The first thing I remember writing was a poem about the sunset while sitting on the vinyl seat of my parents’ ’68 gray Oldsmobile Cutlass. I was five. And going to the store with my mom. As we pulled into the parking lot, we were surrounded by the most beautiful deep purple and gray tones swirling in the sky. I told my mom I had a poem “coming out of me” and I couldn’t go inside the store to get ground beef for the casserole she was making because I had to write it down right this minute or I was going to burst into a million pieces.

My mom went against her better judgment and locked me inside the car with a pencil (I actually think it was an eyeliner pencil she found at the bottom of her purse) and the back of an envelope. It was the first time I ever had the sensation of not actually forming or creating words but just transcribing what was already in my heart and mind. And yes, I have a copy of the poem, but what I would give for the original version.

I didn’t plan on being a data analytics writer when I grew up

I always knew I would be a writer. It isn’t just something I do, but who I am. It’s how I communicate with others when I’m mad. It’s how I solve my problems. And it’s how I share when I’m overjoyed. I never remember actually making the decision to be a writer, and I think that’s because it was just always a given to me. Yes, I’ve given much thought to how to make money as a writer, but to me that’s a different question.

But I’m pretty sure that when I told my second grade teacher that I was going to be a writer that I wasn’t thinking of white papers on the Internet of Things or blogs on how to prevent ransomware from attacking your hospital’s network. But that’s what I spend most of my days writing about. Because you know, there just aren’t a lot of outlets that are going to pay me to write about sunsets, no matter how beautiful they are. And I’m a grownup with a mortgage and kids heading off to college in less years than I have fingers (wow, that’s a scary thought). So I write what pays the bills. And these days it’s technology stuff.

Finding clients and stories that feed your soul

Writers often tell me that they don’t want to go into content marketing or do more content work because they went into journalism to make a difference and don’t want to spend their days making money for companies. I totally understand this. And they are right. However, it is very hard to earn a good living these days writing only “save the world” journalism stories, except for a few very high profile writers and authors.

The answer for me has been to try to find stories where I can make a difference when possible. When I did more journalism, it was easier to find the space to write stories that fed my soul and/or saved the world (or at least some little tiny part). But with content marketing writing, it’s harder. Yes, there are definitely ways that you can find opportunities to write stories that are meaningful, such as writing for nonprofits, looking for content clients producing journalistic features and working for companies producing a product/service that helps people.

Check out my post “Can You Save the World as a Content Marketing Writer?” for more concrete ideas on doing this. Some examples that I’ve worked on include a program at SAP that hires IT professionals with autism (CA Technologies), an article about using wearables to help special needs kids (Hewlett Packard Enterprises) and a story about rescue dogs helping veterans overcome PTSD (Fifth Third Bank). Large nonprofits often have healthy budgets and can be a great way to do fulfilling and well-paying work as well. But these are the exception, not the norm, and I really have to seek out these outlets as well as the specific stories where I feel that I might be making a difference in at least a little way with my words.

Pay the mortgage projects

But no matter how hard I try, that is not likely to be all of my client work. What has worked for me is to frame my work into “Pay My Mortgage Stories” and “Make a Difference/Feed My Soul” stories. It feels less soul sucking this way. I also am much happier when I try to find pay-my-mortgage stories that are very interesting to me. I personally don’t find lifestyle stories interesting, but how technology is being used in our daily lives is fascinating, as is the new technology being developed. It energizes me, even if it is for a company making money. But for me, framing the work that is less fulfilling helps me get over the hump when I feel tired of writing stories that are less than fulfilling, because we all recognize that we can’t do our work if we don’t have a roof.

By taking high-income stories that are less fulfilling, it also gives us the money to make a difference in our world in other ways than our words. It might be giving money to a local charity. Or having the time to volunteer during the day at your kid’s school. Perhaps earning more money in less hours through content writing gives you the time to spend with your aging parents or teens who will be heading off on their own in a few years. We don’t like to talk about it, but money gives us choices, and that’s not a bad thing.

Taking high-paying, less-fulfilling content projects also gives us more freedom to take on lower-paying writing projects where we can make a difference with our words. Maybe it is writing for a local newspaper or taking lower-paying but higher-profile website work. For me it’s writing this blog, which I absolutely love and would spend my whole day working on if I could. Other writers I know use the time to write fiction or a nonfiction book that is calling to them, but has less commercial appeal.

The other reason that putting my work in the two categories of “Pay the Mortgage” and “Make a Difference” is that it becomes painfully obvious when I am not making the time to do the stories that make me happy. Otherwise they all tend to blend together in my head. And honestly, I do my best work and am happiest with job when I make sure that both buckets are filled.

How do you balance “Pay the Mortgage” vs “Feed Your Soul” projects?  Do you share the same struggle?Any tips for finding meaningful content marketing projects?