Freelance Writing — Marketing Yourself as a Consultant

By Dana Prince

Are you a freelance writer? You may also want to become a consultant. You can develop your business in a way that translates into more success for your clients and more income potential for you. Once you provide great results and demonstrate that you are a knowledgeable professional, clients may ask you for advice. You can put together solutions that help them succeed and help you maximise your earning potential with them.

I started out doing one type of service and as my knowledge grew and I evolved, my service offerings expanded. Suddenly, people started asking for writing and business advice instead of just sending orders. As a former consultant in my previous life, this was a natural fit for me. I continually work to gather new knowledge and expand service offerings so that I don’t become archaic and that’s a plus in the world of internet marketing. I have clients ask about writing advice, come to me for blogging suggestions, SEO advice, design tips, consulting for social media, and other professional business areas as well. I’ve become more than a writer; I’ve become a trusted adviser to many clients. This opens up more opportunities for me and I see that as a good thing. How do you get there? Here are some of my suggestions:

• Offer free advice. When you deal with a client, don’t hesitate to make a suggestion about their business. You can do this from the start by making suggestions in your initial discussions or you can go back and do this after an order has been fulfilled. Don’t tip your hand entirely but a bit of free advice can go a long way.

• When a client places an order, try the “do you want fries with that?” approach. This gives you an opportunity to upsell. Be prepared to tell them why you’re making a specific recommendation and tell them how it could help them.

• Provide value. Give them more than they paid for. I try to bid on jobs with value in mind, listing my differentiators and providing them with free tips in the process. I always try to deliver more than people are expecting in an initial project. This demonstrates my commitment to value and helps them feel good about what they’re paying for. Both these things increase the chances of repeat business and referrals.

• Market yourself as a consultant. I stopped calling myself a freelance writer alone and started advertising that my business provides online marketing solutions. This tells people that I can do more than article writing for them.

I believe that with every new client I learn something and sharing my knowledge helps me help customers, positions me as a consultant, and helps my business continue to evolve. How about you? If you’ve been writing for more than a short time for clients, how has your service offering evolved?