Bold, New Ways to Market Your Services
Posted January 5, 2010 in Marketing 36 Comments »
A brand new year has arrived and with it usually comes new hope and anticipation for better things to come.
The post-Christmas adrenaline rush makes this a good time to try new things. Use this season’s energy to propel your freelancing business to new heights.
If you’re making New Year resolutions, why not include one to try at least one new way of marketing your services — one you’ve never done before? The scarier it is, the better, because you’ll be stretching yourself and diving into something completely uncomfortable.
And doing something new that stretches you only means one thing: you’ll grow. You’ll learn something new, you’ll get better at something, and your confidence will soar. I guarantee it.
Here are seven ideas for bold, new ways to market your services in 2010:
1. Blog
Not blogging yet? Now is the time to start. Blogging comes naturally if you’re a writer, but even if you don’t think of yourself as one, you should still blog.
There’s nothing better than a blog for showcasing your expertise — even if it is in graphic design, programming or audio transcription. Your blog gives you a platform to attract your prospective clients by providing your expertise for free. This way, your blog naturally makes you an expert — one whom prospective clients can trust (and hire).
A blog also gives you an online hub for your social networking activities. Whether you’re active on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or some other online network, it’s easy to leverage your blog for social networking and vice versa.
There are many reasons why it is important to start a freelance blog.
2. Guest Blog
If you have been blogging, then why not get in front of other readers by posting on other people’s blogs? Of course, you’ll choose blogs that are being read by your Ideal Clients. And you’ll write even better posts as guest blogger than those you publish on your own blog.
If you’re nervous about writing, look for article writing templates. They work for blog posts too. Or, make a list of the most frequently asked questions related to your industry and write an answer for each one of them.
Here’s one writing tip for non-writers: talk. Record yourself talking, have it transcribed and presto! You have an instant draft. Just clean it up a little and you’ll have a blog post all done.
3. Give Away Free Stuff
Write a special report, white paper or ebook and give it away all over the interwebs. Promote it like crazy to everybody you know, your list subscribers, blog readers, current clients, Twitter followers, Facebook friends and fans, and everybody else who would care to listen.
Find sites that allow you to upload and share free ebooks. Remember to put a call to action and a link to your blog somewhere in your freebie.
If you refuse to or can’t write, your freebie could be graphics, a WordPress theme, or anything else related to your services. If you’re a Virtual Assistant, you could give away a checklist or even a video tutorial.
Think outside the box and try to come up with something your prospective clients really want and are looking for.
4. Buy Access to Your Ideal Clients
Sometimes you need to pay to get in front of your Ideal Clients. This could include membership in online forums and trade organizations, access to job boards, attending networking events, even buying an information product that comes with an opportunity to interact with other customers.
Consider this cost an investment (and it’s a tax-deductible business expense, but double-check your country’s laws to make sure).
The key here is to provide value by sharing advice freely and having a genuine interest in others. Don’t be all salesy and self-promotional (except in job boards, that is).
5. Start a Referral Program
Give your existing clients a better reason to refer new clients to you: give them a commission for referrals. Anything from 5-20 percent commission, depending on your rates, can be motivating.
6. Write Articles for Syndication
Like blogging, writing articles to be distributed freely online is a good way to build your expertise, bring traffic back to your blog, and attract clients. Most people swear by Ezinearticles.com, which is fine if your Ideal Clients read it. Also try Googling “ submit article” to find article directories in your niche.
7. Sell a Product
Create a product to sell instead of to give away. PDF documents are common and easy to make and distribute. You can also sell access to video tutorials or audio recordings, such as interviews of experts. You can even make audio and video accessible online or sell them as physical products using a service like Kunaki.com.
Or, design some cool and witty mugs, T-shirts and other souvenir-type stuff and sell them on Cafepress.com.
The possibilities are endless. You won’t make a full-time income from your paid products — at least not at first — but having a paid product to your name gives you instant credibility and authority. The side income is nice too.
Take Your Next, Bold Step
Did this list inspire you to do something completely new to market your services? If so, do tell us what your next, bold step is going to be. How did you decide on that plan of action? And what do you hope to accomplish?
Whatever you decide to do, the most important thing is to just do it! It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work, if you fall flat on your face or make mistakes. Chalk it up to a learning experience and move on to your next bold move. The greater your ability to take massive action, the greater your chances for success.
Looking forward to your comments!
Image by innovision
About the author: Lexi Rodrigo is the creator of The Savvy Freelancer, a blog that's all about achieving creative and financial freedom through freelancing. Check out Lexi's free guide, 31 Days to Start Your Freelancing Business (or Make Yours A Better One).
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36 Comments
Ed Gandia
January 5th, 2010 at 9:15 amThis is a great list of ideas, Lexi! If you’re like I am and get serious anxiety when you read a list of great ideas (so much to do, so little time), your best bet is to think about these marketing ideas long and hard. Then, think about what you’re already doing now (what’s working, what’s not) and compile a list of no more than 3 or 4 total tactics that encompasses items from both lists (your current list + this list). Then…focus all your marketing energies on these 3 or 4 tactics.
One of the biggest mistakes we freelancers make is to try and do too much. That leads to unproductive efforts, spreading yourself too thin and giving up too soon on tactics that would have yielded great results with a little more patience. So make sure to limit your promotional tactics to only 3 or 4 (or 2 or 3 if you’re moonlighting). That will dramatically increase your chances of success.
James Costa
January 5th, 2010 at 9:28 amSome great ideas here – I especially like number 5 as it’s gotten me a ton of referrals last year!
sriganesh
January 5th, 2010 at 10:28 amthanks for some useful tips, and i should follow 2 and 3rd point. adn one doubt, even when i featured some good link(icons, tutorials) the owner of the product not checking out. but in the same case other famous bloggers , they visit, ….. whats the point. i didnt mean ot create for them to visit, but why its peculiar to some one and for others :D ? can you clear this for me, struggling how to make blog more user friendly : plz.
Lexi Rodrigo
January 5th, 2010 at 10:32 am@Ed Gandia – Thank you for your feedback and your awesome suggestion! Yes, it can be overwhelming and paralyzing to face so many great ideas at once. The process you suggest is a good one as it will help us begin with where we are at but stretch just a little bit more… to get better results than what we’ve been getting.
@James Costa – Glad to know #5 works. How much of a commission do you give?
Lexi Rodrigo
January 5th, 2010 at 10:36 am@sringanesh – Good questions. Just keep providing great content on your blog and the links, traffic and collaboration opportunities will come naturally. Make sure you’re writing posts for your Ideal Clients (rather than for other freelancers in your field, which is a common mistake freelancers make). And support other bloggers in your field by commenting on their blogs, linking to useful posts, etc. Hope that helps!
Murlu
January 5th, 2010 at 12:34 pmGiving away stuff has been and will always be the best you can do.
If you are all worried that you are giving away your stuff for free instead of making money, keep in mind that someone out there will release the info/product for free.
You may as well jump in there before them and beat them to the punch this way you are the one people know for giving away the content.
This applies to anything like a product, service, guest post and any other part of your business. It’s the return on investment, you can’t beat loyal customer and readers because they know you are the one that will take care of them.
Crystal
January 5th, 2010 at 1:01 pmSmart list, many are not the ‘traditional’ ways to market, yet still very effective. I’ve had a lot of success with blogging and writing for other blogs. There’s sometime about just simply writing on your own topic that makes you more of an authoritative figure. It can be a great way to not only get clients to come to you, but also get higher paying clients.
Luke Jones
January 5th, 2010 at 1:03 pmThank you for the great list! :)
Lexi Rodrigo
January 5th, 2010 at 1:45 pm@Murlu – I know, it’s counterintuitive but it’s true: The more you give away, the more you get back.
@Crystal – You’re absolutely right. Getting published – even if it’s on your own blog – gives a freelancer more authority.
@Luke Jones – You’re welcome! Let us know what other topics you want to read about.
Web, Email and Logo Design | BrandleDesign
January 5th, 2010 at 2:00 pmAs a budding freelancer these tips are great. I never thought of giving out commissions. And giving away free products is an excellent idea as well. Great advice everyone. Thank you Lexi!
Lexi Rodrigo
January 5th, 2010 at 2:03 pm@Murlu – I know, it’s counterintuitive but it’s true: The more you give away, the more you get back.
@Crystal – You’re absolutely right. Getting published – even if it’s on your own blog – gives a freelancer more authority.
@Luke Jones – You’re welcome! Let us know what other topics you want to read about.
@Web, Email and Logo Design – Glad you like it!
Amber Weinberg
January 5th, 2010 at 2:12 pmSome old school cold-emailing to potential clients seemed to work extremely well for me last year, I’ve been booked since November! A lot of these things take time to work, but they all work extremely well.
Lexi Rodrigo
January 5th, 2010 at 2:15 pm@Amber Weinberg – That’s cool! Cold emailing may be old-school, but it does take guts to do. Thanks for reminding us that the traditional strategies still do work :-)
Victor G.
January 5th, 2010 at 8:55 pmPretty good advice! I agree that having your own blog to market/brand yourself is becoming more and more important.
Although, I never thought about guest posting on other blogs, personally, maybe I should….how did you become successful on guest post on other major blogs at the start?
Melissa Donovan
January 6th, 2010 at 12:57 amGreat tips! I’m planning on incorporating three of these strategies into my 2010 marketing plan. I would also add commenting on blogs as a marketing strategy and as a way to build community.
Lexirodrigo
January 6th, 2010 at 1:03 am@Melissa Donovan – Go, go, go, Melissa! Do let us know which of the 3 strategies work best for you, ok?
Lexirodrigo
January 6th, 2010 at 1:06 am@Victor G – I haven’t done much guest blogging myself. So far, people I’ve networked with have invited me to write for their blogs.
But if I were to do it, I would start by finding blogs my Ideal Clients read, getting active on those blogs (try commenting regularly, as Melissa suggests), and then coming up with post topics that the readers may be interested in.
And then the next step would be to just approach the blog owners and pitch your guest post to them. If they decline, don’t sweat it. Just move on to the next one.
Mike B
January 7th, 2010 at 4:34 amI’ve used a marketing approach of giving stickers away that have my website and contact details on, as well as being an interesting design. These stickers have kind of been in replacement of business cards, as they have a little bit more of an edge to them.
Tim OBrien
January 7th, 2010 at 12:42 pmGreat list Lexi. You’re marketing is working. I saw a link to this article from a friend on Facebook. Ed hit the nail on the head here. With that in mind, I wanted to throw two things out for consideration. 1) Don’t just think of yourself as a “freelancer.” Yes, you may be one person focused on a specific talent or skill, but the term means different things to different people. Some business execs hear the word and hear something they consider to be immediately inexpensive and one-dimensional. I present myself (accurately) as an independent consultant with resources beyond my own office. When my clients hire me, they hire a multi-dimensional professional based on my experience, and they hire my network of great resources. In effect, they are gaining access to an organization of sorts. 2) If you haven’t prepared a business plan to start your business, you should do so. And if you did, you should update it annually. The process for updating your business plan year after year enables you to factor all of Lexi’s great ideas into your routine and then customize them to your time, abilities and goals.
I hope this is helpful. Thanks!
birthrecord.me
January 8th, 2010 at 4:34 amThat’s really really encouraging as well as interesting. You just change my thinking. Your guidelines will definitely work for the promising freelancers.
Duncan
January 10th, 2010 at 4:50 pmExcellent post. My freelance new years resolution contains the following:
3. Give away free stuff
7. Sell a product
Plus I am going to look at doing the following:
.sponsor a treasure hunt
.do a talk at our design festival back home
.created an interesting ‘off-line’ marketing flyer / portfolio for new clients
Sridhar @ VA4World
January 19th, 2010 at 8:56 amHi,
A good post on Bold, New Ways to Market Your Services. We are VA4World a virtual assistant firm who provide admin support service for SME’s all over the world. We would like to hear your feedback.
Thanks,
Sridhar – VA4World for viral marketing, SEO and admin support
Shamim
January 24th, 2010 at 1:47 pmI have already been inspired by your post. When i will create a new post for my blog tomorrow your post will remind me the stuffs you have shared here……sure.
WP Themes
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Marketing and Management
March 10th, 2010 at 4:42 am7 ways have been given in this post for marketing our service. But I liked the no. 1 that is blog. Through the blog , we can do our marketing advertisement better than other medium.
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