Browse the All Freelance Writing collection of marketing and PR articles below.
You’ll find posts covering how freelance writers can market their services more effectively, build visibility, strengthen positioning, and better understand the promotional side of client work.
This category is especially useful for writers working in content marketing, copywriting, business writing, press releases, and related specialties.
There is no denying the importance of marketing your freelance writing services. Your goal is simple: to inform as many people as possible of what you have to offer. The further your reach the better chance you have of success. Although marketing is a big part of your business, you are likely aware that it is costing you both time and money. While there is
In a perfect world, every cold call would lead to a sale. Of course, if you have ever used this marketing strategy you know that the world is anything but perfect. For this reason, you are going to run into a few obstacles along the way. Commonly, you will have one conversation with a prospect and then be asked to call back at some point
Do you have a marketing plan in your head? Do you complete marketing related tasks, day after day, without any real organization? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you are in the same boat as many freelance writers. It is true that any marketing is better than none at all. However, an organized plan will go a long way in helping you
Have you heard the phrase “content marketing” before but wondered how it applies to you as a blogger? After all, you’re already focused on content every time you write a blog post. Why should you worry about it beyond that, and how can it affect your blog marketing? Let’s take an introductory look at content marketing strategies and why they’re important for bloggers and business
There are many reasons why freelance writers often times overlook cold calling as a viable marketing method. While some people are frightened at the thought of picking up the phone and making these calls, others shy away because they don’t feel as if they have enough time in their schedule. Let’s take a closer look at three of the best ways to save time as
You could spend several hours each day cold calling prospects. You could send out hundreds of letters to editors. You could send cold emails until your fingers are ready to fall off. But guess what? If you don’t have somewhere to send these prospects you are spinning your tires. In other words, you need a professional website for your freelance writing business. Sure, you can
Some freelance writers spend a lot of time sending query letters via snail mail to editors. Although this is a great way to drum up new business, there is something else I want you to think about: traditional direct mail. This could be anything from post cards to sales letters. Rather than send these pieces to an editor of a publication, you are instead focusing
When you make cold calls as a freelance writer, you should expect to be the one doing most of the talking. However, any conversation has the potential to quickly turn. In other words, you may find yourself answering questions at some point during the call. If you have somebody asking you questions, it is safe to say that they are interested in what you have
Keeping with my theme of cold calling tips, I wanted to discuss some of the many things you should never say when contacting a prospect out of the blue. 1. Is this a good time to talk? Simply put, people are looking for a reason to hang up the phone. If you say this, you are giving the person an immediate out. They will almost
I’ve decided to make some changes to my plans for the Web Writer’s Guide e-book. Rather than updating it and moving on with a series, it will remain as-is. Sometime in the next few months I’ll pull it off the market, and much of the information in that e-book will be worked into print books or e-books in the Query-Free Freelancer series. The problem with sticking with the Web
By now, you all know that I like to talk about cold calling. For whatever reason, I find this to be one of the most intriguing methods of marketing my services. Not to mention the fact that there is no greater thrill than making a call, finding an interested party, and closing a deal. Of course, things don’t always work out as planned. A couple
When you work as a freelance writer you will soon find one thing to be true: there are times when you are super busy and it seems like every deadline lands on the same day. Along with this, there are times when you are not nearly as busy and are searching for new work. With this in mind, you may often struggle with the question
The first time you pick up the phone to make a cold call your stomach will likely feel uneasy. Don’t worry, you are not alone – this is quite natural. After all, you are getting involved with something that you are not familiar with. On top of this, the act of cold calling has received a bad reputation over the years. Although you may have
Like most people, regardless of industry, if you don’t achieve success with cold calling early on you are going to forget about this marketing strategy forever. But before you give up for good, take a closer look at the three bits of advice below. By making these changes to your approach, you may soon find yourself generating more business than you ever imagined possible. 1.
As a freelance writer, one of the biggest challenges you will face is creating a marketing plan that works. If you are not marketing your services appropriately you may have a difficult time keeping enough work in your pipeline. While it is safe to say that you are sending cold emails and queries through the mail (and maybe even cold calling), you may be overlooking
There is no better feeling than being bogged down with multiple projects. Sure, this is going to bring stress to your life – but trust me, it feels good. Of course, there are issues involved with having this much work on your plate. Not only do you need to keep track of all your deadlines, but you don’t want to stop marketing your services. After
There are many misconceptions surrounding cold calling, from the effectiveness to the best techniques and more. You don’t want to overlook this method of marketing your services because of a myth that was started by somebody you don’t even know. It Never Works Let me be the first one to tell you that this is a lie. Simply put, cold calling can help you drum
You wake up, get that cup of caffeine, go through your morning ritual, then work through your daily ritual of writing. Marketing? Yea, that doesn’t happen because you’re busy. Yet if you have fifteen minutes to play Facebook games, you have plenty of time to locate new clients and more projects. Just fifteen minutes – that’s less time than it takes to run to the
As you continue to market your freelance writing services, you will find that some people don’t have any need for you – at least for the time being. To give yourself the chance at a future project, it is important to provide any connection with both your email address and phone number. The more times you give out your phone number the better chance there
Last week, I decided to make a few cold calls. Believe it or not, this is something I miss when I don’t get around to it as often as I would like. After a few calls, I got a business owner on the phone. What ensued was something I had never experienced before. With this call, I had to first get through the receptionist. She
[This post is part of a series on how you can maximize your ebook sales.] Almost every book includes an author bio. There’s a reason for this. The author bio tells the reader why he or she should care what the writer thinks. It tells the reader that the writer knows their stuff. This is often clear with non-fiction and how-to books; the author’s bio
More so today than ever before, freelance writers are in position to obtain new business through cold emailing. However, this is anything but a simple marketing strategy. In fact, it takes a lot of time and determination to make a success of this technique. Here are three potential cold email problems you are sure to face at some point in time. 1. No replies. Put
While most freelance writers despise cold calling, this is something I have grown to love over the years. In fact, I get a rush out of making cold calls from time to time. This may not be something I do every day, but here and there is fits nicely into my marketing plan. Recently, when working with a few members of my freelance writing course,
Yesterday, I spent the day out of my office meeting with potential clients. While it took up several hours, in the end it was well worth it as I closed a couple of deals. During my time in the car, driving from one appointment to the next, I began to think about what I really needed by my side and what I could have left
As a freelance writer, most of your time will be spent writing. That being said, you need to save time throughout the day for other tasks such as sales and marketing. Even though you may have enough work right now to keep busy, you never know when things are going to slow down. For this reason, marketing your services should be an ongoing task. But
It’s a mistake authors make all the time. They labor away on their manuscript, editing and re-editing; they even hire someone else to help them. And when they’re done, they tentatively put it up for sale. Without thinking about the one thing that can make or break a book: the sales copy. Your content will determine if they read the book all the way through
Like many freelance writers, I do not enjoy talking about myself. That being said, there is a fine line between bragging on yourself and doing an effective job in the sales and marketing department. 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
As you continue to market your services, you will receive many of the same questions from potential clients. You are sure to hear the following from time to time: 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,
Cold calling is a numbers game. In other words, if you make enough calls you are eventually going to find somebody who is interested. This leads to one very common issue: compiling a cold call list that is big enough to keep you busy, day after day. Here are three tips that I have successfully employed: 1. Local phone book. Although phone books are pretty
Over the years, I have found that many small businesses are in need of freelance contractors. This holds true with many types of professionals including writers, designers, and internet marketers among others. 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