In my travels over these last few decades of freelancing, I’ve realized there really are two types of freelancers —
- Freelancers who put excuses in the way
- Freelancers who have more ideas than time
What kind of freelancer are you?
Ironically, both of these freelancers can have careers that go off the rails pretty quickly — the one who lives off excuses is just doing so faster. Excuses — health, economy, financial pressures, kids at home, etc., etc. — keep that freelancer from moving forward.
And in each case, the road from excuses to career isn’t that tough a transition. I know writers who have: worked through radiation, worked through divorces, worked with young kids at home, worked while working another job, worked while in a hospital as well as the day her father died (it was only briefly, but I answered emails and excused myself from projects).
Then there’s the freelancer drowning in ideas. Ah, that one’s a tougher nut to crack. First the book then the course then the website rewrite then the newsletter then the poems then the …. inertia is easy to come by when a writer is trying hard to do everything that comes to mind.
That’s why marketing doesn’t work for some freelancers. Either they’re stuck on excusing why they’re not quite ready to try this week and maybe not next week, or they’re not able to narrow it down to one topic at a time. But here’s the thing about marketing:
[bctt tweet=”#Marketing isn’t hard – making excuses not to is.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
Yup. You too can market. Right here. Right now. Even if you’re waiting for the most perfect moment in history to market, you can still start today. Even if you can’t land on that one thing you want to focus your energy on, today is your day, too.
Here’s how:
Search for your next client.
Notice I didn’t say your “ideal” client. Too many freelancers get stuck on “Well hell, I have no idea who my ideal client is!” and they freeze up. For now, let’s forget ideal anything. Let’s go off to social media and look instead for people who are talking about things that interest us, or about those topics that we might be thinking about writing. That’s the key to getting you started, actually. If you start where you’re probably already spending time, you’re going to be comfortable going that extra step.
Use hashtags. Look for companies that are also talking about that topic. Or publications writing about it. Or associations that talk about it. Jot them down. Try for about six or seven, if you can. That’s your list of potential clients. In fact, your next client might be one of them.
Head to the organizations’ websites.
One by one, go to each website and look around. Find the answers to these questions:
- What’s their business?
- How much writing have they used in the past? Is there a blog, resource center, news area, article repository?
- What’s the sense you get of their business from the website (meaning is it a fully functional site or one that looks like it was put up by a kid)?
- Who are their customers?
- Who is the contact (I find these in the media center or the Contact Us page)?
As you do this, you’re going to eliminate people. They may not be in a business that interests you, or they may be a law firm and you don’t want to write for law firms perhaps, or their ethics don’t align with yours. That’s okay. You still have others on the list.
Make comparable lists.
This is easier than it sounds. Take out your resume or CV (or list of previous writing experience). Under each company name, write what skills you have that mesh with what they do. For instance, you’ve written on healthcare, and you like it. You’re going to put that writing background under the name of the company that focuses on healthcare. Since you’ve already searched for these people using hashtags and seeing their conversations, you already have an idea of what they’re talking about. That’s the experience you want to highlight.
If you have no experience in that area, no problem. You simply jot down what skills you have that would benefit them, like press release writing, article ghostwriting, blogging, etc. You can list what you think are transferable skills, such as writing for a related business.
Note: Whatever you do, do not apologize or point out that you don’t have direct experience in what they present. Professionals don’t apologize for not being ideal. Remember, they’re probably not your ideal, either. Your goal is to be good enough and skilled enough, not perfect.
Send them a letter of introduction.
Go on, introduce yourself. Tell them you saw them on social media, and that you too are interested in those same topics. Gauge their interest in working with contract writers. Give a short, short background, highlighting those areas that are similar or identical to what they do. Ask to have a conversation to learn more about their marketing and writing needs. Thank them. Begone from their email for a few weeks.
Follow up.
Don’t just follow up in email — follow up and touch base on social media. I don’t mean go “Hey, hope you read my email!” in that stalker-ish way. I mean follow them. Comment on their posts when appropriate. Share and retweet. Be present. In email, forward your original note, thanking them again, and asking if they had time in their schedule for a brief call. Or if you’re averse to the phone, ask if they had any questions or interest. Thank them one more time.
One more time, for the road.
Yes, follow up one last time, even if they’ve not responded at all. “Just wanted to check back one last time to see if you had any questions or if I could be of some assistance to you” kind of note could get you a response, particularly if you include a “pardon for the interruption” light tone saying you aren’t intending to pester, but did want to do your due diligence before moving on. I like to add “Let me know either way” and end with a thank you.
I used to follow up endlessly until I got a response, but I’ve come to realize the wheel-spinning just isn’t worth it. If they’re not answering at all, they may not be getting your messages or they’re just not interested. That could be for any number of reasons, including:
- Lack of budget
- Lack of seniority
- Lack of projects
- Lack of interest in outside help
Notice none of those reasons are a reflection on you. Most rejections aren’t. A ridiculously minute few could be, but those people just weed themselves out as clients who would have been impossible to work with, so no harm there.
Repeat.
Start at the top of this list and do it again.
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That’s it. There’s no science to it — it’s a simple step-by-step template. And once you get good at it, you can tweak it or even make a better one (that I hope you’ll share here). My method is your jumping-off point. It’s the schematic to keep you on track when you can’t find the track.
It’s not the only way to do it. It’s one way. It will work if you work it through to that last step, which yes, keeps you repeating it all, which is the point. You don’t get there in one try. You get there by getting comfortable with repeatedly trying. In fact, trying is a huge part of freelance writing success.
Isn’t it time you embraced it?
Writers, what does your marketing template look like?
How do you get potential clients to engage?