Marketing your writing is perhaps the single most important step you can take in order to establish your business. It can also be one of the most intimidating and uncomfortable aspects of the business. It can be ackward to market “you” as a brand. It is true that sometimes you feel like the weird guy you used to work with who was always making unnatural references to himself, “Jeff likes your new haircut. Jeff really likes it.” Sorry, that’s another story. You may feel like you are brown-nosing yourself, but you are just going to have to tough it out. I promise it will only hurt for a second, and the rewards will be well worth the initial discomfort.
In order to achieve success with your freelance writing business, you are going to need to market it both on and offline. I will offer some suggestions for both, but marketing is a living, breathing beast which is constantly growing and evolving. Let your creativity run wild with it. Just remember to maintain the professional image you are striving for at all times.
First, I want to talk about developing your web presence because I believe it is the most crucial marketing strategy for any freelance writer. The first thing you need is a website. You can build one yourself if you are comfortable with basic web design principles,or you can hire a designer. You will want to purchase the domain name for your business, however. The website should have a clean professional appearance, and you will want to include a resume highlighting your skills as well as a portfolio of your clips for potential clients. If you do not have any published clips, then you need to create some.
Which brings us to the next step, writing articles and web content. You should join a content community such as Helium to use as a platform for displaying your work and getting your name into search engines.
Join forums, especially those which pertain to writing, and get involved in the discussions. Sign your posts with your website link as a free and shameless promotion.
Take advantage of the many free advertising opportunities presenting on the web. You can market your freelance writing in free classifieds and directories, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Contact some of the online magazines and publications, particularly the ones that are still relatively new, and offer to exchange an article for free advertising. Many times an editor for a publication that is still trying to get off the ground will be more than willing to work with you on the basis of free advertising because they desperately need content but have stressful budget constraints. Not only do you stand to benefit from the free advertising, but you will be creating published clips as a professional writer. However, I do not suggest you make a habit of doing this on a regular basis. You work hard and deserve to be paid for your efforts. You have to draw a fine line between self-promotion and indentured servitude.
Stay tuned for the second part of this post about offline marketing strategies.
Peace, Love, and Happy Writing!
