Sam Hindman | Content Strategy & Ghostwriting

😱 What are you doing down here?!

I guess you want to find out more about my services, huh?

Currently, I provide clients with:

- LinkedIn Ghostwriting Packages
- Blog Packages
- Newsletter Packages

If you want to find out more about my offerings, shoot me a DM with the word “offer” 💃

Founder

The Cool Down

Writing engaging, scientifically accurate articles within 48-72 hours of assignment. These articles cover, in some respect, current environmental crises and ways consumers can contribute to their solutions.

Quickturn Copywriter

Dry Atlas

Developing compelling editorial content for the site (129K monthly web impressions), drafting LinkedIn content, and aiding in the development of the brand's weekly newsletter (6,000+ subscribers).

Copywriter & Content Strategist

wingspan media

Growing the platforms of 10+ founders on X & LinkedIn through strategic content creation:

-> Grew one land investor's X account from 0 to 4K in three months.

-> Reached over 7M X views in a single thread for a digital nomad client. 

-> Helped a fractional COO grow his LinkedIn platform to 1.2K followers in a few months.

Creative Director & Ghostwriter

Onword Copy

For a range of niches, ghostwriting content for:

- Advertising Copy
- Website Copy
- Blogs & Articles
- Scripts
- Rewrites / Editing

Ghostwriter

Treatspace

My position as a content marketing specialist is one of versatility. My roles and duties include:

Strategic Social Media Calendar Planning and Management: Meticulously crafting and overseeing a dynamic social media calendar, I ensure a cohesive and impactful online presence for healthcare professionals and practices. This involves a keen understanding of industry trends, audience engagement, and the seamless integration of healthcare-specific content.

Creative Content Creation and Scheduling: I bring healthcare narratives to life through compelling content, tailored to resonate with our target audience. My approach combines creativity with strategic timing, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement across various social media platforms.

SEO-Optimized Content Writing for Blogs: With a sharp focus on SEO best practices, I craft informative and engaging blog posts that elevate the online visibility of healthcare practitioners and services. These blogs not only inform and educate but also significantly improve search engine rankings, thereby enhancing the digital footprint of healthcare entities.

In this role, I am dedicated to bridging the gap between healthcare professionals and their audience, delivering content that is both informative and engaging, while also driving meaningful engagement and growth.

Content Marketing Specialist

Through my content writing internship at Treatspace, I have the opportunity to create medical articles for a variety of local care practitioners with the goal of informing patients and cultivating a more knowledgeable environment for all of those in the Pittsburgh area seeking or receiving treatment.

Content Writer

A-Z ANIMALS

As a staff writer for A-Z Animals, I am tasked with both pitching and claiming several articles per week pertaining to topics that range from animals, to places, to geology.

I then self-publish these articles in Wordpress, ensuring they are SEO optimized, free of errors, and factually accurate. 

It’s a wildly fun time! 🦁

Staff Writer

Searchant

My position as a freelance content writer for Searchant enables me to work on projects like:

- Content Brief Writing and SEO Research
- Web Content Ghostwriting
- SaaS, Tech, Travel, and Lifestyle Article Writing

I hope to continue working with the fabulous team at Searchant for some time.

WriterArmy

As a freelance copywriter, my responsibilities range anywhere from:

- Constructing advertisements for various social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and more
- Drafting social media posts on behalf of companies or individuals
- Writing SEO-optimized articles, blogs, and landing pages

Copywriter

Family Pictures USA

I had the incredible opportunity to do some freelance videography for Family Pictures USA at their first Pittsburgh event! This took place during Tartan Day at Carnegie Mellon University, and I was tasked with recording behind the scenes footage of the presentation as well as of host Thomas Allen Harris. It was an amazing time doing community-oriented work with some amazingly talented people.
Hopefully, I’ll have many more opportunities to work with them in the future!

Videographer

Let me break the hard news, friend: Your audience can tell you're rushing!

Just because you're "getting stuff out" doesn't mean you're giving it the care it needs to be effective.

I’ve seen it firsthand: first-time founders with truly good ideas buried in browser tabs, voice memos, and Notion dumps.

The message is there. It just needs to come up for air. That’s where I come in!

I work with value-aligned founders and brands in wellness, lifestyle, sustainability, non-alc, and cannabis.

If you’re trying to grow without selling out, I’m probably your girl.

Here’s how I help:

→ Ghostwriting for LinkedIn, so you can build your authority without blocking off hours to write
→ Newsletter ghostwriting (and full-service launch packages) to stay consistent and compelling
→ Short-form video scripting + UGC to bring your brand to life onscreen without sounding scripted

Let's make content that sounds like you - Just clearer, cleaner, and 100x easier.

———————————————

💫 If this sounds like your cup of tea, shoot me a message! Promise I don't bite.

I just hit 5K followers, which feels weird, because I still remember starting out as a totally clueless 19-year-old. 😵‍💫 

Four years ago, I was a college sophomore who'd never posted on LinkedIn before.

One of my first freelance clients (found on UpWork, naturally) had me ghostwriting LinkedIn content for their CEO despite having literally no experience.

Talk about fake it 'til you make it LOL!

Now I've grown my little community to 5K, which is soooo insane. 🥹 

5K isn't massive in and of itself, but this little milestone represents something way bigger:

→ Four years of showing up consistently when nobody was watching 
→ Building a business that supports me full-time at 23 
→ Learning that follower count ≠ income  
→ Finding my voice in what felt like a "safe space" 

When I started, LinkedIn felt like my secret little cocoon. Most people I knew IRL weren't even on here.

I could write about marketing, share my journey, and geek out about business stuff without worrying what my peers thought.

Thank god I didn't listen to the voices saying "you're too young" or "wait until you have more experience."

If I were to impart one piece of advice that I've learned so far, it's this:

You don't need 50K followers to build a real business. You don't need to go viral to make meaningful connections.

You just need to keep showing up, even when (maybe ESPECIALLY when?) it feels like nobody's paying attention.

Now, onto the next goal!

Though, I might let myself celebrate this one a little longer. 🥳

Sam Hindman

Ghostwriter for sustainability & wellness founders | Turning passion & expertise into strategic content that builds your personal brand on LinkedIn, email, & more 🌿

3 expensive mistakes I made in my first freelance year (so you don't have to):

→ The $750 course I never finished

This was on sale for half off (for Black Friday, I think) & I convinced myself it was a worthwhile investment.

TBF: The content was actually good! I wasn't scammed or anything. I just realized about 40% of the way through that I already knew most of it, and the stuff I didn't know didn't really apply to my niche anyway.

→ The client I loved too much to charge properly

I had this client who was just lovely to work with, one of my very first clients, in fact. Always had clear briefs, little feedback, & quickly paid invoices.

So when I raised my rates across the board, I somehow convinced myself he was exempt. "Oh, but he's so nice!" "He's been with me since the beginning!" "I don't want to rock the boat!"

Fast forward a year: I stopped offering that service entirely because it wasn't profitable anymore. Had to drop him anyway. 🙃

→ The publication that owned my soul (temporarily)

For a while there, I was cranking out 10+ articles a week for one publication. $150 per 1,000-word piece, which felt like decent money at the time.

Then Google decided to shake things up with an algorithm update. The publication laid off their entire writing team (50+ people btw!!) in one day.

Thankfully I had some other stuff in the works, but it was a wake-up call about putting all my eggs in one very fragile basket.


Looking back, all these mistakes came from the same place: choosing what felt safe in the moment over what was actually sustainable.

Sometimes the expensive lessons are the ones that stick, I guess! 😅

What about you guys? Any advice you had to learn the hard way?

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You don't have to be the 5:00 AM person to be successful! 

Hell, even when I worked as a barista, I didn't go in until 7:30 AM ☕ 

We all spend so much time in online productivity spaces where everyone's talking about optimization and having their lives together.

And apparently, a huge part of that "put-together" persona is being someone who wakes up when it's still dark, works out, and has conquered the world before 9 AM.

I just can't be that person. 🥴 

For the longest time, I beat myself up about this. 

Like there was something fundamentally wrong with me for not being able to force my body into this mold.

But it's like...

Why am I trying to fight my natural rhythms when the whole point of freelancing is flexibility? 🤔 

→ I'm still getting my work done 
→ I'm still meeting deadlines
→ I'm still being productive in the ways that actually matter 
→ Just not at 6 AM lmao

The entire reason I chose this lifestyle was for the freedom to create a schedule that works for ME.

So why was I trying to perform someone else's version of productivity instead of leaning into what actually makes me function?

I'm not advocating for sleeping until noon every day... LOL 👀 

But I am saying that maybe it's okay if your peak performance hours don't align with what random people online tell you they should be.

Maybe working with your natural energy patterns instead of against them is actually the smarter move!

But hey, what do I know?

Are you folks early birds, or do you also hit snooze like three times? 🐣

Let's bust a myth today: Age equals expertise.

I was recently warned by a fellow writer to be wary about having my age appear in my content.

"You might not want to put your graduation year on LinkedIn. Don't mention being 23. It'll hurt your credibility."

You know what really hurts credibility? Pretending to be someone you're not. 💀

I see this narrative other places, too: "Be careful about putting your age in your resume," that sort of thing.

My youth isn’t a detriment- it’s an asset. 💡

The fact is, establishing yourself as an expert has less to do with how LONG you’ve been at it, and more to do with how VALUABLE your experience is. 

Also: Gen Z is on track to become the most powerful generation of consumers. 

Voices like mine are essential for brands who actually want to reach us. 👏 

TLDR: Don't wait until you have 15 years under your belt to share your ideas.

If you have something valuable to say, say it now!

Your perspective matters regardless of how many candles were on your last birthday cake. 🎂

My TOP hack for endless content ideas (that no guru will tell you):

Get off your phone & go touch some grass. 🤣 

I'm serious, though.

My best content ideas don't come from scrolling competitor feeds or saving 47 "content prompts for founders" carousels.

They come when I'm:

💭 Having actual conversations with non-business friends
🎨 Making something with my hands (badly, but whatever) 
🍃 Walking around the neighborhood without headphones
📚 Doing literally anything that isn't "content research"

The truth is that the only way to show up "authentically" is to share your real, unfiltered life.

And, not to be rude, but...

You actually have to be out there LIVING life if you want to share it. 🫣

pro tip: if you’re unsure whether or not something posted successfully…

wait 30 minutes before you try posting it a second, third, and fourth time.

— signed, someone who accidentally posted 5 times in a row today

Scrolling LinkedIn as a freelancer feels like emotional whiplash. 😳 

→ Someone posts about their $15K month.
→ Someone else can't land any new work after 6 months of trying.

Both are real experiences that I see in my network all. the. time.

Here's what I've learned from watching both extremes:

→ The Struggle Side

These obviously aren't lazy people. The economy genuinely SUCKS right now. 

BUT I notice patterns - many are stuck using one client acquisition method. They're not exploring every possible avenue, or are afraid to pivot their niche/services when something isn't delivering results.

→ The Hyper-Successful

A lot of high earners create content about making money, which attracts finance/B2B sponsors, which gives them more content about making money.

It's a self-perpetuating cycle that can look more accessible than it actually is.

→ The Truth (Which is Often in The Middle)

Everyone is on a different path, with different passions/skills, at different experience levels.

Don't let someone else's $15K month convince you that you're failing, and don't let someone else's struggle convince you that success is impossible.

Success in freelancing is part luck, mostly about who you know and what you're willing to try. 🤷‍♀️ 

The people thriving aren't necessarily more talented - they're just willing to look in places others won't and pivot when something stops working.

TLDR: Don't let either extreme drown out what's actually happening in your own business!

---

P.S. This is lesson 4 of 5 from hitting 5K LinkedIn followers. The other four lessons (and why follower count is mostly BS) drop in this week's newsletter.

Subscribe to "Made It Out The Drafts" if you want the full breakdown. 💌

🚨 If you're seeing this, it's not too late...

To sign up for Marika Luneau's LinkedIn Sprint! 👏 

We have a little over 100 days left of 2025, and if you want to step into the new year as someone who has MASTERED LinkedIn leveraging, this is your moment.

You'll learn how to:

→ Optimize your profile to attract your dream opportunities
→ Create strategic, well-planned content that WON'T leave you stressed
→ Build out REAL relationships with your network (that last!)

... plus, some other fun surprises 🤭 

AND, to make the offer even sweeter, you can use my link for $250 off! ↴

🔗 https://lnkd.in/gku8ku4T

You won't want to miss it. 😉

Gen-Z drinking less doesn’t automatically mean they’re running to buy your non-alc product.

(Butttt it could 👀 )

Yes, we’re drinking less. Yes, sober curiosity is on the rise.

But, there are reasons for this (beyond health & wellness) that might go AGAINST your overall bottom line.

→ They're doom-scrolling instead of going out
→ Social anxiety from lockdown during big development years
→ Limited budgets ($7 lattes and $2K rent = no going out)

If they’re not leaving their houses, they’re not buying ANY beverages… Alcoholic or otherwise.

This doesn’t mean you should give up, obviously.

It means you gotta meet Gen-Z where they are. 💡 

Here’s what I mean:

→ Build for solo/at home occasions & small groups with RTD formats
→ Connect with the audience through a relatable, heavy social presence
→ Give them a REASON to come together: pop-ups, outdoor events, etc.
→ Frame messaging around self-care, NOT anti-alc/preachy angles

TBH, Gen-Z is already dying for opportunities to connect.

Maybe your brand is what can help them get there~!

---

P.S. I am SO hype to head to NYC this weekend for the Drinks With Benefits festival! Who else am I going to see there?! 👀

There are now officially more unemployed people than open jobs in the United States.

I hate to be all, “That’s why I’m glad I’m a freelancer,” but…

Entry-level roles are all but disappearing.

I graduated from college in 2024, but if I were graduating in 2025-2026 instead?

Going straight into full-time freelancing probably wouldn’t have been a choice. 

Layoffs are rampant, jobs are scarce, and people are (understandably) freaking out!

In any case:

Now might be a good time to start picking up gig work on the side. Or starting that business you thought would be unstable.

Because, well, things already ARE unstable.

Maybe it’s best that they’re unstable on your own terms. 🤷‍♀️

"I have no idea what to post about." 😵‍💫 

Good news: You're not out of ideas. You just don't know where to look for them.

(And no, none of these strategies involve asking ChatGPT to brainstorm for you.)

My idea farming strategy for when I need quick, reliable, quality content:

→ Rummage back through the archives: What posts did well for you in the past? What were the central themes, ideas, or even hook styles? Write them down, or create a swipe file to look back through later.

→ Check your other forms of media: If you can't find any former posts that inspire you, what about other personal media? I personally like to read back through my week in journal entries, and scroll through my camera roll. 

→ Consult your favs & experts: What are your peers posting about? Creator Match 🧩 is a great tool for this. Any hot topics you want to weigh in on? What about general topics ("Day in my life," "Tools I use to [X]," "Advice to my younger self") that you can make your own?

→ Answer questions your ideal clients already have: Reddit is my favorite tool for this. Go to a subreddit where your ideal clients hang out, and see what they're posting about. If they keep asking the same questions, write a post that addresses those with answers.

→ Condense a broad topic into a small point: Did you watch an interesting podcast or YouTube video recently? Take one quote, one theme, or one conversation within that huge piece of media and center a post around that bite-sized piece of info.

When I'm writing for clients, ideas come easy. That's because I know where to look, AND because I know how to ask the right questions.

When's the last time you've interrogated yourself a bit? 

Who knows what gold you might dig up! 🔍

I made a life-changing $75 investment yesterday 👀 

Yup! You guessed it! An improv class. 🎭 

(Jk, of course you didn't guess that. If you did, you'd be a witch!)

Who'd have thought that connecting with the interests you were thrilled about as a child would make you so overjoyed as an adult?

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre opened up a Pittsburgh branch, so I decided: screw it. 🤷‍♀️ 

I haven't done a speck of acting since high school theater, but it used to be my favorite thing in the whole world.

When I was younger, I was far more creative.

This is probably true for a lot of people. We might even think this progression, this lessening of creativity, is something natural.

Let me tell you, it's not natural at all!!

It's what happens when we reject the parts of ourselves that are most unique.

Being there, in that room, with those people, being silly and loud and unashamed, was the most inspired I've felt in a really long time. 💫 

There is genuinely no better writing exercise than good, old-fashioned play.

So, yeah. 🤭 

Maybe you should start "yes, and"-ing yourself every once in a while.

This one's for my Pittsburgh people! 🗣️ 

I am so excited to be a panellist for the American Marketing Association - AMA Pittsburgh's LinkedIn personal branding discussion.

LinkedIn (as you well know) is a platform that I owe my entire livelihood to.

It has allowed me to move into full-time freelancing immediately post-grad, and to build a sustainable business that bears more opportunities by the day. 

(Not to mention the fact that I've managed over a dozen client profiles.)

TLDR: I certainly have a lot to spill! 🤭 

If you're in town, & want to hear from some amazing experts (as well as myself), I highly recommend attending. 👏 

You can find all the information you need below!

American Marketing Association - AMA Pittsburgh

View company: American Marketing Association - AMA Pittsburgh

🚀 LinkedIn isn’t optional. It is your brand, your reputation, and your digital first impression. It is how you build trust, open doors, and accelerate your career.

Whether you are launching your career, leveling up mid-way, or moving toward the C-suite, your personal brand is the edge that sets you apart. On LinkedIn, the right strategy can turn connections into opportunities and visibility into influence.

🔥 At this event, leading LinkedIn voices will share what actually works right now. Expect practical strategies, insider tips, and proven tactics you can immediately apply. You will walk away with a clear playbook to grow your influence, expand your reach, and unlock new career opportunities starting the very next day.

Venue & Sponsored by Wigle Whiskey Distillery
2401 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Evening Agenda:
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. - Networking Reception
6:30 -7:30 p.m. - Panel Discussion
7:30 - 8:00 p.m. - Q&A with Panel
8:00 - 8:30 p.m. - More Networking

Co-Hosts & Panelists
Piper Martin - Marketing Coordinator at KOBOLD Instruments
Jamie Orlando - Vice President of Market Development at Life Science Connect
Panelists
Nicole Ramirez - Director of Growth Solutions at Unlock Health
Sam Hindman - Ghostwriter & Content Strategist
Colleen Paulson - Founder of Ageless Careers

Additional Details
Must be 21 or older to attend.
Appetizers Provided
Cash bar

View event: Level Up Your LinkedIn Personal Brand

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