Create your freelance writing marketing calendar for a BIG writing year

In the first week of a new year, it’s time to create your marketing calendar if you haven’t already done so.

Marketing, or the “marketing mix” of the 4Ps – product, price, promotion and place – is the most important part of your freelance writing business. It’s just as important as your writing.

In some ways marketing is even more important than your writing, especially if you depend on clients to give you writing jobs, because without some efficient marketing, you won’t have any jobs – or you’ll have jobs which are so low-paying that you’d be better off at the golden arches, asking “Will you have fries with that?”

How much do you want to earn this year?

The first step in creating your marketing calendar is deciding how much you want to earn this year. If you want to become a full-time freelance writer, you’ll want to earn at least 150 per cent of your current gross income. The extra 50 per cent covers all the “extras” like health insurance and business expenses.

Once you’ve decided, it’s time to plan your products.

You’re a product!

I always chuckle at the indignant responses I get from my writing students when I tell them that they’re a product. It’s the first time they’ve ever thought of themselves as a commodity.

We don’t have the time to go into it here, but your writing services – what you write – are products. (Read my marketing ebook for more.)

So if for example, you decide that one of your products this year is PR packages, you’ll write that down as one of the products you’ll be selling this year.

Remember that if you want to make a great income as a freelance writer, you should aim to sell products which are both easy to sell, and for which you are well paid.

Plan your promotions and put them on your marketing calendar

Next, plan your promotions. How much you spend on promoting your freelance writing business depends on you.

In the beginning, when you’re starting out, you’ll have zero to spend on promotions, but as soon as you can, start budgeting for promotions – ten to 20 per cent of your business’s gross income is about right – remember that promotions are a business expense.

My ebook “You CAN Sell Your Writing Now: Marketing Skills For Writers” teaches you to become a successful marketer of your writing and your writing skill.

I urge you to start marketing your freelance writing; the more time and energy you spend marketing, the higher your writing income will be.

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