Self-Made: Ana Pataki’s Rise to Success in the World of Freelancing from Blog Writing

Everyone’s story is unique. Ana’s story is especially inspiring as she chased her love of writing through every season of her life: higher education, motherhood, and more – and used the opportunities she was afforded through European travel to absorb every single moment and hone her craft. This led to her eventual success through freelancing, and she’s never been happier with her decision!

Here’s her story – we’re so excited to share!

“I was born and raised in Novi Sad, the second city in the country of Serbia, located in Central Europe. As a result, this seems like a great opportunity to present me to freelancers who live and work on other continents.

As a Sociology major in university, I had to use a portion of this period to work on practical skills gathered from my theoretical classes. During that time, many travels around Europe took place, where I practiced my English language skills and communication skills.

Having completed my bachelor’s degree, I began working in the Novi Sad City Assembly, strengthening my organization, communication, and cooperation skills with citizens and the media. In the meantime, I became a mother, completed my Master of a Sociology degree, and changed jobs, so I could be closer to marketing and public relations.

All that time, I was writing and editing for my blog called “Zakomplikovana u borbi protiv vetrenjača” (Complicated girl in the fight against watermills), where the topic I am referring to are:

  • Parenthood
  • Social politics
  • Public health
  • Gender equality
  • Empowering women in entrepreneurship

As time has passed, I have gained more and more invitations to contribute to different portals, where I had my column, as well as a place to put my name beneath the text. My blog posts relate to topics that I have already shared on my blog, are in promotion of other activities, and do not include financial compensation.

Over that time, while practicing my writing skills, I have learned more about SEO, content writing, and growing my network of associates and like-minded people, which helped me grow even more in the sense of quality writing that has more selling potential.”

Ana looks to a future of success.

“In the meantime, I have started working independently with clients, as well as with digital marketing agencies, which wanted a different perspective, a systematic approach to products, and a good selling storyboard.

The big advantage of my studies was knowledge from the research area and analyzing market skills, which led to campaigns, strategies of presence in social marketing media, and storytelling approach with large echo in classic printed and digital media and on social media.

Finally, up until this year, I haven’t started my freelancing journey, so then I created profiles on platforms like Fiverr and UpWork, pass some exams, and listen/watch education which will help me for a better presentation of my knowledge and skills, promote them on social media, first on my TikTok account and give the value to the content I can offer, as a writer.

The first thing that stimulated me was to step outside my comfort zone, to see how much I am capable of, to write about what interests me, and to explore new skills which I never thought I would require. In my opinion, every moment in our lives is a chance to learn something new, so whenever you think that something will benefit you, you should try different avenues to help you live following your intentions and desires.

Writing is both exciting and scary at the same time. Being able to find out that somebody is willing to pay for your content feels like a win. On the other hand, the possibilities given with these platforms are beyond comprehension. You have a whole world as your market, opportunity to cooperate with people around the planet, offer the best parts of yourself, and make someone happy with the qualities, skills, and knowledge you have. Each project you undertake teaches you something about yourself and the topic you agreed to research in the context of your work.

Now, I have the freedom to plan my time, respect the things I have, and take the possibilities that approach me.

‘Go for it, there’s no limit.’ is the best advice I have heard.”