Purposeful Marketing for Freelance Writers

What I’m listening to: Airplane by j-hope

For the first time in two years, I’m back to active marketing. I had a nice run. At the height of it, I had seven clients month over month.

Yet all good things end. In a few cases, it was expected.

My marketing these last two years has been a smattering of queries to magazines and some social media presence. This week is the week I return to my letters of introduction.

My annual trade show is approaching. I’m tweaking my usual process of reaching out to attending companies six months out. I’m sticking to one month out — I’ve noticed in the past that many companies simply didn’t answer until a month or a few weeks prior to the show.

One thing won’t change — I won’t send out queries blindly. Nor will everyone who attends get one. Like before, I’m sticking to sending to only those companies I’ve researched and for which my message to them would hit the target.

It’s not hard to do. It takes just a small amount of work to find the right clients and hit them with the right message.

Here’s what I do that may work for you:

Know thy customer.

Two ways this applies, but the first way is to know who the devil you’re looking to address in your queries. Who is your ideal customer? For me, it’s a mid- to global-sized company marketing director who knows that communication brings in the customer. It’s the person who is looking for writing that can help the company solidify their place in the market.

The second way this applies is knowing what keeps them up nights. What’s their ongoing issues? Where are they seeing weaknesses (and where are you seeing them in how they’re presenting themselves)? Are these weaknesses things you can help them clear up? Do you want to?

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves a little. Before you answer those questions, make a list.

Make your list.

Now that you know who your ideal client is, go find them. Make a list of people (or companies) that closely match your criteria. Yes, it might help to have already walked through that second half of the last point, but it’s not necessary. Just build a list of possible clients. Be selective, but also keep an eye out for potential clients that fit the criteria but maybe not your specialty. There’s no reason why you can’t work within another area, right?

Go back to the first point here. Look at websites, make notes, then aim your pitch letter to what you’ve discovered.

Make your connections.

This is the fun part. Start with the letter of introduction (LOI). For a primer on writing your own LOI, check out this link and this one for some guidance. Send your letter. Make connections on social media. Start a Twitter conversation. Look at the hashtags your intended audience is using (current clients are a good barometer for this). Talk and share within those hashtags. Study LinkedIn forum conversations to understand what your prospects are talking about and what concerns them. Build a few avenues of contact (without being a pest or a stalker). Just be there. Join the conversation. Listen. Ask questions. Become part of their orbit by sharing their concerns and showing interest.

Sell them on what they need, not on who you are.

The biggest marketing mistake, in my opinion, is to focus your pitch entirely on how special and experienced you are. No one cares. What they want is for someone to show them the benefits of working with you. Focus on them, not you. All that research you’ve done goes into those LOIs and those tweets. Start the conversation (and end it, frankly) with how you’re going to help them fix that problem or improve those results. Don’t promise the moon. Just get in, get out, and leave a good impression.

Consider years, not months.

People want to do business with people, but not just anyone. They want to know you in some way. Any marketing approach should be based on building lasting relationships, not just one-off emails that may or may not hit the mark. If you’ve done your homework, you’ve found some good prospects. Nurture the relationships you build. Don’t make every communication a sales pitch (I’m a fan of few, if any, direct pitches). Make it about them. Take an interest, keep notes, and ask about that trip or that new baby. Become someone who is interested in them, not just their business.

Writers, how have you created a more purposeful marketing approach?
What do you do that helps you connect with your potential clients in a more personal way?