Inkwell published to Freelance Switch

If you're a freelancer, I highly recommend visiting Freelance Switch, a blog with tons of good information for solo-entrepreneurs. 

I recently wrote a post, "Six Ways to Follow-up With Prospects Without Being Creepy," and I'd love you to read it if you get the chance! 

Iced white mocha and casual networking, please.

I must confess. I'm a coffee shop junkie. Every morning, I goto the Daily Grind in downtown Stillwater to chat with friends, enjoy an iced white chocolate mocha, and eavesdrop on gossip.

For some time, I felt guilty about this "extracurricular" activity because it seemed to keep me away from important things (building my business and working with clients). Lately, I've begun to lighten up on myself.

You see, hanging out at the coffee shop has started to work for me: people are using me for writing jobs. It's a networkers dream: a bunch of local business people come together each morning to talk and drink coffee. Super casual, always fun.

Do you have a local watering hole? I'm interested to know where people are casually networking and finding success.

Tag Team Marketing: Three Ways to Cross-Market Your Business.

Today I had a meeting with an awesome Kick-Butt Business Coach, Amy. We met to discuss all the potential ways we can cross-promote our businesses.

You're probably wondering what a copywriter and a business coach have in common. On the surface, not a whole lot. But here's the thing: Amy does sessions on nailing down ideal clients. 

In case you don't know, if you want to write marketing content that turns prospects into clients, earns more sales, and helps your business grow, you need to write content for your audience. Your audience should be your ideal client.

As it turns out, it makes my job a whole lot easier when my clients know who they're trying to reach through their marketing. It seems that an individual who has just figured out who they should market to would need some marketing written. Working--or cross marketing--with Amy is a perfect fit. I can send her clients that need a bit more help nailing down their ideal client, and she can send me folks that need help writing marketing material after she's coached them. 

The moral? Find a professional you can cross-market with. Focus on the type of clients they attract--not their industry. That way, you won't rule anyone out and give yourself an excellent opportunity to grow your business. 

Here are a five ways to benefit from cross-marketing:

1. Share email lists. 

If you and your potential cross-marketing partner have similar client bases, advertise on the other's list. For instance, a graphic designer and writer might promote each other on their email newsletters or blog. Similar services with similar clients.

2. Do a Joint Mailing.

Direct mail can be expensive, but not if you can share the cost with a partner. If you send out a postcard or do a mailed promotion, partner up!

3. Have a workshop.

If you and a business acquaintance have industry expertise in slightly different areas, offer a workshop. For instance, an accountant and a financial advisor might prepare a tag-team presentation on preparing taxes on planning a yearly budget. If you do a workshop with another professional, you'll offer the audience more bang for their buck.

Really, the ideas for cross-promotion are endless. I hope this post gets your wheels turning.

How to write a marketing plan.

If you're a small business, or a freelance creative like me, it's essential to write a marketing plan. I know this might seem daunting (or even a bit boring), but to me it seems worth it. You put in a few hours of grunt work on the front end, and then your marketing is practically on autopilot for the rest of the year. 

The hang-up, I think, is that we get bogged down in the details--we think our marketing plan has to be super elaborate to be effective. It doesn't. If you're small, you can keep your plan to one or two pages. Here's what I think you need to include:

1. A goal. 

Without an end in mind, you can't develop a marketing plan that works. Your goal should be measurable and realistic. A client of mine, for instance, indicated that she wanted to grow her client base. I asked her to define what she meant. "Grow" was very vague. After I questioned her response, she indicated that she wanted to get 50 new clients this year. We can definitely measure her new specific goal. Keep measurable in mind when you set your goal--instead of saying you want to make more money, indicate a dollar amount. If you want to do more networking, set a number of events you want to attend each week.  These goals will keep you on track and accountable.  Once you have a goal, put it on the top of your marketing plan. It can be just a sentence or two. For example: "By the end of 2009, I will have 15 clients on retainer contracts."

2. A method.

Now that you have a goal, you need a means to get there. Consider the following types of marketing (this list is by no means comprehensive):

• Blogs
• Email newsletters
• Commenting on forums
• Direct mail
• Personal letters
• Networking events
• Website
• Radio
• Podcasting
• Television
• Guerrilla techniques.
• Phone calls
• Online Social Media.

Your marketing can, and should include a combination of the methods above. However, different goals (and target audiences) call for different types of marketing. Pick methods that are sure to work for you. For instance, you wouldn't use an online marketing strategy to reach elderly clients. 

Note the types of marketing you plan to use to reach your potential clients and your goal in your plan. (This only needs to be about one paragraph.)

3. Your target audience.

Before you start spending money on marketing, you should know who you're trying to reach. If your marketing isn't targeted at someone, it isn't reaching anyone, and you're wasting money. To find your target audience (the group of people you most want to work with, the group that will spend the money on your service or product, and the group of people who will tell all their friends about you) ask yourself the following questions:

• How old are they?
• Are they men or women?
• Where do they live?
• Do they have kids? Are they single?
• What is their lifestyle like? (Are they members of a book club or a drinking club?)
• What keeps them up at night worrying?
• What do they need to make their lives easier?
• What magazines/websites/blogs do they read?
• What is their typical day like?
• What TV shows do they watch?

You might consider writing a page-long profile about your ideal client. Once you know who you're trying to reach, you can better select the methods for reaching them. In addition, you'll know what kind of marketing strategy will best move them to do business with you. You'd approach a married woman with children differently than a teenage boy, for instance. 

4. Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

A unique selling proposition is what makes your business different and better than your competitors. It helps you stand out. Common sense? Sure. Easy to implement? Not exactly.

Here's the problem: everyone markets the same things as their USP. Things like good service, reliability, timeliness, etc. When you're saying the same thing as everyone else, you're not exactly unique. 

When defining your USP, you need to really understand what makes your product or service different and better than your competitors. How do you stand out? You need to know, because all of your marketing will center around this proposition. Ask the following questions:

• Are you faster? Can you offer a guarantee around this proposition? (Think Dominos and their 30-minute delivery promise.)
• Are you the first of your kind? 
• Been in business the longest? 
  
• What makes you so different that you're impossible to forget?

Once you develop a USP, write one sentence describing it and include it on your marketing plan. For instance: "A fully functioning website in less than 30 days, or you get it free."  So maybe this example is a bit extreme, but you get what I mean.

5. A monthly plan indicating your marketing activities.

I like to keep this step simple, because this is where people get bogged down. Write down three things you plan to do each month to market your business. It can be as simple as this:

January: 

1. Attend three networking meetings.

2. Send out two sales letters.

3. Write three blog posts per week, and comment on two similar blogs per week.

If you keep your steps simple and low in number (I find three things effective), you're more likely to do it. Write down steps for each month, and your set.

Writing a marketing plan does not have to be hard. The best part? Your plan will keep you marketing consistently, make the process automatic, and help you earn more clients and establish better relationships.

Small mistakes=big money.

I recently had the experience of having my new business cards designed and printed. Being a freelance, I was excited: I've seen a lot of shoddy business cards (no offense if you're not satisfied with your current image). 

I think that having a professionally designed card and brand says a lot about your business. However, I made a small (yet colossal) mistake on my cards. I approved the proof without really looking at the copy.  Do you see anything wrong with the following card?

If you're not seeing the mistake, here's your English lesson courtesy Jack Lynch and his Guide to Grammar and Style:

Principal versus Principle.

Principal can be either an adjective or a noun; principle is strictly a noun.

Principal, adjective: chief, main, leading, most important.

Principal, noun: the most important person or group of people ("After much debate, the two principals reached an agreement"); the head of a school (the principal person in the administration); borrowed money (as distinct from interest).

Principle (always a noun): a rule, standard, law, guideline, or doctrine.

Worth keeping straight. The most common booboo is probably using principle as an adjective. Don't. [Entry added 20 Jan. 2005.]

What I meant to have on my card was the word principal. Oops. As a copywriter, I could not hand out these cards. I mean, what kind of impression is that? It cost an additional $87 to have my cards re-printed, not to mention the time-delay and my inability to hand them out to new contacts at a networking meeting. Here's the new version:

So, the long and short is to at least edit your material before you have it printed. Have an extra set of eyes look over everything. Who knows, your mistake could cost a lot more than $87. 

I'm thinking I may want to use these "bad" cards as some sort of promotional piece. Any ideas?

Testing, one two.

Just a quick note to kick off my new blog! Must apologize for the generic layout...I will be working on this very soon! 

For more information about Inkwell Marketing in the meantime, check out my new site: www.inkwell-marketing.com.  

Or (if you really want info) you can check out my old site: www.lindsayberger.net. 

Either way I look forward to posting more soon!