But I don’t have time for marketing! This is a common complaint shared by many freelance writers. However, you should not let this complaint turn into an excuse. If you do, you could be harming your chance of future success.

Need more time to market your services? Experiment with these three tips:

1. Set time aside every day. For example, you may decide that you are going to work on marketing related tasks every day from 12 to 1 pm. When you have time set aside it is much easier to focus solely on this task, without ever missing a beat.

2. Create a marketing plan. If you don’t have a plan you won’t know what to do next. And when you don’t know what to do next, there is a good chance that you will end up wasting time while making no progress. No matter if you are a beginner or have been freelancing for many years, you need a marketing plan that you can rely on.

3. Set goals. By setting goals, you will find it easier to hold yourself accountable. In turn, you will always save time for marketing.

Are you comfortable with “face to face marketing?” In short, this is the act of marketing your services to potential clients in person. No matter the setting – from conferences to chamber meetings – you need to be comfortable selling and marketing yourself in a face to face environment.

Here are several tips to keep in mind:

1. Rather than brag about your accomplishments, detail your past work and explain how it can benefit the client in the future.

2. Let the other person do the talking. When selling your services, you may have the urge to do all the talking while letting the potential client do nothing more than listen. While there is nothing wrong with carrying your part of the conversation, don’t go over the top. Instead, let the other party speak so that you can better craft your responses.

3. Ask questions. Not only does this open up the conversation to both parties, but it will give you a better idea of what the person is looking for. You can then use these responses to better focus the conversation on the right details as you move forward.

At first, you may be intimidated by marketing your services in a face to face environment. However, once you become confident in yourself this can be a lot of fun.

What sets you apart from other writers? Why should I hire you instead of another freelancer?

These are legitimate questions – and you need to have legitimate answers.

If you are unprepared for the above questions, you may be taken off guard and subsequently lose out on a project. There are several basic answers you can use to address this common concern.

• Experience. Do you have a lot of experience in a particular field? If so, play this up as you negotiate with a potential client. By showing success in their field, you are doing your part in showing how you are better than other writers.
• Rates. This subject can be touchy but it is a definite selling point in many cases. If you know that your rates are lower than some or most of the competition, you can use this to your advantage. Of course, you don’t want to lower your rates beyond acceptable standards just to win a project.
• Communication. Let the client know that you will be available from the start of the project through its completion. This is one area in which many freelance writers suffer. By showing that you excel in this area you can get a leg up on other writers.

Before you are taken by surprise, make sure you know what sets you apart from other writers.

Here are three tips that I have successfully employed:

1. Local phone book. Although phone books are pretty much a thing of the past, if you are looking to make a list of companies to cold call this is a great resource. By the time you get to the end (which will never happen) you will be able to start right back over at the beginning.

2. Online chamber of commerce directories. Many chambers have online directories of members. Several organizations in my area have 1,000+ member directories that are complete with the business name, address, website address, and phone number. Not only is this a great place to build your list, but since they belong to the chamber you know they have some level of interest in local business.

3. Google search. This may be the most time consuming of the three, but it can turn up great results. If you are targeting attorneys in Houston, for example, you will want to search for “Houston attorneys” or a long tail variation of this phrase. Soon enough you will have more results than you know what to do with.

With these three tips, you can compile a cold call list of tens of thousands of prospects. That should keep you busy for awhile!

Before you pitch your services to a small business, regardless of your method (cold calling, in person, etc.) you should ask yourself these three questions.

1. Do I know enough about the industry to be dangerous? You do not need to know everything about the company and industry you are pitching, but you should have some “working knowledge” to ensure that you can carry on an intelligent conversation.

2. On the surface, what services would make most sense for this business? At the very least, you should have a basic idea of what you can do for the company. Chances are that you will be asked about your services sooner rather than later. Knowing what would work best for the company will allow you to provide suggestions and answer any questions, without hesitation.

3. What rate should I charge? This should be based more on your fee schedule and less on the company itself. No matter what, make sure you at least have a number in mind. This will make it easier to negotiate when the matter of price comes up – and it will come up at some point.

By asking yourself these three questions, you will have more confidence as you begin to get in touch with and pitch your services to small businesses.

Cold calling is not for everybody. If you decide to give it a try, make sure you are doing everything right from the start.

Here are three cold calling mistakes to avoid:

1. Not using a script. If you are new to cold calling, you need a script to help you through any rough spots. You don’t have to read “word for word.” Instead, you want to use this as a point of reference during different parts of your conversation.

2. Giving up after hearing no a few times. Don’t be surprised if you have to make 50+ calls before somebody gives you time to explain what you have to offer. In short, cold calling is a numbers game. If somebody screams at you, move on. If somebody hangs up on you, move on. Keep moving forward until you find somebody who is interested.

3. On again off again marketing. Just like any form of marketing, you need to be consistent. Don’t make five calls today, three calls tomorrow, and no calls for the following few weeks. Set goals for yourself, such as 15 calls per day, and stick with it no matter what it takes.

Have you made these cold calling mistakes in the past? If so, avoid them in the future to better your chance of success.

Like most writers, I was uncomfortable with cold calling in the beginning. From not knowing what to say to dreading the “hang up” there were a lot of things going through my mind.  Fortunately, like anything else, practice makes perfect. Soon enough I was comfortable with cold calling. Around the same time, I began to realize that this was a great way to grow my business.

Here are three things you can do to become more comfortable with cold calling:

1. Have a script in front of you at all times. In addition to your opening statement, have notes on what you will say based on the response received.

For example, if you hear “tell me more about what you have to offer” you can reference the appropriate section in your notes and take off from there. You don’t want to read word for word. You simply want to give yourself a little help, just in case you need it along the way.

2. Practice by yourself before every call. Don’t feel silly about doing this. Instead, realize that it will make you more comfortable once a live body is on the other end of the conversation.

3. Be courteous at all times. When you are friendly you are going to feel better about what you are doing. And when you feel better about yourself you will be more comfortable with the process as a whole.

Note: just because you are courteous does not mean you can expect the same from the other person. However, don’t let this change your mood.

If you want to give cold calling a try, these three tips can help you become more comfortable.

In our last post we talked about marketing your freelance writing services and how you should focus on basic market research, specialty target markets, and creating a marketing plan instead of aimlessly trying new ways to market your services. In other words, don’t just send pitches to anyone who might want to hire a writer. Narrow it down a bit. Figure out exactly who you want to target and find out what works and what doesn’t when selling to that audience by seeing what the competition is up to.

Now let’s talk about tactics — all of the things you actually do to land new gigs, from query letters and cold calls to increasing referrals from members of your network.

Freelance Job Boards Aren’t Enough

One of the most common questions I get from freelance writers is this:

Where do I find the high paying freelance writing jobs?

These individuals get frustrated because they spend countless hours on freelance job boards, classified sites or bidding sites (like Elance). Most of the writing jobs they find offer very low pay. They see other writers talking about better opportunities, but they aren’t sure where to find them for themselves.

That’s the inherent problem: they’re thinking about where the better jobs are. They’re asking the wrong question.

If this sounds like you, it’s time to rephrase. Instead ask how you can land these high paying freelance writing jobs.

Most of them are not found on job boards. I mentioned it in a recent post, but it’s worth repeating. The best freelance writing jobs are usually obtained in the following ways:

1. Repeat work from past or regular clients
2. Referrals from clients or colleagues
3. Clients finding you as they search for a writer for a specific project
4. Directly pitching clients you want to work with

Let’s explore these four things in more depth to explain why (and how) it might be time to leave freelance job boards behind.

Land More Work With Repeat Clients

Some of you may have only worked for content mills. If you don’t have any past clients, this section doesn’t yet apply to you. You’ll want to focus on the other tactics discussed below.

If you do have a stable of past clients (or existing clients) that pay better than content mills, it’s important to keep those connections alive. If they needed to hire a writer like you in the past, chances are good they’ll need you again. But if you don’t pop into their minds when that situation arises, they might give the gig to someone else.

What can you do?

1. Blatantly ask past clients if they have any upcoming projects you might be able to help with.
2. Pitch specific projects to them. For example, if you helped them with a holiday newsletter last year, send them an email and ask if they could use your help again this time around (maybe they forgot to plan one and your email will encourage them to get on it).
3. Offer a limited time, one-order sale for past clients who come back. This can be a great idea if you added a new service to your offerings and you think previous clients would have an interest in it.
4. Just be friendly. Get in touch. Maybe wish them well as we approach the New Year. Ask how things are going (and actually have an interest in what they have to say). Socialize with them using social media tools.

All of these things can help you stay on past clients’ radar so your name comes to mind the next time they need a writer with your specialty.

Be a Referral Magnet

Keeping in touch with past clients as mentioned above can do more than land you new gigs with them. When you become their go-to writer, they’re also more likely to refer you to others.

Just as you probably network with other writers (despite many of them being the competition), your clients do the same. They have their own industry contacts. And when people need referrals for writers or any service providers, they’ll turn to their trusted network.

It isn’t enough to stay in touch with past clients though. You can come right out and ask them for referrals; ask if they know someone else in the industry who could use your talents. Some won’t want to share you. Many are quite happy to refer you to their colleagues. You could even offer referral incentives (such as 10% off their next order for each referral they send your way that results in an actual contract).

Speaking of colleagues, don’t neglect your own. Whether you keep in touch via email, have local get-togethers, comment on each other’s blogs, or use social networking platforms, stay active in your community of writing colleagues.

Freelancers often get inquiries from prospects they can’t take on. Maybe the gig is out of their specialty area. Their time could be fully booked. Or maybe the gig just doesn’t feel like a good fit to them. If they think you might be a better fit, they’ll refer you for the job.

Giving referrals makes a lot of sense. I refer gigs to about a half dozen writers every week, and sometimes much more. Why? Because it makes you look good to the prospect when you put their needs first, even though you can’t directly work with them. On many occasions, prospects I’ve referred elsewhere have remembered that and come back to me for other gigs down the line when I could work on their project.

So get to know other freelance writers, especially those in your specialty area who are landing the kinds of gigs you really want. Let them know if you accept referrals. And send referrals their way when appropriate.

The referrals I give usually go to the writers I know best. That’s because if someone asks for a certain kind of service, I refer the first competent person I think of in that specialty. Those who stay in touch and build a professional relationship as a colleague come to mind quickly. If I only know someone in passing, chances are good I won’t even consider them.

In the end, referrals are about two things:

1. Trust
2. Presence

If you stay visible by maintaining an active presence in your community and your colleagues (or past clients) trust you to do right by their prospects, you’ll get more referrals. And remember, the more you give the more you’ll get over time. People remember when you do something nice like that for them, and it can make them much more likely to return the favor.

If all else fails? Ask. There is nothing wrong with mentioning that you have some openings in your schedule if anyone has a referral to send your way.

Helping Clients Find You

If a prospect needs a writer fast, they might not have time to ask for referrals. They certainly don’t have time to post job ads, wait on applications, compare those applications, and eventually hire someone who happened to see the ad.

Instead they visit Google or their trusted search engine of choice. Or they visit a community they’re a part of and search there for service providers (such as forums or social networks like LinkedIn). If they find you and you feel like a good match, they’ll contact you. If they don’t find you, well, you’re out of luck.

We live in an instant gratification world. If a client wants someone now, they’ll find someone now. But if you aren’t easy to find, you’ll miss out on these potentially great freelance writing gigs. This is why I push the concept of building your writer platform so much. Your platform influences your level of visibility.

Here are some things your writer platform might include:

1. Your professional website (well-optimized for search engines)
2. A niche or industry blog
3. Free e-books or reports
4. Your articles strategically placed on other sites (such as through guest blogging)
5. Your social media profiles

In other words, these are places clients might find you on their own, and tools that would encourage others to tell prospects about you (like free e-books naturally attracting links and therefore helping your site rank higher in search engines).

There is a lot to writer platforms, which is why I’m finishing an entire book on the subject. What you need to know early on is that they’re designed to help clients find you instead of you having to actively seek out every freelance writing opportunity.

When you’re visible in your specialty area, rank highly in search engines for terms your prospects will likely search for, and you’re recognized as an authority source, you can have more inquiries than you could possibly handle.

If you want more examples of things you can do to build your writer platform and help clients find you more easily, check out this post from our archives:

30 Ways to Build Your Writer Platform

Teaching you about all of the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) is beyond the scope of this article. There are entire sites dedicated to it. For example, you might want to check out Michael Gray’s SEO Blog.

Hand-picking (and Pitching) Clients

While I’m a big fan of query-free freelancing (letting your writer platform and network handle the heavy lifting), you can’t always wait for gigs. Don’t get me wrong. Query-free freelancing doesn’t exactly take forever to benefit you. But setting up a website now won’t likely bring you a new gig tomorrow. And that’s exactly what some of you moving away from content mills need.

How can you attract great prospects with barely any wait at all? You can pitch them directly.

1. Decide what kinds of clients you want to work for.
2. Better yet, choose specific companies or publications you’d like to write for.
3. Evaluate their website or publication and come up with story or project ideas to pitch.
4. Contact the company and offer your services (in as non-spammy a way as possible).

This is the traditional way of landing new freelance clients, and it’s still popular (and effective). Here are three types of direct pitches you can use:

1. Traditional query letters
2. Email queries
3. Cold calling

Why do direct pitches work? Sometimes it’s just about following standards (like queries for magazine writing gigs). Frequently though clients don’t realize they even need your services until you pitch them. They’ll never advertise because they aren’t officially hiring. They don’t know they’re missing out on awesome opportunities (like launching a company blog or getting help crafting social media profile content).

Just like I said about referrals above, if you want something sometimes it’s best to come right out and ask for it.

Want to learn more about writing queries or making cold calls? I highly recommend Peter Bowerman’s The Well-Fed Writer which offers a lot of information on cold calling, as well as Linda Formichelli’s and Diana Burrell’s The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters that Rock. These books go into far more detail than I can here in a blog post, and both are worth having in your professional library.

As you hopefully now understand, freelance job boards are not the best way to find new gigs. You certainly won’t find most of the high paying opportunities there. Does that mean you have to completely ignore them? Of course not. You get to choose the ways you’ll seek new gigs. Hopefully you’ve found at least one new method here that you’re interested in trying though.

Do you have other ways of attracting clients? Share your tips and ideas in the comments below.

Once you have a freelance writing specialty in mind,  it’s time to move on to the next steps — market research and creating your marketing plan.

Market Research for Freelance Writers

Freelancers are notorious for jumping into work without realizing that freelancing is really running a business. Many freelancers fail because they don’t have a realistic plan in place or because they don’t understand the competition (like assuming extremely low rate writers are your competition when they have nothing to do with markets you should be targeting). But you can’t come up with that plan if you don’t conduct basic market research first.

What is Market Research?

As a writer you’re likely intimately familiar with research in general. Market research is much like researching a story. You’re digging for background information to help you determine the most important things to consider (in planning a business in this case rather than what to cover in an article).

Market research involves figuring out who your target market includes. Hint: it’s not everybody. It’s not everybody hiring writers. It’s not even everybody within a vague group (like newspapers).

Example: You want to be a professional blogger.

Bad target market: People who own blogs. Even “businesses that own blogs” is a bad target market.

Better target market: Owners of blogs covering a specific niche or reaching a specific audience, with a particular audience size, in a particular region of the world, with an adequate budget to cover a professional blogger’s rates for at least X posts per month

Market research goes beyond identifying your target market. It also helps you research your competition and set appropriate freelance writing rates. We’ve talked about setting your rates extensively here before, so rather than repeat myself I’m going to link you to an article that will walk you through the process.

How to Set Your Freelance Writing Rates the Right Way

Below you’ll also find a link to our free online freelance writing rate calculator. It features a basic mode and advanced mode to give you some flexibility in how you can use it. These two resources will help you set realistic target rates. Don’t be surprised when considering all important factors leads to higher target rates than you might have expected. This is exactly why undercharging is such a problem for so many freelance writers.

Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

You can find other free tools and calculators by exploring our additional exclusive free stuff for writers.

How to Conduct Market Research

How can you actually conduct this kind of research, learning more about opportunities available in different markets and how your competition behaves in each? This can vary greatly depending on your specialty area. For example, you would learn a lot about magazine markets and what they’re looking for by reading the magazines themselves.

With business writing, you would research things a bit differently. For example, if you wanted to write white papers for small B2B software companies you could search online to create a master list of those companies and then sort them by which ones already use white papers and which don’t. Each group has different opportunities where a white paper writer might come in handy.

Competition can be easier to research, especially if you already have a strong network. You already know your colleagues. If you know writers who share your specialty, review their websites. What specific services do they offer? What do they charge? What kinds of clients are represented in their portfolios? Do they work with small businesses or larger corporate clients for example? How much experience do they have compared to yours?

Even if you don’t have a large writer network yet, you can find other specialists with a simple online search. Get a better feel for other options your prospects have. If you don’t know what competition exists, you can’t come up with a value proposition that convinces clients to choose you over them.

Here is another article from our archives that gives further information on conducting market research:

4 Tips for Better Understanding Your Target Market

When you find information about the competition, it’s a good idea to complete a SWOT analysis to look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the current market. Here is a free downloadable template you can use to do that:

Free SWOT Analysis Worksheet for Freelance Writers

After you’ve conducted some basic market research, it’s time to put together a freelance marketing plan.

Freelance Writing Marketing Plans

Your marketing plan will serve as a road map for growing your freelance writing business. This is another step many freelancers skip. If you feel like you’re wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out what’s next, you need to step back and come up with a plan.

While you would ideally create a comprehensive business and marketing plan, I know many freelancers won’t. With that in mind, I created some simplified planning templates to help you out. Below is a link to my one page marketing plan template.

One Page Marketing Plan Template

You can also find a one page business plan template on our Freebies page if you’d like one.

As you can see, this abbreviated marketing plan serves as a snapshot. You’ll list some of your biggest competitors, industry trends that will affect your business, your goals and strategies for achieving them, and larger marketing tactics you’ll use throughout the year.

If you want a guide to help you fill out that marketing plan template, you can find one at my small business blog.

If you prefer to use a traditional long-form marketing plan to figure out your strategies and next steps in growing your freelance writing business, I suggest reviewing the marketing plan outlines and marketing plan templates available at Mplans.com.

Hopefully these resources will point you in the right direction as you begin to research newer (and better) freelance writing markets and develop your plan to grow and thrive as a freelance writer.

As always, you’re invited to share your thoughts, questions, or other recommended resources in the comments below.

While these tips are not full-proof and may not work for you every time with every client, they are worth a try.

1. Ask for a referral. If a client likes what you are doing for them they won’t have any issue forwarding your information to others. However, you cannot always expect this to happen without a little push on your end. There is nothing wrong with asking, as long as you do so in a courteous manner.

2. Do good work. How simple is that? When you deliver high quality work on time your client is going to be ecstatic. In turn, they will refer you to others and use your services again in the future.

3. Use the completed project to find similar work in the same industry. Obviously, you don’t want to use a client’s work as a sample unless you have permission. Fortunately, most clients (in my experience, at least) don’t mind this as long as you do not attempt to resell the same exact piece.

By doing one or more of these things you will find it easier to grow your business. Soon enough, one client will turn into two and so on and so forth.

Don’t settle on simply gaining one new client. Instead, forge ahead and search for the next contract. It may be closer than you think.