The difference between successful and struggling writers often has little to do with talent. Great writers frequently undersell themselves while those less gifted can command three figures per hour.
What separates the two comes down to this: the ability to market.
Marketing your business is not only part of a web writer's job, it's the hinge on which your success depends.
Here are some of my favourite strategies for marketing your freelance writing business:
1. Twitter: Join and follow other writers and prospects - particularly in niches you specialize in. Be pro-active. Interact: tweet regularly, tweet valuably, re-tweet, direct-message prospects and invite them to follow you back. Personalize your Twitter page and be a genuine member of the community with well-targeted tweets. Done correctly, Twitter is one of the most effective free marketing tools available to writers - and easier to maintain than Facebook (which can be a real time-sucker).
2. Join LinkedIn. There are more relevant prospects for writers on LinkedIn than any other social network. Referrals are the lifeblood of freelancing, and if you can net just one influential client with a large LinkedIn network, your service can potentially spread like wildfire. It's worth an upgraded account so that you can contact members directly. Always do so professionally: introduce yourself, personalize your pitch and make it all about what you can do for them.
3. Blogging. Maintaining your own blog on your writer's site is one of the best ways to showcase your writing skills - perhaps even more so than your portfolio. Your blog is the real you... your interests, your style, your voice. Savvy writers blog about things their prospects are likely to be looking for. This is therefore an occasion when search-engine optimization strategies can pay off. "How A Freelance Writer Can Triple A Website's Traffic", "Why Websites Without Quality Content are Heading Directly to Google Wilderness" and "How to Increase Your Sales with Web Content" are a few sample titles likely to generate targeted leads.
4. Blog Commenting. This is a great way to network with other writers, or go after prospects in specialized niches. Other writers are of course your direct competitors. But if you make friends in valuable places, they just might pass work on to you if they're too busy. And leaving your footprint on their site means that you are visible to their prospects. Blog commenting is most effective if you are a writer with a specialized niche. Know a thing or twenty about fly-fishing? Find relevant blogs and leave insightful, helpful comments.
5. Guest Blogging. This is a potentially highly effective method of personal branding if you can land a spot on a successful, high-traffic blog. There is an art to contacting webmasters and offering a guest post, and it's worth familiarizing yourself with best practices before you attempt it. But, at the very least, ensure you're familiar with the site, what readers are interested in and offer something relevant that has not been covered before.
6. Forum Posting. Think about where your prospects hang out, and go and hang out with them! Writers often make the mistake of interacting only on writer's forums. This isn't the savviest use of your time. Other writers are unlikely to hire you to write for them. Instead, join business, webmaster and marketing forums. Have a compelling signature with a snappy description of your services linked to your writer's site. And remember: every post you contribute is in effect an advertisement for your services. Show 'em what you can do, and proofread vigilantly before you press "submit"!
7. Ads. An ad on the Warrior Forum can kick-start your business. For just $20, a cleverly written Warrior For Hire ad can potentially generate all the work you need. Similarly, other internet marketing forums like Digital Point are populated by buyers hungry for fresh content. But think carefully about positioning yourself before you place your ad. You will want to target the higher-paying market (very much the minority on IM forums), so have a look around and see how other writers are doing it before you leap in. Placing a free ad on Craigslist and Gumtree is another advertising option, and a particularly good one if you go after local businesses.
8. Article Marketing. Take your blog posts, turn them into articles and submit them to article directories. Ensure you utilize the resource box with a call-to-action linking back to your site.
9. Article Syndication. This is similar to above, but better! Instead of just submitting your articles to directories and crossing your fingers that prospects will find you, contact relevant webmasters and ask them if they'd like to publish your already-written article in exchange for a referral link. This is sort of like article marketing and guest-blogging combined, i.e. a highly targeted strategy for getting your work in front of targeted prospects.
10. Write a Press Release. Make yourself "newsworthy" by announcing your service to your local area. There's a lot of money to be made in writing for local businesses... web content, article marketing, Google Places and Facebook Fan pages, blog maintenance, e-newsletters, in-house brochures and press releases are just some of the services you can offer.
As a bonus to my Top Ten Marketing Strategies for Freelance Writers, I've saved the best for last...
11. Contact prospects directly and pitch yourself! This is my favourite method for good reason, and we'll explore it further in a future post.
Marketing your writing services can be daunting, which is why so many choose to hide behind the anonymity of content-mills and job-bidding sites. But regular application of just one of the above methods - for as little as an hour each day - will generate regular, high-paying clients.
The clients are out there. It's up to you to reel 'em in!
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