There are essentially two ways to be a freelance writer and they encompass every aspect of the field. You can either take on clients or you can write what you wish. If you have clients then you write to their specifications. If you write what you wish then you need to sell that writing to buyers. Both methods are perfectly acceptable and allow you to make a living provided you market your writing well.
Interestingly, the best ways to market your writing are no different based on your above format. The same marketing techniques will work for both elements but some will have greater success than others depending on which form of writing you are engaged in doing.
One very important factor here: All of these marketing methods will work for both articles as well as books.
The Importance of Social Media
Without a doubt one of the biggest benefits to freelance writers has been the explosion of social media. This allows the instant promotion of articles and books across a wide range of platforms to an ever-growing audience all with the click of a button. The top social media outlets are:
- Set up a page just for your writing. Unless you are engaged in book writing, where a single page per book (or series) works best, a writing page for all of your articles within a particular genre works best. If you write in several different areas, create a page for each genre and include links to the other pages.
- Engage your readers. Readers love interaction with the writers that they enjoy reading. This also makes the reader more inclined to not only share your work with others but to return to find out what else and where else you have published.
- Update and post frequently. You don’t have to be online constantly, but try for at least a daily post or two. Mix it up and include photos. Make people want to visit your site and share it with their friends.
- Don’t post your articles on your Facebook page. Post links to where they are being published. Not only is it terrible Facebook form to publish the entire article, it could potentially upset your clients. They paid for the article to appear on their site or in their magazine.
- If you are active personally on Twitter, set up a separate account for your writing. Unlike Facebook, one single writing page for all of your works is best.
- Do not focus only on your writing here. You want to post any new updates or article links but you also want to be more personal; more general. Tweet interesting on-topic information, tips and suggestions. Be sure to follow others (ideally those who follow you!) and Retweet relevant Tweets.
- As with all social media, you want to get readers engaged and keep them engaged. You do this by staying engaged yourself. At first it might seem like you are talking to a wall but if you keep at it you will soon find people chatting with you.
Google+
- Join the site and create circles for your writing. Within this platform you can create a specific circle for each writing genre. They will all essentially link together so this works very well.
- Start expanding your circles by adding more and more people to them. These will increase exponentially and soon thousands of people will have easy access to your latest work.
- This is an easy site to work. All you have to do is set up your Twitter and Facebook accounts to share with your Google+ account and you are done. When you update one you update them all.
An important note on Google: Google likes Google. I point that out because writers who are posting links to their work on Google+ tend to place higher in the search rankings than writers who are not Google+ members.
- Make certain that your profile is 100% complete
- Allow access to your Facebook and Twitter Pages
That seems simple but LinkedIn is a big deal because this is the site used by many large companies to find freelance writers fast. Allowing access to your Facebook and Twitter pages means that when you update those two sites the information is shared on LinkedIn. To a potential client this looks great. It looks like you are on top of your writing and engaged with the public.
A final note on social media: Be gracious. There are going to be people who argue with you over your article and attempt to start an Internet war with you. Ignore them. Not everyone is going to love what you write so ignore those who take issue with you. If they are causing a problem on a site like Facebook, ban them. Otherwise just ignore their comments and move on to a more approving reader. You will, however want to read criticism. It may be valid and you might learn something of use for the future. Just don’t engage in a flame war. They are never worth it.
Your Own Website
If you don’t have a website by now, get one! You simply must have a website that you keep updated. Not only is this extremely important for getting clients but it also helps to promote your brand and gives readers more information and more accessibility to your work.
- Samples
For the benefit of potential clients, you need to keep your samples updated. With all of your other marketing, especially in social media arenas, potential clients are going to be visiting your website. You want it ready for them by having updated samples and contact information.
- Start Your Own Blog
Seriously consider a blog. For many niche writers, a blog is a great way to write up a perspective of an issue that you might not otherwise get to air. Because it’s your blog, you don’t have to worry about writing to the specifications of the client. The largest draw for blogs is that readers get to see a more personal side of the writer. It’s like being invited to the home of the writer for a drink. Readers love getting an inside view of the writer and readers often turn into clients.
You may have heard of a writer named Jen Lancaster. Her entire writing career started because of her blog and now her books debut on the New York Times bestseller list. By the time she wrote her first book she already had an audience waiting to read it. That is what a blog can do for you: build your audience.
This is also a good place to mention self-publishing. If you are looking to publish a Kindle book, a successful blog is one of the best marking tools you have.
Those are the top ways to market your writing. Here are a couple of additional suggestions that are also outstanding ways to get your writing read:
Guest Blogging
One of the overall best ways to market your writing is to guest blog. You find a blog in your niche market, send a pitch to the blog owner and write a post for them. The post will include a byline as well as a short biographical piece about you along with a link to your personal website or blog. A popular blog can get you thousands of visitors in a matter of hours.
If you have written an e-book, posting an excerpt with a link to purchase the book is also a great marketing tool. This gives readers a chance to determine that they want to read your work and also gives them a chance to see what else you have published.
While you will normally be paid for guest blogging, if the site is popular enough, don’t argue the point unless you are already well established. Calculate the marketing potential of the site and factor that into your decision. A high traffic blog could potentially be worth enough in advertising to make a free post more than worth the effort.
Improve Your Klout Score
This score has become rather popular in the last couple of years and what it rates is your online influence. Some companies are even requesting your Klout score when you apply for a job! I’ve seen several job posts for writers and bloggers that also request this score. The reason for this is that the higher your Klout score, the more people are paying attention to what you are doing online. A high Klout score makes you much more valuable. You can find this at Klout.com.
To raise your Klout score, start spending time on social media sites and engaging other people. The more you are engaged, the higher your score. The higher your score, the more money you make.
Marketing Your Writing is a Fact of Freelance Life
It may seem like a lot of work to market your writing and it can be initially. However once the accounts are set up it really doesn’t take more than an hour or two a week to maintain the Facebook and Twitter sites. Marketing your writing is just one of the facts of life for a freelance writer. Marketing goes hand in hand with always searching for new clients.
Once you have your marketing set up and you get a little practice in using the accounts, it will all become just part of your routine.
One last thing: one of the most frequently asked questions I get is on how to market internationally. The answer is simply: You don’t. You just market your writing. The Internet is global so nothing special needs to be done to attract international attention. Focus on building your brand and don’t worry about the geography.
Happy writing!