Ami Wright's abstract
Marketing Your Services as an Independent
When working as a freelance technical communicator, finding the next project is an ongoing concern. Because of the downturn in the economy, particularly the tech sector, this aspect of freelancing is even more important than before.
Drawing on my own experience, as well as other sources, I'd like to discuss ways that independent technical communicators can market their services and attract new clients.
Some of the questions that we can discuss are:
- What is marketing?
- What marketing methods are most effective?
- Why are they effective?
- What methods have you tried?
- Why did they or did they not work?
- Who is your target market?
- What are their major concerns?
- Do you do anything in particular to generate referrals from existing clients?
- How much time do you spend marketing as opposed to doing paying work?
- What is the usual lead time for a project?
- How successful is it to use agencies or recruiters?
- How successful is it to use on-line job boards?
- Are the methods that work in France different than the methods that work in the US?
- How do cultural differences affect your marketing methods?
About Ami Wright
Ami Wright has been a freelance technical writer for 10 years, with clients in both France and the United States. She is a senior member of the Boston STC chapter and previously managed the International Special Interest Group for that chapter.
