Not too much to report this week, I'm afraid. I've added a bunch of new samples to my website, stayed active on the social media front (that includes Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) and sent out half a dozen LOIs to local real estate organizations. I'd like to get another half dozen of those out before the end of the week.
The editor at one of my local newspapers gave me the okay to write stories for them, but I haven't heard anything since then. They generate most of their leads in-house, so I want to get a few articles under my belt before I start pitching ideas. No word from the resume company yet, either.
So yeah. All is quiet here on the freelance front. Kinda playing the waiting game a bit.
In general, I think I'm a fairly patient person. I rarely honk at cars in traffic, I don't yell at customer service people over the phone and I always try to tip waiters in restaurants, even if the service is lousy. Unless I'm really perturbed or in a desperate hurry, I can usually park and sit for a spell if I have to, regardless of the situation.
Unfortunately, that sort of passivity is certain death for a freelance writer. Just about every blogger I have listed on my blog roll has mentioned at some point that this business is all about being proactive. You simply can't wait for potential clients to come to you, especially in the beginning. You have to go after them like they're a carrot on a stick, and you're one hungry bunny. I'd like to think that's what I've been doing so far.
However, after almost a month of chugging along nonstop with limited results, my motivation is beginning to wan just a little. I never expected to have a ton of money in the bank right away, but I did think I would at least have a project or two to work on by now. Something concrete. Tangible. Something with a deadline. At this moment, no such luck.
So, the question now is, what to do next? Do I stick it out with my current marketing plan and hope for the best? Do I switch things up and try something completely different? Or do I go with a combination of the two, adding some new tactics while continuing with some of the old?
I'd like to get your thoughts on this before I decide. Three weeks is a ridiculously short period of time to get a business going, even for a full-time freelance writer. I understand that. Still, the sooner I can get at least one project going, the better.
Q&A for the Day: What do you think my plan should be going forward? What do you do to generate income quickly when you're stuck in a drought? How often do you change marketing tactics to stir up new client prospects?
Recently a fellow freelancer asked me about my querying process, or in non-freelancing terms, how many times I'd pitched article ideas to various publications and what the responses had been. I'm embarrassed to say I couldn't give him a straight answer. The truth is, the very idea of querying freaks me out. A lot. So much that I've avoided the process entirely until now.
You see, even though I've had dozens of clips published in local newspapers and magazines over the years, I've never actually tried to query an editor before. I was fortunate in that all of those gigs came to me through networking of some kind. However, since we are still very much in a recession, I can't afford to overlook any sources of potential income, especially ones as well-paying as magazines can be. Therefore, off to the Google search box I went, where phrases like "how to write article query" and "how to pitch article ideas" became my new BFFs.
My research revealed a couple of interesting gems I'd like to share. First, there seems to be substantial debate in the freelance community as to the value of submitting queries in general. Some argue that pitching article ideas is an essential and potentially highly profitable aspect of building and maintaining your business. Others, including some very well-known freelancers, suggest that you can develop a lucrative career without ever having to query at all. At the end of the day, when you're presented with such strong arguments on both sides, what's a newly-minted freelancer to do?
For me, the answer came from a third freelancer's post that I stumbled upon yesterday morning. I'd heard about the value of submitting to trade publications before, but never in such clear detail. Reading about this largely untapped market gave me the extra dose of courage I needed. It was as if a missing puzzle piece finally clicked into place inside of my brain.
I realized that the marketing experience I had obtained from working in a real estate office for two years translated perfectly to pitching magazines in that industry. Of course I could leverage my expertise there! I already knew the audience, understood their wants and needs and motivations. I already knew what my potential editors would want. Half of the work of my queries was practically done for me! Why hadn't I seen it before?
In the end, my little dilemma taught me two important lessons about freelance writing. First, every writer must forge his or her own path; no two are the same, and what works for one person may prove utterly torturous for another. And second, sometimes the simplest solution to a problem is the best, and is often the one staring you in the face the entire time.
Q&A for the Day: When it comes to article writing, are you a query warrior, or a query-free freelancer? How did you decide whether or not to pitch your favorite publications, and what were the results of your choice?
