Freelance Copywriters: How to Market for Immediate Results, Higher Paying Jobs & Long-term Clients

Implement these three ideas to get immediate results, long-term clients and higher paying jobs from your freelance marketing efforts.

1. To get immediate results, pick up the phone: In the article, 10 Ways For a Freelance Writer to Make Money – Fast! (Part 2 of 2) (my Thursday, September 07, 2006 blog post at InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com), I detail exactly what to say on "cold calls." Read Tip #6. Don’t cringe, tune out, or make up your mind that you’re not going to do this.

I know that this may frighten the heebie jeebies out of many people, but trust me, once you do it 5 or 6 times, it’s old hat. You CAN and it will pay off big – almost immediately.

With the short, to-the-point script I laid out in the aforementioned article, you will see that it’s just like making a call to gather information, much as you would calling a restaurant to get directions.

Another immediate response marketing effort – email. Make sure you don’t spam though. How do you accomplish this? By actually taking the time to do some research on the prospect you want to email.

Your research doesn’t have to be in-depth, but enough to make the recipient of your email feel like you’ve taken the time to get to know their product/service. Reference an article on their site, their current marketing campaign, market statistics pertinent to their sector.

Your initial email should include the following: 1) evidence to prove that you’ve know/are familiar with their product/service (eg, the research tip mentioned just above); 2) the reason for your contact; and 3) why/how you can help them; and 4) a brief professional bio; and 5) a link to your website.

Your website should include at least the following: a full bio on you, links to samples of your work and contact info. Testimonials, articles on/about your industry, a media page and a link to your blog (if you have one) is some other info you might want to add.

2. To get long-term clients, think beyond the initial contact: I detailed how to do this in the article, Freelance Writers: How to Turn a Client Meeting Into a Windfall of Work (my Wednesday, November 08, 2006 blog post).

To briefly recap, when a client contacts you, always, always, always think beyond the initial job. A personal story:

I recently did all the web copy for a client who is starting a title insurance company. When I sent in the final copy, I also presented him with three marketing ideas to help him turn referrals into paying clients. Of course, they were all ideas that I could help him with.

As I’ve mentioned before, being proactive in this manner helps in three ways:

a) it shows clients that you are professional and on the ball enough to be forward-thinking;

b) it lets them know that you understand their business; and

c) it gives them a reason to come back to you.

Many freelancers will simply turn in a project and say something to the effect of, "Keep me in mind if you have other projects I can help you with." This is NOT effective. Be specific.

By offering specific ways in which you can help them increase their bottom line, you become the go-to resource. This brings me to my last point:

3. To get higher-paying jobs, educate yourself: Freelance copywriters much be more than just proficient wordsmiths, they must be knowledgeable about marketing in general. This knowledge can easily be attained via trade journals, online reading, first-account articles, etc.

As a specific example of how this helps you make more money, I will use the recent client I mentioned above. This client has never had a website before and doesn’t know too much about online marketing. I gathered this from our conversations about his web copy.

When I did his copy, I told him the reasons why I did what I did (eg, added, cut, embellished, etc., text). One specific exchange went like this:

"In marketing, it is a fact that if people are confused, there is too
little info, or they don't fully grasp a concept, they rarely pursue it.
Following this wisdom, it's always better to overstate an idea. Hence, the
change I made was adding more of your ideas to this section, not cutting
info."

Explaining the reason behind your actions illustrate to the client that you are knowledgeable. Knowledge – especially when it is imparted in a manner that proves to the client that it helps their bottom line – is something that people are willing to pay more for because this, after all, makes you an "expert."

Clients rarely question the fees of experts and are much more likely to feel that they’re getting more than "just" a freelance writer -- they’re getting a marketing expert who just happens to write.

Whether you are 3 months or 10 years into being a freelance writer, implementing these three ideas will increase your earnings for years to come.