How to Market Your Writing Business

You’ve launched your freelance writing business, snagged a few regular clients, and have some completed projects under your belt. Now what? You can’t just hope that more people will come knocking. You may need a way to reach potential clients and get them to come to you.

Marketing for freelancers is an essential part of growing a successful writing business. It helps you build your client base to ensure that work is always coming in. Keep reading to learn how to market yourself as a freelance writer.

Why is marketing so essential for freelance writers?

Simply put, marketing is an effective way to grow a writing business. It’s an especially powerful tool for established writers. Once you have some regular clients, you’ll no longer have as much time to cold pitch to new ones.

Marketing helps scale your writing business while you focus on crafting content. It allows clients to find you, rather than the other way around.

A solid marketing plan may lead to another great benefit: charging higher rates! If you soon find yourself in demand, you might be able to charge more for your writing services. Marketing could help you earn more money and create a steady flow of cash into your small business.

6 Tips for marketing your writing business

Ready to scale your writing business and start earning more? Consider adding these six strategies to your marketing plan.

1. Know your target audience

It’s important to identify your target audience so that you can tailor your marketing efforts to their needs and interests. Marketing to ‘everybody’ is usually like marketing to nobody. You’ll likely waste time and money advertising to people who aren’t interested in your services or wouldn’t hire you for their job.

Think about your ideal client: Are they a business or an individual? What do they do, or what interests do they have? Do they work in a particular industry? What services are they looking for? Where do they typically look for freelancers?

Once you understand your clients’ behavior, you can create a marketing plan that appeals to their needs. You can focus your budget on placing ads where they’re most likely to see and interact with them.

2. Build a strong online presence

Your website and social media channels are key to your marketing efforts. Many businesses look for freelancers online, so you want to create a strong first impression when they find you.

Ensure your website is professional and user-friendly. You no longer need to use code to build a great website—apps and online tools offer easily customized templates to help you get started. Many also offer SEO extensions to optimize your site, so it appears higher in search results.

Use social media platforms to share your writing, engage with your audience, and build relationships. LinkedIn may be your best bet as a freelance writer, but you might also consider a business page on Facebook. A potential client may follow you for several weeks or months before deciding to hire you, so consider posting quality content on a regular basis.

3. Showcase your expertise

Demonstrate your writing skills and knowledge by creating content that showcases your skill and knowledge. Many freelance writers have a professional blog on their website that they post to regularly. This can be a great space to write about industry trends and other relevant topics that may appeal to your ideal client.

A strong writing portfolio is also a must. Include samples from past projects or spec work (if relevant) that shows your talent as a writer. If you offer multiple services to clients (i.e., blogging, copywriting, social media, white papers, etc.), include examples that showcase each of these.

4. Build your network

Tapping into your professional network can be an effective way to grow your writing business. Build relationships with other writers, publishers, editors, and marketers. They may be able to send work your way if you’re a better fit with a client or their own calendar is fully booked.

There are many ways to connect with writing and publishing professionals, both online and in person. Attend industry events, join writing groups, and collaborate with other professionals in your field to start building these relationships.

5. Offer free consultations

Offering free writing consultations can be an effective hook for potential clients. This can help build trust and credibility with your target audience and lead to more business. It can also give clients a better idea of the services and expertise that you can provide to their work.

Clients sometimes don’t understand exactly how much work goes into a project. They may overlook essential parts of a job or miss important steps in the process. A free consultation could provide them with perspective and help set expectations (which is helpful when you officially start the job).

6. Collect and showcase testimonials

Do you ask friends or family for recommendations before you hire a tradesperson? Maybe you research online reviews when you’re thinking about buying a product. Your potential clients may be looking for the same information before hiring you.

Ask satisfied clients to provide testimonials that you can showcase on your website and social media channels. Positive reviews can help build trust and credibility with potential clients. They provide a better sense of what it’s like to work with you and real-life examples that you can do the job well.

Grow a writing business—and protect it.

Marketing for freelancers can be a powerful way for established writers to grow a writing business. It can free up your time for writing and customer service while creating a steady stream of work and income. With a killer marketing plan and some hard work, clients could soon come knocking!

As you scale your writing business, it might be time to think about protecting it. A careful review and editing process could help you avoid many issues, but mistakes can still happen. You might want insurance for writing businesses to back you up, just in case.

Insurance for writing businesses helps protect your finances from common risks that your business may face. You might consider several different policies to cover the different parts of your operations:

• Professional Liability – Can help protect you against copyright and trademark infringement and defamation (such as libel or slander).
• General Liability – Helps protect you against claims and lawsuits caused by property damage or bodily injury to a third party (i.e., a client or other member of the public).
• Business Owner’s Policy – An insurance package that can be customized to include coverage for unplanned business interruptions, equipment breakdown, and other risks.
• Workers’ Compensation – Helps protect you against workplace injury or illness lawsuits brought by your employees.

BizInsure makes finding and buying business insurance simple. Writers, authors, and publishers can quickly compare policies from A-rated (or better) insurers and choose the coverage that suits their needs. Buy online and get instant coverage—all in about 10 minutes!

We offer insurance options tailor-made for the writing industry, providing you with important peace of mind.

Spend more time laboring over your words and less time worrying about unexpected expenses. Compare insurance for writing businesses online now and start protecting your small business.