8 Ways to Master Cold Calls--or at Least Fear Them Less

As a freelancer, you give up the security of a regular paycheck for the freedom of working for anyone you want to. That’s a huge plus in my mind, but it also means that you no longer rely on a boss to give you work. You have to find it yourself, and that means being able to sell—and that includes making cold calls.  

I know, you hate cold calls. Most writers do. But your willingness to make them may make the difference between a full plate of work and struggling to pay your bills each month.

As you gain experience and work for more clients, you’ll find something wonderful happens. Clients start coming to you. You may not have to spend as much time marketing, though you should always devote some time to lining up new projects and client. Until you’re so busy with incoming work that you’re turning assignments down (and I wish that for all of you!), you must cold-call. That’s part of freelancing.

Here are eight ways to make a dreaded task easier:

·     Do it early. If you’re like me, you start Mondays full of energy and enthusiasm. By Wednesday or Thursday, though, I’m looking forward to time off. I believe in “eliminating the ugliest,” or doing the thing you most don’t want to do first thing every day. Get your week’s worth of cold calls accomplished done by Monday or Tuesday and you can take the rest of the week off!

·     Warm them up. Kristen Lambert, a Chicago-based freelancer who does corporate and PR writing, doesn’t make cold calls. She looks for some kind of connection with her potential client, through LinkedIn or other social media that she can mention when she contacts the person, transforming it into a “warm” call.

·     Set a reasonable goal. Fifty cold calls in a day would do me in, but I can make five, even ten without losing my enthusiasm. Aim for a number that you can reach without killing yourself.

·     Do them all at once. You’ll save time by making all of your calls one after the other instead of doing them here and there. The more calls you make, the less anxiety you’ll have about them, too.  

·     Write a script. Make some notes of what you’ll say, and practice ahead of time if these calls make you quake. Speak clearly, slowly, and stand up when you’re on the phone--you’ll sound more confident.

·     Change your mindset. Are you afraid that you’re being a pest when you cold-call? Stop thinking like that. You have something valuable to provide--writing services--that the person you’re calling may need, and may need right now! So get on the phone! Re-spinning your attitude can make you feel more confident, which comes across to the person you’re speaking with.

·     Start with email. You know what a query to a magazine you’ve never written for is? A cold call. So is a letter of introduction. The difference is that phoning someone is much more immediate, and stressful. If you prefer, start with an email to your target, and follow up with an actual call. Even if the person hasn’t read your email, you have a legitimate reason to call—you’re following up on your earlier email. This method takes some of the anxiety out of cold calls for me.

·     Reward yourself. If I have to choose between the carrot and the stick, I can tell you that the carrot is a lot more powerful (and fun) motivator. Give yourself a treat--a glass of wine, a late afternoon movie, a massage--for making your quota of cold calls, and you may even look forward to doing them.

            

Cold calls may not be favorite part of marketing, but if you don’t have enough work, you have no excuse for not making them. Research companies, associations, or other potential clients online. Check their websites for the name of the person who hires or would be in charge of hiring freelancers; if you can’t find it, call the company and ask. 

When you have the person’s name and number, pick up the phone. The worst the person can say is "no thanks," or that he's not hiring freelancers. On the other hand, that call may turn into your introduction to a new client. Doesn't that make it worth your while? 

**This post was drawn from from Secret #14, Master Cold Calls, from Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. 

Lack Experience? Never Admit it! How to Get that Gig

Last week a reader emailed to ask about how to present himself for a ghostwriting project he wanted. The potential client was looking for a ghost to write a book. The problem? While the reader had read Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books, he was relatively new to ghostwriting. So far, he'd edited one book chapter for a client and was working on his first full-length book ghosting gig and wasn't sure how to make his credentials sound a bit more impressive than they were. 

My advice? "Dance with who brung you," as I like to say. In other words, make the most of your situation, whatever it is. 

Here's what I told him: 

"Re: your LOI, you probably know what I'm going to say—yes, it's better to be honest about your experience (or lack of it), but make sure you play up your relevant experience. So if I were you, I might say something like "I'm currently editing/ghostwriting a book and working on a second one as well, and am comfortable taking on a project of this length" (or something like that). I would not say something like, "Although I've only written one book…" or "Although I'm new to ghostwriting books…" or "Although as of yet, I've never ghostwritten a complete book..."

Get the idea? You want to be honest about your experience but make sure you also position yourself in the best light possible in front of your possible client." 

I have to say this is great and sometimes overlooked advice. I'm always amazed at how writers undersell themselves in queries and LOIs. I've seen writers using language like "Although I've never been published before..." or "I admit that I lack experience..." or even, "I hope that you'll take a chance on an unpublished writer like me." Yikes! Honesty is great, but don't give your potential client an easy reason to reject you.  

You may not have experience writing about a particular subject, or working for this kind of client, or even handling this type of project. Don't lie and say you have, but don't come right out and admit it either! Play up what you do have, and what you bring to the table as a writer.  Confidence is essential to your success as a freelancer, so make sure your pitches and LOI reflect are self-assured, not apologetic. 

**Readers, what about you? How do you go after a gig you want when you lack experience? I'd love to hear your experiences! And in the meantime, for more freelancing advice, check out my latest book, Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. 

Breaking into Women's Magazines: Advice from Veteran Freelancer Jennifer Nelson

Want to see your byline in national women's magazines? Join the club. I started out writing for women's magazines like Fitness, Shape, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Cosmopolitan, and Self, and over the years, I've helped dozens of freelancers crack these sought-after markets. 

Yet writing for women's magazines has its own challenges, too. That's one reason I was so excited to interview Jennifer Nelson, a fellow women's mag vet and author of the just-released Airbrushed Nation: The Lure and Loathing of Women's Magazines. This post--and her book--are must-reads if you want to write for the big women's mags.    

Q: Jennifer, you've written for a slew of women's magazines over the years. What's your best advice for freelancers who want to crack this lucrative market?

A: Well, it still starts with a great idea no matter what type of magazine or publication you are pitching. Make sure it’s an idea the magazine would run. If they never cover such a topic, they aren’t likely to make your idea a first. Make sure it isn’t a topic that’s been covered recently--do your homework. 

And tweak the packaging to the magazine’s specifications: If they run 500-word stories based on a study and then include a half dozen tips of service or advice, structure your idea similarly. Go the extra mile. Offer art, charts, sidebar ideas, include a cover line and subtitle: the more work you’ve brought to the table, the more the editor may be interested in the idea--and the less work for her to do.

Q: I too have written for women's mags and I always hear the word "fresh," as in "we're looking for a fresh approach to this topic." How can writers take evergreen ideas and give them a fresh spin?

A: Editors have been telling writers they need something “fresh” since time immortal—or so it seems. Translation: The women’s magazines run very similar articles month in and month out. There’s a dieting story, there’s a beauty story, maybe there’s some sort of parenting idea in each issue. 

What’s meant by fresh is that we need the same old, same old ideas only packaged and tweaked in a way that makes it seem like we haven’t seen it before. It’s a huge challenge. I just recently mentioned in another interview that Family Circle ran a ‘walk off the weight’ piece each month for many years. Month in and month out they had to come up with a new and yes, fresh way, to making walking exciting and original: Walk with weights, walk on inclines, walk on varied terrain, walk using speed intervals. After a while it was like how much more can you say about walking, right? 

But writers across the board came up with these ideas ad nauseum because “fresh” simply means ‘make it feel like we haven’t seen the exact same thing before.’ Tweak it slightly, package it differently, make it a quiz, or a chart, suggest a perforated pull-out card with tips, find a way to talk about a different aspect of the same topic and you have “fresh.”

Q: Great advice, and great examples--and I too have written multiple pieces on walking off the weight! So tell me what a great query for a women's magazine should include.

A: For me, the standard meant I opened with a compelling hook and explained my idea in a nutshell—two to three graphs tops. Within that I might cite the study that applied, quote a potential source or someone in the know, provide some extras like side box ideas, charts, quizzes or a graphic suggestion. I might mention why I am the best writer to tackle the topic—especially if I have some experience with it: I teach yoga and the idea is about yoga; I have two kids and the article is about some parenting aspect. Any personal knowledge or advantage over say, a staff writer or another freelancer can propel you to the top of the assignment list. And finally, I’d wrap up with a list of my credentials and a few of the publications I’ve written for (the more similar to the magazine being pitched, the better), along with some clips.

Q: What about new writers? How can they get their foot in the door with a woman's magazine?

A: It’s still all about the idea here. Yes, if you have a few major mag clips under your belt, you’re likely to be considered more closely. However, that said, these days with all kinds of Web sites running similar health, food, lifestyle and parenting content as the women’s magazines, a few great Web clips and a great idea can set you up for success. 

Once upon a time, before I had any women’s magazine clips—or many clips at all for that matter, I pitched an idea to Woman’s Day back in the day when you actually mailed the idea through the Postal Service. The query was well written, addressed to the right editor, and I made a case for myself as the best writer to write the piece. The editor called me three days later when she apparently opened my query letter.

I was a newbie but someone took a chance on my idea and my writing. That’s all that’s needed: The right idea written phenomenally and pitched to the right person. It may sometimes sound like the stars have to be aligned in order for it to happen, but that’s not necessarily the case. As always, pitch front of the book or shorter articles since editors will likely be more apt to take a shot on a new writer with a smaller piece than with a 2000-word feature. Do your due diligence so you know what they are running, what they like, how they operate. 

Once you get a few rejections based on them already assigning something similar or the idea being too close to another story they have in the works, things get even juicier: you know you are on the right track and should keep plugging away at pitching until you land something—or they assign you something, rewarding your many previous efforts. It can and does happen.

Q: Tell me about your new book, Airbrushed Nation. Why will freelancers who want to write for women's magazines want to read it?

A: Well, the book is for all women who love or hate the women’s glossies, but it’s definitely an especially interesting read for writers—those who have or want to write for women’s magazines. It’s certainly eye opening in the fact that in all of a writer’s study and analysis of the writing in these magazines, it’s easy to overlook some of the negative messaging being brandied about.

First of all, most of the images are airbrushed, which sends such a negative message to the young women who are actually comparing themselves to women who don’t even look that way in real life. What’s more, women’s magazines approach their readers as though they must improve something about themselves. In an effort to provide “service” or advice, these magazines begin every topic from the premise that obviously women aren’t good enough as is, beautiful enough, young enough, sexual enough, thin enough and every article purports to “help” them improve.

Frankly, knowing that can help you understand how to approach article ideas for these magazines. But sadly, it also sets women up for a culture of never measuring up, comparing themselves to the too thin, too perfect, airbrushed images they see all the while reading about how to dress younger, look younger, act younger at work, diet better, exercise more effectively, please their man better and get a better job, or a better boyfriend, in essence, a better life.

Women’s magazines perpetuate the notion that a woman’s life isn’t okay as it is and they can provide a path to improve it through their content. Women’s magazine writers can really use that information when crafting story ideas—just knowing that the women’s magazines are all about improvement and advice can help ensure that the ideas writers come up with have some element of that.

Unfortunately, research shows that premise can have seriously negative effects on a woman’s body image, self esteem and sense of self worth, not to mention it may set them up for depression, eating disorders, and other body issue disorders and is especially troubling for young girls and women who are more impressionable or already have self esteem issues.

Other areas of the book from the fashion to the celebrity information to the advertising truths will offer unfettered knowledge for the women’s magazine writer going forward. If you know and understand what the women’s magazines are doing and thinking, it’s easier to become a cog in their wheel. On the other hand, some of the more disingenuous practices such as shallow celebrity interviews or a youth-inizing focus can be turned upside down to help writers create the more substantial content for other glossies like men’s and general interest magazines. 

Overall, having a thorough understanding of women’s magazines can only improve women’s magazine writers as people, and wordsmiths creating content anywhere. For women writers especially, it may be an eye opening read to understand the inner workings of their favorite glossies.

**My thanks to Jennifer for this interview, and for writing such a well-researched, thought-provoking book. I highly recommend it for readers and writers both. 

Post Roundup: 10 Smart Posts for Newbie Freelancers

New to the freelance biz? Not sure where to start? I've put together a great post roundup for you: 

• Choose your own path. What works for another writer won't work for you, and vice versa. 
• Use your experience (even if it's not writing-related) and knowledge to get assignments.
• Educate yourself about what you can expect to be paid.  
• Market yourself all the time. Especially when you're new to the business. 
• Write about the same subjects more than once. 
• Think of your client's needs instead of your own. 
• Follow up on every pitch and LOI. 
• Connect with other writers. 
• Improve your chances of pitching success. 
• Use templates for your freelance biz.  

**And now for a brief commercial. :) If you're just getting started, I have several ebooks that will help you launch your freelance writing career: 

• Dollars and Deadlines' Guide to Selling your First Article. If you've ever wanted to see your byline in print or pixels, or want to launch your freelance career, this 10-step process will show you how...no matter how inexperienced you are.     
• Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Most Popular, Proven Ways to Make Money as a Freelance Writer. Based on my annual survey of freelancers, this ebook lists the 10 most popular ways to make money from your words--and how to break into each. 
• Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Essential Freelance Templates. Early in 2011, I devoted a month to sharing freelance templates; this ebook compiles the 10 you must have in your freelance arsenal. 
• Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Truths Every Writer Who Wants to Get Published Should Know. This ebook is a little bit of a departure for me, and is aimed at every writer who wants to get published, not those (like me) who write for money. The fact is, even if you don't care about the money, understanding how the publishing business works will boost your chances of publication. 

Or check out my latest full-length book, Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success, for a comprehensive look at what it takes to build a career as a writer of short nonfiction.