Marketing through Cold Calling
Don’t panic. Yes, I did refer to cold calling in the title of this post. No, I don’t think every freelance writer needs to resort to cold calling to find work. Yes, I do think you should familiarize yourself with the concept.
Building a successful freelance writing career means being willing to take risks. When times are tough it will be up to you to begin thinking outside of the box in order to find work. This may mean, in some cases, getting OFF of the computer and offering your services to local businesses.
So how does one get started? Say you love massage therapy and have written about massage numerous times. You’ve got a niche and, therefore, have identified a market. You could start by making a list of massage therapists in the area and contacting them one by one to offer your services - whether that means writing a newsletter, writing articles for their websites, or writing copy for brochures.
The reason most people don’t like cold calling is because it involves getting on the phone and speaking to complete strangers. The second reason is because it seems like so much work. The average person needs to make 50-100 calls before he finds someone interested in his work and even then there is no guarantee that person will turn into a paying client.
Keep a positive outlook as you begin your cold calling project. Marketing your business is essential to your success and this is just another method. If you’re lucky enough to never have to use this method - good for you! If you need to find new clients fast - pick up the phone!