freelance work

How to Attract the Right Clients for Your Catholic Business

/ chicoinematt

How do you attract the right people you want to do business with?

Create niche content that adds value (informative, inspiring, and/or funny) to your target audience.

My target audience is small Catholic business owners.

I create and share content that almost always is tied exclusively to the Catholic faith.

The times I showcase a glimpse into my personality and hobbies I make sure it’s still connected to Catholicism.

Not everyone will get the joke below.

It’s a very niche Catholic meme. 😆

But that’s okay. I’m not writing for everyone.

That’s what Generic Social Media Influencers do.

I’m not generic. As a neurodivergent, left-handed, literary omnivore Catholic I’m wayyyyyy too weird for the average person.

And you aren’t generic. You’re too awesome!

I like to partner and work with non-generic people.

Saint Therese of Lisieux wrote, “The world is thy ship, not thy home.”

Think of your business as a ship, carrying your family and helping your clients with their needs.

The destination? Our home in Heaven.

We do need to live in the world but we still need to keep our gaze on Our Father.

I create non-generic Catholic content that will attract the right clients for your business.

Will you let me join your ship on the journey?

P.S. What’s the funniest Catholic typo you made or read?

#catholichumor #catholiclife #catholiccontent #nightwing #saintjosemariaescriva

Thank you for sharing!

Celebrating a Milestone: Freelance Catholic Writing Success

/ chicoinematt / 2 Comments

💲This month marks a significant milestone for me as my freelance work has exceeded my “day job” monthly income.

How did this happen?

It’s much simpler (not necessarily easier) than you think.

In 2015, I started my blogging journey, which served as a way to cope with the grief of losing my unborn child due to miscarriage and to continue my mission of spreading knowledge about the Catholic faith.

Writing has been a lifelong passion for me. 📝

As a kid I developed a deep love for reading I used to visit the library weekly, borrowing 20-30 books.

The stories that I read fed my creativity and led to my desire to write.

At the age of 7 I started writing adventures on my mom’s typewriter.

In college, I fostered the skills of reading and writing when I earned a Bachelor’s degree in history (and minor in philosophy).

I completed my Master’s Degree in theology in 2014.

But my higher education credentials aren’t what got me freelance work.

Sure it helped but it wasn’t the main reason.

Instead of merely talking about my expertise, I demonstrated it through consistent daily writing.

It’s easy to tell others about the degrees, programs, or certifcations you amassed.

But it’s more effective to SHOW that you know the subject matter.

And how do you show others?

In the case of my field (content writing), it meant “showing” up everyday.

Over the past 8 years, I’ve been writing daily, whether on my website, through social media, in my notebooks, or in the margins of the books I was reading. 📚📖

I also proactively reached out to websites in my niche, writing guest posts while managing “The Simple Catholic” blog.

Even those numerous unfinished drafts played a role in my freelance success.

One unique aspect of my work is my ability to connect almost anything back to the Catholic Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a few things I can tie back to Catholicism:

🦔 Hedgehogs

🙂 Tetherball

🪃 Boomerangs

✨ Grand Admiral Thrawn

🖇️ The Office

🌟 Kaleidoscopes

♟️ Board games

🏈 Paper football

⚾ Baseball

📦 Cardboard boxes

I even captured the attention of a client who saw a post I wrote about John the Baptist and eating locusts (with honey of course)!

Success occurs when your passion intersects with your skill and you hone your craft over time.

Repetition is soooooo key.

If you’re a Catholic small business owner seeking engaging, faithful Catholic content for your website, reach out to me yesterday (or today) if you’re behind schedule. 🙂

Email me at chicoine.matt@live.com to learn more.

Thank you for sharing!

A Life Update from The Simple Catholic— Dreams Realized

/ chicoinematt

The cool thing about pursuing your dream is the amazing doors it opens up.

This year I signed at least six clients (two renewed contracts so far) and met with lots of inspiring small Catholic business owners.

I’ve been featured on a couple podcasts, interviewed for a diocesan newspaper, and even had an article published (as a cover story) for one of my dream publications.

Freelancing has given me and my family more financial and scheduling freedom which has led to less stress.

I’m even trending towards being able to cut back hours at my main job by the end of the year.

Dreams Take Time to Take Root

The seeds were planted back in 2015. Well, maybe even further back in 1996 when I wrote silly stories about my orange stuffed animal named Snap on my mom’s typewriter.

Grateful for all those in my network (Catholic and writing) who have helped encourage, support, or teacher me valuable insights about my industry.

Special shout-out to my wife, parents, and siblings who have encouraged me along the way.

And finally, most importantly, thankful for God for giving me the opportunities and strength to carry on and craft my writing skills.

What’s your dream?

Start traveling towards it today. 🙏 🙂

Thank you for sharing!