Marketing is a key task for freelance writers: the quantity and pay of the assignments we land determines how much we earn.
However, too many freelancers spend too much time contacting potential clients and filling out applications online. In recent years, my best clients have found me, and they found me through inbound marketing.
But first…
What is Inbound Marketing?
Glad you asked. Inbound marketing focuses on getting found by potential clients, rather than you actively finding and marketing to them.
Primary inbound marketing channels for freelance writers include your own website and your profile on LinkedIn.
I recently found this very interesting graphic from Hubspot that clearly illustrates the why and how of inbound marketing and why it’s important to freelancers.
Spend a few minutes studying this graphic and thinking about how you can apply its concepts to your freelance writing business.
Your Take
What main take-aways did you get from this graphic? What can you start doing differently right now so you’ll start getting more high-quality clients through your website, LinkedIn, or other inbound channels?
Okay, boomer eyes having trouble with the small print on the infographic. My key takeaway is you’ve got to have a plan to be found. 🙂
Well, your takeaway is correct!
Sorry about the fine print. I can see it OK with my reading glasses, but that is a small font.
Click on the graphic to see a bit larger and clearer version at the Hubspot website.
I have never thought of using inbound marketing for being a freelance writer. I always thought you had to be the one that found the client not the other way around. I like this way much better.
I have to disagree. I know you’ve done OK with inbound and on LinkedIn, but I still firmly believe writers need to pick their dream clients and pursue them rather than wait for whatever shows up at their door.
My old copywriting blog was twice voted a Top 10 Writer’s blog, and yet it only developed one client I really wanted to keep for the long haul. It generated a lot of low-quality leads, and I eventually replaced it with something more interesting to me (interestingly, since I moved it away from a “commercial” topic, it’s generated two leads worth pursuing).
Different markets require different approaches, but I still think freelancers should sit down at least once a year to scribble the names of a couple organizations they would kill to work for.
Different writers will need a different mix of marketing strategies, but that mix should always include actively contacting old clients and potential clients and inquiring about work, something I do at least several times a month.
Some writers — perhaps a large percentage of newer writers — may find that their website and LinkedIn profile aren’t pulling in any clients. They should definitely be sending e-mails and making phone calls, and they should keep doing it until they have plenty of well-paying work.
At the same time, many newer writers I’ve come across don’t have a website that clearly focuses on their writing specialties, and they often haven’t taken the time to maximize their potential on LinkedIn. A few hours spent on improving these inbound marketing channels could give big payoffs.
I make most of my money in a specialized niche — freelance writing for higher education publishers — and I have a website/blog devoted specifically to it. That site has been the primary source of my inbound marketing, followed by LinkedIn.
I hope my original comment didn’t seem too obnoxious (the dangers of dashing something off in the middle of a busy day).
I agree that a mix is probably the best strategy, especially if you’re new to the game and targeting clients is an uphill battle.
I’m a little sensitive to what appears to be a creeping immobility in the new freelancer universe; I still get emails from new copywriters who are puzzled by their lack of success.
They have a website, they tweet, they do other stuff — but their business is weak and their clients nothing to write home about.
When I ask how many calls they’ve made in the past quarter — who they’ve contacted or how many new clients they’ve specifically targeted — the answer is usually none.
The Internet is fabulous, but I think it lulls some into a sense of complacency; they don’t have to leave the security of their website or their home office, and I think long-term success (at least in some markets) dictates that they do.
Thanks for the opportunity to discuss this.
Tom, you’ve hit on a very important point.
Inbound marketing is quite passive. Sure, you have to put stuff on the Internet, but you don’t have to actually reach out to clients and engage them in a conversation about their needs and your skills.
Like you, I began my career before LinkedIn and before most writers had websites. I HAD to reach out to companies.
I’m a moderator inside the Freelance Writers Den. I’ve noticed many of the newer writers in there don’t want to actually contact prospects. Carol Tice, the owner of the Den, harps constantly on the need for writers to make contact with prospective clients rather than sitting back and hoping for a happy e-mail.
I see far too many newer writers who are all over Twitter and Google+ and other social media sites, somehow thinking this is a good way to launch their careers. What they need is a basic website and a complete LinkedIn profile, and they need to be on the phone and in their e-mail programs connecting with people that can hire them for good pay.
John, I really liked the post and infographic. I come to this issue from the opposite direction. All of my clients were from my inbound marketing until recently when I started actively pursuing jobs. It’s made me really lazy about getting out of my comfort zone and finding new clients, but I’m learning that there’s a whole new world out there.
Greg, as you can see from my discussion above with Tom Chandler, most writers need to do both kinds of marketing. Overall it’s not good to rely to much on any one type of marketing, especially if it’s inbound marketing, which relies on factors out of your control like where Google places you in search results.
Absolutely. That’s been one of my learnin’s.
I agree with a strong inbound marketing push. Most of my tech writing clients find me (usually from word of mouth…folks who’ve worked with me before passing along my contact info). I have had a couple of leads through LinkedIn and my website since I started tweaking key words a bit. Funny enough, I get hits from folks searching for “technical writer Atlanta” though I live in Alabama. Lol. Hey, it’s drivable…if the project is worth it. 🙂
Interesting that you’re showing up for people searching for Atlanta. There must be a reason; perhaps you’ve mentioned Atlanta a few times on your website.
It’s very important to choose specific keywords for your writing specialty in LinkedIn and on your writer website. One of my projects for May is going through my LinkedIn profile and slanting it even more toward my specialty.
John, I too have trouble reading the infographic… it’s better than your last one (and I know you don’t create them) but still… but because it’s you I plowed on.
Most of my business comes ‘inbound’ as it were. I understand the need for measurement but find it close to impossible when people call and really don’t know which site of mine that most moved them…
“Where did you find me?”
“Oh, you know, on the internet.”
“Great. Do you remember which website?”
“Uhhh, no, not really, just on the internet.”
At that point I feel if I poke around more I’ll lose ’em over the question. I really get that many people still have no real clue what a website actually is or that the internet is made up in large part of urls, etc.
Thanks for persevering Anne!
I only have two main inbound marketing channels, my textbook supplements site and LinkedIn, so it’s easy for me to get a clear answer from a client.
To my knowledge I haven’t gotten work yet from this site, and I was once offered a speaking gig through my hiking site, but that fell through. (And that may be the subject of a blog post here on PW someday)
Hi John
Very informative and thought provoking graphical. I think that I did lack a lot in the “Measure Everything” part until this year when I decided to really try to keep a track of everything. It has opened my eyes in some respects as to where I was falling down and which direction to move in.
Ann was saying she found it hard to track where people came from, I had this problem too. So not to give up I sat and thought about how I could make customers recall where they were when they read my information prior to contacting me. My solution was simple I have a product code I use now and tell them to quote the code for a upgraded offer. I do not actually say I will give them any thing for free or discounted just an upgraded offer. It has worked very well so far. Most people want to receive some type of bargain even when they are not actually getting one. They go away happy and I have received the information I needed to track better.
I took away from this not that you should solely rely on inbound marketing, but that you should see it as another tool or avenue to increase your presence and awareness to potential clients. I also see it the same as investing your money but you’re still working a full-time job. You are putting your “money” to work for you for long-term benefits, while you are still working (actively contacting prospects, old clients, pursuing leads, etc.) in order to still put food on your table! I think there needs to be a good balance between inactive and active marketing.
We agree Dawn-Renee. Writers need to use both types of marketing, but too many writers rely too much on either one type or the other.