May 23, 2023
I never used to have a solid freelance marketing plan for my freelance business that I followed each week, month, and year. I’m being honest, I find marketing myself and my services one of the most challenging parts of freelancing.
Marketing for freelancers and freelance writers means different things to everyone, and my marketing efforts have evolved over the years as my business (and my freelance writing goals) have changed. If you’re looking for examples of a freelance marketing strategy that can help you get more freelance clients and higher-paying clients, I included my 2023 freelance marketing plan below.
I’ve been posting articles I wrote on social media, connecting with editors, retweeting, and sharing interesting articles on social media for many years (which are some of the best practices to boost your freelance business in just 15 minutes). I’ve also been pitching editors and potential freelance clients article ideas and my background to see if they could use my freelance skills and services. Those are both forms of freelance marketing strategies. But they are just the tip of the iceberg. Consistently marketing is how freelancers are able to make this career path work for years to come.
If your potential clients don’t know you exist, aren’t aware that you’re available for freelance writing work and freelance assignments, and they haven’t had a chance to learn about the types of freelance writing you do, then you might not be getting the amount of freelance work you deserve–and need!
Although I’ve had a freelance writing website since 2006, a freelance writing tips blog for a few years, created an email newsletter and eventually launched freelance courses online and coaching services, there are times when it felt uncomfortable to share what I was doing with potential freelance coaching clients or freelance students. It can also feel weird to let potential freelance writing clients know that I’m available for work. (Would I sound like a loser who no one wants to hire? Those are the things that go through freelancers’ heads.)
You have to put yourself out there as a freelancer in order to get more business, consistent business and build up your clientele. Following a freelance marketing strategy each week and month can help you do that. Not only will you find new clients to work with, but you might be able to add on different services for existing clients–like social media marketing, thought leadership articles, eBooks, and more.
While I set freelance goals every year, I never had a freelance marketing plan that I developed and tracked until a few years ago. I know myself and find that when I get busy, “putting myself out there” and looking for more freelance clients gets shoved to the back burner. But after full-time freelancing for a decade, I’ve come to understand that having a marketing plan to follow is crucial if you want to always have client work to do.
(P.S. Here’s why freelancers should constantly be marketing.)
Here’s where I’m concentrating my freelance marketing efforts each month. These are some freelance marketing strategies you can borrow if you want to create a sample plan. (Or, you could download my 2023 Freelance Marketing Plan.)
| MARKETING | GOAL | WHAT HAPPENED (THIS IS WHERE I NOTE THAT I FOLLOWED MY MONTHLY FREELANCE MARKETING PLAN TASK) |
| New Blog Posts | 2 | I’ll keep track of the date I published it and where I shared it on social media. |
| Updated Blog Posts | 3 | Refreshing older posts is important for SEO and to help new readers find them while also making sure the content is relevant. (Related: Here’s How I Write Freelance SEO Blog Posts for Clients) |
| LOIs weekly (new and follow ups) | 15-20 | I add to this number every week and tally up at the end of the month. |
| Newsletters | 4 | Checking off that these are written and sent out consistently. |
| Promo newsletters | 1 | I’ll write at least one newsletter that shares information about my online courses and freelance digital products every month or every other month. |
| Guest blog | 1 | My “reach” goal is to produce a guest blog on another freelance writer’s site every other month, depending on my availability. |
| Podcast | 1 | I’m trying to keep podcasts in mind as a freelance marketing plan option, in which I’ll be interviewed by a podcaster and can reach a larger audience. (Here are some of the best podcasts for freelancers.) |
| Get quoted in a blog on another site | 1 | I see calls for comments and quotes on freelance writing topics at times and try to help other writers out. I browse Qwoted and HARO as part of my freelance marketing strategy. |
| New newsletter subscribers | 200 | I set a conservative goal of a few hundred newsletter subscribers so I can hit my goal of adding another 1,000 to 2,000 subscribers next year. Increasing my newsletter audience is an important freelance marketing effort to grow my audience. Subscribe to my freelance writing newsletter today and get a FREE PDF. |
| LinkedIn articles | 2 | Building an audience on LinkedIn is a worthwhile freelance marketing strategy to pursue. I write about two articles on my profile each month to stay relevant on that platform and it goes into those newsletter subscribers’ inboxes so I stay top of mind with potential clients. Follow me on LinkedIn. |
| Linkedin posts | 8 | I’ll try to share something I worked on, an interesting article I read, or something impressive a client has done, or freelance business ownership learnings and post them on my page a few times a week. Get more LinkedIn tips for freelancers. |
| Add new clients and niches to LinkedIn | This is a reminder to continuously update my LinkedIn profile with freelance writing jobs so my name comes up in search results. | |
| Social posts weekly on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok | 50-60 | This is also a reminder for me to schedule social media each week, post a few Reels on Instagram and Facebook, post a TikTok video or two, and write some Tweets and Twitter threads as part of a freelance marketing strategy. |
| Post on Pinterest | 10 | I’m trying to be better about posting my content, freelance writing blogs, and links to digital downloads on Pinterest so I can increase my website traffic and grow an audience on that social media platform. Follow these social media tips for freelancers. |
| Contribute answers to Reddit, Quora or Facebook posts or Instagram and Twitter | 2 | I try to share my knowledge and experiences on some Facebook groups, Twitter threads, Instagram posts, LinkedIn posts and on questions posted on Reddit threads and Quora since that’s where other freelancers gather. Building an audience isn’t just about posting about your freelance writing business, it’s also about contributing to conversations and engaging in a community. |
I’ll probably also work on providing fresh email capture landing pages and PDF downloads each quarter, as well as update Pinterest with designed images and my latest blog posts.
What may be surprising is that my marketing goals aren’t focused as much on finding new clients and work as they may have been in the past. I pitch editors weekly and follow-up with previous clients and potential new clients consistently each week. But these practices are almost second-nature to me and the rest of these marketing efforts quickly fall to the wayside when I’m busy.
If I look at this document halfway through the month and I haven’t hit most of my goals, I know it’s time to dig in and concentrate on looking for opportunities to market my freelance writing blog and services and to grow my audience.
I’ll eventually need to add YouTube, Instagram posts, and work on other freelance marketing initiatives for my business in the future when I get more time.
What’s on your freelance marketing plan?
Tags: content strategy, freelance marketing, freelance writer, freelance writing, freelance writing tips, freelancer, freelancers, marketing, writing advice
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