Daniel Mattia: Freelance Content Writer

Content is king, but you need content that sets your business apart from its competition. I’m a freelance writer with subject matter expertise in the insurance/insurtech, finance/fintech, e-commerce, SaaS, startup, and SMB sectors, with a focus on producing unique, engaging, and data-driven content that establishes and grows your company’s credibility, generates leads, and drives sales.

Learn more about:

Why you should hire me
My freelance writing services and rates
Some of my past freelance writing work
How to contact me

I write heavily-researched, data-driven blogs, articles, and other SEO-friendly content intended to inform, inspire, and persuade your audience.

My areas of expertise and interest are:

Hiring me to produce content on your behalf helps you to:

Establish and grow relationships with your target audience
Build credibility and authority within your industry and niche
Increases traffic and conversions

But don’t just take it from me! Here’s what some of my clients have had to say about my work:

Cristy Salinas Lynch
Senior Editor, rateGenius

Alex Polizu
Director, SEO & Product, Neauvia North America

Danielle Hutchins
Sr. Content Manager, Ensurem

Katie Davies
Blogger and Freelance Writer

Elise Dopson
Blogger and Freelance Writer

About Me

I am a Huntington, WV-based freelance content writer (though I’m originally from RI!). I’ve written hundreds of bylined and ghostwritten blog posts, articles, and investigative pieces since beginning my freelance writing journey in 2017.

Writing has long been one of my passions. I was that weird kid in school who actually enjoyed English class (math was another story). In my teens, I combined my passion for writing with my love of gaming and founded the gaming reviews website Game Overdrive, where I recruited and oversaw a staff of writers responsible for fairly and accurately reporting on video game news, releases, and developments. During this timeframe, and on behalf of Game Overdrive, I led a successful boycott against game developers who implemented the invasive “Starforce” DRM software.

After reaching adulthood and spending almost a decade working in unfulfilling jobs, I finally made my dream come true to write for a living in early 2017. It was a decision that felt completely natural and one I haven’t regretted since. As a freelance content writer, I draw upon my love of writing for every client I’m fortunate enough to work with and treat your business — and your hopes for success — as if they were my own.

I strive for integrity and accuracy in both my business dealings and my written work, and value developing strong business relationships with my clients. When you work with me, you can be rest assured that I make it my business to help your business succeed.

In my free time, I like to (you’ll never guess) write fiction — I published my first fantasy fiction novella, In Crows’ Claws, in 2018, with more stories from that setting coming soon! Owing to my roots, I also enjoy gaming, though I spend less time theorycrafting and raiding in WoW (like I used to) and more time playing builders and management sims (like Cities: Skylines, Conan Exiles, and Rimworld).

I also have two adopted cats who love to make themselves heard when I’m on client calls 🙃. Meet Rocky and Hamlet!

Why Should You Hire Me?

Many freelance content writers are available to hire, so why should you hire me? Other than my dashing good looks, extensive portfolio of work, and brilliant command of the English language (okay, well…the first of those traits is a little embellished), why should you spend any of your marketing budget to hire me?

I take the time to learn about your business to accurately represent it.

Hiring me to write for you means you’re hiring me for more than just my ability to write. You’re hiring me because I’ll take the time to understand you and your business. I’ll strive to learn about not only your business and products/services, but your values and brand voice. You can be confident in my ability to maintain and represent the authenticity of your brand and what you want to convey to your audience.

My work is well-researched, SEO-friendly, and supported by hard facts and data.

One-third to half of the time I spend writing content is spent in the research phase to ensure any claims I make are supported by cold, hard facts and data. I make extensive use of my research skills to find relevant sources like statistics, case studies, and interviews that helps build your brand’s credibility in the eyes of your audience. Once my research is complete, I begin writing engaging, properly formatted, and SEO-friendly content to bring value to your business and your audience and support your website’s SEO.

I maintain open lines of communication and don't require constant supervision.

I’m tech-savvy and, more often than not, already familiar with popular apps and software, which I’m more than happy to use to stay in touch with you and your team. From tried-and-true email to Slack, Zoom, Discord or your choice of project management software (like Trello or Asana), I’m able to answer your questions and keep you informed about the status of a project. At the same time, once we sign a contract, you can rest easy knowing I’ll deliver as promised, freeing you up to focus on your job while I focus on mine.

I adhere to deadlines.

I’m a full-time freelance writer. That means I adhere to the deadlines we agree upon. If I feel like a project requires more time than we initially agreed upon, I’ll communicate those concerns immediately in a way that works best for both parties.

I welcome collaboration with you and your team.

I’m an expert content writer — that’s why you’re considering hiring me. But that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of or willing to collaborate with you or your team on a project. You’re the experts in your industry, and your feedback before, during, and after the writing process is crucial to the success of a piece. If you have ideas, suggestions, or questions, I want to hear them, and encourage an open and honest dialogue between us.

I'm transparent.

Integrity is one of my core personal and business values. I’m open and honest about myself and my work, even when the consequences aren’t what I’d want. That’s why I’m transparent about my work processes and ethic. During the course of a project, I’ll keep you apprised of any snags I run into, rare situations that might arise and cause me to miss a milestone, or issues I discover with a topic or keyword. And since I don’t outsource any of my work (other than when I hire an editor to look over my writing), you’ll deal with no one but myself.

I don't use AI writing tools.

AI writing is inherently flawed — not only are there questions about who owns the content it produces (and thus, if its generated content is copyrighted), but it’s bland and boring. Worse, generative AI is often wrong. And in the industries I cover, publishing incorrect and inaccurate information can have significant ramifications on your target audience, compromising their financial well-being — and, potentially, leading to costly lawsuits that you need to defend against. I don’t use AI to generate my content — and I won’t. At most, I’ll use AI to brainstorm ideas, create a basic outline (that I eventually tweak and build upon), suggest headline variations, and generate edit suggestions (that I review myself and — typically — refuse). But every word I write and submit is one I’ve written myself, with a focus on producing unique content that your business will own (within the terms of our contract) and can stand by.

Freelance Writing Services and Rates

Last updated: August 10, 2023

I specialize in writing well-researched and data-driven content according to your preference in style, tone, and voice. All content I write is SEO-friendly (without using keyword stuffing or any negative/black hat techniques) and is edited at least three times before submitting my first draft. You can typically expect publish-ready content upon submission, barring any quick/light stylistic/preferential changes.

In addition, you’re working with me, and me alone, from start-to-finish. While I may hire an editor from time-to-time, I don’t outsource any of my writing. Any content I produce is written from scratch by me, for you. There’s no cookie-cutting here (in fact, I’m a really bad baker).

I’m not the most affordable freelance writer. When you hire me, you’re hiring me based on my expertise, skillset, and portfolio. My freelance content writing rates are based on how much research a topic requires, your required turnaround time, and the estimated/expected length of the project. Before any contract is signed or a single word is written, we’ll agree on a price upfront that’s fair to us both so you’ll know exactly how much you have to pay.

Please bear in mind that I do not charge per word/per hour for writing projects. A per-word/hourly rate isn’t fair to either of us and leads to some awkward constraints. I’d rather focus on writing exactly as many words as it takes to write an engaging, informative, and useful piece of content versus needing to justfiy every “and” and “the.”

All projects require an upfront deposit payable upon contract signing before work is begun, though I reserve the right to waive a deposit fee (and am likely to do so once we’ve established mutual trust). A sample contract can be read here.

Blog Posts, Articles, Interviews, Features, and Other Content Writing

All content writing projects include one free revision.

Editing

Other Services

If you’re interested in hiring me for a project that isn’t specified above, please contact me and I’ll be more than happy to consider your proposal.

Please note: I’m not interested in taking on any copywriting work, such as landing pages, ad copy, or general website content (such as a home page, service pages, etc.). However, I do have an extensive network of colleagues who specialize in more marketing-focused/salesy writing and would be glad to give you a recommendation.

I am happy and available to work on retainer by request or for projects that deem such a payment structure necessary. Please contact me to discuss such arrangements in detail.

Freelance Writer Mentorship and Training

I have been an established full-time freelance writer since the beginning of 2017. Additionally, I’ve been an active participant in many freelance writer social media groups and forums, including helping moderate the /r/FreelanceWriters subreddit for more than two years (until March, 2022). I understand the challenges and difficulties of transitioning into and growing a freelance writing career and am offering one-on-one guidance, mentorship, and training to freelance writers of any experience and skill level.

This freelance writer training takes place in blocks of time (of your choosing) over Zoom (or other app of your choice), and includes literally anything you’d like to discuss, from contract creation, invoicing, client acquisition, setting rates, and feedback of your work, and more. All freelance writing training is unique to you — I don’t have a course to pitch or script to read from.

Freelance Writer Mentorship/Training Pricing

$50/30 minutes / $85/hour

Portfolio

Reading through some of my published blog posts, articles, and web content is the best way for you to get a sense of my writing ability, style, tone, and voice. Doing so will help you make an informed decision as to whether or not I’m a good fit for you, your business, and your content needs.

More writing samples (including uncredited work) are available upon request. I will also provide highly relevant samples during our initial discovery call depending on your industry and the type of writing you’re looking for.