Presenting Yourself in Person and on the Web was the session I spoke in, along with amazing journalist Christina Breda Antoniades* (whom you DC folk probably know as the writer for The Washington Post’s Date Lab) and brilliant writer Ellen Stuhlmann, who’s a WIW board member.
Ellen was up first, and she gave a great overview of marketing and branding for freelancers. “It’s about their need, not your talent,” she said, encouraging freelancers to focus on what the client can accomplish by hiring you, not what you’ve done in the past. Another piece of advice she offered is to “know your headline.” Even shorter than an elevator speech, your headline is just a single line that says who you are and what you do.
She also shared a tip that’s worked well for her: Network with new businesses build the relationship from the ground up. If you’re with them from the beginning, your relationship will grow as they do.
Christina took the mic next, and talked about how she’s branded herself by establishing her specialty (Baltimore, in case you were wondering) and becoming the go-to writer editors can rely on. “Writing is based on trust,” she said. “Editors trust you to get the job done.” Christina prides herself on never missing a deadline, always aims to hand in her assignments 24 hours early — or at least to have them waiting in her editor’s inbox when work starts on the due date.
Other great tips from Christina:
- Return calls and e-mails, and do it promptly (this may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised!)
- Pitch stories to your editor even if you can’t write them yourself. Helping him or her out with tips will make you stand out.
- Position yourself to be a part of the team. Do your homework, be excited, behave as though you have a stake in it — because you do.
- Help other writers and editors. You never know when they may be in a position to help you.
Said Christina, “You don’t have to be the best writer, but do the other things, and you’ll be ahead of the game.”
I, Kristen King, was up next, and Ellen embarrassed me roundly by getting the crowd pumped up (well, as pumped up as 30 writers can be in a warm room right after lunch, anyway) by making them all kinds of promises about how great I’d be. She may have oversold me a little, but I got my important points across, and it was a good time.
I shared my Ivan story as an example of how NOT to network and promote yourself, and emphasized the importance of knowing your audience and your mission; having a good, professional business card; and leveraging a website and other online resources to promote yourself. I also cautioned them against Vaseline lenses, costume jewelry, and cleavage in professional photos. (One gentleman in the back was dismayed that his cleavage was off limits, but the rest of the group seemed to take it pretty well).
All in all, it was a super-fun session with excellent advice all around.
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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest
Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King. All rights reserved.
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
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