It's time to declutter your marketing
It’s time to KonMari your marketing!
Chances are, marketing doesn’t spark much joy. Unlikely that ill-fitting pair of shoes languishing at the back of your wardrobe, though, you can’t just get rid of your marketing.
So this post is all about going back to basics with your marketing. You’re going to be tidying up the marketing that you already have and then creating a simple, repeatable process to help you consistently market your freelancing business every month.
There are two phases to the decluttering process:
First, we’re going to tidy up our shop windows
Then, we’re going to create a super simple marketing plan and commit to implementing it each month
🧹 Spruce up your shop window
Even digital freelancers and service-based professionals have a shop window. It’s called… the internet. Your clients will look you up online at some point – whether they’re actually finding you via your website or social media, or if they’re just scoping you out before agreeing to work with you, your online presence is talking on your behalf.
This week, we’re going to spend a bit of time sprucing up our shop windows. Put aside an hour or so this week to give your online presence a bit of tidy up. Don’t worry, you’re not redesigning websites or anything too complicated, instead, you’re going to work with what you already have in order to make it sing.
👉 Start by auditing all the places online where you have a presence
No matter how big or small. These include social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as your own website. Using the pointers below, give these profiles a quick makeover.
Share your mission with the world
In the previous post, we talked about the importance of writing a mission sentence. That one line that summarises your freelancing purpose and articulates your why. If you don’t have that sentence yet, go back and revisit the exercise because you'll need it to tidy up your marketing materials.
Using that sentence, re-write your bio.
You need a longer bio to use on your website and to send to prospective clients. You also need a short bio for your social media profiles.
Your bio is the online equivalent of your elevator pitch. It’s what potential clients, customers and collaborators will see when they pass you on the internet.
I’m a fan of what I call the “three-point bio”. You describe yourself in threes, using three titles and then explaining the three main things you do. For example, Anna Codrea-Rado is a journalist, podcaster and campaigner, she covers business, culture and technology with a particular focus on working life.
Let your personality come through your bio; mine are filled with emojis. However you construct your bio, the most important thing to remember is that it needs to make sense to your clients. It’s OK if your mum doesn’t understand your bio, but your next client has to.
If you want some inspiration, here some of my bios out in the wild:
Upgrade your selfie
While you’re tinkering with your copy, sort out your visuals as well. Treat yourself to a good picture to use across your socials.
You don’t need to get a professional headshot taken, you can DIY it instead. Ask your partner, friend or housemate to take a photo of you on your camera phone’s portrait mode against a brick wall or a bookshelf. It’s a ridiculously simple step, but it will make your profiles sparkle.
Make it professional
In the creative freelancing world, professional doesn’t mean boring, it just means speaking in your clients’ language.
As you tidy up your online profiles, make sure you’re spelling out exactly what you do for clients. For example, in your website copy, be specific about your services. “I provide editorial support for small businesses and social enterprises, my services include content audits, editorial planning and idea generation”.
Use language that makes sense to your clients. For example, on LinkedIn rather than describing yourself as a “wordsmith” or “copy ninja”, use language prospective clients will be using to search for you, like “Freelance writer specialising in B2B tech and finance copy”.
Throw out what’s not working
As you’re going through all the places you have a profile on the internet, you might discover some you’ve completely forgotten about. Get rid of them! You don’t need to be on every single platform. It’s always better to be on fewer platforms with up-to-date and accurate information than have dusty sites with your name pop up from random corners of the internet.
While we’re talking about sites that don’t serve you, it’s OK if that includes your own site. Too many freelancers have out-of-date websites that don’t bring them in any work and only cost them the annual hosting fee.
If you do want to keep your website, strip it right back to its essentials. Most freelancers only need a contact page, an about page and a portfolio page. Keep the design simple and, most importantly, easy-to-read. It’s so much better to have a straightforward website with correct information than one that’s impossible to decipher.
✅ Simplify your marketing plan
Do you know what’s the biggest predictor of successful marketing? Consistency. Keep doing something over and over and you will get results. If you know what you’re supposed to be doing each month, you have a much higher chance of actually sticking to it. Enter: the marketing plan.
A marketing plan doesn’t have to be overly involved. If it’s focused and concise, it only needs to be one page long. The simpler your marketing plan is, the more likely you’ll implement it each month. And, by creating a template, you can rinse and repeat the process.
So what needs to go into this magical marketing plan? Not a lot! Here are my five marketing questions that you need to ask yourself each month:
What’s my marketing goal?
What will I do to reach that goal?
What steps will I take to do that?
When will I take these steps?
What tools will I use to execute this plan?
👉 Example
What’s my marketing goal?
By the end of this month, I want to have two new commercial writing clients
What will I do to reach that goal?
I will send out Letters of Interest to attract new clients
What steps will I take to do that?
Make a list of potential clients I would like to work with
Research the clients
Draft a Letter of Interest template to use, which I’ll tailor slightly for each client
Send to potential clients
When will I take these steps?
On Mondays, I will research potential clients. On Wednesday mornings, I will send out my Letters of Interest to them
What tools will I use to implement this plan?
I will use email to send out my Letters of Interest and I will keep track of the results in a spreadsheet