Tag Archives: PR

Guest Blogging is the New PR

batman-shirtWhen the Gotham police department wants to get Batman’s attention, they have it easy. Shine the Bat-Signal on the clouds and hope he’s not sleeping it off somewhere. When bloggers want to attract attention, they have to do a bit more work.

Know we all know that guest blogging can help you build traffic to your site, but let’s think a bit outside the box for a second. Many freelancers don’t have enough business to write full time…yet. Some freelancer who ARE full time have steady contract gigs that keep them busy like a regular day job (that would include me as editor of Cheap Today) but who use mad time-management skills and a massive influx of caffeine to keep the off-duty output higher than a kite.
Continue reading Guest Blogging is the New PR

Jennifer Mattern on Freelance Marketing

Jennifer Mattern has some excellent advice for freelancers in this recent post on freelance marketing. One great point she makes about holiday marketing is not to overlook sending Christmas  cards or other holiday-themed communications, even if you don’t personally celebrate that holiday. It’s easy to get tunnel vision about that sort of thing, and this advice is well-timed.

Another great bit of advice in this article; take stock of your accomplishments this year and start thinking ahead to next year. I’ve always started doing this round the end of the year, but earlier is definitely better when it comes to making plans for next year. What I would add to Jennifer’s advice is to start thinking ahead in terms of your budget, especially if you need to get new business cards and other promotional items.

Are you launching any new ventures in 2009? Will you start teaching writing classes or doing seminars? You’re going to need money for promotional materials and supplies. Do you need some extra tax write-offs for 2008? Get those supplies early and count it towards this year’s taxes where it’s legal to do so. A little extra thinking time never hurts. Great advice and food for thought all around in Jennifer’s article, Evaluation Time – Monthly Marketing Mix.

Ten Ways to Diversify Your Freelance Writing

Freelance writing as a full-time occupation currently faces some scary times; will our current economic problems start affecting how much work is available? If magazines and online publishers start cutting back their budgets, what does a poor freelancer do? Here are ten ways to diversify your freelance career to keep those checks rolling in even when times are tough:

10. Branch Out. Have you been toying with adding digital photography to your skill set? Graphic design? Newsletter writing? Any of these additional skills make you more marketable AND give you great source material for opening up new freelance writing markets in trade mags and industry-specific websites.

9. Volunteer. That’s right, I am suggestion you work for free. As well as the altruistic side of things, you might discover another untapped resource for articles and advice pieces. You might even get plugged in to the for-pay part of a non-profit or charity group once they find out you are a professional writer–especially if you are willing to be flexible with your rates to help out.

8. Teach Classes. Does your local community center need a guru who can teach people how to write better cover letters and resumes? You don’t have to set yourself up as a freelance writing teacher–just show people how to write better in vital areas such as job seeking, employee evaluations, even the art of “romantic communication” might be a fun community center class you can teach. The key to these types of classes is knowing how to market your class properly to interest the people in your neighborhood.

7. Hook Up With A Temp Agency. Call your nearest temp service and explain about your writing business. Find out what you need to do in order to be listed as a writer/proofreader/editor and give it a try. Continue reading Ten Ways to Diversify Your Freelance Writing