To market ourselves effectively to the clients we want to work with, we should
- understand what we can offer them and what makes that offering valuable
- have a clearly defined set of goals and to-do list of steps that will help us reach them.
These were key takeaways from our March 14th gathering, a follow-up to January’s marketing-focused evening.
We started the evening sharing overviews of our goals with one another: some of us wanted to develop websites and fluency with social media, while others hoped to attend more publishing-related events or print up-to-date business cards. The most frequently mentioned goal among the freelancers present was to achieve a greater level of income stability. Using Adrienne’s worksheets, we noted such things as who our ideal clients were, what types of editing we could offer them, in what areas of publishing (subject/genre) we desired to work, and what other qualities we had that would differentiate ourselves and our skills from other editors. We compiled notes for cold calling, elevator pitches, and to-do lists.
Who knew competitive marketing could be such a strenuous exercise of looking inward? Some of us might feel overwhelmed just by the idea of marketing ourselves competitively. We’re editors first, after all—our primary focus should be the quality of our editing, right? Nevertheless, good marketing needs to be one of an editor’s priorities.
At night’s end each of us trudged out into the cold from our gathering more confident and ready to do better marketing for our businesses.
Special thanks to Adrienne Montgomerie, who granted us permission to use several worksheets from her upcoming book on marketing a freelance editorial business. (The book is currently available as handouts for Adrienne’s online course through Copyediting.com.)
Announcements
Elizabeth d’Anjou announced that registration was open for the Editors Canada national conference coming up May 25–27 in Saskatoon. The theme is Bridging Communities: Bringing Together Communications-Related Professions. Come party on the prairie with 150 editors! Hear the hilarious James Harbeck, in full tux, host the post-banquet Oops Awards! Stay at the (surprisingly affordable) Radisson Hotel in Saskatchewan’s City of Bridges!
She also mentioned the upcoming webinars, which include
- The Mighty Verb Under the Microscope (May 2)
- Starting a Freelance Editing Career (May 5 & 12)
- Manuscript Evaluation (May 14)
- Demystifying Permissions (June 5, 6, & 7)
Stephanie Stone reminded everyone that the twig’s new fee policy was now in effect: Editors Canada members continue to attend twig meetings free, and visitors are charged $5 per meeting (after the first).
Photo by Justin See (licensed under Creative Commons).