Freelancer Course: Develop a unique voice

This is the seventh post in response to question prompts in Seth Godin's Freelancer Course, found on Udemy. Please feel free to include your answers to these questions in the comment section.

If you could choose an archetype, what would you want your brand or work to be known for?
On the prompt, there were a number of adjectives as possible suggestions. Everything from edgy to safe, knowledgeable to innovative. Each had their pros and cons. If you are known for being adaptable, is that synonymous with a dilution of your talent based on what the client asks for? If you are known for being dependable, do you then forego being spontaneous? Does your voice, your brand, have to be singular in its purpose? Can it be known for being daringly patient or glamorously intelligent?

For the sake of completing the exercise, I would want to be known for being observant. Not only observant of the people I work with, noticing when they are engaged or when I'm putting them to sleep, but also observant in the market and recognizing ideas and trends that are getting attention. With that archetype, two other descriptors seemed necessary. In order to recognize the ideas that have merit, I have to be knowledgeable. In order to be knowledgeable, I need to be connected. Connected to the sources writing about and sharing the questions that lead to the ideas.

Observant. Knowledgeable. Connected.

List five ways you could express these attributes.
1. Share relevant articles and ideas.
2. Add comments to the articles, tweets and posts that I find interesting.
3. Facilitate discussions. Get people talking about the ideas they are working through and create a conversation. This can happen at conferences, on social media or through Google Hangouts/Skype.
4. Find people doing interesting things and ask them questions. What are they trying to do? How did they come across this new idea? How do they think it will make them better?
5. Write more. Write about ideas. Share other's stories. Get people thinking. Through blog posts (personal and professional) and tweets. Maybe even a white paper if the topic had enough meat to it.

Comments

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