Tag Archives: referrals

Freelance Marketing — Moving Beyond Job Boards

By on October 13th, 2011

This article is a part of a five post series for Demand Media Studios writers and others interested in leaving content mills and other low paying freelance writing jobs behind.  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 …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Jobs, Marketing |

How to Use (and Not Use) Twitter to Find Freelance Writing Jobs

By on March 9th, 2011

I made the mistake on Twitter yesterday of searching for “freelance writing” to see what people in the community were talking about. Wow. Just wow. I can’t remember the last time I saw so much spam and so many crap freelance writing jobs in one place. So it got me thinking about finding jobs on Twitter — more specifically finding good freelance writing jobs while avoiding the sludge. Here are a few tips I came up with: If you receive an @reply from someone you don’t know and they link you to job sites, don’t click. – These are usually …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Jobs, Marketing |

How Much Time do you Spend on Marketing?

By on March 22nd, 2010

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 focus on calling current clients and asking for referrals. While these are two entirely different tasks, they both help to drum up new business. In terms of time, no two marketing tasks are the same. …

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Posted in Marketing |

How to Get Freelance Writing Referrals Even if You’re New

By on June 10th, 2009

New freelance writers have a lot on their minds. More experienced writers often tell them that they need to build a presence, start networking, and focus on getting referrals instead of simply searching job boards (the best gigs are rarely found on job boards). But they don’t want to hear it. They don’t want to wait a few weeks to a few months to have the good gigs pouring in. They want money, and they want it now. They may need it now. They have bills to pay, families to support. You get the idea. I’ve been told on more …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Jobs |

Freelance Writers and Referral Fees: Would You Charge (or Pay) One?

By on September 8th, 2008

I know a few writers (and other professionals who sometimes refer writers) who charge a referral fee. I have a strict policy on not accepting referrals for freelance writing jobs that come with this kind of fee, and I never charge one. How do you feel about them? How Referral Fees Work Here’s an example of how a referral fee might work, based on a referral I recently gave a colleague for some content writing and copywriting work. In reality, my client contacted me about a project. I didn’t have time to work it in immediately, and it wasn’t really …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Business |

Tips to Set Up a Referral System With Clients

By on August 31st, 2007

Here’s another question from Latoya of Writers Brew: Question What tips do you have for creating a referral system using existing clients? Answer I can’t say that I’ve ever set up a referral “system” with my existing clients. I’m a big believer in natural referrals whenever possible… they just carry more weight. My clients are happy with my work, and they refer me to their friends, colleagues, and even their own clients or customers. But if you wanted to be more aggressive about it, there are certainly things you can do: If you work with local clients, try my recent …

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Posted in Networking |

Marketing Tip: Use Business Cards to Get Referrals

By on August 27th, 2007

As freelance writers, it’s not uncommon to have our work referred to potential clients from past clients or from other writers (or other publishing professionals in our networks). But too many writers stop there, when referral possibilities can seem practically endless if you really put some thought into it. Business cards are just the tool to help you improve your referral network. Here’s how: Online networking can seem easy, but don’t get so caught up in it that you forget about building an offline professional network. Hand your business card out to anyone you meet that may be a future …

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Posted in Marketing |