What’s on the iPod: Poison Prince by Amy MacDonald
What I’m reading: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen
Hopefully as you read this, I’m reeling in record-breaking bass or pike. One can only hope. Per usual, here are some vapor trails of my existence….
The birthday is now a day old and I started celebrating/avoiding it Thursday of last week. It’s a milestone year, and for some reason I’ve been clinging to the “9” part of my age like it’s a life preserver and I’m a drowning woman. But getting older beats the alternative, right? We spent Thursday night in probably the most intimate concert setting you can imagine (maybe 100 people is a record store) listening to the awesome Enter the Haggis. The guys are talented, eclectic, and just damn nice people. I’m in the habit of describing them as Green Day with Bagpipes and Fiddles.
When I got home, my daughter had a gift waiting – new Tom’s shoes. Cute and so freakin’ comfortable. Men, forgive me for the lapse into female-only talk. Here’s a link for you: men’s Tom’s.
I bumped into a fellow freelancer last week and exchanged work forecasts/experiences. She said things had dried up for her and it was tough. “No one’s calling.” I hated to tell her how good things were for me at the moment. I offered to see who I could connect her with and gave her my card.
What struck me were the obstacles she seemed to put in her path. She said too much personal stuff, which didn’t seem to hit her directly (outside her house and orbit entirely), were consuming her time. In fact, she put them front-and-center to her job. The thing that really struck me was the phrase “No one’s calling.”
There’s the problem. Passive marketing. Marketing is a noun, right? But the act of marketing – to market – is a verb. Too many times we freelancers look at marketing as a noun and not something requiring movement. They don’t call. They don’t see us. We’re here where we’ve always been – what’s wrong with them?
What’s wrong is they’re busy doing their day-to-day and while we do matter, we’re not in their sights because we, and the hundred or so people they know just like us, haven’t contacted them in months or maybe longer.
I know people who have contacts at some pretty impressive places. Yet some of these same people let months or years go by before sending notes. People move on, business models change, budgets tighten – any number of things can get in the way. If writers aren’t staying in touch, they miss the changes, miss the opportunities, and don’t get taken along when managers/editors go elsewhere.
What contact have you lost touch with lately? How much effort do you put into keeping relationships going?
8 responses to “Putting the “Try” Back into Marketing”
A couple of books on marketing I found helpful-C.J. Hayden's Get Clients Now and the new The Wealthy Freelancer by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage, and Ed Gandia.
C.J.'s helps you create a 28-day plan where you either are filling the pipeline, following up, getting presentations or closing the sale. Sometimes I need the structure. You select tasks that fit your need.
The Wealthy Freelancer has a lot of good marketing ideas, like email campaigns, networking.
Like I said, sometimes when I am getting "twitchy" – usually when big projects are coming to a close, I pull some ideas from these sources.
Happy belated birthday. If it makes you feel better, Lori, no matter what 0 is attached to your age, I guarantee I'm older and will remain so. 🙂
I was actually thrilled to leave the 9 behind last year and start fresh with a 0! I nearly had a nervous breakdown going from the 8 to the 9 though, so I think being back at the "bottom" was refreshing 🙂 Happy belated birthday!
I've found that marketing something I really dread doing, but once I get rolling, it's not so bad. It's just starting that initial push, especially when other things are pressing, that's the hardest part.
Thanks, Cathy, for the reference to "Get Clients Now." I like structure, too, and a good game plan might help me get rolling with marketing more consistently. I'll check it out.
When I'm on my game, I sent postcards every 3 months to my prospect list, usually with a 25% return. I'm not on my game now — hope to get back on to it, and am well aware that any sahara in my finances is of my own making right now.
Time to build an oasis, right?
Happy belated b-day, and I hope you're having a great vacation!
My pleasure, Ashley. Let me know what you think.
Oooh those shoes… What a cruel thing to show a shoe and handbag addict. Lol
Okay, to the topic at hand – I wrote about this very topic on Friday – someone in a Yahoo! writers group I belong to polled the group about how business was going. The results were startling clear: those who admitted that they weren't actively taking steps to market their business were having serious problems.
From time to time I slack up on my marketing efforts too – especially when I become overwhelmed with client projects. But this has honestly been my busiest summer since I started freelancing full-time in August 2007. Why? Probably because I've been moving into a specialty niche which has meant a lot of self-promotion in that area. the fruits of labor, so to speak.
I was just telling my accountability partner this morning that the biggest challenge for me is finding repeat clients. A challenge, but not impossible.
As far as keeping in touch, I use post cards and email. I've learned that following up and developing on-going relationships is a very important part of this business.
I had a very similar encounter with a fellow freelancer this week. She's just been let go from her freelancing contract, which was pretty much a job for her, so she asked me for advice.
When I told her that at least 80% of what I do is marketing, and that she needed to get out there and start pitching, she said, "Well, I suck at marketing."
That's a conversation stopper right there, isn't it? What did she want me to say? That it's okay not to market and that she'd manage anyway? That I love marketing and think I've found my calling in it?
Freelancing requires marketing. It always frustrates me when people think they can be an independent business without telling people about it.
Okay, rant over.
I've been in mega-marketing mode lately, and am hoping it will start paying off soon. Statistically, it almost has to. The only real question is whether I hit them at the right time – and not just after they'd already assigned things for the month.
One editor said he was just about to make assignments and would have something for me soon. Sadly, they're bi-monthly and pay on publication, so it will be mid-September before I'd be paid. (I'll still need money in September, so I'll take whatever they have to assign.)
Belated Happy Birthday, Lori. I hope you're enjoying your birthweek!
Cathy, I love the idea of a template or process to follow. The trouble sets in when the writer doesn't mesh with the template – not too many are willing to build their own template, and frankly that's what some of them need. I'm a total structure freak, so I'm all for this!
Ashley, I bet your number is low enough to not send shock waves down your spine. 🙂 Marketing is like anything else we don't like doing – it doesn't hurt that badly and once we get going it's actually kind of easy.
Kim, I have to tell you how comfy all of the Tom's shoes are. And I won't show you the gorgeous black heels I got at DSW – I don't want to cause any rush on the store. 🙂 And likewise on this being the busiest summer. I'm so glad for it.
Rant away, Mridu. I feel the same. You cannot run a business without getting word out that you're IN business. Marketing isn't all about brochures, newsletters, advertisements, and such. It's about making connections and building relationships. Unless she's a complete social misfit, she can do it.
Glad your marketing paid off, Paula! Way to go!