What’s on the iPod: Carrickfergus by Loudon Wainwright III
Yesterday was one of those days where I was afraid to go near anything electronic. It started when I turned on The Weather Channel (TWC) in the morning only to find it wasn’t there. Anywhere. Verizon FiOS, with their infinitely awful customer service habits, yanked the channel when they couldn’t come to an agreement with TWC on a price. And they were still negotiating a deal when Verizon made the move.
Thanks. Thanks for telling your paying customers that they were about to lose a channel they paid a premium for. If it was a bargaining trick, it backfired — Twitter lit up with complaints. Thanks for remembering who pays to keep your lights on, Verizon.
Then I went to not one, but two ATMs — both out of order. It was like Dawn of the Dead — Internet Style. But I did get a smaller project drafted, and I put some work in on a poem I’d written on Wednesday.
So today’s Friday. It’s five days from my official holiday and this blog’s anniversary. But we still have work to do before said holiday.
I was talking with a friend who’s having troubles with marketing. It always strikes me as odd when people tell me they don’t know how to market, especially when in most cases, they already are and don’t realize it.
If you’re one of those people, this post is for you.
There are a zillion ways to market and reach out to potential clients. So don’t think this is an exhaustive list — it isn’t. These are some of the simplest ways to get the word out.
Give them something. A contest announced in your newsletter or on social media can be a great way to introduce yourself to new clients. Give away a book, a gift card, whatever. People trip over themselves to win a $20 Amazon card (I’ve seen it here on this blog). And have them land on a page that also explains — briefly — who you are and what you offer.
Hold or attend an industry Twitter Chat. Yes, they do notice when you’re there. I connected with four new potential clients in one chat. They reached out to me, in fact. Go in with at least two questions to ask, and make sure to comment or retweet someone’s comment when relevant.
Give away a report or booklet. Jenn Mattern does an excellent job of providing freebies for her visitors, who often become clients. Create something your target audience could benefit from (don’t make it an advertisement for your services). Then spread the word via email and social media. (Just don’t spam, okay?)
Reach out to an “inactive” client. You’ve sold to these people before and they love what you do. What better place to look for more work, some referrals, or a recommendation you can include on your next marketing piece?
Writers, what fairly foolproof marketing methods do you love?
Happy Friday!
I haven't done a Twitter chat in a while, but they're lots of fun. Lori, I'm curious if you can recommend a good tool to follow & participate in a chat. Do you use Hootsuite or anything like that? They're difficult to follow on the Twitter website.
I was actually getting a lot of leads just from my bylines, but I'm ready to step up my marketing a bit. I'm getting back in the habit of sending LOIs regularly, and working on a white paper to offer on my website.
I actually just picked up your book, Marketing 365. So many great ideas! I highly recommended every writer reading this to pick it up now! It's a great resource when you're feeling stuck in your marketing.
No Weather Channel?!?! I'd blow a gasket, Lori.
And remember, when it comes to (paid) TV providers you're a SUBSCRIBER. If you were a mere customer the only money they'd make off you is your monthly payment for the services they provide. Healthy subscriber numbers let them command higher ad rates (cah-ching!) and negotiate financially advantageous carriage deals (cah-ching cah-ching!) — like the one they apparently weren't able to strike with The Weather Channel. (Why? Because The Weather Channel has more leverage that you'd think, since it's the go-to channel for severe weather warnings and coverage for most cable and satellite subscribers.)
Back to marketing, though. I picked up a new assignment this week from one of those inactive – or in this case, less active – clients. And this morning I downloaded six free mitten patterns from a knitting website, proving that marketing method can work, even on me.
Keri, usually I get invited to the Twitter chats.
Beyond just typing in the hash tag you want, I've heard Chirp Guide is good. I did a little digging and found this resource: http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/find-twitter-chats/495814
Also, I think Meryl Evans has posted about this in the past. You may want to check out her Meryl's Notes blog.
Paula, I'm livid. They did this to a POPULAR channel that was bundled in a premium package. No warning. Maybe I'll drop them the same way — no warning.
Good for you for tapping in to those existing clients! I'm about to do more of that next week.
Hey, at least you can still use the Weather Channel app or visit the website.
There are only two programming reasons I stick with cable: I can get TWC's Local On the 8s (on standard def channel, not the HD one), and I get regional PBS stations — otherwise unavailable here — instead of the generic PBS.
Get on social media and find out which hashtags are gaining traction and add fuel to the fire.
Thanks much for the resources, Lori! I'm off to research twitter chats now 🙂