My newest writing assignment involved researching pet training which revealed a rift in the veterinary community about dominance-oriented training tactics. Turns out the Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan has prompted people to assume you can “fix” bad dog behavior in 10 minutes. Other trainers totally discount the alpha-dog pack dynamic as being valid, hence dominating your dog to get him to perform certain ways is simply mean, not natural in some way.
The vets I spoke to and quotes I found show that a different way of perceiving dogs’ evolution could totally change the premise of effective training.
This reminds me to step back and examine the premises I have regarding how best to find freelance work, or how to design and research projects. The way I’ve always done things isn’t necessarily the best or only way, and I am always looking for additional strategies and concepts to add to my freelance efforts.
One of the new ways to expand my services has been through my growing experience with Constant Contact and Zoomerang. Each have automated messaging and surveying tools. Instead of an editor or other assignment provider deciding more from their gut what topics to assign me, I’ve suggested creating feedback requests and surveys of their readers/membership/clients to then discern the best article topics for my assignments. This helps my client get a better sense of their audience’s needs, and the out
reach effort is an additional project for me.
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