There are a lot of talented business writers in the market place and a huge need for service professionals that can help companies communicate with their markets. You would think with such real need in the marketplace business writers far and wide would be making a handsome living. Some writers are big earners and some are not. Today we’re going to examine how to make your writing business an income earner.
One of the main reasons writing businesses do not succeed is that they fail to market their services effectively. Marketing is vitally important in this sector because many prospective clients aren’t even aware of their need for a good writer…not until it’s too late.
To create a writing business that can create a full-time income, competitive with the best in your field, you have to follow a few key steps:
1. Determine the kind of market you want to serve (e.g. authors, institutions, mom and pop shops, government agencies, law firms, health care, etc.), IMPORTANT: make sure your market is large enough to create a sustainable client base for your business.
2. Research the locations of those firms either locally and/or globally (your choice) and create a prospect list.
3. Determine a strategy for communicating with these companies (letter in the mail, email campaign, meet them at trade shows, deliver presentations at conferences that your target market/prospect list attends, etc.)
4. Develop the key messages that you know will resonate with your market. For instance if you’re targeting law firms, include in your letter or presentation the key terms and experiences that will let these legal experts know that you understand their profession and will be able to create effective marketing, instructional or other types of materials that they may need.
5. Ensure you include these messages everywhere! In your letters, emails, on your website, in your presentations and in your advertisements (if you are purchasing ads or sponsorships).
6. Execute! Take your strategy and implement it in a timely fashion – the sooner the better.
Once you’ve executed your marketing strategy you will have taken a powerful first step to getting clients. Ideally your marketing strategy should
1. Make your prospective clients REALIZE that they have communication needs that need to be filled, and
2. YOU are the right person for the job.
Once you issued that email, met with prospects at events, guest blogged on popular blogs in your market, presented at key events and done the dozens of other marketing activities in your strategy don’t rest on your laurels.
You need to ensure that you follow-up with prospects and continue to work your marketing strategy right through the year.
A consistently executed marketing strategy with ongoing follow-up will help to raise your profile in the marketplace and attract more clients to your business.