The Dreaded "M" Word, and Why We Need to Do It
You offer a superior writing/editing service. You've written an
awesome book. Your newsletter is arguably one of the best of its
kind.
But if no one knows about it...if no one knows about *you*...
Let's face it. Marketing your book(s), your products and/or your
services is as essential to being a successful writer as, well,
writing. Even more so, if your goal is to freelance full-time.
But perhaps even the word "marketing" makes you cringe. It brings
visions of placing sweaty-palmed telephone calls to strangers,
handing out business cards at cocktail parties that you didn't even
want to attend in the first place, and having a booth at the local
Chamber of Commerce business fair. Marketing means keeping you away
from what you most want to do--writing.
I know the feeling. Every time I'd get to the chapter on placing
cold calls in Peter Bowman's _The Well-Fed Writer_, I'd screech to
a halt. Bowerman states that placing calls to let people know of
your availability as a freelance writer is crucial to the success of
your business. It seems I'd rather starve.
I know why many of us feel that way. Early on, we discovered that we
were far more comfortable and articulate with the written, as opposed
to the spoken, word. With a pen in our hands, or at our keyboards,
we don't flush or stammer. And during those times when the right
words escape us, no one else has to know about it; the only thing
others see is our finished product. This certainly isn't true when
we speak.
So yes, I understand our fear of the "m" word. But we need to be
honest with ourselves--how much do we *really* want to achieve full-
time freelance writing success? Do we want it enough to accept the
fact that emailing our resumes in response to a few job offers we see
online will never bring in enough work to support us? Do we want it
enough to realize that we should spend at least 75 percent of our
time (at least in the beginning) on either online or offline
marketing, whether its telephone cold calling, placing ads and
articles in ezines, sending press releases, or joining our local
Chambers of
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Because, in order to truly succeed as a freelancer, I firmly believe
we have to accept, embrace and even learn to enjoy the marketing
aspect of our business. I know this because my own failure to
succeed as a full-time freelance writer a few years back was solely
because I did not develop, implement and sustain an ongoing marketing
plan. Not because I didn't possess the skills and talent. Not
because the markets weren't out there. But because I didn't let
enough people know I existed, or exactly what it was I could do to
help their businesses.
My stepdaughter's soccer team used to have a pre-game cheer that went
like this: "You gotta want it to win it, and we want it more!" If
that sounds like how you feel about having a full-time freelance
writing business, start today to overcome your fear of marketing and
(thank you, Nike) just do it!
Not sure how to get started? Here are a few tools for you:
1. Pick up a free marketing workbook here:
http://hypertracker.com/go/writesuccess/plan . While you're there,
sign up for Rob's free marketing ezine, too. It is always filled
with excellent ideas on how independent consultants (which includes
us freelance writers, by the way) can find and attract more business.
2. Consider purchasing the ebook, _Local Email Profits_, which shows
you how to approach professionals and businesses in your hometown to
offer your writing services. You'll find it here:
http://hyperTracker.com/go/writesuccess/WSNAAW/ .
3. Read books on marketing. One excellent resource, which you can
find at your local library or in bookstores, is _Guerrilla Marketing
for Writers_, cowritten by Jay Conrad Levinson and others.
Then get started right away. Who knows? You may actually learn to
love marketing yourself--especially when your efforts start to bring
in steady and profitable freelance work.
About the Author
Mary Anne Hahn publishes WriteSuccess, a free biweekly ezine of
ideas, information and inspiration for people who want to pursue
successful full-time writing careers. To subscribe,
mailto:writesuccess-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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