Marketing Mondays!

Join us on Twitter to make selling your freelancing services easier!!  (#MarketThat)

My weakest skill as a freelancer is marketing (I LOATHE selling), but I don’t feel too bad since that’s pretty common. Since most of us independent workers are focused on what we do, getting out there and marketing your work can feel like a burden that you have to deal with to survive.

I’ll be straight with you though…you do have to market yourself, but the good thing is, there is a way out there that you can feel comfortable with (even if you’re not enjoying every minute of it) and with a bit of work, you will find it.

For me, that’s meant dedicating one day a week to marketing and focusing that day not around sending out 857,934,857,345 emails, but instead around immersing myself in the community I work with, learning their needs and interests, and only after that taking action.

When people hear marketing, they think sales and advertising, but as a freelancer (independent worker), you will find that what it really is is what your audience needs and responds to as well as the actions you should take to get their attention. That can include:

• Getting involved on Twitter (placing ads and scheduling posts doesn’t count)
• Responding to posts on LinkedIn/Facebook
• Writing posts on LinkedIn/Facebook
• Placing and checking ads (Twitter and LinkedIn are my preferred ad platforms)
• Cold emailing prospects (I only email…I don’t call…maybe one day)
• Sending prospects materials you believe will help them in their goals
• Pitching to publications
• Making lists of prospects/publications/sites who are willing and able to pay for your work
• Scheduling social media posts (Hootsuite, Buffer, etc., just remember they’re not a replacement for actual involvement)
• Following up with old clients, people who never got back to you, etc.
• Contacting social media followers and connections

The list really is so much longer than that, but you’ll come up with your own.

If you want to tune in to what I’m doing on Marketing Mondays (and the days before to get ready), just follow #MarketThat on Twitter and feel free to share what you’re doing, ask questions, and say hi!

 

Megan.