In any work at home occupation it is a must to market yourself. It does not matter how good your skills may be you are not just going to have client’s come drop into your lap. I receive countless emails from aspiring freelance writers who always ask, “How do I find private clients”? So, I figured it was time to address the marketing topic for everyone.
How Long Should I Market?
If you are someone who is trying to put a time limit on the length of time you will market your career is destined for failure. Marketing is something that must be continuously, even when you are booked with work. If you do not continuously market yourself you can find yourself in a very bad situation. Even the most trusted clients can run out of work at any given time. Many work at home moms live by the golden rule, “Never Put All of Your Eggs in One Basket”.
Places to Market Yourself
- Social Media: Social media networks are one of my favorite places to market myself. This technique has opened a lot of doors for me. Some clients will even turn you down if you are not active in a variety of social media settings. It is also the way to start establishing your online identity.
- Forums: There are numerous forums available that target work at home moms or work at home individuals in general. Many have sub sections where you can advertise your services – some for free others you have to pay a fee. I have run across a few work at home moms that make majority of their money on forums such as Warrior Forum, Digital Point, and Absolute Write. However, from what I have seen on various forums recently you should not invest the bulk of your time advertising here because everyone is in competition about who can offer the lowest rate.
- Classified Sites: Classified sites such as Craigslist and Backpage can bring you in a decent amount of income. Personally, I have never used Backpage but I have had success with Craigslist. Generally, from my experience, clients on classified sites are willing to pay more for your work. However, classified sites are also full of scams so you have to be very smart when agreeing to do work for someone you found here.
Can you think of any low cost or free marketing strategies that can help work at home moms succeed? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Work at Home Journey 
I am just trying to start out a career in freelance writing and having worked in the Marketing field, I know that clients will not just land in my lap – I will have to get out there and market myself. At this point, I am not sure how to go about that. I also know this is going to my biggest challenge because it is about selling yourself and I hate sales!! Sometimes self-doubt creeps in and I wonder if I have what it takes – fear and anxiety hit me from time to time. I wonder why anyone would hire me, even though I know I am a good writer. There are times when I feel very confident about myself, and other times where I doubt myself. And I know that in order to succeed in this, I have to believe in myself.
Deevra,
The goal is to believe yourself and never give up. I have had that doubt and I have gotten turned down or never heard back from jobs I applied to. However, I keep marketing myself and providing my best work and it all balances out for me. I am trying some other avenues outside of writing as well to make sure that I always have a steady income coming in since I do this full time. I am sure you will do just fine as a freelance writer since you already have marketing experience.
Great info! Marketing IS the key to success 🙂
great information.
Love it! Thank you for the information!
There are so many ways to market yourself (and your blog)! Sometimes it seems as if marketing is a full time job in itself 😦
Amanda,
I agree marketing can feel like a full time job.
Marketing is so important.
These are all great tips 🙂