Nov 183 min read

What does a fractional HOC do - answered by ZenMaid's HOC

Curiosity got the better of me too. I asked my LinkedIn friend, Erika Musser what a HOC actually does, specifically at ZenMaid and she was gracious enough to answer.

Before I get into the whats, let's see if this article is for you.

You're a freelance writer who wants to climb up the ladder.
You don't want a role that takes up all your time.
Hence, fractional head of content.

If all that resonates with you, this insider scoop will be worth your time. Erika held nothing back.

What does the role of fractional HOC entail?

While the role might vary from one company to another, here is what Erika has to say:

"As the fractional Head of Content at ZenMaid, I oversee all content production. I handle everything content-related, including:

Blogs,
email, and
social media across Instagram, Facebook groups, TikTok, and YouTube.

Working closely with the Head of Marketing, I help shape our strategy and ensure we're all pulling in the same direction. My role is part-time, which is perfect for balancing work with everything else in life."

Looking at ZenMaid's traffic overview in the past year since Erika became the fractional HOC, she clearly understands her role.

You might also like: Are you a content manager or a content marketer?

Maintaining an average of 4K traffic for a niche SaaS like ZenMaid is a big deal. And I wanted all the scoop.

What exactly did Erika do?

I wanted something more specific. Say the-role-was-splitted-into-daily-tasks "kind of" specific.

So, I asked this follow-up question.

What does a typical workday of a fractional HOC like?

According to Erika, there are no fixed daily tasks — unfortunately.

There is a weekly routine, though. For Erika, her baseline schedule usually looks like this:

Monitoring metrics like blog traffic, email performance, and social media growth and reporting these to our head of marketing
Taking meetings with team members for ongoing projects
Managing content production schedules in ClickUp, approving tasks, and overseeing the publishing process

"My day often involves writing blogs and emails, conducting customer interviews, and engaging with partners for influencer marketing. While some weekly tasks are consistent, my daily schedule can vary significantly."

Let's move on to the ladder-climbing questions.

How to go from freelance writer to fractional HOC?

Obviously, you need more than stellar writing to be a fractional HOC. For Erika, it is a combination of 3 things.

Being able to ask a ton of good questions.
"I think my drive to understand the bigger picture and how individual content pieces fit into broader strategies really helped me transition into this role."
Questions aside, Erica said showing initiative will also help.
"I make it a point to really gel with the teams I work with, jumping into Slack chats or strategy meetings whenever I can, showing initiative and making myself part of my clients' teams."
Lastly, upgrade your skills — writing and strategy, especially the latter.
"I'm big on self-education too, constantly updating my skills through courses and whatever valuable free content I can find."

Is fractional HOC better than a full-time content lead?

I didn't ask it directly like that. I wanted to be crafty like a fox. So, I asked this instead: would you leave your fractional HOC position for a full-time content lead?

Erika replied with this:

"Never say never, right? But honestly, the flexibility of being fractional is just too good right now, especially with a little one at home. It lets me balance my professional ambitions with being there for my family, and I wouldn't trade that for the world."

📌 My take:

A Fractional HOC is not "better" than a full-time content lead. But it has its perks — work-life balance and building your brand, in the case of Erica.

To round it up, I asked Erika for parting advice:

A fractional HOC speaks to a freelance writer

Erika told us: Be a joy to work with.

"Don't be afraid to be new. Don't sell yourself short, don't undercharge your services just for competitive rates. Build your network, get your name out there, and don't be shy about stepping into projects that might feel a bit bigger than what you're used to. Be the freelancer that's a joy to work with and always one step ahead of AI when it comes to writing."

Erika has more tips to share. And you can find it all on LinkedIn and her newsletter. If you enjoyed the writing as much as the insights, Oluwaseun is your guy! Find him on LinkedIn and Facebook.