This is a guest post by Peter Bowerman, author of The Well-Fed Writer.
Gloom. Doom. Dark prognostications. Gathering clouds. The end of prosperity as we know it. Wooooo. You can't pick up a newspaper or flip on the news these days without hearing the latest evidence of the "slowing economy," "the economic downturn," the "national reversal of fortune." Yeah, whatever.
In the past few months, I've received a small flood of e-mails asking me about the viability of starting a freelance commercial writing business in these changing economic times. I can just picture the furrowed brows and chewed-up nails as they type away. So whether you're a struggling commercial freelancer or pondering the leap, read on…
So, what's the story in the commercial writing field? OK, bad news and good news. Bad news is that sure, in some ways, there's been a slowdown. When companies scale back, projects scale back as well. Companies who used to hire a lot of freelancers might choose to pull more of their writing work in-house.
The good news? Do companies stop working, promoting and advertising during slow periods? Of course not. In fact, that's the time to get more aggressive. Fact is, most of my colleagues are steady with work and a healthy number are swamped. More importantly, downsizing creates opportunities. When a company scales back, it means fewer employees to do the same amount of work. And that means overworked employees. The same company who couldn't afford to keep on full-time marketing or writing staff might very well be able to afford to hire a freelancer for specific projects and finite amounts of time to get the work done. Add to that plenty of other companies who were used to using expensive agencies and design firms but now may find the freelancer option a lot more attractive.
Let me tell you a story. A few years back, as I passed a cubicle in the office of my biggest client, the regional telecom giant, the nameplate looked familiar. I stuck my head in. "Did you used to have an ad agency?" "I did," was the reply, "but thanks to the huge recession in the creative industry back then, I had to shut my doors." Hmmm. Really. Huge recession in the creative industry? Where was I?
I'll tell you where I was: with my blinders on, launching a writing a business for which I had no previous paid writing experience, no writing background and no industry contacts. Right smack dab in the midst of a huge creative recession. Something I thankfully, was blissfully unaware of at the time.
Ah…now I remembered her. She was one of several people who told me, that with my mighty lean credentials, I'd have a heck of a time making it as a freelance commercial writer. "Thanks for sharing" I recall thinking. I hit financial self-sufficiency in four months that very year. Not that I'd blame anyone for hesitating and sticking to the "security" of a steady (for now) paycheck, of course…
My point is to not buy into any story about "how things are out there" in the market. Focus not on what the "experts" are saying, but instead, on what you want. By definition, the "conventional wisdom" just doesn't factor in the intangibles that mean everything: the drive, ambition, motivation and commitment that any given person has to change their situation. Not to mention the cumulative effect of sustained, focused action toward that goal. Show me someone with all that and the facts don't matter.
Why not create an alternate belief? How about this: "There's plenty of work out there and a bunch of clients are just waiting for my call." Sound silly? Frankly, it's a lot truer than the reverse and if you're going to make something up (and I assert that we're making it up when we decide that there's no business out there just because some analyst tells us times are tough), you might as well make up something that empowers you.
And as one savvy commercial freelancer from Australia who shares my optimism so wisely pointed out, "The more people who believe that it's so much tougher to find work, the less competition I'll have for those jobs." In leaner times, if we look at the want ads, there may be fewer listings but that doesn't mean there are no jobs. They've just gone 'underground.' Same with writing jobs. During times like these, they may not be the 'low-hanging' fruit they once were, but they're there.
Job Insecurity
Sure, it's pretty scary to ponder going out on your own. But let's be honest. You want to talk uncertainty? Try today's job market. Do you really feel more secure as an employee? Rest assured, you build a writing business in this market and your sense of confidence and accomplishment will be enormous. And when things do inevitably pick up again, you'll be "cherry-picking."
One's Eggs in Many Baskets
Think of investment strategy. Do financial planners suggest we put all our money in pork bellies or high-tech stocks? Of course not. The catchword is "diversify." By the same token, does it make more sense to try to earn all your money from one "client" (i.e., your full-time employer) or try to earn a little bit from many clients (self-employment) and spread the risk around?
So, what strategies can you use to be heard and to get hired in these "leaner" times?
Welcome to Boomtown
For starters, stop thinking of them as leaner times. There's business out there and you only need an absolutely infinitesimal percentage of it to make a very handsome living. More than anything, this is a mental game. Your reality is what you think it is. Call me a psychobabbler, but it's true.
Get Real
So, as you hit the phones or create marketing postcards or plan any other strategic "contact-your-market" campaign, remember that most people you contact won't be interested in your services. In good markets or bad, that's the reality. So, if most calls or feelers are coming up goose eggs, great. That's par for the course. And each "no" brings you that much closer to your next "Yes!" Keep calling.
Tighten Your Market Focus
Try focusing in on one market niche. Maybe your background, experience or skill sets lie in healthcare, high-tech or financial services. Leverage what you know. Or perhaps you can position yourself as the brochure, newsletter, or web content pro. It makes sense to present yourself as the expert in a particular area and in the process, clarify and simplify your professional offering.
Or if you don't want to limit yourself to one type of project, lead with one and mention a few others. "While my specialty is speeches, keep in mind that I also do brochures and newsletters."
Tighten Your Message
In addition to tightening your market focus, try tightening your message. In addition to a simple capabilities statement - with either an industry or project focus - tell a client what they want to hear. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. What can you assume about many corporate writing-buyers these days? They're overworked, overstressed and over-extended. Too much to do, not enough time to do it, and they're functioning in an environment of extreme job insecurity. They can't afford to let up or let down their guard.
Now, given all that, what do they want to hear, first and foremost from a possible vendor? That you're reliable? Yes. Dependable? Absolutely. Competent? No question. But there's an overarching message that's even more powerful: I'll make your life easier. It's the old features/benefits sales equation. Reliability, dependability and competency are all features. They're crucial but they come together to form key benefit: I'll make your life easier.
Be "Music to Their Ears"
If a client "gets" that by hiring you, they'll take things off of their "to-do" list, that it will create less, not more work for them, that you'll free them up to get other stuff done, they're going to try to think of ways to put you to work. Think in terms of enhancing their quality of life. After all, they're only human like the rest of us. They want to work less and play more. Period.
What Do They Want?
Always remember the eternal first question that good writers always ask at the beginning of every project: "Who's the audience?" And by extension: "What do they want?" FYI, it doesn't apply just to writing. It's a sound strategy for virtually any situation in which you're trying to get the attention of a group or individual - like prospective clients, for instance. Get inside their head for a moment, think about what their life is like on a day-to-day basis - what motivates them, how they think and what messages will connect with them.
Be Confidently "Count-on-able"
In times of uncertainty, people like to surround themselves with certainty - things they can count on, that are predictable. They like to work with people who are confident with themselves, their skills and what they can offer. Tell them you're a great writer, that you'll deliver what they need, when they need it, and with minimal supervision. If you're starting out, make sure you have some decent clips but even if don't have a huge and impressive portfolio bursting with gorgeous masterpieces, your confidence, enthusiasm, and persistence can be very effective trump cards.
It's All About Marketing…
Hate to break it to you, but in this day and age, if you want to make a decent living in any arena of writing, you have to be as good at marketing yourself as you are at writing. That goes for magazine writing, novels, children's books, commercial writing, anything. Gone are the days - unless you're Grisham, Gray, Clancy, King, etc. - where you can just indulge the creative side of writing and be successful (did they ever exist?) and ignore the business end. The good news is two-fold: it's not that hard if you keep your audience in mind. And so few people are really doing that and doing it well.
Put in Your Time
Most importantly, remember that this is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Count on six months to reach financial self-sufficiency. It could happen faster but plan for the longer haul. Don't make phone calls for three weeks, come up empty-handed (it could happen even in a great economy if you're new to the business) and decide that it doesn't work. Just know that it's VERY do-able.
A slowing economy doesn't have to determine your destiny. With a little mental practice and a few smart marketing strategies, you can transform it into little more than a mildly interesting phenomenon of limited relevance to your life. If you believe what you hear, then it's true. If you choose not to, it's not. Your choice.
Peter Bowerman of Fanove Publishing is the self-published author of The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less, an award-winning triple-book-club selection (Book-of-the-Month, Quality Paperback Book and Writer's Digest) on launching a freelance commercial writing business. His clients includes Coca-Cola, MCI, BellSouth, UPS, Cingular, American Express, Mercedes-Benz, The Discovery Channel, and many others. He has published over 250 columns and articles and leads seminars on writing. You can reach him at: bowerman@mindspring.com
© Copyright 2002 Peter Bowerman
