Words on the Page

A Dose of Reality, Please

Posted on by lwidmer

With the Second Annual Writers Worth Day coming up on May 15th, I’m looking for ways to introduce a little reality into the heads of writers who think $1 an article is a great wage. I saw the other side of the spectrum over the weekend when I saw State of Play with Russell Crowe…

Where Have You Been?

Posted on by lwidmer

Writing chum Anne Wayman had a fun post up last week on her blog about the jobs we writers have had over the years before this one. Since I’m trying to get a ton of work done before noon so I can enjoy maybe an hour of this fantastic weather, I’m going to shamelessly lift…

And Yes, We Should All Be Outraged

Posted on by lwidmer

It seems the world is conspiring to make this Writers Worth Day more necessary than ever. Devon brought up on her blog a segment she’d seen on CBS’s The Morning Show in which Daniel Sieberg interviewed a woman who writes by her pool all day (the segment is called Selling Online Expertise). I won’t call…

Yet I’m Not Waiting

Posted on by lwidmer

I joined Twitter because many of you convinced me I’d have access to, and possibly work from, other tweeters. Lo and behold, I did get a note from someone looking for exactly my writing experience, but I’m not getting the job. See, it’s the same company I’d turned down once before. They pay well, but…

Worthy Activities

Posted on by lwidmer

The Second Annual Writers Worth Day is less than a month away – May 15. If you’re tired of low-paying job postings, tired of writers taking too little for too much work, tired of being told “But I spent all my money on the web design!”, this day is for you. Since we can’t change…

We ARE Worthy

Posted on by lwidmer

Here’s a scenario that happened recently – Patient: “Doc, I have this sprained ankle. Can you look at it?” Doctor: “Sure. Let’s see what openings I have today.” Patient: “By the way, since this is probably just a sprain, it’ll be a breeze for you to fix, right?” Doctor: “We’ll have to see if it…

Our House In the Middle of Our Street

Posted on by lwidmer

I’m heading back to my hometown today to see friends and family, but I wanted to share a little bit of Spring in Valley Forge with you. Here’s the view from our driveway. Happy Friday, everyone! See you all on Monday.

Just How Much Do We Owe the Industry?

Posted on by lwidmer

You’ve heard me fussing and lecturing. You’ve read Screw You! and Kathy’s outing of each pathetic job offer she comes across. You’ve read blog post after blog post deriding you, begging you, insulting you for taking any job that doesn’t pay you a fair rate for your skills. You think it’s because we don’t want…

I Heart My Followers

Posted on by lwidmer

I put up the widget a while ago, not expecting much. But you guys have surprised me, and I’m so pleased to see that this little blog has 42 followers now! Welcome to everyone, and please, join in! Chuck posted yesterday (hey, Chuck!) with some advice and a link to a pretty neat marketing blog…

Chuck

Taxes, smaxes! I have a professional do mine and even she has to scratch her head at times.

I see the words, Craig’s List, mentioned on many occasions in this blog.

Consider this: The Paerto Principle is usually at work in most businesses. It is in mine. The 80/20 rule. 20% of our clients produce 80% of the revenue, etc, etc.

The challenge then becomes how do we increase the number of clients in that 20%?

Chuck

Lori

Well there’s the challenge, Chuck. Most freelancers work on a client-by-client basis. BUT…that’s not to say we can’t build the 80/20 factor into our marketing. Why not market more to clients with a greater chance of needing repeat business?

When I was in real estate, we were taught what I now call the rule of seven – contact seven sellers and seven buyers every day. Okay, we can adapt that to fit the freelance writing world pretty easily – sellers become past clients, buyers become future clients. But seven? A day? Yes. Based on the idea that the more people you talk to the greater your chances are of finding work, why not?

It’s time consuming, but contact doesn’t have to be. Contact could mean an email, a brochure, a phone call.

Chuck

Hi Lori,

First: We have to establish some workable ground rules for our actions.

Second: We have to break down as many components as we can that identify those clients in the top 20%.

Third: Once we glean those qualities we can create an algorithm that allows us to set boundaries.

Fourth: That algorithm could look something like this,

Company or organization must have sales or revenues in excess of $1M.

Have a professional marketing communications staff with whom to communicate.

Have a published Mission Statement on their website

Have an ongoing budget and a willingness to pay for professional services at my rate of $100 hr or $1K minimum per assignment.

Be in a field or industry I am knowledgeable about.

Etc, etc.

One can buy lists from list brokers that can identify most of what I’ve listed above, along with “decision makers” of record with sufficient contact information to get started.

The 7/7 rule you refer to above is great, but since you are the technician who’s engineering the product you are selling, you don’t have time to consistently use that formula and make it work. You and I need to create a formula to hit home runs every time we come to bat.

I look forward to researching your marketing ideas on previous blogs.

Chuck