But if you can overcome it and get out there a bit, it can really pay off. Some of the best-visibility clients I have now I got from in-person networking events. If you can’t make a commitment to doing it every day or week even, say once a month you’ll do something more to market your business. It WILL improve your earnings if you target activities that are a good fit for your writing type, and you keep at it.

And there are great clients out there right now — I’ve landed several new ones in the past few weeks. Companies and Web sites are starting to gear up for a big push in ’10 as the economy turns — are you out there finding these clients and helping them lay the groundwork for success next year? The next 2 weeks are a great time to line up work for January.

For those who fear in-person stuff, I’m told the pro level of LinkedIn allows you to send 10 inmails a month — and that they have a 30% response rate, HUGE in the world of direct mail. Yet another great way to find better-paying clients.

Carol Tice

I pick up most of my work on the phone and a lesser extent via e-mail. Picked up one item yesterday from someone I know personally, but such face-to-face meetings are rarer all the time in the global market.

But my calls are usually at least “semi-warm.” Maybe I haven’t worked for that editor, but I may have worked for the publication in the past. Or I’ve seen job posts in the past that weren’t the right fit, but think I can help out in other areas. Or I’ve talked to the prospect in the past on something else, perhaps unrelated.

I have made a few cold calls, too. But the more one can warm them up, the better the chances are.

Also, T.W. commented recently on rates, and time spent on marketing (and other administrative tasks). If you can work with warm calls and e-mails first, you’ll have a better return and a lower marketing “expense” (time) than if you spend the same amount of time on cold calls. But cold calls are better than watching television for an hour and wondering why the work isn’t coming in.

While no one likes telemarketing, cold calling doesn’t involve calling one’s home either. It’s strictly business to business marketing. Businesses do expect to receive solicitations. Many times the receptionist has instructions for people such as the freelancers who are cold calling for business and will tell them when to call or where to send information. Many businesses are very receptive to freelance writers as long as they’re not annoying. How do I know this? I’ve done plenty of cold calling on my own. Not calling someone’s house, but me, as a business owner, calling another business.

It’s great that your situation works for you, but not every writer wants to go that route and I’m happy to offer suggestions for researching other outlets for their freelance writing.

Do you read spam e-mails? Nope. I don’t either. I never open those e-mails which claim to offer me some wonderful service that is a myth. I put it in the spam box and move on with my day.

So while it’s true that yes, you can potentially sometimes get someone to respond to a cold-call or a random e-mail, we all know how we feel about telemarketers and spam e-mails offering us services that we don’t want, so can you really expect potential clients to react any differently?

I started my business by writing in specific niches and then went out from there. My resume speaks for itself, and I find work all over the globe. I also write for content sites for a large portion of my work because it eliminates the need for cold calling out of my routine completely. Why query and waste your time waiting for someone to take 6 weeks or longer to get back to you when you could simply be pounding out fluff in between more serious gigs and earning a damn good paycheck?

Depends on the individual, I suppose. I prefer constant feast mode to feast-or-famine.

I’d love to know more about the book…if you’ve read more than a couple of my posts, you know that health care insurance is huge on my priority list. My oldest daughter had back surgery next year, now I work primarily to pay health bills.

Lisa

My new book will be out soon Fight Your Medical Insurance Nightmares!! Let me show you how. This book is for everybody if you have medical insurance or not.

It has information everybody needs to know about in order to talk to medical professionals.

I also have a published childrens book Ghost Kids Trilogy for ages 8 to adult. I also have e books on several subjects.

I am also a public speaker and would love to start speaking on my medical insurance book.

Linda Meckler

I just discovered it. You have created a wonderful
community here and I can feel your wonderful energy,
and I live all the way down in Melbourne, Australia!

Thanks for starting and keeping it going such a great
resource for writers.

Along those same lines, I have a question: There’s a regional magazine that I’d like to write for. I can’t find their writer’s guidelines ANYWHERE on their site or on their magazine (or in any of the market books). I’ve emailed and asked for their guidelines but have never gotten a reply. Give up or try a different route?