Freelancefolder

How To Double Your Customer Base Without Spending A Penny

Posted August 14, 2007 in Marketing 19 Rockin' Comments »

Silence may be golden, but it’s no great help when it comes to building your business. You need to get the word out so that customers / clients come a-knocking each and every day. But saying “Hey, guys, I rock!” isn’t always the most effective way to earn a stranger’s trust (no matter how rocking you may be). Remember, that stranger has been burned before by promises that didn’t pan out.

But when a stranger hears about your rocking ways from someone they trust, winning their attention (and cash-generating loyalty) becomes oh-so-much-easier … and closing deals happens a lot faster. So here are three ways to make it easier to draw customers in, month after month: [Click Here to Read More...]

Is Your Website Helping Or Hurting Your Business?

Posted August 11, 2007 in Business, Marketing 5 Rockin' Comments »

Every freelancer should have a website. Period.

Whether you’re a journalist, writer, designer or musician doesn’t matter, I strongly believe you should have your own place on the web. That is a no-brainer. Of course people will see your website, since you will put the address on your business cards, and you will tell them about it.

In fact you really want them to check it out, so they can have a look at your work before they hire you. But once they get to your website, what’s their reaction? [Click Here to Read More...]

Using Established Brands To Promote One’s Own Brand: Leviathan?

Posted August 10, 2007 in Marketing 5 Rockin' Comments »

Nick Stamoulis has been getting a lot of attention online lately. It’s not all good and that’s good.

Nick is an Internet marketer. An effective one it seems. He uses pay-per-click ads to market his services and attract new clients. The problem is, he buys clicks for recognized brand names so that he’ll appear on the SERPs (search engine results pages) of those companies. In other words, type in “Bruce Clay,” a recognized name brand in search engine marketing, on Google and look to the right side of the page. You’ll see an ad for Nick Stamoulis. Bruce Clay doesn’t appear in the ad anywhere, but anyone who understands how pay-per-click works knows that the ad wouldn’t appear on that page unless the advertiser had bid on the name brand as a keyword. Bruce Clay isn’t the only brand name Nick bids on to have his ads appear for search results. [Click Here to Read More...]

Does Your Business Card Say Anything About Your Skills?

Posted August 9, 2007 in Marketing 10 Rockin' Comments »

I strongly believe everyone should have business cards made. Whether you’re a freelancer, a small business owner, or you work for a company as an employee, it is a must have.

But what does your business card say about your skills? When you give your card to someone, what’s the initial reaction? Do you get a lot of calls or e-mails from people you gave your card to?

I must have received hundreds of business cards since I started freelancing, and only a few I find are well designed. From all the cards I received, I visited maybe 8 or 10 websites, simply out of curiosity, because those people put their URL on their cards. [Click Here to Read More...]

Getting The Word Out – Making Word Of Mouth Happen

Posted August 7, 2007 in Marketing 3 Rockin' Comments »

When a client of yours recommends your services to someone, you know it is because that client enjoyed working with you. Word of mouth and networking will always work great, especially for freelancers, who most often then not, won’t spend thousands of dollars on advertisement.

[...] Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business has two basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results, all the rest are costs [...] – Peter Drucker

Three Keys to Success

1. Networking through satisfied customers will give you the best return on your marketing and advertising investment.
2. People are more likely to do business with you if someone they know tells them about you.
3. Give your satisfied customers a good reason to tell others about you and your services, and make it easy for them to do so.

[Click Here to Read More...]

Uh, Oh: Who’s Defining Your Brand?

Posted August 6, 2007 in Marketing 7 Rockin' Comments »

When it comes to positioning your business, are you doing the equivalent of walking up to a car salesman and asking “How much do you think I should spend?” If you aren’t taking smart steps to ensure that you keep 100% control over your customer’s perceptions of you, you might as well be handing your wallet over to a car dealer and saying, “Why don’t you decide how much money I have left at the end of the month.”

Let me be clear on this – this isn’t just an analogy. Positioning (a.k.a. ‘branding‘) absolutely determines how much money you have at the end of every single month. Here’s why … [Click Here to Read More...]

Give Your Clients Good Enough Reasons To Do Business With You Again

Posted August 4, 2007 in Business, Marketing 3 Rockin' Comments »

We all want repeated business, but sometimes it happens you deliver a project, and you never hear from that person ever again, although you know you worked hard, and your work is quality. Repeated business is critical to your success as a freelancer.

If you’re serious about making a living from your freelancing activities maybe you should try to get your customers to think of you when they want to get things done. As it’s a lot more work trying to find new clients, than keeping the ones your already have.

How can you do this?

• Be a great conversationalist
• Make yourself available to your clients
• Meet or beat your deadline
• Provide your clients with more than just the basics
• Work with people in other fields
• Expand your contact list

[Click Here to Read More...]

How To Use Controversial Marketing For Higher Profits

Posted August 2, 2007 in Marketing 6 Rockin' Comments »

Creating a marketing campaign is one thing, getting it to be successful is a whole other thing that lots of people never think about. Most marketers design some marketing materials and leave it at that. They don’t get into developing their campaign further, refining it or even creating additional pieces. That’s why the lazy marketer or business owner will always fail.

In this article I’m going to show you how you can take a typical marketing campaign and redesign it to create superior results. Not only in terms of winning customers, but also in gaining free publicity, winning awards and gaining trust amongst your entire market. This marketing trick is so powerful it can do all it, with just a few minor enhancements. [Click Here to Read More...]

Online Business Marketing Is Much Like Marketing Offline

Posted July 31, 2007 in Marketing 11 Rockin' Comments »

There was a time when if you went into business for yourself you bought some business cards, put out a sign, and walked door-to-door to meet your neighbors, invite them over for a cup of coffee and ask them to send their friends over to see you. You were in business.

Today, it’s not so easy.

While the principles haven’t changed much, the tools used to act on them have. New businesses still must attract customers some how and the methods for attracting new customers are pretty much the same today as they’ve always been.

• Location, location, location
• Advertise, advertise, advertise
• Network, network, network
• Give great customer service and they’ll be back

Well, location is still important. Advertising is still a great way to get new business, but it’s expensive. Networking is essential. And, of course, we all know about customer service. [Click Here to Read More...]