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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 marketing plan does not have to be 10 pages long, full of graphs, and so complicated that even you get lost when reading it. Instead, you should keep things simple to ensure that you stay on track month after month.

My freelance writing marketing plan may be a bit different than others – and there is nothing wrong with that. Everybody has their own way of doing things, and as long as you achieve success through your system you are on the right track.

Here are the three primary details of my marketing plan:

1. Marketing methods. It goes without saying that your marketing plan should outline your methods for drumming up new business. This can be anything from cold calling to creating a website/blog to query letters. In future posts I will be detailing all of these marketing methods.

2. Goals. This may not be something that every writer includes in their marketing plan, but it really helps me. An example goal would be: send five query letters this month. While this looks simple on paper and many people may not need to write it down, it helps to keep me on track.

3. Past success and failure. My marketing plan changes on a regular basis. One reason for this is that I am always recording my successes and failures. If something works, I note this so I remember to repeat the task in the future. On the same token, when a particular method fails it is also important to record this data. 

You don’t have to include any or all of the above information in your freelance writing marketing plan. Just make sure that your plan is well thought out, and is built to steer you towards your goals as the days go by.

Related posts:

1. What to do if your Marketing Plan Fails
2. Freelance Writers – How to Create a Marketing Plan and Marketing Campaign
3. Marketing Tip: Write a Marketing Plan
4. Freelance Writers: How In-Depth Should Your Business Plan Be?
5. Weekly Writing Challenge: Plan for Your Writing Future

About the Author: Chris Bibey

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Chris is a full-time freelance writer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He specializes in web content, sales copy, and many other forms of writing. Chris has two books in print, as well as hundreds of articles in local and nationwide publications.

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TAGS: freelance writers, freelance writing, marketing plan