One Freelance Marketing Tweak to Boost Results

I saw a tweet the other day that, once upon a time, I would have agreed with.

These days, however, I know better.

The tweet:

The reason you’re not seeing success with your LOIs is this: VOLUME. Send 10 times more of them than usual and see what happens next!

You know what? That works. But it also fails.

Here’s why:

Let’s say you’re trying to find two new clients every month. So you start sending LOIs to anyone you see on social media. Anyone. You might even send one to me. And let me serve as the example of why that’s a bad idea —

I don’t hire freelancers. I just don’t have the need. More to the point, I don’t have the budget. So you’ve wasted your time.

Also, sending a lot of LOIs is great IF you’re sending personalized LOIs. If you’re sending 100 LOIs a month, I somehow doubt they’re personalized. And no, “personalized” does not mean “put their name at the top.” I doubt you’re following up either, but that’s another post.

Want more success with those LOIs?

[bctt tweet=”Sending targeted LOIs nets better results than blanket #freelancewriting LOIs. ” username=”LoriWidmer”]

Look, I’m just as guilty. Not long ago, right on this blog, I was pushing the very same message — the more you shoot at the goal, the more likely you’ll score, I remember saying. And when you’re starting out, that’s not a bad strategy. It’s time-consuming, but you have time. You’re looking under every rock for work, and you may not know yet what you want to be focusing on.

But once you figure that out, your odds improve if you target who gets those LOIs.

Instead of blanketing the country with hit-or-miss LOIs, try these:

Find the right client prospect.

This really isn’t hard. They’re in front of you — talking on social media, emails from their companies and their PR/Marketing people, in your snail mail, showing up in magazine articles and more. Who are they? They’re the ones who talk about things that interest you. They’re selling things that appeal to you. They’re doing things that resonate with what you like. Make a list with that kind of prospect on it. Those are the people you’ll send LOIs to.

Look under the hood.

You don’t know that client prospect at all, but there you are, about to hit Send. Back up. Go to their website — you know, the one where you got the email address. Look at what they have — blog, press releases, news, newsletter, social media links? Note those.

Now, find the About Us section. Read. Note three things you’ve just found out about that client. Then do this:

Rewrite that LOI.

Those three things — or even just one of them — are about to become the proof that you did more than just spam these people. Also, those marketing items you noticed — blog, social media, etc. — are going to be mentioned. As in “I noticed you have a quarterly newsletter” kind of mention. Or you could mention you follow them on social media. The goal is to personalize (there’s that word again) your note.

Reread. Then hit Send.

Read that LOI as if you’d just received it. Would you be interested? If not, tweak. If so, send. And be sure to follow up.

Seem simple? It is. It’s a matter of making sure you find an audience that not only goes along with your intended direction, but also has the need for freelancers. Some writers delve into financials of a prospect, but I’ve found some of the deepest pockets have been people who wouldn’t seem to have the budget. So reach out to that solopreneur, that small business, too. You could be surprised.

Writers, how targeted have your LOIs become?
What other marketing methods do you like?