As blog writers, how often are you pitching content ideas?
According to a recent survey, 43% of freelance writers are looking for new writing jobs every day. But how many are creating them?
While new clients and opportunities are definitely out there, it isn’t the only avenue freelance writers should be taking to increase their work and their revenue. Pitching content ideas should be a daily part of your outreach activities.
The same survey found that one of the biggest issues freelancers face is difficulty in finding new clients. However, the majority (43%) of freelancers only have 1-3 regular clients. From there, you see a steep drop off to the point where only 6% of freelance writers have more than 6 regular clients.
So if the dream of having a stable of dozens of clients consistently sending you to work is dead, what’s a freelancer to do?
Retain and Engage Existing Customers
Freelancers should take a page out of their customer’s books. At least 70% of companies understand that it’s cheaper to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one. The same goes for freelancers.
In order to keep your 1-3 clients engaged, send them regular content pitches they can use to fuel their content marketing. Even if your pitches aren’t exactly what they’re looking for it may be a good way to remind an inactive client of your value and keep the relationship moving forward.
Make it Easy for Your Customers
The reason some of your clients don’t send you to work regularly may just be because they don’t have any work to send. They don’t want to come up with ideas, they just want to say yes. By sending them several blog posts or other content ideas that are ready to go, you’ll make it very easy for them to say, “yes.”
The One Ready to Go, Will Usually Win
Depending on the amount of content marketing they are producing and the reliability of their freelancers, many companies have a content community of writers they can call on. In these cases, who wins the competition? Unfortunately for blog writers, it is usually a case of timing. Whoever is top of mind, when the marketing manager has a new content idea they need to outsource, will usually get the job.
This requires writers to constantly send out “checking in” emails that don’t work, don’t work, don’t work, and then suddenly hit them at the perfect time!
Instead of sending a generic checking-in email, send an email with a few different content pitches. This creates the situation where they have outsourceable content right in front of them, and you are the freelancer who is definitely top of mind.
As a freelancer, you should never stop looking for new clients and new work opportunities. But if you are only searching job boards for listings for freelance writers, you are taking a very reactive approach. It’s time to get proactive and create work for yourself.
Blog writers – this week, research all of your clients, old and new, and send them a few good content pitches specific to their company and their audience. You may be surprised by the response.
Let me know if you’d find it valuable for us to cover the best way to pitch content ideas in a future post and provide any experiences with pitching clients!