How to Multiply Your Freelance Writing Work
You can turn your $200 fee to write a press release into $2,000 to carry outan entire PR campaign simply by convincing clients to invest in campaigns,instead of individual assignments. Campaigns achieve better results and costless in the long-term for clients, compared to individual assignments. And, ofcourse, as the freelancer, you get paid much more for turning out a successionof assignments that assimilate a successful campaign.
Here’s how to multiply your writing sales by convincing clients to invest inlong-term campaigns, instead of short-term individual assignments.
• Know the short-term and long-term results. A client approaches you towrite a brochure. He may or may not know that his product can also benefit fromother types of promotional pieces, such as ads, direct mail, news releases,websites, and so on, to sell his product or service. Your job is to educate theclient. The brochure may be the first promotional piece in a consortium ofpromotional pieces. Here, you must know the short-term and long-term viewresults of the brochure.
The short-term results are the results the brochure will achieve for theclient; and the long-term results are the results the brochure willachieve/contribute for the entire campaign. It answers the questions, “How dothe results of this brochure fit into the entire campaign?” and “How can theseresults be strengthened with other forms of promotional materials?”
Show the client how a campaign, that’s comprised of a succession ofassignments, can achieve — and exceed — his expectations and outsell and outdothe performance of a single assignment.
• Use “tie-in” services. Whenever a client approaches you with a singleassignment, ask yourself what tie-in services can supplement the singleassignment. A news release achieves better results when it’s accompanied with aphoto. And a press kit — complete with press releases, photos, brochures, andcompany information — can achieve better results than a single press release.All of these extra tie-in services can turn writing a single press release intomultiple writing sales.
• Offer the “concept to completion” benefit. Instead of pitching yourself asa freelancer who can write newsletter copy, pitch yourself as a freelancer whoproduces newsletters, from copy to completion. You multiply your income byoutsourcing parts of the job and delivering a finished product, not a piece ofthe product. You also can extend your “concept to completion” services bypitching yourself as a marketing consultant, in which you make recommendationsto the client as to the best way to market the newsletter.
• Develop strong consultative skills. Besides selling your freelanceservices, also offer consulting services. Clients pay you to explain ideas,concepts, recommendations and turnkey solutions as to the best way to achievethe results they desire. Consulting with clients can lead to securing freelancework, since clients realize you have the skills and expertise to undertake thetask.
• Know the future needs of clients. Clients come with present needs — andfuture needs. A client may hire you to write a newsletter now, but they’ll alsoconsider you for future work if you know what their future needs are and how tofulfill them. The company may be ushering in a new product line, creating a newdivision within the company, sponsoring a charity event, or creating a website.All of these future events need a freelancer to do promotional writing andfreelance work. That’s you. Your job is to show clients how you’ll addresstheir future needs with solutions that’ll increase their profitability and/orproductivity. This is usually accomplished with a proposal through which youpitch yourself as the freelancer who has the solutions to undertake the futuretasks.
• Use proposals to secure work. Proposals are an inclusive persuasion toolto convince prospects that you can increase their profitability and/orproductivity with your freelance services. Proposals specifically show theclient how you intend to achieve the desired results, the time and costsinvolved, and why you and your solutions are the best choices to boost thecompany’s profits.
• Adaptations. Any of your freelance writing services can be adapted forwebsites, turning a single assignment into two assignments. Get paid to write apress release or brochure, and then get paid again to adapt the copydigitally.
• Add-on services, such as desktop publishing services, marketingconsulting, compiling and selling media lists, and project coordinating canhelp multiply your work and your income. Brian Konradt is a former freelancecopywriter and graphic designer, and founder of Freelance Writing Sites, a freewebsite dedicated to help writers master the business and creative sides offreelance writing.