Successful freelance copywriters figure out the best ways to land good clients.
This post discusses one strategy that will definitely boost your results. It’s written by Omaha-based healthcare freelance copywriter Matt Seidholz, and Matt originally shared it in the forums over at the Freelance Writers Den.
Boosting Freelance Copywriting Cold-Call Results
This is based on my experience trying to drum up business over the phone.
I’ve seen some folks despairing over their marketing efforts, and I wanted to share something that worked for me.
Believe me, I understand the despair.
At first, cold calling was miserable for me.
I spent hours downloading lists from InfoUSA, organizing them by time-zone, and plugging away on the phone.
It took months, but I eventually hit Peter Bowerman’s 1000-call threshold.
Results were…mixed, at best. A few scraps here and there. The most common response: “We’ll keep you on file.”
Uh-huh. Right.
But in early March I started including one little word in my pitches, and the conversations changed. They became warmer. Friendlier. And more profitable.
That magic word is – “LOCAL.” As in,
“I’m a LOCAL freelance copywriter and I was just wondering…”
I was amazed at the difference that made. Prospects were suddenly saying:
“Oh I’d love to talk to you – when can you come in?”
“You know we do need help sometimes – swing on by and meet the team!”
“Call me up in two weeks. I know I’ll have some work for you then. We can get pizza.”
Three days ago, I called a local independent PR consultant, offering my help. Less than 24 hours later she handed me a $500 project.
Maybe people have some primal reaction to someone being “LOCAL.” It might make the clients feel that you’ll be more reliable, or at least more accountable. So they automatically trust you a little more.
That’s been my experience anyway.
So if any of you struggle with lukewarm responses from cold calling, here are
Three Cold-Calling Tips
1) Try your own backyard first. It’s something I wish I’d done from the get-go. You’ll get clients faster, for sure.
2) Experiment. Tweak your pitch until you find something repeatable and effective.
3) Persist. It took months of non-responses before I found a method that works. But the sheer volume of calls I made taught me a lot. Now that I know how to do it, cold-calling is – dare I say – kinda fun. You’ll get there, too. As long as you keep going.
Your Take
Do you emphasize that you’re a local freelance writer when you prospect for local clients? What are your results? Tell us in the comments below.
Strikes me that cold-calling has an extremely high cost-per-acquisition rate, given the number of calls it can require to find a warm contact.
But I will say it’s incredibly important to get people on the phone – I’ve found I can usually land clients if I talk to them. That’s why a lot of people who use cold email include a line that says “let’s schedule a call and talk things over.”
“Local” might also be an issue if you live in an where the pay rates are pretty low – this is certainly the case where I live.
But I would certainly urge people to give it a try.
Tom, I’m also a big fan of getting prospects on the phone; it’s definitely a lot easier to make the sale.
I think playing the local angle works really well with smaller clients who get most or all of their business from the local area.
This makes a ton of sense to me… and local could have a pretty broad definition I suspect.
I live in sparsely populated Southern Oregon, and I grew up in Redding 120 miles to the south, so I have a broad “local” range.
A little late to the party, John, but thanks for the shout-out! And great piece! Obviously, I’m a big fan of cold-calling, having used it build my business (coming from a sales background, I had little fear of picking up the phone).
The local angle is an excellent one. Prospects love the idea of doing business with folks in their backyard – gives them a more comfortable feeling. As such, it’s a perfect ice-breaker.
What’s funny, of course, is how many of them, once you start working with them, may still never actually meet with you, but knowing they could gives them a sense of comfort. I have one client I’ve been working with since 2012, done dozens of projects for, and only JUST met them for the first time this past April!
Now, those reading this who don’t have much of a local market of prospects shouldn’t get discouraged, thinking that the “local” angle wouldn’t work for them. Think of it more as a plus than a requirement.
Fact is, geography makes very little difference anymore to most clients, so if all your marketing is done to remote areas, it’s absolutely not a problem. The ones for whom it IS a problem won’t do business with you, and the ones for whom it isn’t will (AND often like the fact that there won’t be a lot of time-wasting in-person meetings).
All the best to everyone!
PB
Very good points, Peter.
I’ve recently landed good projects with local clients, and being local was crucial. Of course, as you say, there are far more potential clients beyond our local region, and most want quality, not proximity.