Sophie Cross, Editor, Publisher, Marketer, Freelancer Magazine
Sophie Cross is a freelance marketer and writer at Thoughtfully who came up with the idea of a quarterly business and lifestyle print mag for freelancers at the beginning of 2021. Sophie launched Freelancer Magazine via a Kickstarter campaign in February, which hit 150% of its goal and sold 1000 copies of the magazine before the magazine even existed. It now has a rapidly growing community of B2B and creative freelancers and readers in nineteen countries.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Twitter and LinkedIn are the two channels I use the most, and both have helped me grow my businesses more than any other marketing channel. I'd have to say I prefer Twitter, though. It's more about chatting and sharing other people's things than it is about broadcasting (which the other social media channels can feel like).
I learn more on there, I help more on there, and I meet more friends. For all the bad things that have happened over the last year, the connections I've made on Twitter have been incredible, and I've started meeting up with a few of them in real life. I love social media for letting you create, be part of communities and be able to drop a message to almost anyone in the world.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I launched Freelancer Magazine this year, a print-first, paid for, square and glossy magazine for creative and B2B freelancers. The idea was born on New Year's Day 2021, I launched via a five-week Kickstarter campaign in February, and within two weeks, we'd hit our goal and ended up reaching 150% selling 1000 copies of the magazine and all the advertising space for Issues One and Two before the mag existed. Issue One landed in April 2021, and it's quarterly.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
I feel like I've been laying down lots of dots over the years, and they have joined up with the magazine. It incorporates all the things I enjoy the most and am best at - organic marketing, meeting people, connecting a community, creativity, and business writing. Oh, and each issue also comes with its own playlist. 🎵
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Wow, big question! I'm going to say... start before you're ready.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
I've always had a fascination with running a business and a love of it being done in 'the right way.' For me this means, making it the best you can, showing up, making it people-focused and giving your customers something that is helpful, interesting and desirable to them. I study every business I encounter and think about what could be done better (it's quite an annoying habit, really!).
I have discovered some amazing freelance, business and marketing communities online over the past few years, and surrounding myself with these inspirational people (who I'm now lucky enough to call friends in many cases) is the best way to stay motivated.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
I have strong values about how marketing should be done and a vision for my business, and I'm proud of sticking to them and growing a reputation as a marketer and business owner as well as a magazine editor. Profit is important, but it's not the most important thing, and if you do business the right way, I believe that you're more likely to have a successful, profitable business.
I'm proud of being someone who loves continually learning; will always stop and help, thrives on a bit of adversity, is up for any adventure and enjoys the journey instead of focusing on the end destination.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
I will pretty much meet people anywhere, anyhow now. I hated networking as much as anyone, but now I'll walk up to someone in the street and start chatting to them. I love it. I think Twitter is great for meeting 'your crew,' but I'm definitely ready for some more in-real-life events now, and I'd like to host a few.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
I think being a marketer is a massive advantage for launching a business. It's an area that so many people struggle with in the early stages. I also think being a fan is key. I've always been a huge fan of business and marketing done well. If you want to be good at something, be a fan of it, champion and support the people already doing it well and one day, they might just be your peers.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
Putting yourself out there, meeting new people, sharing your learnings and raising your profile is the way to succeed in business, so start as early as you can. Do this when you're employed, don't wait until you leave to start your own thing. Oh, and get some professional headshots done.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
Copywriters are the best. Period. The most creative, smartest, nicest, funniest people I know. And I know a sh*t load of them, so it really wouldn't be fair to list a few here, but if you want to meet a bunch of the best ones, rock up to #ContentClubUK at 11 am on Twitter every Tuesday.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I live with my husband and rescue dog, Rusty, in South East London. We moved back to London last year after ending up living in Exmoor for six years. Being outdoors is really important to me; wild swimming, paddle boarding, running, cycling, and London isn't great for that, but being somewhere where I'm surrounded by inspiration in the form of entrepreneurialism, diversity and culture (not to mention the different eating out options) is even more important to me. I love to travel and am addicted to India.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
As the travel and hospitality industry shut down in 2020, a lot of my freelance client work went with it. After more than a couple of very long, thoughtful walks and community chats, I knew this was the time to start doing my very best marketing, to stand out, stay positive and support others. I put my fifteen years of marketing and eight years of freelancing experience into creating online and lifetime access marketing courses for ambitious freelancers, creatives and marketers. Leading on from this, the idea for Freelancer Magazine was born.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I've done a lot of volunteer business mentoring, and I have a mentor and a business coach.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Choose yourself. You don't need to wait for anyone else to tell you you can do it.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Some people are scared to try because they are scared to fail. Some people are scared to dream. Only you can define what success and failure is. For me failing is never trying. Journeys don't always go to plan; that's what makes them fun. Get better and better at calling yourself out. Mindset is everything.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
मुदिता Muditā - A Sanskrit word for delighting in the good fortune of others.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I'm such a fan of freelancers, micro-businesses and companies of one that I find it tough to look up to the big brands.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
I think the thing that matters most is sticking to your values, regardless of how other people act around you. The only thing we should really be judged on is kindness. This goes for individuals and businesses.