Secrets Of A Freelance Writer, Road To $100,000 a Year
This article is a follow up to our book summary of the book “Guide to Freelance Writing Success: How to Make $100,000 a Year As a Freelance Writer and Have the Time of Your Life Doing It” by Robert W. Bly. It’s a classic book that will explain to you from A to Z how to acquire a comfortable standard of living by carrying out a freelance writing activity!
With over 30 years of experience in the business, Robert W. Bly has a proven track record. As a U.S. copywriter specializing in marketing and business-to-business (B2B), he has had time to build a solid reputation and experience. He has even taught copywriting at New York University.
A. FINDING YOUR MARKETS
1. CORPORATIONS
These are the largest employers of business writers: banks, insurance companies, textile companies or any other type of organization. They have a constant need to communicate externally (advertising, etc.) and internally (internal reports, memos, etc.).
For larger companies, you will want to make sure that you contact the director of advertising, the director of public relations, for example.
2. SMALL BUSINESS
For medium and small companies, you can contact the boss or the general manager directly, or the marketing manager if applicable.
Smaller companies usually have a smaller budget, but the challenge may also be more interesting, and you are in more direct contact with the company’s project for which you work. As a result, their managers may ask you to work on several tasks.
3. ADVERTISING AGENCIES
Freelancers are often asked for assignments related to writing TV spots, brochures, etc. There are big and small entities here too. Smaller agencies may pay you later, since they themselves are waiting to be paid by their client and have no cash flow.
What are the differences between working for a direct client and an advertising agency? Robert W. Bly shares some observations from his experience.
- More pressure on deadlines;
- More back and forth (proofreading, etc.);
- More variety in tasks offered;
- Less pay (but client contact management);
- Your work is integrated into a whole and better presented (design, etc.).
4. Other potential clients
Here is a series of potential clients to prospect when you start freelance business writing (on or off the internet).
- Public relations companies
- Associations
- Multimedia producers, audiovisual agencies
- Art and graphic design studios
- Government agencies
- Non-profit organizations
- Online freelance sites
- And we could add to this list professional bloggers and other web entrepreneurs, which Robert W. Bly does not mention!
Depending on the country or region in which you practice, you can identify interesting prospects and — if you do it right — start generating sales!
B. PROSPECTING: GENERATING SALES LEADS
For most writers handling commercial assignments, prospecting — looking for and generating sales leads — is an essential activity. Just as General Motors must advertise if the company expects to sell cars, so too you must advertise and promote yourself and your freelance writing business if you expect people to call you with assignments.
A sales lead is an inquiry from an individual at an organization that is a potential client for your freelance commercial writing services.
1. COLD CALLING
This is probably the most old school solution (unless you go knocking on every prospect’s door!).
“When you cold call a prospect, don’t give them a sales pitch. Instead, ask them a series of questions that will qualify them as a decision maker and set up the next steps in the sales process. That’s how it works.” — Robert W. Bly.
2. TESTIMONIALS
Ask satisfied customers to leave you a testimonial. You can use this in future communications. You can start by writing a quick letter to the customer to ask if they enjoyed the service and if there is anything they need. If they respond positively, you can ask them if you can use the testimonial in future advertising.
3. ADVERTISING
You can invest in advertisements in specialized magazines or newspapers that are related to your field of expertise (if you have one). A technique particularly used today is also to pay to appear at the top of the results of a search engine (such as Google): it is called SEA (search engine advertising).
4. NETWORKING
It’s also one of the oldest — and even more ancient — ways of advertising: word of mouth and interpersonal connections. You know someone who knows someone who… And you may have found a new assignment!
In recent years, Facebook has expanded this networking system.
5. PREMIUMS
You give a gift to your prospects and customers.
“The value of giving premium benefits is twofold: first, to create goodwill by giving someone a gift, regardless of the price tag; second, to serve as a constant reminder of you and your services.” — Robert W. Bly.
6. ONLINE CHAT GROUPS AND FORUMS
There are many specialized groups and forums on the Internet, including online services that deal with writing, marketing, advertising, public relations, and other business topics. Many writers regularly spend time in these groups and forums having e-mail “chats” with other visitors to these areas. Many of the visitors are your fellow freelance writers, but some are potential clients looking either for advice and help in general or services in particular.
By responding to their queries with helpful suggestions, you can establish a dialogue that may lead to the person’s hiring you for a project. At some point, go beyond e-mail and reach out with regular mail, phone, and fax to discuss the details and confirm the assignment with the prospect.
Some of the prospects who come to these forums looking for general advice, not specifically for services, will become interested in knowing more about you and, eventually, hiring you when they see how informed and helpful your e-mail replies to them are.
The overall philosophy of the Internet is one of information exchange rather than sales and marketing. You generate leads in forums by participating in online conversations and giving helpful advice, and casually mentioning what you do for a living. If you go online and blatantly pursue sales leads or hype yourself, it won’t work and your messages may be blocked.
7. E-MAIL MARKETING
When you build your database of sales leads, get e-mail addresses as well as physical addresses. By doing so, you build an e-mail mailing list to which you can inexpensively send a promotional e-mail whenever you want.
An alternative method is to do what I do: Scan your e-mail prospect list periodically. When you see the name of a prospect or client you haven’t talked with in a while, send a little e-mail just to keep in touch. This periodic greeting reminds the prospect of you, which in turn may prompt him or her to call you to discuss an upcoming project.
8.WEB SITE
Building a Web site won’t by itself produce a lot of leads. But you can generate leads by building a Web site and then promoting that Web site in your ads, mailings, literature, and publicity.
By talking about all the good information on your Web site, you encourage people to visit the site. Once they’re on it, they can contact you directly if they want to talk about using your services. Have an enrollment page on your site and give people a reason for registering (such as access to a certain secure portion of your site or a free monthly e-mail newsletter).
As a freelance writer, you’ll want to put basic information about your services and yourself on your Web site. You might also want to scan some samples of your writing and make them available on a “portfolio” page of the site. This is especially useful when prospects come to you from sources other than the Web, request information, and are in a hurry. In addition to mailing or faxing information, you can give them the option of checking out your Web site, which allows them to immediately check out samples of your work.
If you do business under your own name, register a domain name for your Web site that incorporates your name. If you use a made-up company name, incorporate that in the domain name you register.
9. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
Don’t feel you have to limit yourself to the self-promotion tactics I’ve listed here. Yes, direct mail, advertising, promotional newsletters, free premiums, and Web sites are all time-tested ways to generate new business. And they work. But you can be even more successful if you go beyond my list and think of new promotions that are truly original.
If inspiration strikes and you get a great idea, try it! Too often we file ideas away for future consideration, then lose interest or enthusiasm. Try something new every once in a while if it can be tested at a reasonable cost. New methods of prospecting — like my Advertising Hotline, described earlier in this chapter — can be fun and exciting, and they can also raise your level of enthusiasm for self-promotion.
