DIY Freelance Writing Self Promotion

There are two key elements when it comes to being successful in freelance writing: your writing skills and helping new clients find you. The former is something you've been honing for a long time, but what about your self-promotion skills? If you're looking to increase your client base, look beyond the ordinary ad and start generating leads as quickly you generate ideas.

Ask for Referrals
By now, you've probably heard a little about the 80/20 rule, which generally states that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients. It stands to reason that the more work you do for that 20% of clients, the stronger the relationship you already have with them. If it's appropriate, ask your clients to link back to your Web site or blog and then, ask them for referrals.

Get Involved
While social networking sites like LinkedIn are effective tools, face-to-face networking hasn't lost its power and may even be more effective when it comes to promoting your writing. Whether you choose to volunteer, meet with a local writers' group or join your local historical society, you'll be meeting people who don't yet know about your services.

Better still, when you introduce yourself and offer a business card, the person you're speaking to will associate your face with that card later, making it more likely you'll come to mind when they or someone they know needs your services. When you communicate with potential clients via e-mail, use an address with an e-mail signature that promotes your Web site or blog.

Get Online
If you're not online yet, you should be. You may still be reveling in the idea that you get paid to write, but the truth is that freelance writing is your business and your business needs an Internet presence. You wouldn't skip this step if you'd chosen to sell pet supplies or opened a florist shop, so don't skip it now. One of the first actions people take now when they're looking for information is search the Internet and if you're not there, they can't find you.

Remember, you are your own brand. Choose a domain that's professional and represents who you are and what you have to offer. Keep your site design simple and uncluttered. Put your contact information on every page and make it easy to find. Provide links to work you've done that's published elsewhere and include PDFs or other samples of additional work that showcases your talents. With your existing clients' permission, include a list of companies and/or projects you've worked on or use generic descriptions like "client newsletters focused on budgeting, debt reduction and savings for a medium-sized accounting firm."

If you don't want to add the responsibility of a standalone Web site to your workload, consider creating or redesigning your blog to serve as a primary vehicle for promoting your work. Participate in online writers' forums or write for sites like Life123 that help get your name known and have a broader reach than you may have on your own to start.

Do for Yourself What You Do for Your Clients
Write and publish your own newsletter and distribute it to your clients as well as other contacts who may be interested (if you're distributing this by e-mail, be sure to get people's permission first). Use your newsletter to keep your writing skills sharp and stay in front of your customers-and therefore, on top of their mind.

Do Your Best Work Every Time
At the end of the day, you can have a Web site, belong to all the right networking groups online and off, and master the art of asking for business, but if you're not producing quality work for your clients on a consistent basis, it won't matter. You might get a lot of first dates, but probably won't get many seconds.

What does doing your best work every time mean? Meeting your deadlines, communicating with editors and respecting the assignment guidelines, even if you don't agree with them. Be sure to double- and triple-check your spelling, grammar and punctuation, and list your sources, whether you're required to or not.