The people and businesses who need you the most don’t know who you are yet.
Why do so many people, especially freelancers, hate the idea of marketing themselves?
I’ve asked many writers, editors, and artists this question, and I’ve gotten a lot of different answers, including:
- I don’t know how
- I hate talking about/promoting myself
- Marketing doesn’t matter
- I don’t have time
Do any of these sound like you?
You’re shortchanging yourself thinking this way. And your business. And especially your bank account.
Why freelance marketing is exceptionally important
Marketing yourself is just another way of saying “looking for clients.”
For freelancers, who usually don’t have the budget or resources for a marketing or advertising team, it comes down to building a pipeline of upcoming clients.
Some believe freelancing is feast or famine, but that can be managed very effectively by continuous marketing efforts so that you always have a new line of potential clients finding out about you.
Literally, a few small changes and 15 minutes per day can change your business (I added a list at the end to help!).
Marketing isn’t a dirty word — it will change your business.
You probably already do some marketing, even if you don’t call it that.
The most common marketing strategies for freelancers and small businesses are:
- Facebook/Instagram/TikTok ads
- Social media posts and comments
- Newsletters/email campaigns
- Maintaining a nice website and updating it when needed, potentially with a blog
The thing most people seem to find distasteful or anxiety-inducing is the idea of simply reaching out and messaging, emailing, or calling someone they don’t know or who hasn’t reached out to them first.
Surprisingly, something many freelancers have told me they find difficult is asking for reviews and referrals from previous clients.
This shocks me! Asking someone who has already worked with you, with whom you have a good professional relationship, and who would be the most likely person to refer someone to you, seems like the simplest possible thing to me.
Marketing and advertising are not the same.
Marketing yourself is way different than just advertising your business. In fact, advertising is actually a pretty small part of the whole of marketing.
Marketing starts at the conception of your idea and encompasses everything your business does to generate income.
That includes the products/services you offer, the group of people you want to be your audience/target, where they are, what they want and why, how you price your products/services, your branding, your overall strategy for both the business and the products/services, and much more.
By having a “brand” at all, that is marketing — getting your business seen and exposed to potential buyers.
According to the American Marketing Association, “Marketing is the activity, institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value.”
Basically, “marketing” is simply a short way of saying that you are trying to provide value to a specific group of people, AKA your “target market.”
A target market is the group of people you think would most likely buy and/or benefit from your product/service.
If you believe it benefits them, why wouldn’t you let people know your product/service exists?
That’s what it comes down to. The people who want to or need to work with you simply don’t know who you are.
Many freelancers will claim they “aren’t good at marketing,” but with how much information is available for free online, that is a truly lazy excuse.
Simple marketing ideas for freelancers
There are lists everywhere, including at the top of this post. I’m going to highlight two simple and effective marketing ideas here: emailing to ask for referrals and planning for monthly retainer clients.
Asking for referrals and reviews
Start by reaching out to current and former clients with a brief email asking for referrals and a review (only to people you’ve finished a project with).
Here’s a simple email I’ve sent for this purpose:
Hi, Lauren,
It was great working with you last year when I edited your book manuscript. I hope publishing went well!
I just wanted to ask for a small favor — I’d love to get a short review from you about working with me. I’d like to update my website with more recent reviews, and I enjoyed working with you. You can just type it in an email, and I’ll post it on my site with your name and business name.
I also recently finished a big project and am looking to take on up to two new clients. Do you or anyone you know need any writing or editing assistance? I’m always happy to help!
Have a great day,
Jyssica
Everyone I sent a similar email to has replied, and most were happy to give me a short review. Even if they didn’t, they’d reply that it was good to hear from me, which puts my name at the top of mind if they have any needs soon.
Planning for monthly retainer clients
Recurring income is the second-best kind of income (the first is passive recurring income).
Instead of working per-project or per-word, I tend to think more expansively. When talking to a client, I always discuss my skills and how, even though they thought they only wanted blogging, they actually want someone to research, write, add links, fact-check, edit, source photos, and pull quotes for social media posts.
I also often discover that they need someone to help with related tasks, such as editing other writers’ pieces, posting the blog on their website, creating a content calendar, or planning topic ideas. Or I can mention how it seems their website is due for an update and explain how I can help with that, or how I noticed they hadn’t posted anything on their company’s LinkedIn page in over a year. Or maybe I discover they want to write a book but don’t know where to start. Or maybe they’re a good candidate to write one, but haven’t considered how it would benefit their business.
It all starts with a simple conversation. Get the potential client (or current client) on the phone or on a video call. Establish a rapport and be friendly.
Then, shine. Be yourself, be knowledgeable, and show off your expertise so they can trust your judgment. Make sure you research the person and the company so you’re informed and can make good suggestions that show you know what you’re doing. Offer to show samples or reviews from previous clients. When talking to an editing client, I describe my process and the timeline in detail, as well as explain the different types of editing – something many clients don’t know yet. So, I’m already showing off my knowledge and abilities.
These conversations inevitably come down to pricing.
“I love everything you’re saying. What is this going to cost?”
“Great question! My pricing is tailored to your needs. Based on everything we’ve discussed, I’ll email you the numbers and what they include once we hang up. But I need to know how you want to structure it. We can do a monthly retainer rate covering 15-20 hours of work on any task for you, including any new projects or ideas. I can also do it per project, but you’d need to clarify exactly what each project entails, and the cost would not cover anything outside that specific project. Most of my clients prefer a monthly retainer, as I’m available throughout the week for whatever you need, even when you come up with a cool new post or idea you want to try right away.”
This is how I approach it. I offer it as an option, not the only option. I’ve had half a dozen clients that started out as per-project or per-word pricing (editing) and became monthly retainer clients after a couple of months. They realize it’s easier and, if they need a lot, cheaper.
A few small changes & 15 minutes per day
I said above that that’s all it takes.
So, where do I start?
Here are the big 3 things you need to do. Do number one to make the whole thing easier. Do numbers two and 3 regularly, and I promise you’ll see positive results and more replies.
- Stop telling yourself you hate marketing or that it’s stupid, and accept that it’s part of having a business. Reframe it in your head so that instead of hating it and it being a chore, you just do it as part of your daily tasks.
- Ask every client for referrals and a review. Upload it to your website when you receive one. Make sure you include in the email or after receiving it that it will be posted on your public website with their name, title, and company name.
- Send 20ish messages per week on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, or wherever your prospective clients are.
Here’s some advice for cold messaging prospective clients:
- Keep the message pretty short. Maybe 3-4 sentences.
- Include a link to your website or blog, wherever they can see more about you and your work.
- Have a short template message you use and tailor it, including greeting them by name, for each person. Make sure the message focuses on THEM and not on you. Your first message to them should show what value you can bring and how it benefits them.
- Example (bad): “I’m a great editor with 10 years of experience. I could really help you make more money. Do you need any writing or editing assistance?” Notice how the whole message really focuses on “I” rather than the prospective client.
- Example (good): “Your website design is striking and eye-catching, but I noticed the copy is a bit confusing, and your blog hasn’t posted new content in over a year. Did you know that having an active weekly blog publishing fresh, original content keeps site visitors on your page longer and converts them to customers faster?” In that second one, I included this article that dives into blogging stats from Databox.
In the first (bad) example, it gives the prospective client some information, but doesn’t touch on how you can help their business, specifically.
The second example shows you how I like to message businesses. I find something to compliment, raise an issue that I can assist with, and explain why that thing is important. You can see just by reading them how they come across differently. Example 2 shows a tailored yet simple message that leaves the reader feeling like they learned something (because I’m an expert in my field) and seeing immediately how I can add value to their business. Plus, I gave them a free resource to see even more reasons why they need me.
Other small changes to make:
- Create and adjust ads as needed to try different copy and keywords (if you run ads). Also, try testing ads in places you haven’t tested before. You may find new places where prospective clients are online.
- Update your website regularly, adjust the copy and keywords, add new projects you’ve worked on, and add reviews. You can check out my homepage to see examples of client reviews.
- Respond to comments on social media.
- Add your website or blog to your social media bios and email signature.
- Start sending out weekly or bi-monthly newsletters — they can be short, but it helps to do occasional (and USEFUL) emails with announcements and links to your site.
Spend 15 minutes a day on marketing activities. That could be one day, setting up an email to go out to your email list. Or it could creating an email list and adding the link to your website, social media bios, and email signature.
It could be as simple as sending 5 LinkedIn/TikTok/Instagram messages (wherever your audience is) or posting a social media post on 1–2 platforms.
Just get your name out there and be proud of your business — don’t hide it! The people and businesses who need you the most just don’t know who you are yet.