Want New Clients? Market, Market, Market

Some freelance writers may find July and August to be a bit slow as far as the number of projects coming in (also known as income) is concerned. I hear from many more experienced writers that it's pretty typical. I have had slow periods during these two months followed by bursts of busyness – crazy!

Now I tend to be the kind of girl who thinks ahead. And even though I have existing clients currently courting me with promises of an abundance of projects in the coming months, I also know that November and December are around the corner and can be notoriously slow months as well. I was quite busy during that time last year when I was just getting started, but I can't really bank on it this time around. That's why I have been busy, busy, busy marketing my little heart out.

A few weeks ago I shared Yuwanda Black's Summer Marketing Tutorial post with you about the importance of using the slow period of summer to gear up for new writing projects clients will soon need. Now is a great time to let potential clients know that you are available.

If you are committing to some sort of marketing strategy each day – whether it's cold calling, email or snail mail, you will start to see the fruits of your labor if you stick with it. I know, I know; marketing is tedious – you have to keep doing it over and over, again and again. Yep, that's pretty much the gist of it. But in my humble opinion it can't be beat when you're trying to build up a clientele that pays well. Most of these guys don't advertise the writing opportunities they have available.

I spent the month of July marketing pretty consistently (I may have missed a couple of days here and there…). So far I have three new clients lined up. Two have scheduled projects to begin in mid September, and I am negotiating with another to start within the next week or so. I didn't even count the people who responded with interest and said they would be keeping my info on file so they could get back to me at a later date. Things may or may not pan out with these prospects, but I am on my way to filling up my editorial calendar for the remainder of 2008.

I am tempted to stop marketing when it seems like I might be getting slammed with work, but I know that consistent marketing – even during busy periods – will ensure that steady work continues trickling in.