Should You Promote Client Work?

There are two schools of writing online: writing for yourself and writing for someone else.

When a client pays you to create a blog post, social media update, e-book or other wordy masterpiece, should you get out there and like, retweet or share it to your social media following?

My take: Yes!

Woah! Take it Easy, There

As long as it isn’t a ghostwriting project that requires anonymity or your writer contract specifically says to not publicly engage with the content or business on your behalf as the author, promote away.

I do have one current contract with the latter terms.

It seems odd that the company doesn’t want the additional promotion, but because of the route they’re taking in their content marketing strategy, leaving out the middle (wo)men who create the final products sheds better light on their organization.

I get it and am fine with it. I often work behind the scenes on content production teams.

Shake Those Pompoms

So, let’s get back to those writing assignments that you create for someone else. Why should you spend your time (possibly unpaid) promoting the finished content on social media or your blog? Here’s my opinion.

Sharing shows you’re involved from start to finish. As a writer, you may have been integral in the development of the purpose and direction of the piece (Hello, pitching!), then the creation, editing and now you’re simply wrapping up the process by sharing your finished piece with the world.

The benefit to you: You can show off the type of work you do to potential clients who are following you online. Think of sharing your work like a perpetual resume. You’re putting your best work out there for others to see.
The benefit to your client: You solidify your appreciation for the project and respect for the final piece. Basically, you earn Brownie points and possibly a call-back for the next project. Showing pride and confidence in your work strengthens your relationships with your clients.

Over the years, my experience with promoting finished client projects has been overwhelmingly positive. These posts have lead to more projects with the client, piqued interest as well as contracts from new companies and helped establish my credibility and dedication to various subjects.

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Note: This post was last updated on August 4, 2022.

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