As freelance authors, sometimes we struggle to land new clients, especially if money is tight or new opportunities aren\u2019t panning out as planned. Pitching our writing skills, posting resumes online and reaching out to positions available on the internet can be rewarding, but these submissions can be buried with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of other proposals.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s see how easy it is to promote and sell our valuable writing skills while we\u2019re simply going about our everyday lives. It might sound a little weird or even far-fetched, but it really works as long as we have a positive attitude and a friendly demeanor.<\/p>\n
Cashing In On Consignment<\/strong><\/p>\n When a new consignment store opened near our suburban neighborhood, I took this as an opportunity to make a little extra cash on the side. I got all the information I needed from their website and took in an old writing desk to put up for sale on this shared auction block.<\/p>\n After arriving at the shop, I unexpectedly ran into the owner, complimented her on an attractive website and Facebook page. A light-hearted conversation ensued.\u00a0 \u201cYou should blog!\u201d I offered while we were chatting. The owner was very curious about this notion.<\/p>\n A Budding Author<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in writing,\u201d the owner replied, \u201cBut I don\u2019t know the first thing about blogging.\u201d Lucky for us, we know plenty and first I explained a few basic, but important facts about formatting, how a blog \u201cworks\u201d and why:<\/p>\n Meanwhile, customers needing assistance were fluttering in and out of the store, so I suggested we meet up after hours so I could explain everything in more detail. She happily agreed, and I\u2019ll expand on the selling points I used during our meeting a little bit later on.<\/p>\n Note that I didn’t push for “the sale” during our first encounter. I spent my time sharing my knowledge about blogging — and proposed another meeting, where we would eventually get down to the nuts and bolts of business.<\/p>\n One Thing Leads To Another<\/strong><\/p>\n After selling the desk and writing for this local business owner, I stopped by the store to pick up my check. I ran into the owner once again and she mentioned one of her favorite customers who was starting a small business.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should blog for her too,\u201d the owner advised and gave me the number of a woman who was launching an all-natural beauty line out of her garage. I was hesitant to contact a complete stranger with a blind business proposal, but the shop owner had already spoken with her about the whole concept, so all I had to do was make a friendly phone call and set up a meeting.<\/p>\n Again, note that I didn’t immediately ask the referral for the sale. It is much better to establish the relationship first. By setting up a meeting, they are already making a commitment to move forward; but it’s not uncomfortable or salesy. It simply gives us to opportunity to figure out if we’re a good match for working together.<\/p>\n Gratitude Goes A Long Way<\/strong><\/p>\n Sure enough, I hooked up with this rookie entrepreneur and got another paying client in the process. Shortly after these encounters came to fruition, the three of us went out for a celebratory, \u201cbusiness lunch.\u201d They were both very friendly with the waitress at a small, local restaurant they had highly recommended.<\/p>\n Long story short, I got more leads during this casual lunch: One from the waitress who referred me to her husband, an independent insurance agent, another from the manger of the restaurant suggesting I contact the owner and still another from a patron who overheard our conversations. But let\u2019s deal with the business at hand.<\/p>\n Show Me The Money<\/strong><\/p>\n Okay, that was a pretty good story, but what was I really able to accomplish from those first two encounters when it came down to actual dollars and \u201csense?\u201d I was actually a little surprised at what I pocketed from my labors. So here\u2019s some practical advice …<\/p>\n Never sell yourself short. When offering our valuable writing skills, casually or otherwise, charge a fair price for your hard-earned experience, advice and time. We\u2019re delivering quality advertising and marketing techniques at a fraction of what other so-called professionals are receiving for similar results.<\/p>\n So here\u2019s what I charged and was ultimately paid for my services:<\/p>\n Consignment Store Invoice:<\/strong><\/p>\n Cosmetic Invoice (very similar):<\/strong><\/p>\n I also constructed a simple, \u201crush,\u201d website for the cosmetic client on one of those free web hosting sites over the course of a weekend. Honestly, it only took me the better part of a day to complete, but I still made another $1,000, which included writing some website content.<\/p>\n A BIG BONUS<\/strong> and both of these businesses paid almost immediately, the latter in cash, along with an accompanying invoice of course. They happily paid their bills in full and I\u2019m still blogging for them twice a month since they\u2019re both busy with their growing businesses.<\/p>\n So, not only did I earn $1,800 in income during this first week of work, I now have $200 a month in recurring income by writing blog posts for these clients. That adds up to $2,400 a year, which is a very nice addition to my business.<\/p>\n Turning It Around In A Conversation<\/strong><\/p>\n As freelance authors, often we\u2019re told exactly what to write about, how to complete a contracted piece, geared towards a specific target audience, how to research appropriate material and the manner in which we\u2019ll deliver this task. Turn it around, and we\u2019re sharing these learned concepts with a potential paying client \u2026 only in reverse.<\/p>\n Think of it this way, we have the ability to offer our writing skills, SEO knowledge and expertise to neighborhood businesses during impromptu conversations. These are examples of some simple ways to land paying clients in a casual and friendly manner. Sometimes I\u2019ve done the same with people I meet at parties, around the neighborhood, even at the grocery store.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a freelance, online author,\u201d the conversation often begins and then they wonder how that works, \u201cMostly I write blogs to help companies grow their businesses online \u2026\u201d Again, I\u2019ll expand more on these topics in the next section.<\/p>\n Sales, Tips & Tricks<\/strong><\/p>\n You may encounter some resistance, confusion or outright opposition when pitching a blog. At times, people are disillusioned with the concept of how blogging will benefit them \u2026 what, when, where, why and how to post this type of content.<\/p>\n This is where we chime in with our working knowledge as experienced, professional authors in these internet endeavors. While we may know nothing about how they successfully run their business, we know plenty about how we operate ours.<\/p>\n Be honest and admit this type of marketing process may seem a little intimidating, somewhat complex or overwhelming, but it really isn\u2019t. Don\u2019t overwhelm them with these skills, our knowledge and information all at once, but here\u2019s a few key selling points to consider using:<\/p>\n Remember business owners are very busy people so don\u2019t be too intrusive with all this information during an initial encounter. After you\u2019ve gained a little interest, tell them you don\u2019t want to take up too much of their time, but would love to meet with them over coffee or after hours to expand on these topics just as I did with the consignment shop owner.<\/p>\n \u201cIntelligence is not the ability to store information, but to know where to find it<\/strong>\u201c – Albert Einstein<\/p>\n As freelance writers, many of us maintain at least one free blog, social media account, perhaps a website and they\u2019re not that difficult to maintain. Although we understand these concepts like second nature, small businesses often don\u2019t know where to locate and implement this type of vital information as Professor Einstein stated.<\/p>\n In closing, remember always be honest and inform potential clients this extremely important fact. Visible results with search engine rankings, getting more followers on social media and building a blog audience takes time, it doesn\u2019t happen overnight. It\u2019s not uncommon for this process to take several months and in some cases a year or more to see big results.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s worth a small upfront investment, some time, energy and a little bit of effort to achieve long-lasting and lucrative online results. Antiquated and expensive marketing practices like the \u201cyellow pages\u201d are literally dying off with today\u2019s consumers \u2026 another valuable selling point!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As freelance authors, sometimes we struggle to land new clients, especially if money is tight or new opportunities aren\u2019t panning out as planned. Pitching our writing skills, posting resumes online and reaching out to positions available on the internet can be rewarding, but these submissions can be buried with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-case-studies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5253,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5251\/revisions\/5253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n