If it were not for the Internet and the opportunities that it avails, I’m not so sure I would have been able to embark on this freelance writing journey in the first place. One area of the online world in particular that has grown alongside my business is social media. When I first started out, Facebook had just opened registration to the public and Twitter didn’t even exist yet. These days, we can’t imagine a world without these platforms.
And while sites like Twitter and Facebook are certainly useful for idle chatter and catching up with old friends, they also represent monumental potential for businesses too. This is especially true for small businesses (like those with an employee count of one), because they make it so much easier to reach out to potential customers and clients… even if both Twitter and Facebook are increasingly turning to the “pay to play” model.
From my own personal experience, I have found that by far the most successful way for me to attract new clients and grow my business is through what I call word of mouse marketing. It’s like word of mouth, but over the Internet. New clients come to me, because they find me online through some channel or another. Perhaps they notice my writing on another site. Maybe they come by way of a referral. Or they might spot me on social media.
By and large, this somewhat passive approach to marketing has been reasonably effective for me and it has allowed me to stay in business for almost a decade. Even so, I do have to take a more proactive approach now and then.
That’s exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago when I came across a tweet from an online celebrity of sorts. He’s well known within his niche (which happens to be a personal interest of mine also) and he was asking if any of his followers have ever had experience with freelance bidding sites. I chimed in, ever so innocently, to inquire about the types of services and projects he had in mind. We had a little back and forth, which eventually made its way over to an e-mail conversation.
Things didn’t quite work out in the end for a couple of different reasons, but this experience demonstrates that keeping a keen eye on the Twittersphere and other social media outlets is in the best interest of any freelancer, contractor, solopreneur or independent consultant. You never know what opportunities may come streaming through.
The first project may be small. The first payday may be modest. But that’s only the beginning to the wedge and pry technique to attracting clients and growing your business. You just have to find the right fit and, through social media, it’s become easier than ever to get connected.
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