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The “Fireplace Effect”
Before I start with ideas for getting clients and what to charge, I want to talk for a moment about what I call the “Fireplace Effect” for clients.
When you’re starting a fire, you pile on piece after piece of wood -more than you think you’ll ever need – to get it started. Then you light it and nurture it for a while and the flame rises until it’s pretty much self-sustaining. You only need to add a piece of wood here and there.
The same goes for clients.
If you are lacking with clients now, your mission should be to find clients. Period. Work for hours per day on finding clients. Your full-time job (meaning 6-8 hours per day) should be devoted to finding clients.
If you do this, you’ll find that once the offers start coming in, you’ll be able to pick and choose which jobs you’ll take, plus you’ll be able to have jobs lined up – often a month in advance.
In addition, if you line up the right clients, you’ll be able to have a steady monthly income. Nice, huh?
But what would happen if you stood in front of your fireplace and said, “I’ll give you some wood once you start putting out some heat”?
Nothing.
The same goes for clients. No productive effort going in, no clients being found.
If you put in one small piece of kindling and light it, you’ll have a brief flame, but then nothing. Same for clients – once you find a client, don’t stop searching for more.
Part of being a freelance writer is marketing yourself and your writing. Period.
Stephen King could sell his grocery list if he published it, with no marketing at all except for him saying it was for sale. Guess what? You’re not Stephen King. You have to work at marketing yourself – just like he did when he first got started.
Writing Biz Tip #1 – Targeting Local Business for Press Releases
You are going to offer to write press releases for local business owners.
I love press releases.
- They are easy to do – mostly a matter of filling in a form (although with practice you do get better with wording).
- They are high-paying.
- They are quick to do.
- They can lead to a steady monthly income when marketed correctly.
- They are easy to get referrals for – one business for a client can get you many, many more.
Wood-gathering steps
Here are some prep-steps you need to take:
- Learn about writing press releases. You can Google this (“writing a press release”) or invest in a book. (My advice is to do both. You’ll make enough on your first PR to more than pay for any materials you invest in.) This will help you learn why businesses need publicity and why it’s better than advertising.
- Choose a non-profit in your local area to do a free press release for. Why? Karma goes a long way, plus you can put it on your resume. Consider the hour or less you invest in this to be your good deed for the week. You’ll sleep better at night, trust me.
Kindling Steps
Now you’re going to do some research on what businesses you want to target for becoming clients.
You’re going to use 3 criteria:
- They already spend money advertising.
- They would benefit from having press releases done every month.
- They are locally owned (Don’t target your local Pizza Hut, target John’s Pizza Shack, got it?)
My favorite businesses to target:
- Restaurants
- Car Dealerships
Why?
- These are businesses hit hard by the current economy.
- They are used to paying big bucks for advertising, so the amount you charge will be an easy sell.
- They can see an immediate return on your work, so they get a good reason to come back for more.
Learn what these business offer, what advertising they do already, and who’s in charge.
Light Your Fire
Now you’re going to approach these businesses. I, personally, don’t call them. I hate cold calling. It sucks.
I send an oversized postcard (1/2 of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper) explaining who I am and offering a way for them to “cut their advertising costs with my services.” I offer a free consultation. Then I put a phone number (not my house number) and an email address for them to contact me to set up an appointment. (Need a cheap “business line?” Buy a cheap pay-as-you-go cell phone and use to only take messages. Then return the calls from your house or regular cell phone.)
Why a postcard that size?
- It’s an odd size – it gets their attention
- They don’t have to open it to read it. They can’t help but read it.
- You can type it up and get copies made on cardstock with no special software (like Microsoft Publishing).
What to do when they call
You can either do a phone or in-person consultation.
- Explain how publicity can provide more income than advertising.
- Explain how you can provide press releases to help provide that publicity.
Let’s Talk Money
I normally charge between $75 and $150 for a press release. (I have special rates for non-profits. I have a soft spot for them.) I charge another $75 for submitting it to various media.
That works out to $75 – $225 per client for about an hour or two of work (depending on if I need to submit the press release, that take about an hour or so.)
I also explain the benefits of having an ongoing PR campaign. I offer 1-2 press releases per month and suggest a 6-month commitment.
Now, let’s look at this in terms of cash flow for you.
Let’s say each client pays an average of $100. That $100 takes you about 1 hour to earn.
How many clients would you need on a monthly basis to earn a decent income? 20? 25? 50?
With 25 clients, you’d have $2500 a month coming in – working only 25 to 30 hours per month.
That is only one idea for income. There are still 3 more to go this week. 🙂
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Questions? Leave a comment!