Ten Key Steps in Freelance Marketing
1. Know yourself. The objective of knowing yourself better is to better define your market (step #2) and develop your product (step #3).
-- Take a personality test.
-- Evaluate your goals, objective, motives.
-- Lists your strengths and weaknesses, personal preferences, fears.
-- Be introspective and write this all down.
2. Research your niche market.
-- Undertake an orderly, objective evaluation of who might buy your services.
--Start a list or database.
3. List your skills.
-- Identify areas such as services, subjects you cover, media, etc.
4. Create winning sales materials.
-- Basic needs include a business card, resume, list of services and topics.
-- Additional needs: brochures, web site, letterhead, company logo.
5. Reach out and disseminate materials to your niche market.cold calling, networking, direct mail, etc.
6. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.
-- Did I mention follow-up?
7. Refine your process based on past success.
-- Analyze what worked and what was a flop.
8. Keep your current clients happy.
--It’s easier to keep a client than get a new one.
9. Generate new clients.
-- Consistently and constantly prospect every day. Yes, even when you have work. You can always turn it down.
10. Deliver and excellent person and product every time. The word will spread. And you can do less of steps 1-7.
Barbara Rinehart, MS
Freelance Medical Writer
brinehart@comcast.net
