There are many ways to land new clients as a freelance writer. One that I talk about from time to time is cold calling. This is not something that most freelance writers like to do, but it can be quite effective. Just like anything else, if you want to have success with cold calling you need to know what you are doing. There is a right and a wrong way of doing this. What you say and how you say it will determine the success you have.
Keep in mind that not every cold call is going to result in a new client. In fact, you are bound to get hung up on and told no more times than not. Your goal is to stick with things until something breaks your way. It may take a couple of calls to land a client. It may take 50 or more. Will you stay persistent?
Have a list. If you are going to make cold calls you need to have a list to work from. For instance, you may want to cold call every real estate agent in your area to offer your services. Start out by compiling a list of agents by searching online and in the phone book. This way you can move from one call to the next without stopping.
Once you get the proper person on the phone you should give a short introduction explaining who you are and what you offer. If the person shows interest you can continue to offer more information on yourself and what you can do for them. Some people will give you a job on the spot. Others will tell you to email your resume, clips, etc. It should be your main goal to either land a gig or setup a second conversation on the phone or via email. It often times takes several calls and/or emails until you receive good news.
Finally, don’t give up if you are getting rejected time after time. This is a mistake. As noted above, you will get rejected more times than not. You have to continue forward with the thought that you will eventually land a new client.
Hopefully this information gives you the knowledge and confidence needed to implement a cold calling strategy.
Last week I received a couple of emails about the cost of being a freelance writer. These people wanted to know how much money it costs to start a career in this industry, as well as what I spend from month to month. While this is different for everybody, you should know one thing: freelance writing is a relatively inexpensive career. This is not a career that will suck your bank account dry from one month to the next. Of course, you have to be smart about how you spend and save.
Starting a freelance writing career can be semi-expensive, but it doesn’t have to break the bank. The biggest expenses you will face are for a computer, printer, and internet connection. Do you have all three of these things already? If so, you are way ahead of the game and pretty much ready to start your career without spending more than a few bucks on some office supplies, etc. Those who don’t have the above three items should shop for them on a budget. In my experience you can buy a quality computer and printer for roughly $500. This may not buy you the best of the best, but it is more than enough to get your career started.
I don’t spend much money on a monthly basis to further my career. My biggest expenses are for offices supplies, such as printer paper, as well as my internet connection. To go along with these, I also spend a bit on domain names, hosting, design work, and other things for some of my own projects.
All in all, it is not expensive to start a career as a freelance writer. If you are interested in becoming a freelance writer you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to get started. Most people already have what they need.
As a freelance writer, every minute that you work should put you closer to reaching your goals. There are many time wasters that can hold you back from achieving success. I try to keep these out of my career as much as possible, but they always try sneaking back in.
Yesterday morning I spend entirely too long checking and responding to emails. For whatever reason, I had five or so miscellaneous emails that bogged me down for roughly 30 minutes at the start of my day. While this may not seem like a big deal it pushed back my entire morning.
Every freelance writer who I speak to says the same thing about checking and responding to email: it can be a huge waste of time! Notice the word can. Even though you can waste a lot of time checking and responding to email, it is something that you have to do. But remember, you don’t want to go overboard. I am a big believer in getting back to people as quickly as possible. Checking my email is top priority, but only during certain times of the day. You should have designated times for checking and responding to email, and then stick to this schedule no matter what it takes.
While there are other time wasters that come into play, I have found email to be the number one killer. It may not seem like a waste of time, but if you check your email 12 times per day at five minutes per session it equals one hour that you will never get back. Imagine how much work you could have completed in that same time frame.
Everything you do during the day should help you advance your freelance writing career. Don’t waste time. I know this is easier said than done, but it is something you should always be thinking about.
