Chris Bibey Let’s face it, most writers aren’t the type to “hard sell” their services. For this reason, face to face networking can often times be a difficult task. There was a day when I felt the same way. Fortunately, I overcame this soon enough. Nowadays, I love getting out there, talking with others, and making new contacts. Tips to Ease the Tension 1. Dress for success.
Marketing your freelance writing services through your network can lead to new business, month after month. While some of the projects you receive from your network will be right up your alley, others may be new to you. Over the past couple of months I have heard the phrase “can you do that for me” too many times! People who have trusted you to do
Time and time again I have talked about how to network your way to another freelance writing gig. While this is something that I strongly believe in, keep this in mind: you must be willing to return the favor. In other words, you cannot consistently look for the next job while never wanting to help anybody else out. During the last week of 2010 I
Some freelance writers make the mistake of putting their marketing plan on the backburner during the holiday season. While there is no denying that you want to spend time with your family and friends, this is one time of the year when networking should come naturally. Do you really want to pass up this opportunity? Here are three ways to connect with your network, as
Some of my best freelance writing gigs have come from people in my network. These are not necessarily people I have worked with in the past. Rather, they are professionals I have met and kept in touch with over the years. Here are three tips to successfully grow your network: Ask your closest clients and business partners for introductions. If you can get five people
Many freelance writers get into the rut of doing nothing more than sending query letters in hopes of obtaining new clients. While there is nothing wrong with this, at some point you need to leave your office and get into the “real world.” Over the past few months I have spent a lot of time networking with other professionals in person and over the phone.
Landing gigs by sending query letters is nothing new. Thousands of freelance writers send these letters to editors on a daily basis. With so much competition, it is essential that you do something to set yourself apart. Just recently, I decide to follow-up on a few queries with a quick phone call. While this takes a lot of guts, it is something that has paid
It is one thing to send a query letter. It is another entirely to receive an answer – good or bad. Remember this: just because you send a query does not mean the editor has to respond to you. Here are three things you can do to increase your query letter response rate: 1. Address your letter to the right person. This is the number
How many times per week do you receive direct mail (post cards, sales letters, brochures, etc.) from local businesses? If you are like me, the answer is a lot! I am not the type of consumer that responds well to direct mail, but that’s just me. There are many people out there, including businesses of all sizes, that take a close look at every piece
One thing I have found to be true is that freelance writers will negotiate with certain groups of people, but shy away from this when it comes to others. For example, you may have no problem hashing out a better deal with a webmaster in need of online content. But when it comes time to deal with an editor at a magazine, you work for
Last week was an interesting one for me in terms of responses to query letters. Two editors got back to me via email, both with the same response: we like your style and ideas, but have done too much like this in the past. Do you have any other ideas that we can run with? While some freelance writers may see this as a bad
Crafting a winning query letter is not always a simple task. To make things worse, even if your letter is perfect there is no guarantee that it will lead to a job. Over the years, I have sent hundreds of query letters. While they are all unique, they generally follow the same layout. Even though I urge you to create your own letters, I know
A funny thing happened to me last week. I received three call backs from companies I cold called in late July. While this happens from time to time, getting three call backs in one week was a unique situation. Of course, I am not complaining. Why did they call back? All three companies wanted more information on what I could do for them. Fortunately, I
Although I don’t keep exact records, I would guess that I have made more than 500 cold calls in an attempt to better my freelance writing career. Over this time, I have learned quite a bit about the cold calling process including what works and what you want to avoid. Here are three tips that anybody can follow: 1. You must get the decision maker
Cold calling is a great way to land new clients, while spreading the word about the services that you offer. The main issue with this way of marketing is that you are going to get turned down more times than not. With this in mind, you need to have a good follow-up strategy in place. In other words, one call is not often usually enough
As you know, marketing your services as a freelance writer is important – there is no two ways about it. Although it is good that you are spending time on marketing, it is essential that you stay as organized as possible. There are several reasons for this: 1. When you are organized it is simple to see what is and isn’t working. Are you having
Are you looking for a creative way to market your freelance writing services? Are you trying to stand out in the crowd? If so, you may want to create a free report as a way of increasing exposure and hopefully adding new clients. The number one benefit of a free report is that most people will take advantage if they know about it. After all,
From time to time I run into this situation: my schedule becomes so full of projects that I barely have enough time to market my services. While it would be easy to let this slide for a few weeks (or even longer) I know that marketing is the key to long term success. For this reason, I always find time to send query letters, make
As you know by now, marketing is a big part of achieving success as a freelance writer. But along with this, it can also take up a big chunk of your day if you are not careful. While you want to spend time marketing your services, you still need to complete your client work on time. By creating standard templates that can be easily customized,
I know that some freelance writers do not enjoy cold calling. Although this is something I have had success with, many just don’t want to try it out. For this reason, I thought it would be a good idea to talk a bit about cold emailing and whether it can lead to new clients. To give you a better idea of how things have worked
As a freelance writer, you always want to keep a steady flow of work coming in. The best way of doing this is to market your services on a regular basis. It does not matter how you do this, as long as you are comfortable and happy with the results. With this in mind, many freelancers ask the same question: is there any way to
All successful freelance writers have a marketing plan. That being said, changes may be needed on a regular basis. Although you do not want to be quick to jump ship, there may come a time when you need to abandon your marketing plan. Here are three times when this makes sense: If your marketing plan has failed you for an extended period of time. Have
As you may have noticed by now, I am in the guy at All Freelance Writing who talks about marketing. While most of my posts are tips and how-to articles, I wanted to give some “first hand experience advice” this time around. Last week, I decided to make 25 cold calls to local businesses. Gasp! I am sure some of you get scared even thinking
At least once per week I receive an email asking the same question: Chris, how much time per day do you spend on marketing? This is a very important question, but for the most part it is one that does not have a “set” answer. Everyday is different in terms of marketing. For instance, one day I may send three query letters but the next
Imagine this: you have been relying on the same marketing plan for several months or longer. Everything you do, for the most part, has been working. But out of nowhere you hit a snag and now nothing is breaking your way. What are you going to do? If your marketing plan begins to fail, don’t panic. Instead, follow these steps: Don’t abort what has worked
There is no denying that freelance writers should spend a lot of time marketing their services. This can be done in many ways: cold calls, cold emails, and query letters among others. But before you get ahead of yourself, there is one thing that you may be forgetting. You have to back up your “marketing claims.” In other words, you have to be ready to
Do you have a “go to move” when it comes to marketing your freelance writing services? Many people like to send query letters, some send cold emails, and others rely solely on word of mouth. Have you ever thought about the benefits of cold calling? Believe it or not, this is a great way to drum up new business. There are thousands of companies out
One of the best ways to market your services as a freelance writer is through your own website. Believe it or not, many writers do not have a website – this is a big mistake. With your own site clients can find you 24/7. In other words, you are marketing your services but do not have to put a lot of time and effort into
Before I get into more complex posts on how to market your freelance writing services, I want to touch on some of the basics. Although I feel that it is very important to have a marketing plan, many aspiring writers do not agree. If you believe that this is a good thing, the following information should help you get started. Believe it or not, your
Have you ever created a business plan? If so, you know how difficult it can be. In fact, I personally believe that these are among the most difficult freelance writing projects. That being said, you don’t want to pass these gigs by if they interest you and you have the experience to deliver. As strange as it may sound, there are many organizations that hire