Category: Advice

12 Questions to Help You Identify Your Ideal Client

Posted on April 18, 2014 by - Advice

Here are 12 questions to help you identify your ideal client. Once you know, you can tailor your business practices and marketing strategy more effectively.

Identifying Your Ideal Client


So, who is your ideal client? What are their characteristics? If you have no idea, or only a vague notion, you’re playing a hit or miss game. Before you can have a client roster of ideal clients, you first need to know how to identify your ideal client in a line-up. This is going to require some research on your part. The following questions will help you nail down some of the qualities you look for in an ideal client.

  1. What kind of writing/work are you most interested in getting paid for? List three and be as specific as you can.
  2. What are your ideal rates for this preferred work? (Not what you think the client can afford, but what you’d ideally like to receive.)
  3. In your opinion, what industries/professionals need this kind of writing? List as many as you can think of.
  4. Is your ideal client a public or private company? (Ex: Oregon Lottery or Humane Society) Are they for- or non-profit? (Ex: Nike or Oregon Humanities)
  5. What is the ideal company size for your ideal client? (Ex: single location or chain; small, medium, or large.)
  6. What is their employee size?
  7. What is the ideal yearly income of your ideal client?
  8. Where is your ideal client located? (Ex: local, regional, national, or international; Portland, Nova Scotia, Sydney, Dubai, etc.)
  9. What are some desired characteristics of your ideal client contact? (Ex: funny, female, communicative, open to new ideas, 40-60 years old, has clear project vision, etc.)
  10. Do you know the names of specific companies/professionals that fit your criteria and/or that you’d like to work with? List at least three.
  11. In your experience, can these companies/professionals pay your ideal rates?
  12. If not, either reconsider them as ideal clients or change your rates accordingly. What a copywriter can charge an attorney in Portland may be far less than what she can charge an attorney in Los Angeles.


By this point, you should have a short list of at least three specific companies or professionals who fit your criteria and with whom you’d like to work.

Congratulations! This is a huge step toward landing clients that are ideal for you.

Ok, so now you know what your ideal client looks like, but how do you find them? I’ll tell you in my next post.

5 Tips to Help You Enjoy Networking Events

Posted on April 10, 2014 by - Advice

One of the things that I hear from other freelancers is how hard networking is. And it seems that writers are even more prone to this idea. In fact, I used to think the same thing. I hated the idea of getting out and meeting new people. The idea of having to tell people about what I did, and why they might want to part with some of their hard earned dollars, or asking other freelancers if they knew of potential clients? Forget about it. It was the last thing I wanted to do.

So, what changed? This week, I have two evenings devoted to networking and I am looking forward to both of them. I really noticed the change after an event I attended a few weeks ago. I have to say, a big part of my enjoyment comes from the events I’m attending. I have been doing this long enough that I know a great group of people, though this isn’t necessary for good networking. Through those connections, I have found events that are fun and productive. Which is exactly what you want.

Here are a five tips that may help you enjoy networking events:

  1. Go with a good friend or colleague the first time or two.

    That way, if you start to feel lost or overwhelmed you will have a familiar face to talk to. Your friend might even do the talking and introduce you to great people!

  2. Take business cards!

    I cannot stress this enough and I am notorious for going to events without cards. Amazing opportunities can, and will happen. Make sure people have a way to contact you. I’m going to put more in my bag right now. Really.

  3. Take a notebook and write down ideas that pop up as you network.

    A conversation could be a great jumping off point for a new project. You can also write down your impressions of other people and your ideas about future collaboration.

  4. Go to events that sound interesting to you.

    This is really important. I started going to the PDX WIIT (Women in Information Technology) events last summer and they are a blast! I have mentioned them to some of my other writer friends and got, “Meh.” back. That’s totally okay. More geeky tech events for me. Point: Find information you love.

  5. Try to have fun.

    I know this is a cheesy one, but if you go with the idea that the event is going to suck…it probably will. Even if you can’t have fun, remind yourself that this is a great way to connect with like-minded people, and could land you a job. It’s hard to go wrong with either of those.

You all might be wondering what networking events I go to on a regular basis that are so cool. I have another list for you. What can I say? I’m a technical writer.

 

  • My professional writing group, the Copywriter Conclave of Portland, has a monthly meeting and happy hour. You can email membership@portlandcopywriters.com for time and location. (We’re hosting a Resume Design for Non-Designers workshop on April 23rd, by the way. You should come!)

  • The Freelancers Union hosts a happy hour every month at the Green Dragon. This is a super fun, really great for networking, positive event. By the time this posts, April’s event will have passed, but I look forward to seeing you all in May.

  • The Freelancers Union also hosts workshops on a monthly basis. Check out their calendar for more information.

  • PDX WIIT has events regularly. I recommend following them on Twitter or LinkedIn for specific events.

  • And, finally, a quick Google search of Portland Freelance Mixers/Events will lead you to many more, literally, like four million more.

I hope this will help ease some of the stress that can come along with thinking about putting yourself out there. And I hope to see many more people at future events.

5 Co-Working Spaces in Portland

Posted on April 3, 2014 by - Advice, Resources

(Update!  Please also check out this updated blog post for a more complete list of co-working spaces in Portland.)

Working from home saves you money, but for the sake of creativity, productivity, and sanity, many freelancers choose to rent office space, or at least a desk. By renting a desk in an office or co-working space, you can reap all the benefits of having an office without paying a ransom in rent.

The average cost to rent a desk in Portland is about $300 per month. Costs for a permanent, private desk are higher, and costs for an actual office with a door are higher still. If you’ve thought about renting a desk or office in a co-working space, visit each one and see how they feel. Many of them have various amenities and perks for their members.

Here are 5 co-working spaces in Portland to consider:

  1. Collective Agency and Collective Agency Division
  2. The Hive
  3. NedSpace
  4. TENpod
  5. Forge Portland

Renting a desk/office is definitely not a requirement for success as a freelancer. I know quite a few freelancers who are perfectly happy with their home office setups, or nomadic working conditions. So, if you’re happy working at the kitchen table, couch, or coffee shops, keep doin’ what you’re doin’.

Are there other co-working spaces in Portland that I’ve missed? Share them in the comments.

11 TED Talks to Help You Live, Work, and Think Better

Posted on March 20, 2014 by - Advice, Resources

I’m a huge fan of TED Talks. Seriously, who isn’t?

I stumbled across this inspirational series about how to organize your life, work, and way of thinking to make all those things better. The series has great talks like “The power of time off”, “How to make work-life balance work”, and my very favorite, “How great leaders inspire action” by Simon Sinek.

The whole series totals 2 hours and 38 minutes. Can you spare that amount of time (not necessarily all at once) to improve the way you live, work, and think? Your answer should be, “Yes”.

TED Talks Work Smarter Series

6 Tips to Start Your Freelance Copywriting Business

Posted on March 13, 2014 by - Advice

So you want to be a freelance copywriter. Of course you do. Who wouldn’t? You get to do something you’re good at, be your own boss, work from home, and (fill in other benefits of being self-employed).

But how do you do it? How do you start that process and become a freelance copywriter? Here are the first six things I did when I got started (after I bought and read The Well-Fed Writer, that is).

1) Decide you’re going into business for yourself

Maybe you got laid off from your staff position and want a change, maybe you need more flexibility in your work life, or maybe you just plain want to be a writer. Whatever your reasons are for seeking this career path, put your stake in the ground and claim it.

Repeat after me: “I am a freelance copywriter.” Say this twice daily for a week. Say it to yourself and to others.

2) Decide what kind of writing you’re going to do

Business writing, ghostwriting (books, blogs, and social media posts, for example), advertisements, environmental writing, marketing, email autoresponders, white papers, food articles, stories for magazines, essays for journals, narratives, etc. There are so many different kinds of writing you can do! Knowing what kind of writing you want to do is important because it will determine the kinds of clients you pursue.

To figure this out, you could ask yourself this question: “What do I enjoy writing?” Go with that. I would recommend writing out as long a list as possible of the kinds of writing you want to do. This list will prove helpful when it’s time to identify your ideal clients (which we’ll discuss in a later post).

Also, you can write multiple kinds of copy if you like, and I would recommend this for those of you just starting out. There are arguments to be made for having diverse writing expertise (general marketing copy, for example), and then there are those that encourage niché specialization (only writing white papers). Over time, you’ll learn which way is best for you and your business goals.

3) Get your portfolio together

Résumé and samples, electronic and hard copy. I strongly recommend getting a hard cover binder together with samples of your work to show to prospective clients. Keep it current at all times. If this seems too archaic to you, by all means create an online portfolio that you can show off on your laptop or iPad while in meetings.

Only very occasionally do I use the hard copy portfolio, but it’s best to be prepared. Prospective clients mostly request this information via email, and I send it as a PDF and/or refer them to the portfolio page on my website. Having an online portfolio is only a good idea. This way, prospects will be able to see your work at their leisure and you’ll have a very strong piece of your marketing to point to when you meet them. If you don’t have a portfolio page attached to your website, you can create one through websites like Carbonmade.com or Cargocollective.com.

What should be included in your portfolio? Anything you’ve written that you would be interested in writing again and that showcases your abilities. If your portfolio is small, you might want to fill it out by doing some pro bono or speculative work. When I was getting started, I had very little to show for myself. I posted an ad on Craigslist offering to write content for free on the condition that I got to use the work in my portfolio. It worked. My first two clients came from Craigslist (and one of them even offered to pay me right away!).

4) Pick a good name for your business

Your business name doesn’t necessarily have to be relevant to writing, but that would help. At least make it relevant to your personality. Here are some examples: Pivotal Writing; Knock Out Words; Enlighten Writing; and Gunderson Writing.

Many writers just use their names like: Sheilaashdown.com, Lisanatalieanjozian.com, and Rachelhisakowright.com. Decide what feels good to you and stick with it. If you know anyone with relevant marketing skills, ask for their input.

5) Get a website

You can get a free blog/website from sites like WordPress.com, Blogger, or MyBlogSite. My website is through WordPress.org and I love it. (More on WordPress.com versus .org later.) Setting-up a basic website is pretty simple these days. If you want something a little fancier, a little higher end, consider hiring a web designer to do this for you.

When it comes to your website, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. But there are plenty of strategies, tricks, and considerations. Look over the websites listed above and get an idea for the range of things you could do with yours.

Don’t worry about a logo right away unless you already have something in mind. Also, consider getting your website hosted. It’s not required to have a website, but if you host it, then you own all the content. If you don’t, you don’t. (More on this later.)

6) Get a business card

No, they’re not outdated. And yes, they are still very much a part of business. All the cool kids have them. I’d recommend printing on both sides. Because why not? Otherwise the back is just wasted advertising space.

Stay tuned for more freelance copywriter start-up tips in future posts.