Do a Great Job--and Make Sure Everyone Knows about It

This post title was written by one of my clients; it's from his new book. And it's smart advice not only for professionals in his field, but freelancers as well.

So as a freelancer, how do you apply this to your business?

Open your mouth! In other words, tell people what you do. If you're a new freelancer, start with your friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues. (And hey, even you seasoned freelancers may need to remind those around you what you do!) Make sure that the people closest to you know what kind of writing projects you take on and what types of clients you typically work for. Ask them to pass your name along if they know of someone looking for a writer. Worst case scenario, you're inundated with potential clients who you don't have time to take on. Wait a minute--I think that's a best case scenario.

Use social media. Yeah, you're probably on Facebook. And I'm sure your kid/dog/cat/hamster is adorable. But do your Friends know that you freelance? Make sure that fact is part of your profile. Update your status with work-related comments occasionally. Your Friends may turn into clients, or know someone who is looking for a writer. Same goes for blogging--no matter what you blog about, include the fact that you freelance. And don't forget LinkedIn and Twitter, which are both tools for marketing your business as well.

Ask editors and clients for referrals. Sometimes freelancers feel awkward about asking a current or former clients for work leads, but here's how I look at it: if you did a good job for your client (and I assume you did), she's probably willing to connect you with one of her peers--or at least give you names of editors who may be looking for freelancers. You won't know until you ask. My latest ghostwriting gig came not from a client, but from a personal trainer and author I've interviewed several times over the years who knows that I'm a ghostwriter and editor. His personal referral turned into a fun, worthwhile editing project.

Make every email a sales call. You should have at least one "standard" signature for email, more if you do different types of work. My current one reads:

Kelly James-Enger

Author, ghostwriter, freelance journalist, and speaker

http://dollarsanddeadlines.blogspot.com/

Check out my contemporary women’s fiction (both set in Chicago!) at:

Did you Get the Vibe? https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61100

White Bikini Panties http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61105

email: kelly@becomebodywise.com

I tweak it occasionally, depending on what aspects of my business I want to highlight, but I always include my blog in it, and whatever book(s) I'm focusing on selling.

Think outside the box. Okay, so you've spread the word to friends and family about your work. You've asked clients for referrals. But do you tell everyone else you can think of about what you do? I have several "Instant Ghostwriter" t-shirts I wear occasionally (check out CafePress for tons of fun ideas) , and they often spark conversations with people I meet at the Y, my son's school, and the Caribou I often write at.

Brag. Is your latest piece a cover feature? Has your new book garnered great reviews? Did you just nab a regular contributor gig at a favorite blog? So brag a little! Tell people! When you do stellar work, you're likely to get even more referrals; it's human nature to want to work with people who are successful and good at what they do.

You can be the most talented writer in the world, but you won't be successful unless people know who are and what you do. So spread the word. The more people who know what you do, the more referrals and work you're likely to get.

***Readers, what about you? Do you have any proven ways for marketing your biz you'd like to share?

Great How-To Post on Selling your Book

After writing and publishing your book comes...selling the damn thing. Caitlin Kelly, author of Malled!, has a great post on 10 tips for promoting your new book. Great suggestions for new and established authors alike.

Now it's Time to Sell: How I've Been Promoting my POD Book

Regardless of whether you choose a traditional or POD publisher, promoting and selling your book is your job as an author. (The time-consuming nature of doing so is one of the main reasons I've chosen to focus on ghostwriting and coauthoring books.)

There's no shortage of books and websites that tell you how to promote your book, and many POD companies now offer marketing services to authors as well. The bottom line, though, is that works for one book won't work for another. Your understanding of your readership--who they are and how you can connect with them--is key to deciding how you'll spend your marketing time and dollars.

Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks is aimed at a fairly narrow audience--freelancers and book authors who want to add ghostwriting to their repertoire, or want to learn more about this field. Those are my potential book buyers. So how do I reach them and promote my book to them?

• I launched this blog last year, when I started writing the book, to help build a (hopefully) loyal readership and promote the title when it came out.


• I added an "Author" page to Facebook to promote myself and got on Twitter. (Follow me at #kellyjamesenger.) I limit my Tweets to the subject of succeeding as a freelancer/author.


• I asked for, and received, a cover blurb from Marcia Layton Turner, founder and executive director of the Association of Ghostwriters.


• I pitched articles on ghostwriting to a variety of writer's publications, and wrote a six-page feature on ghostwriting that ran in the April, 2011 issue of Writer's Digest. I also wrote several articles for Writing for Dollars.


• I participated in teleseminars with sites like RenegadeWriter.com to reach potential buyers.


• I wrote guest posts for a variety of writing-related blogs.


• I requested that my book be reviewed by The ASJA Monthly, where it received a positive review.


• I sent emails to former expert sources, letting them know about the book and that I'm actively looking for new ghosting clients.


• I sent emails to editors and former clients, telling them about the book.


• I mentioned the book at all of my speaking gigs, and brought copies so attendees could buy their own copies.


• I agreed to speak at writers' conferences, where I sold my book and/or presented sessions on ghostwriting.


• I asked for readers who got in touch with me after buying the book to post reviews on amazon.com.

That's just the beginning of what I've done, and will continue to do. (Check out Caitlin Kelly's excellent post about how she's promoting her new memoir about working in retail, Malled.)

However, as GoodBye Byline is my 12th published book, there are a lot of things I'm not doing this time out. Next post, I'll share some of the promotion tactics that I've tried in the past and haven't been worth the time.