’ll have to reach back out to the source for clarifications, extra examples, images, or whatever else the edits ask for.
- You deliver revisions or approve my edits. Once we reach this stage, I will pay regardless of whether the piece is published.
- I will send you a link to enter in your payment details to Gusto. Invoice me for $450 USD. You will be paid from my studio Gate Check Studios and not Active Campaign.
- I will pay you ASAP. I’m a freelancer too. Unpaid invoices suck.
After we work on our first one, I’ll take as many of these as you can write.
Up for it? Drop me a line with the franchise marketer you’d like to interview.
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Questions? Email Sean Blanda [Click Apply]. Or book a call with him here.
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⚠️ Please DO NOT APPLY if you cannot demonstrate relevant experience in the key areas listed above or meet the location requirements.
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