If you are freelancer looking for work, and feel shy about approaching potential clients, you’re not alone.
In fact, effective self-promotion is probably the biggest single challenge facing freelancers. For a few of us, it comes naturally. For most of us, it’s a challenge.
So, if you don’t like cold-calling and implementing an aggressive plan of self-promotion, what are your options?
I think the best and simplest way to get in front of potential clients is through writing articles.
If you write good articles, put them on your site and even syndicate them across other sites, people will start reading them.
And among those people will be potential clients.
But before you get too excited about how easy this is, keep in mind a few pointers:
1. They have to be good, useful articles which communicate new information or deliver valuable insights. There is enough fluff out there already.
2. They should be focused on your primary area of expertise, so your readers come to see you as a true expert in your field.
3. In addition to writing articles for your own site and for general syndication, you should also approach the editors of established, respected web sites which reach your audience. One of your articles and your name on a major site will do more for your credibility and reputation than the same article on your own site.
Writing articles is a very passive, quiet, long-term strategy when it comes to building your credentials and attracting new work.
But if you write well and deliver useful information, article-writing is also one of the most effective and enduring ways for a freelancer to promote his or her services.
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