Since the United States Declaration of Independence named “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as the unalienable rights of man, we’ve tried to understand what exactly that means.
Self-employed freelance writers are no exception.
In today’s marketplace freelance writers and the self-employed are pursuing happiness, but falling short.This is because they are failing to understand their minimal viable product (MVP).
A Freelancer’s Minimum Viable Product
Everyone has a minimum viable product to offer, but not everyone knows what it is.
- A minimum viable product is a first generation product, with upgrades to follow.
- More precisely, it is the simplest thing that you can create that gets your product or service through the build, measure, learn cycle.
This is known as validated learning, the ultimate form of learning by doing. Sounds like freelance writing, huh?
While the minimum viable product or (MVP) and build, measure, learn cycle were coined by Eric Ries in his Lean Startup Methodology for small business startups, you can also apply it to the world of freelance writing and content marketing!
Learning Through the Build, Measure, Learn Cycle
Freelance writers:
- Build through creating content.
- Measure what the clients have to say about what they have written.
- Learn how to become better writers.
By incorporating the Lean Startup methodology into your writing career, you can find the lowest risk investment with the highest reward.
- A writer’s minimum viable product is their ability to write engaging articles, product descriptions etc.
- Writers that can write about most anything are rare and special in the content writing market.
How to Use Writing as Your MVP
The phrase content is king was created with writers in mind. Many gifted writers assume that they’re going to write the next whirlwind novel. But what if I told you that writers are rewriting the world, one word at a time, and getting paid VERY well?
And at the same time the aspiring book authors are feeling like failures because their books aren’t selling, or they aren’t written yet. Freelance writers tend to have little difficulty with writers block because of the diverse topics to write about and the short writing assignments
- Freelance writers write in short bursts for most assignments. These short assignments allow for more creativity, constant change of topics, and (possibly) the end of writer’s block.
- These assignments typically range from 50 to 2000 words, which is a reasonable minimum viable product for writers.
The lean startup methodology can be useful when reaching for those unalienable rights to pursue happiness and freelancing success.
- Freshen up your talent and learn by doing!
- Discover the benefits of recognizing that words are your MVP as a freelance writer.
- Build measure and create your own freelance writing business.
