Top 5 Weekly

Self-Promotion Rules for Freelancers

Tweet

Try coworking. Chances are, there's a co-working space (or three) in your vicinity. Buy a day pass, head on over, and see what develops. A change of scenery is stimulating — and being surrounded my like-minded freelancers? Never a bad thing. Who knows what'll shake out?

Re-fuel your blog. If your blog traffic is a little lackluster, throw some tried-and-true linkbait into your post titles: "How To ____," "Top 10____," "5 Myths About____," "The Truth About ____," "6 Ways To Increase Your ____." Just because they're linkbaity doesn't mean you can't make them awesome.

Write a pitch letter. Even if you're feeling comfortably booked, it's important to keep your pitching skills sharp. Draft a letter and shoot it off to a slightly-out-of-reach prospect. You might be surprised how well it works. (Or, just save it as a template & file it away for future use.)

Broaden your sphere. If widening your customer base is a priority, you need to actively place yourself in front of fresh audiences. Scour Help A Reporter Out (HARO) for interview opportunities. Join American Public Media's Public Insight Network. Or simply propose a guest-post swap with a blogger-friend.

Do lunch. If you work at home, it's easy to fall into a pattern of dining "al desko" every single day. Make an effort to chow down with a colleague, comrade, client or mentor in real life, at least once a week. Opportunity comes from getting out of your box.

Download the weekly self-promotion worksheet!

The Bottom Line

Self-promotion isn't about taking two days a month to market yourself, it's about little actions you do every day... and every week. It's not just about doing great work, but it's also sure as hell not just about telling everyone how awesome you are. It's about reaching people you can help, and fueling the creative fire with your compatriots.

PS: We did a Top 5 Daily Self-Promotion Rules for Freelancers checklist, too!