How I Did It: Created a freelance career around Ehlers-Danlos and Autism

Welcome to the second post in my ‘how I did it’ series. Today I chat to Zoe Hughes from Words by Zoe. Zoe is a content writer and pinterest manager who went freelance to manage her health issues. Zoe also runs Pinterest management services too!

Question:Hi Zoe, please tell us a little more about your health issues and how this lead to you going freelance?

No problem. I didn’t realise I had a chronic illness until I was in my thirties and so I went to university and tried to have a “normal” career as an Operating Department Practitioner, it’s a cross between a theatre nurse and an anaesthetic nurse here in the UK. I’d always had joint and muscle pain and got tired a lot easier than other people, but it didn’t really become a problem until I burned out at work one year after graduating. I
literally didn’t have the energy to function or think straight.

It took several years and a lot of misdiagnosis to discover that I actually have Ehlers-Danlos (hypermobile type) that causes chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. I’ve also discovered in the last couple of years that I am autistic and am still in the process of finalising that diagnosis. 

With low energy levels, needing to sleep a lot more than other folk and never knowing when a joint might sublux/dislocate, or the fatigue/pain is going to strike means it’s next to impossible to work for others. The autism also makes it difficult for me to get along with other folk well, I struggle in social situations and was given the unfortunate nickname of “Miss Emotionless” in a previous job because I kept myself to myself. So, I decided to go down the freelancing route and settled on becoming a content writer and Pinterest manager after a few years experimenting with what I
wanted to do!

Q:How do you find freelancing helps you manage your health issues?

Freelancing means that I can work around my health, taking lots of breaks when necessary and being able to have that extra long lie in when I need to.
I’ve discovered that my best working hours are between 11 and 7 and I aim to work for around 4 – 5 hours during that time period. If I’m having a particularly hard day I don’t beat myself up about taking time away from work to look after my health, so long as immediate deadlines have been met I can relax as much as I need to although I do find it hard to switch off from
work sometimes!

It does mean that I have to be on the ball with those deadlines though, I know what’s due when and try to make sure that I stay ahead so if I do have an unexpected flare up I can take time off without it affecting my work.

Q:What top tips would you offer for those with chronic illnesses who are
considering going freelance?

Try to shrug off the 9 – 5 mindset. It’s really hard to do and a lot of
people will say you’re not “really working” if you work from your bed, or only work between 12 and 2pm each day but it really doesn’t matter. So long as your clients are happy and your health isn’t affected by what you do, that is what’s really important. 

Experiment in finding the right working hours for you – they’re different for everyone! If you know that you have more pain in the morning and then it subsides for a few hours like mine, that’s the best time to be getting work done. If you know that you need an afternoon nap to fight the fatigue, plan it into your work schedule so you don’t feel guilty about taking some time
out.

I also find that setting myself 3 tasks I must achieve each day is essential for me keeping on track. This is usually a client deadline, a draft article and some personal marketing. Once those 3 jobs are done I can relax and anything achieved on top of that is a bonus.

Q: Lots of our bloggers have experience in writing-any tips on how they might find places that pay for freelance content writerS?

This can be a real challenge but I’d always recommend that you stay away from content mills and low paying agencies. The pay isn’t great but you often find these are the most demanding clients and the $25 for 500 words that sounds reasonable enough can easily turn into 5 hours work. It’s far better to write guest posts with a byline and work on samples for your portfolio than wasting your energy on these kinds of jobs that won’t further
your career.

Network online with social media and email pitches to companies/prospective clients you think will be a good fit for you. It can take a while to find that higher paying work but it’s so rewarding, especially when it’s something you adore writing about. Don’t be afraid of rejection either, it’s not that you’re not a good writer but that the company you emailed isn’t a good fit for you. 

5. I know you’re also a Pinterest manager-I’d love any top tips you could share with our bloggers about tackling Pinterest?

Most people make the mistake of thinking of Pinterest as a social media channel, I prefer to call it “social seo“. Pinterest is basically a search engine and that’s how you should think about using it. There are plenty of stock images you can use for your service based business if you don’t have products to photograph to make your pins look appealing, but it’s the keywords and description you use that’ll get your pin noticed. 

A good place to start is by creating two different pins for each blog you write using different colours, titles, etc. Pin them direct to Pinterest with a clear and concise description that naturally contains the keywords people will search for. Then upload them to Tailwind and share them on Tailwind tribes for an added boost. You should see some extra traffic to your website within a few days (I actually had a comment on my blog within 10 minutes of posting to Pinterest and I hadn’t shared it anywhere else yet!) 

6. Finally, any tips for organising your day and pacing when being
self-employed with a chronic illness?

For me, it’s all about planning. Knowing when I need to take medication, eat and if I have appointments that day, etc means I can plan my work and my breaks around those times. I do plan for twice the amount of time to get a task done then is usually needed just in case I need to take a longer break than usual. I also prioritise client work over my own marketing but I find that doing the best job I can for those people means they refer me to their
contacts and clients and that I do get additional work from it as a result, without having to put myself “out there” too much and triggering my anxiety about being social with people!