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When you’ve got a steady flow of freelance work coming in the door, one of the biggest temptations is to take your foot off the gas pedal and stop marketing.
Don’t do it.
The challenge, of course, is that a full workload can consume your entire schedule – if you let it. No matter how busy you are, you always have a choice as to how you spend your time. So, here are three things you can do to keep the marketing tap turned on even when you’re slammed…
1. Send thank you notes to clients and colleagues.
This is an easy one. Buy a pack of 50 thank you cards, and keep them on your desk. Every Friday, write five thank you cards to clients, colleagues, and others who have helped you in your business, or have the potential to do so.
This is one of the oldest techniques for keeping your name in front of clients and prospects, but very, VERY few freelancers actually do this. (Good news for you – you’ll stand out.)
2. Set up Google Alerts and check them!
Assemble a list of keywords in Google Alerts that are relevant to clients in your industry.
With a constant supply of relevant, fresh industry news, you’ll have a list of topics you can pass along to clients, with a little note saying, “Saw this, thought you’d be interested in the part about…”
3. Write articles.
“What?” You say. “I thought these were supposed to be quick tips?” Hang on a sec, I’m not saying you need to write War and Peace, just write one 500-word article on your area of expertise every month. Just one extra article per month.
Take the whole month to write it if you like. A 500-word article works out to writing less than 25 words per day only on Monday to Friday! (That’s the equivalent of just two tweets for you Twitter users.) Anyone can find the time to do that.
As a bonus, you can also use those articles (and the articles you find via Google Alerts) as fodder for your own blog posts, newsletter articles, tweets, or as part of a larger special report you might write as a lead generating “buzz piece.”
Whatever marketing efforts appeal to you, it’s important that you commit to setting aside a block of time to get this stuff done – on a regular basis.
During periods when you’re super-busy with project work, maybe your marketing time is reduced to just 25 minutes each day. That still adds up to over two hours per week. Do that consistently, and you’ll be marketing more than most freelancers.
I’ve just given you three ideas here, but there are plenty of other ways to market your business. Do you have any tips for quick marketing efforts to add to this list of three? Let us know what’s worked for you in the comments below.
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Pete Savage is co-author of The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and An Enviable Lifestyle. Now available at bookstores everywhere.
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Pete,
The writing articles tip is key. I have been writing articles since 1999 — and some of those articles are still online, giving me lots of inbound links from reputable sites.
And just yesterday I checked my Google Analytics and was astounded at how much traffic I generated from “old” articles hanging out on the Internet. (As an FYI, I don’t use the Ezine Articles site — mostly I write stuff for reputable business sites, i.e. Netline and their Marketers blog, geared toward my target audience.)
Great idea for the Google Alerts. I have used Google Alerts for many different things, but had not thought of that.
Each week I try to participate in at least one conversation online using social media. I belong to a bunch of LinkedIn groups, for example, and receive a combination of daily and weekly digests of the discussions going on there. I always respond with real information that is pertinent to the discussion–not just a sales pitch–and find that such posts drive people to check out my profile and website. I frequently get new clients this way. Plus it gives me great ideas for articles and blog posts!
Something I’ve been trying is creating more face-to-face interaction with local networking or social groups. We’ve gotten so electronic that we sometimes forget how powerful an actual conversation can be. And always make sure to have an order form or two with you. You never know when a conversation about unrelated topics can turn to the need for a writer.
Even if you don’t get business, you can still enjoy the company of new acquaintances who may later turn into friends or clients.
I’ve been writing articles and using google alerts. But not using google alerts your way. Thanks for the tips!
Pete – Yes, there are many more ways to do this. But if a freelancer were to follow just these 3, they would set the world on FIRE! It’s amazing how these 3 little things, done consistently over time, will turn your business around in LESS than a year. Commit to doing these 3 things, folks. They work!