Chapter 3. Understanding the Freelance Marketplace

Transcription

1 Chapter 3. Understanding the Freelance Marketplace The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. Ayn Rand Opportunities for interesting and lucrative work abound in the freelance marketplace for writers, editors, graphic designers, web designers, web developers, photographers and other types of freelancers. You can do many types of work for many types of clients. The first step on your marketing journey is to learn about both the opportunities and the clients (called market research). Explore Your Options Through Market Research Although I did a lot of market research when I was starting out, I still didn t understand the freelance medical writing marketplace. I thought that all medical writers were like me: people with journalism or English degrees who did marketing communications in the fields of health and medicine. It was quite a shock when I attended my first annual conference of the American Medical Writers Association and learned that most medical writers have scientific or medical degrees and do a totally different, and more scientific, type of writing than I do. Fortunately, the Web, which was barely in existence when I started my freelance business in 1997, makes it much easier to learn about the freelance marketplace now. It s well worth the time it takes to do this. Start Your Prospect Lists Use the Web and networking to learn about the freelance marketplace in your field. Focus first on the types of clients and industries where you have the most chance of success because of your background, experience and skills. For example, if you worked full- time as a graphic designer for a university, this is a good market for you. If you designed or developed websites for a Fortune 500 company, focus on large businesses. If you were a writer or an editor for a technology company, focus on prospects in this industry first. This will help you build your business faster and with less effort. Expand to other target markets you re interested in later. As you do your market research, start making lists of: Industries you d like to work in Specific organizations you d like to work with. Put an asterisk next to any industries or organizations that you re especially interested in. Also see the worksheets for defining your services and industries in Bonus #2: Mighty Marketing Worksheets, Templates and Tools. 1

2 Finding Prospects TIP Join relevant professional associations now. Volunteer so people get to know you. Join relevant professional associations and volunteer so people get to know and trust you (the key to getting referrals). Use the member directory to find good prospects and build your prospect list. General business associations where you re likely to meet people from organizations that hire freelancers include the American Marketing Association and the International Association of Business Communicators. There are also professional associations for different industries (e.g., American Finance Association) and different types of freelancers (e.g., Graphic Artists Guild for graphic designers). Learn About the Marketplace Professional associations: o Member directories o Networking LinkedIn: o Your network o Groups o General research Leading company lists (e.g., Fortune 500) Online directories (e.g., Medical Marketing & Media top 100 agencies) Do research on the web to find more prospects for your list. Use leading company lists like the Fortune 500 to find companies you might like to work with, and trade publications related to your freelance field and the industries you re focusing on. Join relevant LinkedIn groups and participate in and start discussions. Add anyone who seems like a good prospect to your list. Search LinkedIn for potential prospects. You ll only get the first 100 results for free, but that s a good start. Member directories generally give you all of the information you need for marketing. Other types of research, like leading company lists, don't. You ll need to visit the website of each organization to find the right person for your marketing. Look for names of senior people (e.g., managers, directors, associate directors or vice presidents) in the departments that you d like to work for, like marketing, communications or website. All of this sounds like a lot of work and it is. But it s well worth it. I spent many hours developing my first prospect lists, and back in 1997 I had to go to the library for much of this, which took even more time. Within 18 months, I was making more money than I ever expected to make and had as much business as I wanted. Learn more in Planning for Your Success (Chapter 5). 2

3 Learn How to Market to Other Businesses Marketing your freelance business is very different than marketing something that millions of consumers buy every week in supermarkets, like milk or bread. That s actually good, because it s far less complicated and much more affordable to market freelance services than milk or bread. You ll be marketing your freelance services to businesses and other organizations, such as non- profit organizations, government agencies, associations, and universities. This is called business- to- business, or B2B, marketing. How B2B Marketing is Different Compared to marketing to consumers, the B2B market is: Much smaller and more targeted Driven by personal relationships Focused on company image, brand and reputation. It also has a longer marketing cycle. Your market research will help you match your interests, experience and capabilities with your target market. Then you can do more research to learn about specific types of clients. For example, I like to write for hospitals. So I developed a list of hospitals and then visited their websites to read their Web content, newsletters and other publications. This market research will guide your marketing plan. Learn more in Planning for Your Success (Chapter 5). A Longer Marketing Cycle While it may seem like clients always need to find freelancers fast, in general, it takes time to land clients, especially the kind of clients you ll want to work with over the long term. The marketing cycle how long it takes to land clients is longer for B2B than for mass- market consumer products. It includes the time needed to build awareness of your brand and your services. A good brand will help you get noticed and set you apart from the competition. Learn more in Creating Your Brand (Chapter 4). What Clients Want Clients of freelancers have a strong interest in our services. They need our help to succeed. Excellent technical skills (writing, editing, design, web development, etc.) are a prerequisite. Other requirements, even for the same type of client for the same type of work, may vary. But in general, clients want: Experience in the type of work they re looking for help with Ability to meet deadlines (the key to repeat business) Excellent communication skills Flexibility, accessibility and responsiveness Ability to take ownership of the project. Clients want freelancers they can depend on and work with long term. I ve been working with one of my largest clients for 17 years and another for 16 years (as of 3

4 2014). I make their professional lives easier and function as an extension of their internal team. Understanding the freelance marketplace will help you target and market your services appropriately and build win- win relationships with clients. Resources BOOK Steve Slaunwhite, Peter Savage, Ed Gandia. The Wealthy Freelancer, Available at Amazon.com PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS American Marketing Association: (Accessed September 16, 2014) International Association of Business Communicators: If you're a freelancer, IABC is a great place to find potential clients. And if you're looking to expand your social network, there's no better place than an IABC chapter. (IABC website) (Accessed September 16, 2014) INDUSTRY RANKINGS Vault Career Intelligence: rankings: Lists of best companies in many fields, including banking, software and computer services, consumer products, law, and media and entertainment. (Accessed September 16, 2014) Fortune 500: mart- stores- inc- 1 (Accessed September 16, 2014) 4

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