For success in any service-oriented field, optimal marketing is not just merely important but absolutely essential. Freelancing is no different. You may have a flair for research and writing, but in order to succeed as professional freelance writer and be able to quote higher prices for your services, you need to build your brand and show your clientele that you are worth it. Effective online marketing should do the trick. Here’s how you can better market yourself online as a freelance writer.
- Start Blogging:
Granted that it’s a lot of hard work, but starting your own blog can be an amazingly effective inbound marketing strategy. A well written, resourceful, and regularly updated blog can help build your brand as a writer like nothing else can. Platforms like Blogger or WordPress allow you to set up a user-friendly blog for free. Alternatively, you can host your own blog.
- Participate in Online Forums:
Figure out what forums your potential clients may be using for online interaction and make a genuine effort to participate to those communities. Answering questions on Yahoo Answers and/or Quora might be one simple way for displaying your expertise online – and may bring in new clients. However, you do need to make sure your engagement is relevant and useful rather than annoying and spam-like.
- Get Social Networking:
Social Media has today emerged as a key marketing tool for businesses and services alike. Everybody has a Facebook or a Twitter. But being merely present on the social media scene will do your career as a freelance writer no good. You need to be post consistently, share useful content, and actively engage in network building. Being on top of your game in all your social media accounts might sometimes prove to be a cumbersome job. This post may help you get there.
- Guest Blog:
After the Matt Cutts fiasco, guest blogging may seem like a risky tactic to employ. But it is worth keeping in mind that Google only penalizes guest posts of poor quality and those using black-hat SEO. As a means of spreading awareness and gaining exposure, guest blogging remains not only functional but also effective. Be particular about choosing your host blogs carefully and posting content of the highest quality. This will help build your brand as a blogger – which may well translate into great business leads.
- Learn the ropes of SEO:
If you have a blog or a website promoting your services as a freelance writer, you may want to optimize your web page for search engines – thereby enabling potential clients to find you easily. There are multiple SEO plugins available for the purpose. If you are new to the field of SEO, for help with the basics in language that’s free of technical jargon.
- Brag about your Achievements:
Say, you have been featured on a well-known web site, or created the landing page for some highly-converting site – be sure to advertise the same on your blog. This constitutes ‘social proof’ of your merit as a freelance writer. Also, be sure to request testimonials from your customers. Reviews and testimonials have always been an integral part of marketing. Having real examples of satisfied customers gives your marketing campaign an added and unparalleled value.
As a freelance writer, you need to constantly market yourself for better pay and greater successes. Thankfully, the above mentioned marketing techniques allow you to do so for free. Alternatively, you can also pay for targeted advertising via Google Adsense or Facebook – they really aren’t that expensive. If you already have a few happy clients, you could set up referral discounts for them – and thereby turn them into your marketers. Explore the different marketing techniques in combinations or lumped together before zeroing in on your favourites.
About Carson Derrow
