For our October Freelance Writer Spotlight, we’re highlighting fitness and yoga expert Amanda Sides.
Since she joined Verblio in February, Amanda Sides has created 5-star content for 126 different customers, and she has a special flair for comedic writing. It would be hard for us not to notice the glowing feedback that she’s been receiving from our customers:
Absolutely wonderful! So well-written and conveys exactly the feelings and experience I want to get across. A+!!!
Amanda, nice work here! Thanks for a quick and thorough post. You wrote just what we wanted here. Please consider writing more for us in the future!
Excellent Content, love that you have captured our style! 🙂
And of course, my personal favorite:
“SLAYING IT!”
Although a more recent addition to our team, Amanda has been writing her own yoga and fitness blog for a number of years now, giving readers advice on how to live healthy, fit, and fulfilling lives. She brings a wealth of knowledge to our clients about how to help readers invest in their own health and happiness. She says,
Helping people discover what they’re capable of is both rewarding and inspiring for me. I am passionate about getting people active to improve their wellbeing; we can’t live our best lives or be present for the people we love if we’re unhealthy or down on ourselves.
And Amanda Sides should know! She has been a certified fitness instructor for 15 years and a yoga teacher for 10 years. She is also an athlete herself who runs and plays basketball and volleyball in her free time. For the nearly two years that she lived in Panama, she says, she roughed it, playing volleyball twice a week on the beach.
(Can we trade lives??).
In addition to fitness and health topics, you can also count on Amanda for anything related to travel. She has visited 31 countries (so far), and has lived for more extended periods in the Netherlands, Colombia, Argentina, and Panama.
Oh, and she studied yoga in India… twice!
While in Colombia, Amanda and her “unofficial husband” added a furry friend to their team. Maximo is our favorite type of pup (a mutt, of course!), and I think Amanda and Maximo get along because he’s a runner, too:
We rescued [Maximo] in Colombia when he was just a few weeks old. At age two, he had to fly to the US with me when we came back. Despite numerous zip ties, he escaped his kennel in the cargo hold…on both flights.
The Infamous Maximo
Who could be mad at that set of puppy eyes?!
We asked Amanda Sides some questions about writing for Verblio, and here’s what she has to say:
1. How did you (Amanda Sides) get started as a Verblio writer?
I started writing as a kid. It’s something that came naturally to me, maybe because I spent so much time reading.
I remember writing poetry and short stories in elementary school; in college I was a section editor at our newspaper. For the last several years, I’ve written blogs and newsletters for lawyers and real estate companies. I found Verblio in February 2017 during an online search for writing opportunities.
2. What type of clients do you write for on Verblio?
I naturally gravitate toward health and fitness clients, and that includes medical even though personally I’m more of a non-medical, natural-approach-to-healing type of person.
I also love my photography, travel, and real estate clients (I used to write content for two different real estate companies in Panama), and I was surprised to notice how much I enjoy writing for certain software and home repair/renovation/decor clients because I don’t have much of a background in either of those areas.
4. What is the strangest subject you’ve written about on Verblio?
I love spouting my Verblio-acquired trivia!
I’ve contributed to several conversations with random facts about everything from ice cream to drunk driving laws. I can’t say I’ve written about a weird subject, since they all make sense given the company… but I can say I never expected to be writing about lawn care or photo booths.
5. What is the most important piece of advice that you can give to beginning freelance writers? How about to Verblio customers?
Don’t take rejection personally. It always stings a bit, but remember: you can’t please everyone, and it can happen that a well-written piece simply doesn’t resonate with the person reading it. It doesn’t (always) mean you’re a bad writer. You can’t let it slow you down.
To Verblio customers, I would recommend being as clear as possible about what you want from a blog post. A full outline isn’t necessary, but your key points are very helpful. It allows me to work more quickly and feel more confident that I can produce the type of post you’re looking for.
T hanks so much to Amanda Sides for being a part of our Verblio team! If you’d like to work with expert yoga, fitness, and travel writers, look no further. We can’t wait to meet you!
