SYP's Freelance Glance
For some years I have written a column for the Society of Young Publisher's magazine, sharing my experiences and pearls of wisdom on being a freelance , book copy editor and book writer.
In this column, I consider different ways to get proofreading, copy-editing and writing work.
Finding work as a freelance
Yes, Perfectly Write was online and ready to go, but the reality was I had a long, hard slog ahead of me to get a single client (let alone enough to progress me from economy fish fingers to Birds Eye). I knew somewhere out there were people who would be interested in my proofreading, copy-editing and writing services and happy to pay a fortune – okay, a meagre sum – for my expertise. The challenge was, how to catch me some clients.
I’ll save the intricate details of my marketing strategies and activities for later columns, but here’s the five main ways I used (and still use) to bring in clients.
1. Mailshots
Writing to people has been my number one tool for raising awareness of Perfectly Write and generating leads – after all, words are what I’m about. Over the course of freelancing I have written to over 800 companies via snail mail or email, and I have found this to be a successful way of bringing in proofreading, copy-editing and writing work.
There are several important things to get right with a mailshot: the quality of your contact (it’s no good writing to Bob, the office cleaner); the quality of your writing (no typos, please); and the quality of your image (tissue-thin paper covered with ink blots is not going to impress).
2. Search engine ranking
It’s a minefield, but if you can navigate the complexities of search engine optimisation this is an easy-peasy way to draw in new clients. Get your website to rank for keywords like 'proofreader', 'copy editor' and 'writer' in a major search engine like Google (don’t ask me how – it would take 17 columns and even then I’m no expert) and potential clients seek you out.
The only downside to having a good online presence is the amount of, how shall I put it, ‘interesting’ people who contact you. Not a constant stream, but enough to make you want to write no nutters, thanks on your ‘contact me’ page.
3. Networking
There are plenty of groups set up to help business people network and meet new clients, as well as colleagues and friends. I’ve tried a mix of groups – from industry-specific networking to very general business mixing.
Some people treat networking events as a kind of business-card swap shop competition, and rank their success by how many cards they have offloaded in an hour. But I’ve found successful networking is nothing to do with the ‘hard sale’ – it’s about meeting new people and listening rather than thrusting your sales pitch down their throats. And it's actually rather surprising just how many businesses have need of proofreading, copy-editing and writing services.
4. Advertising
Advertising gets your name out there and is less hard work than the other options – once you’ve placed your ad you can sit back and let your new clients come to you.
I have my business name in listings online and in directories, and include a link to my website (which helps with search engine optimisation). I only advertise when it doesn’t mean digging into my piggy bank, but I know from my research that there are various websites and publications in which you can advertise for a price.
5. Telephoning
Gulp. I’m going to let you in on a little secret . . . Forget spiders, snakes, heights – I have a phobia of calling strangers. I think it began in my PR-agency days when I had to call every newspaper in the country and try to sell them a story about sugar being good for your teeth – needless to say 200 journalists were less than polite to me and that cold-sweats-racing-heart-dry-mouth feeling has lingered on.
But mailshots need following up, and cold-calling can be an excellent tool for bringing in new business. It would be a big fat lie if I told you I do a lot of this, or even do it particularly well. However, it’s on my list of ways to get clients (albeit hiding at number 5 when it probably should be number 1).
So there you have it – my five main tools to bring in proofreading, copy-editing and writing work. Did they work at once? No. Did Bloomsbury call me up in my first week of business and hire me as copy editor for the next Harry Potter? No. Did I sail through it all confident, together and worry-free? No way! But did I keep working at it – keep trying again and again – keep sending out another letter, another email, until the clients starting coming in? Yes.
And am I still eating economy fish fingers now? Nope, I’m onto Tesco’s own brand . . . building a business takes time.
New book: How to Succeed as a Freelancer in Publishing
I'm currently co-authoring a book with Emma Murray called How to Succeed as a Freelancer in Publishing, which will be published autumn 2010 by How To Books. The book offers advice on how to build a freelancing business in your chosen publishing field – from proofreader to copy editor, ghostwriter to author, typesetter to graphic designer. So watch this space for plenty more top advice on making it in publishing.