The Seven Deadly Sins of Freelancing Part 4 – Ignoring Marketing And Sales
Posted July 11, 2008 in Uncategorized 13 Comments »
One of the things that comes up again and again in conversations I have with freelancers is how much they hate marketing. Oh, we love to write or design or develop, but when it comes to creating a brand and putting it out there, we often come up short.
Add to that the fact that many freelancers just don’t understand or have a knack for sales and you have a double-whammy.
Deadly Freelancing Sin #4: Ignoring Marketing And Sales
See, most freelancers, like I said in the first post of this series, are pretty good at what they do. It isn’t their inability to write or design that costs them their freelance business. It’s things like marketing and sales.
The hard truth of the matter is this: marketing and sales are at least as important as the rest of your business. Ignoring these areas or doing a half-assed job at them will almost guarantee failure. Now, don’t misunderstand me; if your product stinks, you’re not going to make it as a freelancer anyways.
However, the better you are at sales and marketing, the more successful your freelance business will be.
Take, for example, two freelancer writers I know:
- Freelancer #1 is a hotshot saleswoman who worked in corporate sales for years before becoming a writer. She’s an expert schmoozer, and has had as many as 40 people working in her freelance business at a time. She writes for a couple of hours each day, but she only writes the stuff she wants to write. She sends everything else off to her team.
- Freelancer #2 is tremendously talented. He’s young, hungry and has amazing potential as a writer. The problem is this: he can’t seem to find enough gigs. The gigs he does find tend to be way below his pay grade, but he takes them anyways. He hasn’t yet figured out that freelance writing isn’t about writing; it’s about getting out there and grabbing opportunities. It’s about competing for a client’s business and then keeping it. In part, it’s because he hates the idea of marketing and sales.
The only difference between these two is how they view sales and marketing. In fact, I’d even give freelancer #2 a slight advantage in the area of writing ability.
So, how do you avoid this sin? Well, for starters, you’ve got to get educated. You’ve got to spend some time understanding what exactly marketing is. Study some of the marketing gurus. Seth Godin is a personal favorite, but there are plenty of others if you don’t like his approach. Talk to other freelancers about what’s been successful for them and what hasn’t.
So, in that vein, you’ve got to get educated about sales, too. Here again, you should turn to experts in the field. Zig Ziglar is a good choice, although there are plenty of others. These experts can teach you how to close, and how not to leave money on the table.
Beyond that, you’ve got to understand the difference between sales and marketing. The two complement one another, but they’re not the same thing.
- Marketing is the process of putting yourself out there, announcing your presence and your brand.
- Sales is the process of interacting with potential clients and includes everything from the initial contact right up until the deal is sealed.
Even more than education, though, you may need a change of heart. For some folks, the whole idea of sales and marketing conjures up all sorts of evil. You think of the used car salesman who doesn’t tell you about the faulty transmission, or you think of the slick marketing guy who can’t stop talking about what a great marketing guy he is. These stereotypes exist, but they’re by no means pervasive.
To have a successful freelance business, you’ve got to be able to market and sell in good conscience. You’ve got to believe that your product is worth talking about, and that it’s worth buying. Some of this comes from confidence in your work, but some of it goes beyond that. It requires you to truly believe in the value you offer.
So, what do you think? Do sales and marketing come naturally to you? Have you had to cultivate a different attitude about sales and marketing than the one you had when you started freelancing?
Bob Younce
******
About the author: Bob Younce is a full-time Internet writer and writing mentor living in Linwood, Michigan. He is dedicated to helping Internet writers to achieve their dreams. Visit Bob at The Writing Journey or follow him on Twitter.
The Seven Deadly Sins of Freelancing – 7-part Series:
- Part 1: Underestimating The Job
- Part 2: Overestimating Your Abilities
- Part 3: Failure To Plan Your Business
- Part 4: Ignoring Marketing And Sales
- Part 5: Accidental Branding
- Part 6: Lack of Diversification
- Part 7: Sacrificing Integrity
About the author: Bob Younce is a full-time Internet writer and writing mentor living in Linwood, Michigan. He is dedicated to helping Internet writers to achieve their dreams. Visit Bob at The Writing Journey or follow him on Twitter.
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13 Comments
Joel Falconer
July 11th, 2008 at 7:12 amYou know Bob, I know it’s terrible of me, but when freelancers tell me they can’t do marketing and sales, so they just don’t do it… I laugh. You’re not self-employed, you’re running a business—learn it, and in the meantime fake it til you make it. Marketing is NOT and never has been an optional extra for us. Thanks for the great post as always, mate.
liam
July 11th, 2008 at 7:24 amJust spend some time and think about how you can get noticed by people in your field. You don’t been to be an expert in marketing to understand that the more people that can see you and your work = the more potential clients. Nice read, looking forward to the rest of the series.
Tracey Grady
July 11th, 2008 at 7:43 amI think the A-ha! moment has got to be when you realise: why would other people want to spread the word about you (that holy grail called word of mouth referrals) if you’re not prepared to spread the word about yourself in the first place? But for many people it doesn’t come naturally, so you have to practice and make it a priority.
stephanerd
July 11th, 2008 at 8:40 amThanks for this post, Bob. As a former marketing associate for an academic book publisher, it still amazes me that I have so much difficulty marketing myself.
I left my full-time job about a year ago and, since then, have been mostly thriving with work that I haven’t had to seek out. It’s just naturally come to me from contacts within the publishing industry. Now, however, I’ve hit a wall, and it’s a mystery to me as to how to go about building my business.
I’ll certainly be reading Seth Godin and Zig Ziglar religiously.
Ivan Nikolic
July 11th, 2008 at 8:51 amI am one of the “not marketing and sales guy” :), I just think that I don’t have that “thing” that makes you “visible” in some specific way to a client.
I should start attending some courses or read some books…
Dave Navarro
July 11th, 2008 at 11:00 amI definitely depend on self-promotion. Being able to highlight my successes and capabilities has been key in every success I’ve had. Many people are afraid to promote themselves (because many promoters do things in a slimy way), but they need to move past and find a way to truly put their name out there in a way that lets them still sleep at night. :-)
To get past the “evil” feeling, remember – as a freelancer, you solve problems / provide services that HELP people. Focus on the value you add (and not how “great” you are) and you can promote ethically.
For example, I don’t push myself as “the best writer ever.” I promote myself as having successfully front-paged Digg multiple times, and having highly commented blog posts (scroll up and look to the right, 4 out of 10 of this blog’s most popular posts are mine). So I can offer people relevance and community via blog writing.
Focus on the facts – what you can deliver of value – and the tension of promoting starts to slip away.
Agree/Disagree?
Jaq
July 11th, 2008 at 11:40 amI don’t have too many problems with sales part of freelancing, I think. But with marketing, that’s a different story. But I’m slowly learning. And I’m trying to get myself out there. I’m trying to get rid of the “I’m not good enough” thinking slowly. But I think I’m getting there.
Great post!
Melek
July 11th, 2008 at 1:35 pmWhat a great topic. It’s so true.
Even if you’re one of those who hates networking, sales and marketing, do the little things that you’re already talented in to get your name out there. Then it doesn’t feel so much like ‘work’.
For instance, are you a great writer? Write a press release about a new gig, big client, new office space, funding or whatever and submit it to your paper. The Business Journal has sections for ‘Deal Reports’ and press releases. Are you a web designer/coder? Send out an email blast to announce a new site launch, new technology you offer, or press you’ve gotten recently. Are you an illustrator or graphic artist? Create a cool notecard and sent it out to past/potential clients just to say hi, to give an offer (10% off next gig), or to celebrate a holiday.
There are lots of good ways to do what i call ‘easy sales’ if you’re too shy to try something like taking out an ad or networking in person.
Allena Tapia
July 11th, 2008 at 4:34 pmCalm down there Dave Navarro…….
Oh I’m just kidding, you’re right you ARE the bomb.
Sorry, BY, I can’t get with this sin. I don’t market that much at all, but I’ve got work up the wazoo. Reepating customers fill my part time hours quite enough. It’s really a lack of hours problem I guess. I’ll come back to this sin and agree with ya when we go full time around here.
Rain tomorrow in the Mitten!
~Allena, who is off to explore more sinful things.
Katharine
July 11th, 2008 at 4:53 pmExcellent piece. I mentor freelance copyeditors, and every time, an inability or unwillingness to promote their services is what’s behind their lack of success at self-employment. They’re disciplined at keeping regular work hours, they have the skills, they have the office equipment … but the ones who are floundering just can’t get past viewing marketing as sleazy. They want work to just show up on their computer screens.
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
July 11th, 2008 at 6:59 pmI can specifically point to marketing as the difference between our success and our potential failure. Marketing brought us where we are. In every sense of the concept.
Wonderabby
July 11th, 2008 at 7:18 pmI am a freelance web marketer — and I found that my best friends in getting clients is number one — the search engines, number two — freelance job sites — a good site is elance, and number three, my personal blog. A blog shows potential clients that you mean business and that you know what you’re talking about, and it saves you the trouble of in interview. A great portfolio also opens the door to many opportunities, just make sure you can easily stumble upon it (online). Lay out your cards on the table and show them what you’re capable of, just don’t spill the pearls of wisdom before the swine (don’t give out free consultation, get paid first).
sue
July 15th, 2008 at 9:54 pmThanks Bob, as you say this can be difficult but something we have to do if we are going to earn a living as a freelancer.