POST #25: 40 Days to a Successful Freelance Writing Career

PUBLISHER NOTE: If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know about the upcoming freelance writing seminar in October. You will learn exactly what to do to earn $100, $150, $200/day or more as a freelance writer, editor and/or copy editor. Click to register!

Many have inquired about what will be discussed at the seminar. So, in order to answer your questions and to get you prepared for what to expect, I've started a series of posts entitled "40 Days to a Successful Freelance Writing Career."

To start at the beginning, click here. And, welcome to the blog. Now, on to today’s post . . .

The only constant in life is change – and this applies to advertising and marketing as well.

Even if the advertising/marketing you’re currently doing works, there still comes a time when you should shake it up a bit. Do so, adhering to the following guidelines:

Learning Firsthand: A Personal Story

My website, InkwellEditorial.com, has been live since 1999. But, I was pushed into getting it by the circumstances of my business. What do I mean?

POST CONTINUED BELOW
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At the time, Inkwell Editorial was an editorial staffing agency in New York City. Clients and candidates alike were asking things like:

Can I view resumes from your site?

Can I download the timesheet from your site?

Can I fill out your application online?,

Etc.

When I’d sheepishly say, “We don’t have a website,” the silence was deafening.

Once Inkwell got a site, I couldn’t imagine how I’d done business without it. Candidates were able to download timesheets; I put up an informative Q&A section for clients and candidates alike; a sample client contract was there; etc.

The Direct Benefits Received from Changing My Marketing Efforts

Having all of these things online did four things for my business: i) it propelled me into the 21st century, hence improving my professionalism in client eyes; ii) it saved me time in that I could always direct answer seekers to the website; iii) it built my client base – over the years I received untold inquiries from clients who just happened across my site on the web; and iv) I was able to fill job orders quicker because I e-blasted job openings to my entire database – many of which came from candidates who signed up for these blasts via the website.

The moral of this story: To keep pace, I had to get a website. Even if it was on a static/brochure site, having one was critical to the success of my business because the age of the Internet was upon me – and I was stuck in the stone ages.

And, staffing is one of those industries where online interaction is a must.

Before having a company website, I’d done a lot of fax blasting to get clients. This method was quickly replaced by email marketing because now I had a destination for them to go to – InkwellEditorial.com – for further info.

I haven’t looked back since.

One of the main reasons to change your advertising

Long story short, one of the main reasons to change your advertising is when it’s clear that that’s where your industry is headed. Don’t fight change – flow with it.

Another reason to change/supplement your advertising

Another time it’s good to change your advertising is when you seem to have reached a peak with your current advertising methods.

For example, I do a lot of networking – and I can count on this for a certain percentage of my sales. But, I’m only one person and can only do so much networking. So, I must supplement that to keep my sales volume at a certain level.

A couple of years ago, I added cold calling to the mix. On a really aggressive day, I can place 70 calls. I rarely do this. I do make it my goal however, to reach a certain number of prospects a week. If I’m falling short via my other advertising methods, the quickest and easiest thing to do to make my “client contact quota” is pick up the phone.

Marketing Tip: I remember years ago when my sister and I first started marketing Inkwell heavily, we used to track our client contact quota on a big bulletin board we put up in the office. That way, we could physically see our progress day in and day out.

This was extremely helpful in making marketing a habit. After five or six months, we no longer updated the board because it became the norm for us to make our marketing part of our workday duties.

Marketing, like any good business practice, is something that should constantly be upgraded. Paying attention to your marketing efforts means that you are paying attention to the lifeblood of your business.
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What’s in Inkwell Editorial’s Newsletter?

Current Issue: For all you artists our there (illustrators, cartoonists, photographers, this one is for you). I interviewed successful cartoonist Dan Rosendach. He’s been a freelancer since 1976 and lays out some very interesting marketing tactics for keeping the business rolling in.

Sign up to receive your copy to read his informative, in-depth interview.

Missed the last issue of Inkwell's freelance writing newsletter? The 9/12 issue featured an interview with freelance writer, Gordon Graham, aka, that white paper guy.Gordon charges $90/hour just to edit a white paper and a minimum of $4,000 to produce one from scratch.

Wanna know what he had to say? Sign up.

Gain clients, web traffic and brand awareness. How? Let us interview you for our popular newsletter? Full details. Read the first issue here.
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Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com.
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