How to Become a Freelancer with No Experience
I’ve heard many times that as soon as you start getting paid for you work, you’ve officially “made it.” That once you have your first client, everything will fall into place and get easier. While both those statements are true, they don’t do anything to help encourage new freelancers to begin their careers. Almost every freelancer starts off with zero experience and no clients. Everyone has to start from scratch and although it can be challenging and frustrating, it can be done. Here are three tips to becoming a freelancer with no experience: Build a Portfolio of Personal Work Prospective clients want to see your work in action. If you’re…
How to Choose the Right Digital Marketing Mix to Grow Your Business
Social media, SEO, content marketing, email marketing, PPC — the list of digital marketing tactics go on and on. And on top of that never-ending list, it always seems like there are new marketing strategies popping up every month. With all the different choices, how do you know which form of digital marketing is best for your business? To help you decide, we’ve taken four different scenarios and recommended the best digital marketing tactics. While there are many different ways to accomplish each goal listed below, we’re just going to focus on one or two digital marketing methods that have worked for us in the past. [Tweet “You don’t need…
How to Tell Where Your Website Traffic is Coming From
After months of trial and error, your website is finally getting a couple extra thousand visitors every month. You think, I’m doing something right! Break out the champagne! Not so fast. While an increase in website traffic is definitely something to celebrate, you need to first understand where these visitors are coming from. Someone coming to your site from organic search will behave differently than someone coming from Twitter. Here are three ways to tell where your website traffic is coming from: 1. Create a Basic Site Survey The easiest way to find out where people are coming from is simply to ask them in the form of a survey.…
How to Write Successful Case Studies That Land You More Clients
No one wants to be a show-off. But as a freelancer, you do need to brag a little bit. One of the best ways to land a new client is to showcase your past work and success. A user story, or case study, clearly outlines what you can accomplish based on real results. Everyone can talk about how great their work is, but a user story is based on facts, not hypotheticals. Here are three best practices for writing effective case studies that can win you more business: Don’t Focus on Yourself A case study should not highlight your services, it should highlight the people you work with. For example,…
How to Manage Unpaid Invoices
Being your own boss is one of the biggest perks of freelancing. However, that also means you have to do the not-so-glamorous work, like being your own contract manager and accountant. While you’ll spend the majority of your time in your element, you’ll inevitably be faced with the uncomfortable situation of asking your clients to pay you on time. This is when you have to put your small business owner hat on and take action right away; the longer you wait, the harder it will be to continually get paid on time. Here are four ways to manage unpaid invoices: 1. Be Persistent In the beginning of my freelancing career,…
What Is Content Strategy?
You write two blog posts a week, you send out a couple tweets. Your content strategy is good to go, right? Unfortunately, too many marketers confuse blogging with content strategy. While blogging is an important part, it is just one of many tactics that revolve around the planning, development, and long-term management of content. Here are four important parts of a content strategy: Collaboration Across the Company Like any successful marketing tactic, a strong content strategy comes when you work and align with different areas of your client’s company. For example, if you are working with a software company, you would need to collaborate with the product team to understand…
How Do You Start a Blog When You Have Absolutely No Audience?
The big brands have it easy. They start a blog and boom: millions of people read their posts and share them with their friends. They instantly have a blog audience. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come that easy for all of us. Most of us have to build our blog audience from scratch through listening, experimenting, and dedication. And the first couple months of a new blog are usually the hardest. What do you write about when you have no audience? What do they like? How do you reach them? Here are three tips to starting a blog when you have absolutely no audience: Listen, Listen, Listen When you’re just starting out…
How to Easily Achieve Your Blog Writing Goals
Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy positive ROI. Basically, if you consistently blog, you’re more likely to reap its benefits. But let’s say that’s old news to you. Let’s say you already knew that blogging is one of the best things you can do for your online business. The real questions is: how do you get your blog to the next level? Here are three tips for creating and achieving your blog writing goals this year: 1. Set Realistic Blog Writing Goals Start small and focus on what is possible. If you’re already running out of time in the day to respond to emails or…
Blog Writing Checklist: How to Write an Amazing Blog Post
We all remember the basics from elementary school: every story should have a beginning, middle, and end. Unfortunately, in today’s content-saturated market, that just won’t cut it. An amazing blog post needs to catch readers’ attention as they scroll through a newsfeed. It needs to keep their interest until the last paragraph. It needs to elicit some sort of action, whether that is sharing the post or signing up for your newsletter. How can one blog post accomplish all that? Here is our ultimate blog writing checklist so you can write an amazing blog post every time: Compelling Headline The headline is not only what will draw people in; sometimes,…
How Much Does Content Marketing Cost?
Eighty-eight percent of B2B marketers are currently using content marketing, according to the Content Marketing Institute. There’s no question that we all understand the value of content marketing, but not many of us truly understand what that value is worth; what the content marketing cost actually is. Content marketing is no small investment; it can easily cost thousands of dollars every month. And if you’re already on a tight marketing budget, you may be wondering if it’s even worth pursuing. [Tweet “Don’t get overwhelmed with the cost of content marketing. Instead, create a plan that works within your budget.”] Fortunately, you don’t need to shell out six figures every year to…
5 Early Warning Signs of a Bad Client
There comes a time in your freelancing career when you realize that the money just isn’t worth it. The money isn’t worth putting up with a bad client. Sometimes, it’s better to just walk away. As a freelancer, it took me a long time to realize I don’t have to accept every job that comes my way. Some extra cash is always nice, but today, I place more value on finding a good professional match. I would rather have three clients who I truly enjoy working with than six clients who I dread talking to. [Tweet “As a freelancer, you don’t have to accept every client. Sometimes it is best to walk…
How to Achieve Work-Life Balance as a Freelancer
When you first start out as a freelancer, you find complete joy in cutting out a commute and wearing whatever you want during the day (even PJs). However, after a couple months of wearing lounge-y clothes during the day and answering work emails at night, you may find yourself losing track of the day and time, and your personal needs. The 100% flexibility and autonomy of freelancing are what attracts many people to work for themselves, but they also present their own set of challenges. One of the biggest challenges for all freelancers, newbies and veterans alike, is achieving work-life balance. [Tweet “Autonomy attracts a lot of folks to freelance…
How to Commit to Writing Every Day
What do you think about writing 500-800 words every day? I’m not talking about sending 25 emails or dozens of tweets. I’m talking about cold, hard words on paper. If the idea of writing every day scares you, that’s totally normal. It’s hard to write every day! But the more you do it, the better you’ll become. And, eventually, you’ll be able to hammer out a quality blog post in under an hour. [Tweet “Like any skill, practice makes perfect. The key is committing to writing each day.”] Here are my tips for how to commit to writing every day: Be Strategic About When You Write Your creativity will ebb…
How to Choose the Right Webinar Software
Webinars are one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience and give them high-quality, educational content. When customers see your face or even hear your voice, you go one step further in building a strong relationship. While webinars require less time and effort than creating an e-book or report, they still aren’t easy. You need to plan, practice, and promote your webinar so it reaches the right people. Creating the content is only half the battle. You also need to find the right technology that helps make your webinar a success, and doesn’t add extra work or stress for you (or for your attendees). What is a…
7 Life Hacks for Freelancers
How many times have you inadvertently allowed technology to hurt your productivity, rather than help it? Do you subconsciously check social media every hour? Are you addicted to Google Calendar and find yourself scheduling back-to-back meetings for weeks on end? Do you type the same message over and over again? [Tweet “#Productivity is not about juggling a lot of tasks; it is using tools to work more efficiently”] It’s time to identify these productivity killers and use technology to our advantage. Here are 7 life hacks for freelancers to save time and help you work more efficiently: Set up meeting days and non-meeting days There’s only so much work you can…
Why You Should Stop Giving Your Content Away for Free
As content creators, we’ve been ingrained to focus on web traffic. We write BuzzFeed-inspired titles in the hopes of getting more clicks and constantly bombard our social media following with messaging promoting our newest piece of content, all to get more visitors. However, if you’re giving away all your content for free in exchange for a couple thousand website views, you’re missing out on a serious opportunity: gated content. Gated content allows you to offer something of value (an e-book, white paper, or webinar) to a user only after he or she has filled out a form with some basic information (name, email address, etc). You get to leverage great content to attract potential…
5 Landing Page Mistakes You Need to Avoid
With a strong social media and content strategy in place, getting visitors to a page can be simple. The tough part comes after that, when you want to subtly direct someone to perform a very specific action on that page. A landing page is all about one thing: conversions. The goal is to design a layout with the right copy and imagery to persuade someone to give you something (usually an email address). That is easier said than done, especially when we visit thousands of web pages each day and become immune to clever marketing. While you could spend hours reading about the must-have elements for the perfect landing page,…
Inside Scoop: One Writer’s Tips on How to Find and Work With the Best Freelance Writers
As a freelance writer, I’ve worked with more than a dozen companies. From startups to agencies to lifestyle brands, I’ve seen (almost) all of it. I’ve worked with some amazing clients, and some not-so-amazing ones. I’ve seen the right way to hire a writer and the wrong way. I’ve worked with clients who need to be in 24/7 control and ones who generously give me free reign. And I’m here to tell you everything that I’ve learned. Here are my top tips for finding and working with the best freelance writers. How to Find and Hire Freelance Writer 1. Understand Your Content Needs Before you start interviewing freelance writers, you…
Feeling Stuck? Here are 5 Content Marketing Ideas to Reinspire
Content marketing has had a great year. It was the most important digital marketing trend in 2015 and 70% of content marketers created more content last year than in 2014. You may have dabbled in content marketing with blog posts, videos, or infographics, but let’s make sure it’s a top priority this year. Here are five inspirational content ideas to implement to get out of the rut: 1. Design an Offer: Think outside of a blog post and create a gated piece of content that you can leverage for lead generation. You create something of value (an e-book, white paper, or webinar) and users have to fill out a form…
Should You Invest in Paid Advertising to Attract More Website Visitors?
When you’re doing everything you can to generate conversions and revenue from your website, the last thing you think about is spending money to make money. If you just wait around and hope that your target demographic will stumble upon your website and magically convert, you’ll end up costing your business more money in the long run. Sure, there are many free strategies to attract website visitors, but none can guarantee the same results as paid advertising. Why should you use paid advertising? Here are the top three benefits: Immediate traffic: If you have a relatively young website or create a new landing page, it’ll take a long time to…
How to Fire a Client [3 Scripts!]
We spend so much of our professional lives fearing that we’ll get fired from our jobs that when the tables turn, we have no idea what to do or say. Becoming a freelancer, consultant, or owning your agency means that you have the power and flexibility to take on the projects you want and work with the clients you like. That also means that you’ll inevitably be faced with firing a problem client, which can be as scary as getting fired yourself. Here’s a quick guide about why you’d want to fire a client, what to say, and how to do it: Why Would You Fire a Client? Not all…
How to Create 8 Pieces of Content in 2 Hours
You don’t need to forgo a night’s worth of sleep to create quality content. Nor do you need extra caffeine or superpowers. The secret to creating a ton of quality content in a short amount of time is to repurpose existing, successful content. This saves you time and effort, allows you to reach new audiences, and makes your content stretch even further. [Tweet “Repurpose existing, successful content to reach new audiences and save you time.”] Repurposing is about taking a published blog post and breaking it up into smaller pieces of content in new formats. In order for your repurposing efforts to be successful, we recommend that you have a…
What Kind of Content Should You Create: Long or Short?
Twitter makes our lives easy. We know that our posts have to be 140 characters or less, and if we include a picture and a hashtag or two, we should be good. [Tweet “Effective long-form content is ~2,416 words. Daunting as it seems, it is achievable. “] If only content creation had the same parameters. Instead, we’re left wondering how many words our posts should be and if it’s worth spending hours of time on a long article rather than pumping out short, frequent posts. To help you find the best content mix, here are the benefits of both long-form and short-form content. The Benefits of Long Posts Long-form content…
The Best and Worst Ways to Generate Leads
There are the best and worst ways to do everything. There’s the best way to write subject lines, there are the worst ways to use Facebook, and there’s the best way to design a homepage. But what are the best and worst ways to generate leads? It’s easy to invest money in social media, email marketing, and content marketing, but do they really work and are they worth the money? [Tweet “Lead generation is a pot of gold for every digital marketer; but we must avoid fools gold.”] Here are three of the best ways and three of the worst ways to generate leads: 3 of the Best Ways to…
5 Digital Marketing Resolutions for 2016
Exercise more. Eat healthier. Take control of your finances. A New Year always signals the onslaught of personal resolutions (some kept, some quickly forgotten), but have you made the time to come up with some professional New Year’s resolutions? The beginning of the year is the best time to reevaluate your business, set new goals, and push yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s time to freshen up your blog, choose quality over quantity, and define success on social media. Here are five digital marketing resolutions for 2016: 1. I will stop using social media without establishing clear goals Many businesses fall into the trap of tweeting or posting on…
How Does Content Marketing Generate More Sales?
It’s easy to attribute increased web traffic or social shares to content marketing. The tricky part is connecting cold, hard sales with a blog post or e-book. It’s a common misconception that content marketing is only good for brand awareness or boosting traffic, but it can also have a powerful effect on the bottom line. Here are three ways that content marketing can generate more sales: Attracts a very specific, qualified prospect Different types of content attract different kinds of leads. For example, you could argue that a company blog is kind of a free-for-all. You may have a very focused blog (let’s say it’s about B2B public relations), but…
The Best Tools for Tracking and Growing Your Social Media Engagement
As soon as you start investing in a social media strategy for your business, you’ll run up against the challenge of proving its value. Stakeholders will inevitably ask you how to measure success on social media, and they’ll want to see numbers and graphs illustrating the hard numbers and business benefits of Twitter, Facebook, and other channels. Of course, it’s easy to track the number of followers or fans you have over time. But, it gets tricky when you need to show how Twitter helps with brand awareness or how Facebook boosts word of mouth marketing with your potential customer base. [Tweet “Social media marketing should generate revenue for you;…
Checklist: Social Media Content Calendar Must-Haves
“Staying organized” is one of the most popular business resolutions. Whether it’s as simple as decluttering your workspace or as complex as revamping an existing process, improving organization can save you time, reduce stress, build confidence, and ultimately save money. Get a jumpstart on your New Year’s business resolution by creating a social media content calendar. One of the easiest ways to stay organized, a content calendar maps out all social media posts for the upcoming weeks and/or months so you can better align your overall marketing initiatives and help improve accountability by assigning writers and deadlines for the team. So where do you start? Here is our ultimate checklist…
4 Little-Known Tricks to Supercharge Your Social Selling Strategy on LinkedIn
In the world of social selling, LinkedIn can seem like a no-brainer. Unlike Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn was designed for networking professionals. It was built to facilitate the sharing of personal work details and helps users target very specific types of people. If that isn’t a salesperson’s dream social network, I don’t know what is. While LinkedIn’s very nature caters toward social selling, it isn’t as easy as it seems. LinkedIn has created blockers, like InMail, to stop you from directly connecting with people you don’t know. And, more importantly, you have to walk a very fine line between annoying prospects and starting a relationship. To maximize your social selling success on LinkedIn,…
3 Marketing Automation Ideas for Small Businesses
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could automate all your emails? And never have to type out another introduction email or thank you email again? Well, now you can. Sort of. [Tweet “Marketing automation can be intricate, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.”] With marketing automation, you can automate all your business emails. You trigger emails to send based on certain criteria, like sending a thank you email after someone refers a friend to your website. And the best part is you don’t have to type a thing. It all happens automatically and behind the scenes. Contrary to popular belief, marketing automation is not reserved for the Amazons of…
How to Deal with Client Change Requests During a Project
We’ve all been there. Your client emails you three weeks into a project and requests a major change. This isn’t the kind of change that requires some minor copy edits or design tweaks. No. This is the kind of change the necessitates a complete redesign or a total revision of the project scope. [Tweet “You can’t stop clients from requesting project changes; but you can turn them into opportunities.”] The bad news is that you can’t stop this from happening. All clients will inevitably change their minds at some point during a project. But, you can set expectations and mitigate these changes so you keep your sanity and save your…
The 3 Best Social Media Calendar Templates (for Free!)
With a 140-word maximum, social media sure seems like it was designed to be quick and easy. You can write a message and upload a photo to Facebook in under 30 seconds, or craft a blog post and immediately publish and promote it to your followers on LinkedIn Pulse. But, while social media is constantly being touted as the fastest way to communicate, many companies are doing the complete opposite and taking their sweet time to plan and craft their social posts. [Tweet “Unless you’re sharing what you ate for lunch, posting on social media requires forethought, strategy, and planning.”] Unless you’re sharing what you ate for lunch, posting on social media…
How to Get Prospects to Respond to Your Email
The average person receives 85 emails per day. And we only spend 15-20 seconds reading each one. With numbers like these, sending a cold email to prospects seems frightening. How do you make sure your email doesn’t get lost in a sea of newsletters, personal correspondence, spam, and other sales pitches? [Tweet “Instead of introducing yourself or explaining why you’re reaching out, start your email with the focus on the prospect.”] Luckily, by spending some extra time carefully choosing your words, cutting the fluff, and crafting a clear call to action, you can greatly increase your odds of getting a prospect to respond to your email. Here’s how to get…
3 Must-Have Strategies for Social Selling on Twitter
If you could say anything to a potential customer, what would it be? Now, what would it be in 140 characters? [Tweet “The distance between a prospect and a business can be crossed with a simple “@” sign. #socialselling”] Today, the distance between a prospect and a business can be crossed with a simple “@” sign. Thanks to Twitter, there has been no easier way to directly communicate with our target audience, for free. For consumers, it means 24/7 access to information and knowledge. For businesses, it means limitless interactions with the people that matter most. Social selling, the act of using social media to interact with prospects, has become a powerful…
Freelance vs Agency: Which One Is Better?
Zero commute, working in your PJs, doing your laundry during the workday — freelancing sure sounds appealing, doesn’t it? But then you think about happy hour with colleagues, learning from incredibly smart, experienced colleagues, and working with big, national brands. And then agency life sounds pretty sweet, too. [Tweet “Agencies come with security, while freelancing brings flexibility.”] It’s an age-old debate: agency or freelance? Freedom vs stability? Autonomy vs relationships? Freelance vs Agency: Which One Is Better? There’s no right answer, but here are some pros and cons of each: Freelancing: The Good Let’s start with arguably the biggest benefit of freelancing: flexibility. You can work where you want, when…
How to Respond When Someone Asks You for Coffee [Template]
How many “Do you want to grab coffee sometime” emails do you get each week? To clarify, these are not the fun, catch-up sessions over a hot cappuccino. These are the “do you want to meet for coffee so you can give me free advice about my business” types of coffee invitations. One or two of these requests can be flattering and easy to accommodate, but the issues arise when you get handfuls of these every week. [Tweet “How you handle ‘Let’s do coffee’ requests says a lot about you as a business person. How do you respond?”] What do you do? How do you decide who is “worth” meeting and…
How to Write an SEO Post that Is Optimized for Google and Ranks on the First Page
Search engine optimization (SEO) is like a cat-and-mouse game between Google and content creators. Writers are always trying to meet Google’s search algorithm to make it on the first page and Google is always changing its algorithms to ensure that only the best content ranks. [Tweet “Google wants us to find what we’re looking for and as a result, it will display high-quality content over keyword frequency or backlinks.”] So, how do you win with Google? First, you must change your perspective on SEO writing. You are not writing a shell of a piece to merely meet Google’s requirements and include a keyword X amount of times. You need to…
What Is Content Marketing?
Big data, native advertising, vlogging, content marketing. With new buzzwords cropping up every week, how do you know which new marketing strategy is actually worth pursuing? And which ones will just fizzle out and die, à la MySpace? While you don’t have to immediately start video blogging (vlogging), we do recommend that you pay closer attention to “content marketing.” This strategy is not a trendy, temporary buzzword, this is a tried-and-true strategy to attract, engage, and ultimately convert potential customers. [Tweet “Content marketing is basically a fancy way of saying, “Writing helpful stuff for your target audience.””] Content marketing is basically a fancy way of saying, “Writing helpful stuff for…
Professional vs Personal Social Media Profiles: How to Differentiate
Who are you? And who do you want to be? This is no ordinary existential crisis. This is a 21st century question we should all ask ourselves. Who do you want to be on social media? What is your brand? What do you want to broadcast to millions of people over the Internet? With social media, we truly have the power to impact how we are perceived. And, like it wasn’t difficult enough, we now have to answer these questions for our two identities: personal and professional. [Tweet “Professionals must be intentional about separating work and personal social media profiles”] Whether you are a freelancer, agency owner, or entrepreneur, you…
The Biggest Mistake You Can Make When Networking
Networking is not easy stuff. You’re constantly putting yourself out there in potentially uncomfortable situations, meeting strangers for coffee or amping up your small talk game at a conference or networking event. Then, you finally break through and meet that one connection who introduces you to his or her friends, and everything falls in place. You get a new job, you learn about your passion, you get a new mentor, you land a new client. [Tweet “Make a habit out of following up and staying on contact with your network.”] These relationships are hard earned and extremely valuable. And the single, worst thing you can do is let these relationships…
Informational Interviews: Get the Inside Scoop About Your Passion
What if you could get the inside scoop about your passion from someone who has years of experience? What if you could learn the challenges associated with your passion ahead of time and prepare yourself? What if you could get connected to a whole network of people in your dream industry in just 30 minutes? Take the guesswork out of your passion with informational interviews. Informational interviews are one of the most effective, easiest ways to break into an industry. And, not only will you make connections that may very well lead to your dream job, you’ll also get the inside scoop and expert advice on the industry you’re pursuing.…
Passion or Hobby? Take This Quiz to Find Out
What’s the difference between a passion and a hobby? They can seem very similar — both are what you enjoy, what you spend a lot of time doing, and what you would do even if no one paid you. But, how do you know if you are a recreational blogger or if you should pursue writing full time? Or, if you love cooking meals for friends or if you should go to culinary school? First, I have to say: if you are wondering if your interest is a passion or a hobby, take a moment and recognize how lucky you are to be in this predicament. The majority of people…
Want to Quit Your Job and Follow Your Passion? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions
“I Quit My Six-Figure Corporate Job to Pursue My Passions.” “How I Quit My IT Job at 35 to Pursue My Passion.” “How I Quit My Job and Found Myself.” We’ve all seen the headlines. Someone making great money quits his job to follow his passion. And, lo and behold, he finds the same degree of success when he turns his dream into his career. (By the way, all those headlines above are real). Boy, do they make it sound easy. Why would you have to think twice about leaving a stable, well-paying job to find a completely new career path? These folks sure found success. Unfortunately, like most things…
How to Weave Your Passion into Your Everyday Life
You’ve already done the hard part. You’ve identified your passion. You’ve experienced that euphoric high when you’re in the zone and love what you’re doing. And, let’s be honest, as soon as you pinpoint that passion and let your mind wander to your dream job, there’s no going back. And why would you? Over 80% of people don’t enjoy their work and nearly 75% of people don’t know their passion. You’re part of the lucky group of people who have found their passion. Like I said, the hard work is over. But you have to keep that momentum going and make the effort to exercise that passion each and every…
5 Tips for Asking for LinkedIn Recommendations (and Two Scripts)
We all crave social validation. When we want to try a new restaurant, we instantly turn to Yelp and read the reviews. If a restaurant doesn’t have any reviews, we probably won’t go there. The same goes with clothes, technology, outdoor equipment and more. Basically, if an item is sold on Amazon, we take the time to read the reviews. And those reviews can have a real impact on our purchasing decisions. The same goes with your agency’s services. Your potential clients want to read testimonials from your other clients and see validation for their choice to hire you. It’s one thing to see a portfolio of your work, but it’s…
Why LinkedIn Company Pages Are a Waste of Time
When social media became a “thing,” companies scrambled to create Facebook profiles, Twitter pages, Google+ pages, Pinterest boards, and LinkedIn company pages. Why did they do that? What was the reasoning behind a B2B company creating a Pinterest board or a doctor’s office making a Twitter page? [Tweet “Before you start creating original content or buying ads, you need to define your goals identify ROI.”] It’s simple. Because everyone else was doing it. And, honestly, after working in social media for more than five years, that is one of the most ridiculous and frustrating things I have ever heard. Don’t get me wrong. I am a big proponent of social media for brands,…
5 Little-Known Ways to Maximize Your LinkedIn Presence
How well do you really know LinkedIn? Yes, you can join groups, publish on LinkedIn Pulse, and customize your profile, but that’s just scratching the surface. The majority of LinkedIn users do the bare minimum. They add their resume to their profile, upload a picture, and connect with former colleagues. But, by spending a little more time upfront on your profile, you can be found more easily, get more connections, and ultimately find more clients. And, we’re not talking about spending hours on your profile — these simple tricks take minutes, but have a powerful impact on your LinkedIn presence. [Tweet “Get found by new prospects by taking the time to…
How to Use LinkedIn Groups to Land New Clients
What’s the last group you joined? No, I’m not referring to a weekly running group or Spanish language group. I’m talking about LinkedIn Groups. As every marketing professional knows, one of the biggest challenges we face is finding “our tribe,” the perfect group of people that fit our target audience. We can create killer content and compelling ad copy, but if it doesn’t find the right audience, it can be all for nothing. Identifying that focused, niche segment of people is the sweet spot for growing your agency. And luckily for us, LinkedIn Groups has already done all the hard work. [Tweet “Finding your tribe – that ideal audience –…
LinkedIn Pulse 101: Everything You Need to Know
Anyone who has written a blog post or guest article knows that writing the actual piece is only half the battle. The real challenge is getting your post in front of your target audience. Sure, you can post the article on social media and send it out in an email, but that will only reach so many people. How can you get new eyeballs on your content? LinkedIn Pulse may be the answer for all writers, from frustrated bloggers to aspiring thought leaders. The self-publishing platform offers a win-win for everyone involved. For writers, they get the opportunity to reach a huge audience of people, for free. For LinkedIn, they get great content that increases engagement on their…
5 Networking Disasters You Can Make on LinkedIn
With more than 360 million professionals registered on LinkedIn, it can feel like you struck networking-gold. After just a couple keystrokes, you can find dozens of potential clients in a certain city, with the right title and at the right kind of company. As an agency owner, it sure can be tempting to connect with every single person and start making your sales pitch. After all, you’ve identified your target audience and you can send these influencers a direct message, for free. Why wouldn’t you connect with them? [Tweet “”I’d like to add you to my professional network” is a horrible way to start a professional relationship.”] Networking on LinkedIn is…
Should You Charge Late Fees?
“Our bookkeeper is on vacation!” “It must have gotten lost in the mail!” “I never saw that invoice…” Here they come. The never-ending stream of excuses for late checks. Getting your clients to pay you on time is one of the most frustrating and most common issues you will face as an agency owner. But, however annoying it can be to constantly nag clients, managing late invoices comes with the job. If you regularly have to deal with the same group of late-paying clients, it may be time to consider imposing a late fee as part of your pricing model. Chasing checks every month costs you time, which will cost you money…
Why You Should Publish Your Prices Online
You can find anything online. From stalking former high school friends to ordering your groceries, we have grown accustomed to accomplishing any task we want on the Internet. With millions of search queries right at our fingertips, we expect to find the information we need in seconds. And, when that information isn’t available, we move on to something else. Case in point: restaurants. I bet that you are more likely to go to a restaurant with 50 Yelp reviews than a restaurant with zero reviews. In the absence of information, we grow suspicious. When information just can’t be found, we immediately start having doubts. [Tweet “The fear of being undercut is an advantage…
How to Tell Your Clients You’re Raising Your Prices
It’s hard enough asking your boss for a raise. But, it’s a whole new ballgame when you’re the boss and you decide to increase your rates. First, it can be hard to tell if you are really justified in charging more for your services (you don’t have someone like a boss to “approve” the raise). You also don’t want to come across as greedy to your clients. And, it can be really challenging and uncomfortable to figure out how to tell your clients you’ve essentially given yourself a raise. Well, it turns out, these two scenarios are more similar than they may seem. In both cases, you have to be…
The 3 Biggest Pricing Mistakes
Pricing is one of the trickiest things about starting a business. Why? Because we all get scared about setting prices. If you charge too much, you’ll lose clients. If you charge too little, you’re leaving money on the table. If you’re charging the same rates as your competitors, you’re just being a copycat (and you’re not placing enough value on the unique services you provide). With something so important as pricing, you can’t afford to be scared or unsure. Your agency’s success and growth depend on the money you’re bringing in. Period. You could provide the best content creation services in the whole city, but if your pricing is off, you just won’t…
3 Scripts: Asking Clients for Referrals
You can spend hours Googling the best tips, tricks and best practices for asking clients for referrals, but one thing is missing from all those articles – the actual words that are supposed to come out of your mouth. We’ve all been in that situation, whether professional or personal, where we spend hours researching how to do something, but when it comes to go-time, we just can’t find the right words to say. Or, we never really knew what to say in the first place. That’s especially true for asking clients for referrals. Many of us are shy or feel too pushy when we essentially have to ask current clients…
Someone Referred You…Now What? How to Turn Referrals into New Clients
Everyone talks about how to get referrals — the ways to get your existing clients to refer you to a new pool of people. We’re guilty of this, too. We’ve written about how to build your agency through referrals, the wrong ways to ask for referrals, and how to do the work for your clients so they’ll be more likely to refer you. Well, that’s all great to know, but what the heck do you do once you actually get a referral? There’s not a lot of information out there about how to turn your referrals into new clients. It’s like everyone is more focused on getting names and contact…
How to Get More Referrals by Doing the Work For Your Clients
We all like simple. In an era where we can order just about anything with the touch of button on our smartphone, we have become more and more accustomed to easy. Remember when we used to have to call to order a taxi? And wait on hold for minutes, and then wait outside your pick-up location for an indefinite amount of time? Now we just tap a button and our taxi calls us when it’s time to go. That’s the kind of simplicity we’re used to. And we need to operate under this way of thinking whenever we want people to do something for us. If it’s not easy, they…
The Wrong Ways to Ask for Referrals
There’s a right and wrong way to do just about everything. With client issues, the right way is always to vocalize concerns and solicit feedback. The wrong way is to ignore issues until they go away. With missed deadlines, the right way is to communicate ahead of time and warn your client that the project will be late. The wrong way would be to avoid the client and scramble to get the work delivered, even if it’s sloppy. And, just like every other facet of business, there’s a right and wrong way to ask for customer referrals. And, it’s especially important that you ask for referrals the right way, as…
3 Lessons Learned from the Top Podcasts
Millions of listeners can’t be wrong. From Serial to This American Life to Fareed Zakaria GPS, these podcasts have achieved success in all forms – millions of downloads, hundreds of broadcasts, and perhaps most important of all, a loyal, engaged following. So, what makes a podcast about foreign affairs so popular? Why was Serial, a show about yet another murder mystery, catapulted into iTunes history? Why is it so interesting to hear about every day stories from every day people? Here are three lessons learned from these top podcasts, and what you can do with your podcast to achieve the same level of success: Lesson learned: Be a good storyteller…
Best Practices: Dos and Don’ts in Podcasting
Don’t miss deadlines. Do listen to client feedback. Don’t be late to a meeting. Do think outside the box. Everything we do is made up of “dos” and “don’ts.” Ever since we were young, we were taught, “Don’t chew with your mouth open” and “Do say thank you.” The same goes with our jobs — we eventually learn the best practices for dealing with clients or the common pitfalls to avoid. But, when you’re starting something new, it can be almost impossible to know what is right and what is wrong. This month is all about setting you up for podcasting success, so we’re sharing the biggest do’s and dont’s…
5 Free Ways to Promote Your Podcast
You’ve submitted your podcast to iTunes and thousands of listeners come pouring in, right? Does the whole “If you build it, they will come” saying apply to podcasts? If only it were that easy. In some ways, making content for your podcast is easier than promoting it. It’s fun to think of new ideas, interview interesting people, and talk about a subject you’re passionate about. The real challenge comes when an episode is ready to go live. How do you motivate people who have never heard about you to give up 30 minutes of their day to listen to what you have to say? It’s not easy, but it definitely…
5-Minute Guide: Getting Started in Podcasting
If you thought podcasting had its 15 minutes of fame and became outdated, then you obviously haven’t been following the explosive fame of “Serial,” the fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads in the history of iTunes. The show centers around a journalist’s re-investigation of a 15-year-old murder story. “Serial” has consistently topped the iTunes chart since it debuted in early October 2014 and averages 1.5 million listeners per episode. Podcasts are coming back. According to Edison Research, 15% of Americans have listened to a podcast in the past month, up 9% from 2008. And podcasts are up 25% year-over-year. With its growing popularity, you don’t have to investigate a…
Money on the Table: How to Price Your Agency’s Services
Isn’t it funny how much of a difference pricing can make? A t-shirt that costs $12.00 may seem overpriced, but $9.99 seems so much more affordable, even though the actual difference is only two dollars. Pricing is so much more than numbers and monetary value. It can say a lot about quality of services, competition, and value. And, it’s a tricky thing. If you price too low, you may not be able to sustain growth and you’re less likely to go the extra mile. If you price too high, you get beat out by a lower-cost competitor. [Tweet “Pricing is so much more than numbers and monetary value. It can…
Setting the Course: Creating a Strategic Plan for Your Agency
To say agency life is busy may be an understatement. Work isn’t confined to the normal 9-5 schedule, and it can feel like there are never enough hours in the day to find new business, make sure existing clients are happy, contribute to projects, and lead a team of employees. Oh, and you still need to make time to think about the future of your agency and where you want to be in the next five years. Creating a strategic plan for your agency can easily fall on the backburner. It can seem like there are more pressing issues in the present, like an unhappy client or an impending deadline.…
5 Out-of-the-Box Questions to Identify Your Purpose
While discovering the “true you” and your “place in life” can sound like themes to a Disney movie, these favorite childhood characters may be on to something. Finding the passion and purpose of your agency is a real journey, one where you’ll learn more about yourself, get in touch with your inner child, and break away from reality. Why is it so important to identify your agency’s passion? Not only will it give you a competitive advantage and allow you to dominate a niche space, it will also help with your overall brand and messaging. [Tweet “Passion can go a long way in differentiating yourself and developing your brand’s identity.”]…
8 Tips to Build Your Business With Referrals
If you want anything in life, your best bet is simply to ask for it. You may be surprised at how successful this easy (yet bold) approach can be. I’ve seen it work in dozens of scenarios, from being upgraded to first class to receiving a higher salary to getting free samples at a bakery, all from simply asking. The same goes in our professional lives. Do you really want to work with a certain company? Do you want more referrals? You guessed it; just ask. In the business world, client referrals are one of the most lucrative sources of growth. People are more than 30% more likely to trust…
The Perfect Pitch: How to Excite Customers and Close Deals
As Don Draper of Mad Men once said, “You are the product. You feeling something. That’s what sells.” When you pitch potential clients, you embody your agency and the services provided. Your confidence, manner of speaking, body language, and personality can build long-lasting relationships or come off as a sleazy sales pitch. [Tweet “When you pitch potential clients, you embody your agency and the services provided.”] Not all of us can be as smooth as Don Draper, with his immaculate suits and Old Fashioneds. But, we can learn how to excite potential customers and close the deal: How to Excite Potential Clients Case studies Customer success stories and case studies…
Establishing Agency Thought Leadership and Authority
Would you like your agency to be seen as the ultimate expert in your space? Do you want to improve brand awareness and visibility to new audiences? Do you want to uncover exciting data and trends? All of that can start with a blog post. Well, it’s not as simple as that, but it’s a great starting point. Establishing agency thought leadership requires a well thought-out strategy to write helpful content, establish your voice on social media, and build up your brand through guest posting and original research. [Tweet “Establishing thought leadership and authority attracts the right clients to your business.”] The key to branding yourself as an authentic thought…
