Hi WriteWorldwide readers!

Thanks for joining us for another week of useful content to help you build your writing career.

This week we’re kicking things off with the first in our new series of reader interviews. We’ve had a great response to the blog since we launched on March 1st, and we thought it’s time to highlight some of our supporters and fellow writers!

Our first reader interview is with Emenike Emmanuel – a young ESL writer who’s making a mark in his home country of Nigeria. His answers to our questions are lively and informative, and we’re sure you’ll learn a lot from him.

Emenike was kind enough to record a short video introducing himself. Check it out now before you dive into the interview.

1) Please introduce yourself to the WriteWorldwide readers.

Hi my fellow WriteWorldwide readers!

Thank you to the WriteWorldwide team for spotlighting me on your website.

My name is Emenike Emmanuel. I’m a Nigerian freelance business writer, a social media strategist, an author, owner of Entrepreneur Business Blog and of course, one of the biggest fans of WriteWorldwide.

I began my writing career in 2012 as an undergraduate of Physics/Electronics, and since then, I’ve been working relentlessly to become the best of the best in my writing niche and see exactly what I’m capable of.

After reaching my first writing goal of making a six digit figure income (in naira) in a month last year, I developed a course to teach others how to make a living as a freelance writer.

2) Why did you choose to be a writer, and have you experienced much success yet?

Hmmmm… That’s an interesting question.

My decision to be a writer was born out of the passion for shaping the way others think. I don’t just want to exist in the world, I want to contribute to it.

Of all the professions in the world, I consider writing one of the most powerful. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing a person’s life being transformed, simply because they were disciplined enough to write down the thoughts running through their mind.

My journey as a writer has been a successful one so far. As the day unfolds, I have continued to discover better ways to land more writing gigs, write more compelling articles and sell my products and services online.

Last year, for the first time in the history of my family, I was privileged to ship my book, Activating the Ministry of Angels to the Bahamas, and then to Atlanta in the U.S.A. To be in Nigeria and know my work is read in different parts of the world is an awesome achievement I’ll always be grateful for.

3) As an ESL writer, have you faced any challenges?

Yes – I have faced “gazillions” of challenges! But I don’t think that’s particular to just me. I know that all ESL writers will face these ongoing challenges.

Getting clients from English speaking community has not been easy; of course, I never expected it to be. Every ESL writer has to deal with it if they really want to build a sustainable writing career.

In order to get results as fast as possible, I tapped into my knowledge of social media to build a Twitter audience of potential clients who are mostly from the U.S., developed a relationship with them and turned that relationship into a goldmine.

I have had a case where my freelance writer friend from an English speaking country had a client who couldn’t afford his price, so he recommended me to the client instead. I’m sure that was possible because I built a relationship with him.

4) What’s one thing about you most people don’t know?

Until now, most people don’t know that I’m more passionate about public speaking than I am about writing.

I decided to carve my life niche from the perspective of a writer because I was sick and tired of begging people to give me a platform to speak.

This is something I recommend most broke speakers should do.

On two occasions, I pleaded with two of my friends who were Presidents of their School fellowships to give me opportunity to speak for free at my own expense, but they turned me down.

That was in 2013. I felt disappointed but I quickly learned that instead of begging for a platform, I could create my own.

4 years later, I have one – and the friends that turned me down know all about it!

Today, I’m always grateful to them because their rejection was a part of what gave me the motivation to build a platform of my own.

5) What would you like to see more of on the WriteWorldwide blog?

All the posts on WriteWorldwide blog has been very helpful. But, I’d love to see more of your exclusive interviews where successful freelance writers (especially ESL writers) are invited to share their story with the community. Doing that will help to inspire other writers.

6) Are you connected with others ESL writers, and is that helping to boost your confidence?

Yes. I have a strong bond with most of them. I haven’t met them all in person, but reading their thoughts scattered across the web has always been a source of encouragement to me.

A good example of an ESL writer who inspires me most is Bamidele. He achieved so much success as a freelance writer at a young age most people in their 30’s are still dreaming about. I’m of the belief that if he can make it, so can I.

Anytime I land on his blog, it helps to boost my confidence to work harder.

7. What’s your favourite aspect of being an ESL writer?

For me, being an ESL writer is like being in the hot seat of who wants to be a millionaire – to win the competition, you must be intelligent, you must work hard and you must learn marketing very well.

Being an ESL writer has helped me to discover what I’m capable of, and I love that it’s brought out the best in me.

Now, even freelance writers who have been featured in Entrepreneur, Huffington Post and other top publications regularly ask to guest post on my blog – that’s a far cry from my early days when I was denied the chance to showcase my skills!

8) What’s your daily writing routine?

Keeping a routine was hard at the early stage of my writing career. But I knew that if I didn’t have one, it would affect my productivity negatively.

Having a writing routine keeps me motivated, always ready to take action, and ready to deliver at all times.

Every single minute I’m not busy on my business blog or working with clients, I seize the opportunity to draft a new article plan.

This plan contains my title, headlines, useful resources I must link to, people I need to mention and what the call-to-action should look like.

9) What methods do you use to keep your writing skills sharp?

To keep my writing skills sharp, I invest a lot of time in reading and writing – even when I’m not paid to do it.

I do my best to ensure that every single article I compose appeals to my readers, to search engines and to social media.

Though I have writing tools that have proven to be very helpful to me, I perform better when I see what works and replicate it in my own unique way.

10) What are your plans for growing your writing business and client base in the future?

I have lots of plans for growing my freelance writing business and client base – most of which I can’t share until I launch them!

Two remarkable things I am about to do in the next few months include: relocating to another city in Nigeria (where 90% of my clients are from) and building a YouTube channel for my blog.

This action plan will transform my writing career, connect me with more clients, increase my earnings and bring me to a place where the competition is very high.

*Note From The WriteWorldwide team: 

We hope you enjoyed Emenike’s interview as much as we did. Please show him your support and leave a comment below.