When you’re a freelance writer it might seem a bit strange to promote your writing to others on social media but it’s an important step in marketing your work and showcasing your skills.
How to promote your writing on social media
Your first thought might be that you can’t share your freelance writing either because it won’t make sense to your social media followers, you’re ghostwriting and it’s not exactly OK to take credit for ghostwriting or you’re under a confidentiality clause.
All very possible and very important reasons why you should not be sharing your stuff!
But that doesn’t get you off the hook. Maybe you can’t share your freelance work but you can promote your writing on social media.
By the way, optimizing your social media profiles is important! You want to ensure potential clients know who you are, what you do, and why they should hire you.
Download your free ebook from my resource library! All you have to do is pop your email address into the form below and I’ll send you the password.
Once you’re in the library, navigate to the social media section and download the ebook called “Social Media Optimization.”
Ready to promote your writing on social media? Here are a few ideas
1. You can write a blog and share individual articles on social media as they publish
Write and publish articles on your website or on a platform like Medium.
Whatever it is, you can share articles on LinkedIn, tweet links to them on Twitter, post about them on Facebook, talk about them on Instagram…you’re creating content, putting your work out there and engaging your followers all at the same time.
Blogs are brilliant.
2. What’s your area of expertise? Create tips and tricks to help your followers improve in that area and post about them on social media
Maybe you offer a tip per week on Instagram or perhaps it’s a Facebook Live video each month…whatever it is you’re showcasing your skills on social media and helping potential clients get to know, like and trust you.
3. Have you written a book? Then why not talk about that on social media
Develop a content calendar and rotate through different ways to talk about your book—talk about who it’s for, what the benefit is to the reader, publish excerpts, put it on sale, etc.
4. Post about what you learn
Maybe you can’t post about the exact freelance work you’re doing but maybe you can post about ways you’ve learned to make it easier, more efficient, etc.
Have you learned about a new place to get great gigs? Why not share about that?
How about a new hack to get your brainstorms down in a quarter of the time? I’m sure people would love learning about that!
When you share about things you learn you become a resource for your followers—someone they want to hear more from.
5. If you can post your freelance work—do it! Share them all over social media
When you share your latest article or post try and talk about it in a way that is interesting rather than “Here’s an article I wrote, check it out!” While that works every now and then if you become someone who drops links and just expects your followers to read it because you wrote it.
Try and engage them by describing what’s in it for them if they take the time to click the link.
One more thing. You may be interested in my free resource library. This is where I keep my files, downloads, ebooks, worksheets and whatever else I manage to create. I love sharing what I learn and want to keep adding to this library so it becomes a wealth of helpful goodness.
This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.
How do you get more clients fast? This is the ultimate question and when you’re in this position, you don’t have time to try things that “might” work. You need it to work. Now.
Let’s dive right in: ideas to get more clients fast
Get more clients fast with these seven ideas. I can’t guarantee they’ll work, but they’ve worked for me so at least it’s a starting point.
1. Reach out to your long-lost clients
This tip only works if you’ve had clients before, but assuming you have this is an excellent place to start. If you haven’t worked with a client for a couple months you can classify them as “cold” and they qualify for this tactic. Go through your cold clients and send them an email asking how their project/magazine/website/etc. is going and if there’s anything you can help them with.
If you had positive experiences with clients in the past and they didn’t call you back for more, it may not be because they don’t like you or don’t have work. Sometimes they’re too busy to reach out…sometimes they don’t think of you…and sometimes they have a project but haven’t got to letting you know about it yet.
Sometimes this can feel awkward but when you need clients it’s time to get over it and as for referrals. Ask your current clients if they have any colleagues who could use your services. Tell them you’re looking to add a few more clients to your roster. Either they’ll tell you they don’t know anyone, they’ll give you a couple leads or they’ll give you more work themselves. THIS WORKS!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best way to let people know you’re available is by saying you’re available. Mine your friends and family list for leads. Remember, you NEED clients NOW. You’re in a spot. Lay it out in an interesting, polite way so it’s easy for them to think of you when they hear about someone looking for a writer.
4. Run an ad
I have a friend who does this and swears by it. Whenever she’s looking for a couple more clients she runs a Facebook ad for a week or two to a super-duper targeted audience and gets her money back tenfold. You have to know what you’re doing, and target the right audience, but this can and does work.
If you do want to run ads as part of your prospecting strategy, make sure your pricing includes that overhead!
For extra help on the subject, I co-created the course How to Price Your Work. Setting your prices takes a bit of effort and guts but it will help you stay away from jobs that don’t pay enough. So you can make a living from your craft!
5. Apply to job board postings
Yes there are horror stories from job boards. Yes I would say you don’t get the strongest clients from job boards. However, you’re in a situation where you need clients now and job boards are filled with businesses looking for people just like you. You’ll have to look hard and put out a lot of inquiries but you’ll find clients.
Here are a few suggestions for job boards I’ve found good.
I should qualify this with write paid guest posts. Writing free ones is a good long-term strategy but doesn’t work when you need clients now. Different goals.
There are lots of websites and blogs that pay for content although there’s no set rate. But if you need cash flow…this is one way to get ‘er done. You’ll have to do the pitching so get ready to hustle.
So? Did you get some great new ideas to get clients fast?
These are emergency strategies for when you’re in panic mode and need clients quick. Even people with the best referral programs and ongoing marketing strategies run into this from time-to-time (but…not as much).
While these are all effective I’ll encourage you not to rely on them strategies as your entire freelance approach—you will burn out! Too much hustle is unsustainable. Plus you’ll be hustling so much you may not find time to do the work!
One more thing. You may be interested in my free resource library. This is where I keep my files, downloads, ebooks, worksheets and whatever else I manage to create. I love sharing what I learn and want to keep adding to this library so it becomes a wealth of helpful goodness.
This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.
Portfolios. In general I understand them—a collection of your work assembled to demonstrate your experience and expertise in an area.
But I’ve struggled with social media and figuring out how to create a social media portfolio.
Because although it’s my work it’s not for me.
Most of my social media experience is creating content and strategies for other people or brands. It’s like ghostwriting. It’s ghostsocialing. (I sure hope that’s a hashtag.)
My mission is to figure out how to present my social media portfolio in a way that demonstrates my experience and expertise but doesn’t break client confidentiality.
How to create a social media portfolio
As I searched the Internet I didn’t find a lot. Most how-to create a portfolio advice is for writing clips, marketing, or how to display your personal social media stats.
All of this is good and useful, but off topic. And I guess I shouldn’t be surprised because it’s a tricky balance.
So I started asking writing friends how they add ghostwriting credits to their portfolio. Short answer, they don’t. They leave it out and just refer to “ghostwriting services” or “x amount of books/blogs ghostwritten for x amount of clients.”
Vague but what else can you do?
But I want to do more for my social media portfolio
The golden rule when you create a social media portfolio:
Show don’t tell
You know you need to do it in your writing but it also is important in your portfolios. But how do you show (or even create a social media portfolio) when your clients don’t love the idea of admitting they don’t run their own accounts?
Or what if you did strategy work with a client, how do you display that?
And what if you worked with a client at one point and their feed looked amazing but now they manage their own and it isn’t so awesome?
How do you show that?
Here are my best ideas for building an awesome social media portfolio
First, showcase the services you offer
The best social media portfolio’s I’ve seen break the services down into bite-sized pieces.
Here are a few tips for creating this section of your social media portfolio.
Images are your friend. Find generic stock images representing the services you offer and the types of clients you serve
Highlight the services you offer
Make it interesting
You can expand on and explain the services you offer, or not. It depends on your target client and what will speak to him/her.
Second, list your clients
Gulp.
I know, we’ve been talking about the situation where you can’t name your clients or you aren’t sure how to talk about them. We’ll just do our best here.
Remember how you listed your services a few minutes ago? These are now our categories for organizing our clients.
So, in my case it’s Consulting, Social Media, Blogging and Platform Strategy.
Divide your clients into categories (they can be in more than one) and make them look pretty.
If you can’t name your client then describe them.
You can list them as a Wellness Company in Vancouver, BC for example.
If you can’t show their logo or brand then find a nice stock image that represents the type of business they are. Now list how you worked with them according to your categories.
Bing, bang, boom.
Here are a few tips for creating this section of your social media portfolio.
Describe the types of clients you’ve worked with and the types of services you provided
Include links to client websites if you can
Include client testimonials where you can
In my mock-up example I haven’t expanded to this point but you can see how more is more here.
However, if you can’t say more due to client confidentiality then a beautiful image and a short description of the work you did will suffice.
Choose a professional/standout profile picture and cover photo
Make it easy for people to know who you are/what you do
Link to your website
Include keywords about your services
Be clear on your location/contact info
A few other things to consider when you create a social media portfolio
Think about what you want to be hired for. Is it social media management? What about content creation, content curation, platform development, strategy, etc. Curate your portfolio to display that—you don’t need to list EVERY client or every freelance job you’ve ever performed (I mean, you can, but put some thought into it)
Things to cover: who you are (about), your mission, what you do, and who you serve (aka who you want to work with)
Is there an area you’d like more work in? Highlight this throughout your services, experience, expertise, and even which clients you mention
After I wrote this post, Thema asked this question about social media portfolios
Hi Robyn! I ran across your article about social media portfolios. I am pursuing a career as a Public Relations Specialist but only have the social media pages I curated for my internship to show. Any suggestions on how to create a portfolio with very few work examples?
This is such a great question and while I have answered Thema’s email I also want to provide my general tips here in case it’s helpful.
Question: How do I create a portfolio with very few work examples?
Answer: Depending on what type of job you’re going after this answer changes but I can tell you in general what I would do.
First, make sure the curated items you have for your portfolio are presented in a compelling way
As in, make sure they look great and are easy to skim and demonstrate the scope of your skillset.
Perhaps you don’t have traditional clips right now because you’re just getting started. Think about what you CAN present to demonstrate your skills and abilities.
For example, if you’re looking to run a client’s Instagram account, then what are some things you can showcase on your Instagram account to demonstrate your proficiency?
Do you have a good amount of followers? Then highlight that.
Do you have a posting strategy that generates leads? Unpack that.
Have any of your posts gone viral? Take some screenshots and write a case study on what you did and what happened.
Speaking of case studies, this is another excellent way to showcase your social media portfolio.
Even if you have many examples, breaking some key campaigns into case studies is a great way to showcase your results, your strategic knowledge and your competence.
I’ve also turned this cast study training into a free ebook, which you can download in my resource library.
This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.
Once you’re logged in, navigate to the “Writing” section and look for “How to Write a Case Study for Marketing Ebook.”
OK, back to Thema’s question.
Second, work on adding new samples/clips as much as possible
If you’re not able to get clients/paid work then I recommend writing blog posts (or something similar) to beef up your portfolio and showcase your knowledge.
One of the big reasons I continue updating my blog and improving these posts is because they showcase my writing and expertise to potential clients.
These days, most of the work I do is without bylines and difficult to demonstrate in a portfolio so having regular bylined blog posts is an asset.
Third, networking! Always be networking
Get to know the people who work in the industry you want to be working in. Also get to know the people who work for the types of companies you’d like to work with/for.
When you know people then the breadth of your portfolio doesn’t matter as much.
True story. Once you’re established, see how many new clients ask for your portfolio.
I mean, someone you have no previous connection with might want that. Or if they’re from a big agency where that is par for the course.
But most people will either be going off of a referral from someone they trust or they’ll want one or two samples from similar projects you’ve worked on.
I hope this answers your question! Let me know if there’s anything else to add about social media portfolios.
One more thing. You may be interested in my free resource library. This is where I keep my files, downloads, ebooks, worksheets and whatever else I manage to create. I love sharing what I learn and want to keep adding to this library so it becomes a wealth of helpful goodness.
This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.
While it’s important to choose tactics that work for you and your personality in your freelance writing business, social media marketing can do a lot for discoverability and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Social media marketing for business
No matter if you’re a solopreneur or an established freelancer, businesses need to reach people (preferably their ideal people) if they’re going to survive.
Honestly, the relationship-building aspect of marketing cannot be overstated. Everything in business points back to one-to-one relationships built on a foundation of trust and likability.
There are so many different ways to market and while it’s important to choose tactics that work for you and your personality, social media can do a lot for discoverability and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Since social media can take over your life I also wanted to add a disclaimer. This is a great tool for discoverability, to reach new audiences and build relationships. However, it shouldn’t be your entire business marketing strategy.
By the way, optimizing your social media profiles is important! You want to ensure potential clients know who you are, what you do, and why they should hire you.
Download your free ebook from my resource library! All you have to do is pop your email address into the form below and I’ll send you the password.
Once you’re in the library, navigate to the social media section and download the ebook called “Social Media Optimization.”
To demonstrate where I think social media marketing belongs I’ve created a little infographic for you
Here are a few reasons why you should consider adding social media into your marketing plan.
It’s easy
Most likely you’re already on at least one social media platform and you understand how it works. Start there and figure out natural ways to talk about your business.
The most important thing is to find something that works for you and to stick with it. Just be careful not to fall into the trap of spending hours and hours worrying about your content or looking for the perfect hashtags. Set a time limit and stick to your boundaries.
It’s free
Posting on social media is free so why wouldn’t you do it?
Yes, many platforms are pay-to-play meaning if you want to increase your reach you have to put money behind it but even still, it’s a great opportunity to test your posts and see how your prospects and readers engage with it.
Just remember this is one spoke in the bicycle wheel that is your marketing strategy. Keep it simple, keep it in perspective.
There are so many people surfing social media platforms at any given time, so if you post the right content on the right platform in the right way, you may reach your ideal client.
Of course, going viral is never something you can plan for or count on but it’s nice when it happens. And it won’t if you never post anything.
Maybe you hate it and feel like there’s no point in figuring out social media because it will be gone soon. I’m sorry to say that’s probably not gonna happen.
While individual platforms may flex and flux the global connectivity phenomenon is something you’re just going to have to deal with.
I mean, unless you figure out a different way to be discovered. It’s definitely possible, yes. But I don’t know how.
One more thing. You may be interested in my free resource library. This is where I keep my files, downloads, ebooks, worksheets and whatever else I manage to create. I love sharing what I learn and want to keep adding to this library so it becomes a wealth of helpful goodness.
This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.
Subtitles. Words. Closed captions. How do you add them?
I wondered the same thing, is adding captions to Facebook videos some sort of magic I wasn’t privy to, or perhaps a paid feature for rich people?
Well, it turns out there’s one easy way to add captions and I’m here to blow your mind. Maybe.
Do I need to make an argument for adding captions?
You scroll through Facebook with your phone/computer on silent like I do, right?
So even though “everything’s all about video” people still need a hook to draw them in. I believe the hook is captions.
Tell people what they’re watching. Don’t make them work too hard.
How to add captions to Facebook videos
First, open the page you’d like to post a video on in Business Manager. If you’re in Business Manager then when you click on “Upload Photos/Videos” and select a video, a dialogue box opens up, allowing you to customize your video.
NOTE: If you don’t have your Facebook Page set up in Business Manager then these instructions won’t work as adding video direct on your page doesn’t give you these customized options.
This dialogue box defaults to “Video Details” where you’re able to add a title, description and keywords. Looks at the right-hand sidebar and navigate to the third one titled “Subtitles & Captions (CC).”
To add captions, you’re able to auto-generate, write your own or upload a text file.
In my opinion, auto-generating captions is magical. You’ll see Facebook auto-populate your captions and now all you need to do is tweak them (their voice recognition is good, but it’s fallible).
Once the captions are generated, you’ll have a chance to review and edit. I recommend doing this and making sure you’re happy before saving by clicking “next.”
I’ll also mention when you click “next” it moves you to step 2, “Publishing Options,” so make sure you’ve added information to the other menu options as desired before moving on.
Step two gives you a few publishing options for your video like publish now, schedule and backdate. These are wonderful options! Check the different choices out and select what works best for your page.
Then, click publish and you’re done! You have just added captions to Facebook videos you genius you!
If you’re wondering about uploading your own captions, this is a SubRip file you have to set up ahead of time in Notepad or TextEdit.
You’ll need to understand the formatting and know your caption time spans so if you aren’t following this sentence just stick with the Facebook-generated captions, alright?
One more thing. You may be interested in my free resource library. This is where I keep my files, downloads, ebooks, worksheets and whatever else I manage to create. I love sharing what I learn and want to keep adding to this library so it becomes a wealth of helpful goodness.
This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.
