Time and time again I have preached that freelance writers need to treat their work as an actual business. Just because you do not work for somebody else does not mean that you should throw all business theories out the window. One of the many details that go into running an effective business is marketing. Do you know how to market your freelance writing services? Believe it or not, the ways that you market and advertise your services will have a lot to do with your success; at least early in your career.
Here are three of the best methods for freelance writers.
1. You need to have a website which offers the following: a bio, pricing information, samples, and several methods of contact. It is not necessary to spend thousands of dollars on a website; something functional will do just fine. A website will give you a place to send interested clients, while hopefully bringing visitors from the search engines as well.
2. More and more freelance writers are finding that a blog is a great way to market their services. Although the main point of this blog is not to increase my freelance writing workload, I have received several quality jobs from readers. The nice thing about a blog is that clients will be able to get a good feel for who you are, as well as your writing style.
3. It is not fun for most people to make cold calls, but this is a sales and marketing method that freelance writers should not overlook. When you call somebody on the phone they are more or less forced to deal with you on the spot. At the very least you will be able to tell them who you are, and give them some information on yourself. You are not going to be successful with every cold call that you make, but you never know when your big break will come. And remember, just because somebody tells you no the first time you call does not mean that they won’t get in touch when their needs change.
This is not my first post on how to market your freelance writing services. The reason that I talk about this so much is that it is one of the more important aspects of the industry. If you are going to be a successful freelance writer, a lot of it will fall back on how well you market your services. Use the three points above to put together a killer marketing plan for 2008.
Freelance writers deal with ups and downs throughout the year. In my past experiences, the month of December is one of the worst for business. Although I am not 100 percent sure of why this happens, my guess is that a lot of it has to do with the holidays. Not only did Thanksgiving just end, but Christmas and the New Year pretty much shut the month down a week early. In turn, this means that you only have three weeks or so of good work time; and even that is a stretch in most cases.
Last December I earned just around $4,000. Although it was a disappointing month, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Luckily, I am doing much better this December, and hope to break the $5k mark with ease.
What are freelance writers to do if work is slow during December? Try the following ideas to stay busy until 2008.
1. If you are not writing, strongly market your services so that you can hit the ground running in 2008. Remember, December may be slow, but you want to make sure that the new year does not start off at the same pace. Personally, I love to have a solid month in January as to set a positive tone for the rest of the year.
2. Update all of your files. This includes everything from payment receipts to contact lists. By doing this now, you can avoid being bogged down next month. The bottom line is that you want to free up all of your time for actual writing related tasks starting January 1.
3. Make a list of both short and long term goals. When doing this you want to set big goals, but not ones that are impossible to reach. If you are constantly failing, it will begin to take a toll on you.
There is a good chance that you are having a slow month; this is common among freelance writers in December. But remember, just because you do not have a lot of work, does not mean that you cannot be productive.Â
Are you thinking about increasing your freelance writing rates in 2008? Is this something that you want to do, but are a bit afraid of? If so, you are not in an uncommon position. After all, every freelance writer has to deal with this as each new year starts. The fact of the matter is that increasing freelance writing rates is not as easy as it sounds. In other words, you cannot simply ask for more money without giving it any thought.
Here are several details to keep in mind if you are considering increasing your rates.
1. How much of an increase are you thinking about? This is the most important detail because it can make or break your business in the new year. It is very important that you increase your rates enough to make a difference, but not so much that your clients will object. For instance, you may charge $200 for a sales letter right now. In my mind, a fair increase in 2008 would be $50 or so. If you attempt to double your past rate to $400, you may run into some resistance. This is especially true with clients that you have worked with in the past.
2. What are you basing your rate increase on? You need to have some sort of reasoning and method to your changes. Your best bet is to consider your current rate sheet, experience, and what others are charging. From there, you will have a better idea of the percentage increase that you should put into effect. The bottom line is that you should not make a change for the sake of doing so. If you do, you may find yourself backpedaling during the first few months of the year.
3. If you increase your rates and later find that it was a mistake, you can always switch back to 2007 pricing. Remember, as a freelance writer you are your own boss. This means that you can do whatever you feel is best for your business. If you are not generating enough clients due to higher pricing, you can tweak this until you find a happy medium. Of course, you want to avoid changing your pricing too often; this will become confusing for both you and your clients.
Personally, I am not going to make too much of a change to my freelance writing rates in 2008. I feel comfortable with my rates as they are right now, and my clients have not expressed any concerns. Even though I may be able to get away with charging a few more bucks on each project, at this time I see no point in doing so. Instead, I am going to attempt to increase my income by increasing my output and adding new income streams.
With all of that being said, how do you plan on handling pricing in 2008?
