Is Your Work To Marketing Ratio 2-1?

My freelance life began in November 2002 when I was laid off from my technical writing job of nearly eleven years. I can’t say that I didn’t see it coming – I was working in business aviation in the New York City area and our business was still reeling from the attacks of 9/11/2001. While the rest of the nation was doing fairly well, the New York metropolitan area was still struggling. Thirty of us were given our walking papers over a week long period.

Starting My Own Business

Immediately, I decided to start my own business, although my wife wasn’t particularly thrilled with that idea. I had a fair severance which included medical coverage for six months, something we needed as we had a pair of toddlers in the house. I quickly had papers drawn up to start my own business and within a few weeks time had my Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS and my state’s business license. Admittedly, I didn’t have many clues on how to proceed.

After a number of fits and starts where I eventually transitioned from building and maintaining websites to chiefly freelance writing, I began to find my groove. A lot of “life” happened during the ensuing months as my wife and I both lost our mothers, who were our remaining parents. Life was a blur throughout 2003 and well into 2004 before we decided to move and get a fresh start in North Carolina. So we sold our New Jersey home, purchased one in the Tarheel state and headed out nearly two years after starting my business.

A Time To Refocus

It was soon after when we arrived in North Carolina that I realized I needed to refocus my work. I eventually sold off or closed down several websites and began soliciting work from new customers. Oh, if I had only known back then that there was a huge community of online freelancer support, I might have been able to shorten my learning curve. But it was to be nearly another year before I managed to hook up with others thanks to having started my own blog.

Without going into all of the details covering my transition, I will instead share with you my current approach toward work which involves two components mainly – writing and marketing. Working together hand in hand, when both components are going well then I’m doing fine, but if my marketing isn’t up to snuff, then my writing may be lacking.

Am I saying that if I’m spending all of my time writing that marketing doesn’t matter? No. Eventually, jobs do come to an end and if I’m not continually marketing, then I could eventually find myself in big trouble, scrambling to take anything in order to make ends meet – been there, done that!

Two Thirds Writing, One Third Marketing

I’ve played around for months, even years on trying to find the right balance of freelance writing and marketing and have determined that if I spend two-thirds of my time writing and one-third of the time marketing, then I have achieved a good balance. This means that I need to spend the alloted time writing for others (so that I can get paid) and the rest of the time networking and soliciting new business (so that my work doesn’t dry up).

I average about fifty hours a week of work which means about 34 hours I’m writing and 16 hours are marketing. But the writing side isn’t just putting pen to pad (or making keystrokes to create words) as that also involves research (e.g., web research, interviews, phone calls, etc.) and, if the project is very detailed, writing an outline although most of the time that information is sitting in my head.

Marketing isn’t paying for web ads only, something I rarely do these days, but it does involve reading and responding to emails, phone meetings, the occasional snail mail letter or query, email messaging, social media usage, promoting articles, the occasional press release, etc. Marketing also means tweaking my blogs and websites and updating older information, deleting files, updating WordPress and more. Yes, I suppose I could include a third component, maintenance, and perhaps a fourth component, accounting, into the working equation. Both are comparably small and come out of my time here and there.

A Little Bit Here And There

For me, marketing isn’t always a set time of the day and it may not be every day either. If work is slow, which thank God it hasn’t been, then I’ll pour more of my time and energy into marketing. If I’m very busy, I still find the time to do some marketing no matter what. Most of my deadlines are knowable well in advance which means that I can plan ahead of time to work everything into my schedule without busting my writing-marketing ratio.

Of course, my 2-1 ratio isn’t set in stone as things do change when you work as a freelancer. I know of people whose ratio is 1-1 which means that half the time they write and the other half they market themselves. For professionals who are long established and have a steady stream of customers, their marketing ratio may be closer to 10-1, but I would venture to guess that most of these people are closer to 3-1 as they enjoy the contact they have through social media and other sources.

How about you? Do you have a set time to write as well as to market yourself? I would love to hear how you balance everything that you do as a freelance writer.

See Also — How Far In Advance Do You Plan Your Work?

How Far In Advance Do You Plan Your Work?

One commodity we all have and that is quickly disappearing is time. The smart freelancer plans his or her own schedule well in advance, including marketing today for next season's jobs.

Several different blog articles I’ve read recently have proven to be excellent food for thought as I plan my work schedule for the next few months. Although the calendar says July 21st, my mind is already on the fall months as I lay out what I’ll be doing from September through November. As a freelance writer whose income is solely dependent on work that I get from others, I need to plan well in advance to ensure jobs keep flowing. And, in this challenging economy, I can’t afford to lose valuable time!

Reaching Customers Online For Less

Even as companies weigh their options during difficult times I know that many are taking a closer look at their online options in order to keep their businesses competitive and to save money. Since the mid-1990s, the internet has played an increasingly important role to help companies connect with their customers, but these days it could end up being the most cost effective move that they make. This means that for the freelancer who is well versed in blogging, writing web content (copywriting), and/or making good use of social media (such as Twitter), then they have positioned themselves to pick up important new work.

After all, if a company can pay you a thousand dollars or so every month to reach their customers, they’ll save many thousands of dollars over previously used, but costly advertising methods including print ads, radio air time, perhaps even television commercials. Or, the company may still use these options but cut back enough to increase their exposure online, which is where you can step in.

Blogging Evangelist, Lorelle VanFossen

If you are a blogger and aren’t familiar with Lorelle VanFossen, then you’re missing out on one of the most important weblog minds of our day. A self described “blogging evangelist” Lorelle offers tips to help bloggers, particularly WordPress users, get the most out of what they do. Lorelle offers tricks of the trade and often shares information that is critical to the success of professional bloggers. Last week, on The Blog Herald, I came across her article titled – Blogging Jobs How Much Are Bloggers Paid to Blog? – which offers comprehensive guidelines to help bloggers set their prices.

Indeed, Lorelle noted the “sweat shop mentality” of this business which suggests that many bloggers aren’t getting paid what their worth or at least aren’t taking into consideration what it takes to write an article. Though on some subjects I can crank out a compelling and interesting 400-500 word article in as few as 20 minutes, there is a lot of other stuff that goes along with writing including research, editing, obtaining a photo, publishing, responding to comments, and promotion. Personally, Lorelle’s article served as a reminder that I need to make sure that I’m charging what I’m worth otherwise the project just may not be worth it to me.

Catalyst Blogger, Jennifer Williamson

I first came across Jennifer in 2007 when she launched Catalyst Blogger. Jennifer is a copywriter who has been working over the past six or seven years as a freelancer, which is the same length of time for me. I believe that we share a similar outlook on work including methods to bring in new clients.

One marketing method that Jennifer recently used is worth exploring – 10-Minute Marketing Tip. Like so many freelancers, Jennifer is sick of the job boards which often have us compete for jobs at wages that are plain awful. Instead of relying on these sites Jennifer has taken to creating an email campaign where she contacts web designers, offering her skills as a copywriter to them. Jennifer is also looking at developing a post card campaign which she admittedly is pressed to develop from a timing perspective. But, that reason won’t hold her back because Jennifer is also looking ahead and knows that today’s busyness can only be extended if she takes action now.

Freelance Folder, Laura Spencer

Soon after I launched The Article Writer Blog (the forerunner to this blog) in December 2005, Laura Spencer began to show up, contributing comments and exchanging links with me. Though she still manages her “WritingThoughts” blog, she is more active as a contributor to Freelance Folder, one of the hottest sites for freelance writers.

Not directly related to the train of thought I’m on with this article, but important nonetheless, is Laura’s article titled – Working For Friend And Family: Can It Ever Work? – which is a must read for self employed people. Though I haven’t had much of a problem in this area, on occasion a request from a friend or family member does come up.

Now don’t get me wrong – I love to help people out. I just don’t have time to take on many projects from people I’m close to as these requests invariably come with a lot of other stuff too including emotional baggage, a desire on their part to get something for free or at a ridiculously low rate, or needing some other hand holding too.

FYI, I also am considering what Laura and some of her commentators shared to consider how I manage social media – if someone constantly comes to me for a stumble, wanting to write a blog comment or to take up my time in other ways that detracts from my work, I draw the line there as well.

Enriching The Experience Of Bloggers

I’m often the richer for it when I peruse other people’s writings, something that these three bloggers offer on a regular basis. I can’t depend on the economy improving to ease my work, but I can plan with care now in order to ensure that my position is strong in the months ahead. How far in advance do you plan your work? Do you have other tips you would like to share?