Do you feel like you put hours into your marketing efforts, but get very little return? Does the sight of marketing tasks on your to-do list fill you with dread? It doesn’t have to be that way! A quick review of your marketing practices could help you improve your results.
Marketing is essential for freelancers. Or at least it is for those freelancers who want to keep expanding their client base and proactively growing their careers. If you provide translation services, for example, effective marketing can land you with a steady stream of clients who are prepared to pay good money in order to benefit from your services. This can in turn provide you with a sense of security over your income — something that many freelancers are desperate to achieve.
It’s good to acknowledge that marketing doesn’t come naturally to everyone — it’s a skill that some people are more adept at than others. So if your marketing efforts have been largely ineffective, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, take heart from the fact that there are tips and tricks that everyone can learn in order to enhance their marketing.
For example, how much do you focus your mailshots? Do you use one generic message that you send out to all your contacts? Or do you tailor the message to suit different types of respondents? A well-crafted and carefully targeted message has a much bigger chance of success than a generic one.
Another common mistake is to tell potential clients about your services without explaining the benefits. It’s helpful to list what you can do, but it’s far better if you can start by showing the potential client how you can save them time and money. Put yourself in the client’s shoes and think creatively about what they need in order to get your message across more effectively.
Also, don’t waffle. Writers, professional translators and others with a love of language may be inclined to wax lyrical in marketing materials, but the more concise the message, the more impact it will have. Keep marketing copy focused and to the point — your potential clients are busy people, so deliver your message without the fluff.
[bctt tweet=”Keep marketing copy focused and to the point — your potential clients are busy people.” username=”multilingualmag”]
Give some thought too to the kinds of marketing that you undertake. You can sell your services by email, telephone, social media, video marketing and many other ways. Why not mix up the methods to see which works best for you? Just be sure to keep a note of what you’ve tried and what works, so that you can hone future efforts to focus on particular areas of success.
It may seem at times that marketing is something off a dark art, but with a disciplined approach you can turn it into an effective tool to expand your business, and you might even learn to enjoy it!
