Why You Need to Develop Your Own Voice as a Writer

Unique in his own right: The late great Louis Armstrong
Unique in his own right: The late great Louis Armstrong

Real talk – the freelance business has boomed in recent years and continues to grow at very high rates. For very good reason too; people are becoming tired of the challenges that come with working for someone and desire to be their own boss. So there is clearly a shift in the economy and the workforce which should alert anyone who calls themselves a freelance writer.

Fact: There are over 42 million freelance writers in the United States alone and counting.

That’s a lot of writers. Is that also a lot of competition? Umm…depends.

This is where the authenticity of freelance writing comes in. How do you rate among the 42 million? At some point, writers have to ask themselves this question if they’re serious about their craft. We can look at websites and tips all day, but are we working on developing our own voice for our business? Out of those 42 million, how many of them are actual full-time successful freelance writers?

Your audience

This is where a lot of the building starts. Who you introduce yourself to and how are key points in growing an audience. The writing sites that are out there now are endless and the good ones often come with well-developed community forums for you to chat and relate with other writers, or folks who just want to read. How do you interact with them? What makes them interested in what you have to say? Your response to a forum question may be a simple way of being interesting which can lead folks to wanting to read your blog or other outlets of your writing. Another point is that the focus should never be on the size of your audience. Having a handful of dedicated readers is a great starting point. They’re interested because they relate in some way or admire your way of expression. Any smart writer would continue to build on that while developing their voice.

Uniqueness is what really “trends”

From a personal standpoint, I have to admit that I’ve faced a lot of awkwardness when it comes to giving my pitch to others. Naturally, I’m concerned about how they’ll respond to it or if it will get me any business at all. Well, the response has been great. My vision and business concept is very unique and is not “popular” so to speak. But when others hear it they’re quite impressed. Not only do I strive to make my vision and concept unique, I go about unique ways of growing my business. It’s all a learning process!

Simply put, you need to develop your own voice as a writer. It doesn’t matter how talented you are or how fast you can put out a blog post. If there’s nothing unique about your style or what you have to say, then chances are you’ll be lost among the 42 million (and counting). Whether it’s telling your own individual story, your way of interacting with readers or how you respond to writing prompts, techniques are necessary to develop your individual writing voice. During your tour of various blog posts, notice how the popular writers have something unique about them. So it’s a waste of time to mimick someone’s way of writing. Yes, there can be certain formats you go by, but your voice is one thing no one can take from you. Work on it and share it with the world.

Do you consider yourself unique? Why or why not?

Tell Folks about it!