Recently, a friend of mine received a LinkedIn connection request. She did what anyone might do — she visited the woman’s profile to see who she was and to see if it was a connection worth having.
As she was looking, she received a message from the same woman.
“Hi, (NAME)! I’m an editor and writer and I’d love to join your company in this role? Let me know … we can chat further.
Couple of things wrong with this. This woman, who didn’t know my friend’s business, proved her inability to do even the simplest of research tasks.
My friend is a freelancer. A bilingual freelancer. She does more than that, but the company this woman was referencing was my friend’s bilingual communications company.
But wait — there’s more.
When my friend mentioned that she hired only subcontractors she knew, and that she did so very rarely, the woman responded like this: ?
Yep. Business communications apparently now must include thumb’s up emojis in order to be “business-y.”
Spare me.
Then there’s the more glaring thing that my friend said was basically stalker-like behavior:
As my friend is looking at this woman’s profile, this woman has seen it and is asking for work. Within minutes of my friend viewing her profile.
So let’s go over the marketing mistakes this woman has made. They’re also the ones we freelancers should avoid at all costs:
[bctt tweet=”#Freelance Marketing Mistake #1: Connecting with the intent to sell.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
I phrased this like a drug deal because, in my mind, it’s not that far removed from that sort of behavior. This woman’s sole purpose for the connection request was to pump my friend for potential work.
Yes, we do connect with people in hopes that will happen. That’s part of networking. But what’s really wrong with her move is that she committed the sin of:
[bctt tweet=”#Freelance Marketing Mistake #2: Asking for the job on the first date.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
Hi! I noticed you have a company! Hire me! What exactly is personal or even appealing about that? Think about all those companies that call you (despite your number being on the Do Not Call list, the bastards) all day every day asking you to buy from them. They’re total strangers. Can you trust them?
That’s why you don’t ask for work on first contact. Right there. And it’s just as bad as:
[bctt tweet=”#Freelance Marketing Mistake #3: Not doing the homework.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
My friend’s business does not fit this woman’s background at all. In fact, if the woman had just clicked on the link to the business, she’d have seen that immediately. She’d have avoided contacting someone who is not in the position to hire someone who is not in the position to do the work she needs.
But hey, we get a teaching moment in the form of a blog post out of it, so it’s not all for nothing.
Then there’s the follow-up response to my friend’s reply (which she was kind to offer at all). That response is the next mistake:
[bctt tweet=”#Freelance Marketing Mistake #4: Not practicing professional demeanor early in the conversation.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
Emojis — even smiley faces when someone says something funny — do NOT belong in business communications at the outset. And even if there’s an occasion to toss in a smiley face, you should be taking your cues from your client.
I have clients who joke with me and use them, so I feel a little okay with tossing in a smiley. I don’t very often because I worry that the email will get forwarded should it have info in it that the bosses might want to see.
I have clients who joke with me and don’t use them. I’m not going to be the first. And I’ve never in my life used a thumb’s up emoji in a marketing request or, well, ever. Then there’s the least-important issue that’s very much still important (I’m ranking this particular correspondence only — usually, this screw-up ranks #1):
[bctt tweet=”#Freelance Marketing Mistake #5: Forgetting to proofread.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
A question mark to end a statement — oh, yes she did. And everyone who knows me knows my absolute hatred for exclamation points because, dammit, they’re overused. Then there’s the ellipsis, which doesn’t quite make sense in a marketing note. But this is the least of this woman’s worries.
I didn’t even go in to the fact that there was no job posting on my friend’s site that would even suggest that there was an opening for this woman.
There are so many good ways to market and network. Anyone who tries to convince you that pestering everyone who views your LI page is great marketing is full of it. It leaves the impression that you’re a desperate hack who has no clue how to build a writing business.
Instead, build relationships. From there, the work will come.
Writers, what other marketing and networking mistakes are you seeing?
Which ones irk you the most?
4 responses to “Freelance Marketing Mistakes You Need to Drop NOW”
On social media, it drives me batty when someone follows me, I follow back, and immediately get a DM trying to sell me something. That’s an unfollow and a block.
I’m seeing a lot of inappropriate behavior from recruiters (such as whining about something in their personal lives when we have a phone appointment to supposedly talk about a job they’re trying to fill). I’m seeing a lot of misuse of words to sound “cool” and ‘marketspeak’ in ads, such as “you will own content. . .” um, no, YOU, the company own it unless you plan on signing over the copyright to me. I might create it and be responsible for distribution, but you OWN it. Or, the latest, in THREE listings this morning from supposedly secular companies: they’re looking for an “evangelist.” That makes me throw up in my mouth a little. It’s inappropriate. “Evanglist” is strictly defined within the terms of Christianity. Unless you’re a religious-based company, don’t use it.
Also, if I’m getting alerts for writing jobs, why am I getting listings for deckhand, chef, and bud nipper? Because I have a series set on a cruise ship, write about food, and run a garden blog?
Urgh.
Working remotely doesn’t mean we all act like frat boys on a weekend binge. I’m tired of it.
Unfollow and block –exactly!
Oh, the way they try to be cool or “real” or whatever is happening can be off-putting. I’ve had some of the more “joke-y” ones turn out to be pretty bad at managing relationships. It’s too bad. You can be friendly (no need for over-the-top perkiness) and be good at what you do. But I’ve seen too many “Hey, look how cool we are!” small companies that balk at paying a decent rate. I know it’s all gloss.
I once received an email from you in which you actually used an exclamation point. I KNEW you were excited.
Also – those re some classic mistakes I see. Another is sending someone a LinkedIn message just because they viewed your profile. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I click things by accident.
LOL You know me well, Paula.
Yes, I sometimes click on Accept when I mean to click on Ignore. I just pray from that point I don’t regret the mistake. That nonsense about sending messages to everyone who views your LI page is just weird. It’s definitely sending a message of desperation, but it’s almost predatory.