Here’s a Freelance writing case study for my process of writing this article about tagging faces in Apple’s Photos for MakeUseOf.com. Remember, if you’re looking for a freelance writer and you like my process, I’d love to work with you. Feel free to reach out through email or my Contra profile.
Freelance Writing Overview 🔎
I pitched this article to my editor at MakeUseOf.com. Originally, I had this planned as only a Mac article and I expected to write abut 600 words. With my editor’s help, we restructured it to include information about tagging faces on the iPhone and Mac. The article also increased in size to 1200 words.
Problem & Solution 🤝
Pitching articles to a well-established site like MakeUseOf can be difficult. So many articles have already been published. After researching things I knew how to do, I noticed that the site didn’t have a good, updated article about facial tagging in Apple’s Photos app. So, I set out to remedy that by pitching the article and getting great feedback on how to improve it.
Process 🛣
When I pitched, I developed an outline. As mentioned, my editor helped me change the outline to cover more information and improve the SEO of the page.
I sat down and wrote the article. While writing, I was actively trying out the processes to make sure of the accuracy of the information and to determine the easiest ways to achieve the task. I also started taking screenshots to help illustrate the process. Midway through my first draft, I felt like the outline wouldn’t show off the best way to get things across. I talked to my editor, and we walked through the thoughts. We once again restructured the article to reach the most about of people.
Finally, I edited the draft and placed accurate screenshots. The screenshots became a challenge as I was on the beta version of the latest iOS system. I ended up needing to use my wife’s iPhone to take some of the screenshots and transfer them over.
Results 🎁
Sadly, this isn’t my most popular article, even though it is one of my best-written ones. In the first 10 days, I have only received 516 page views, but more people will be searching for this information in the future.
Takeaways 📣
While I know how to outline and write for an audience, I’m still learning about writing for the web. Through this process and the help from my editor, I learned a little more about structure for a large article like this. My thought process for pitching articles is starting to change as well. Instead of quick and easy how-tos, I’m thinking more about search intent and structure for ease of information.
