How Social Media Can Boost Your Freelance Writing Business

Written By: Akanksha

Let us all take a moment to gracefully accept that writing is a business. Had it not been so, you'd never have been reading this blog in the first place.

Writing has seen a revolution over the years. The pens and papers and journals have been replaced by laptops and computers and smart phones. We prefer to post a Facebook status on New Year's Day instead of drawing a hand made card!

There was a time when writers used to sleepless nights, thinking about how well their piece of writing would be received by an audience. We still do. But today, feedback is only a click away!
Feedback is our lifeblood. It is what keeps us going in the first place. No doubt, one needs immense dedication for reaching a goal, but along with internal motivation, external encouragement is a must.
The Internet is fuelled with amazing content. To get noticed, you need to have a creative, unique and good story. But most importantly, you need to stand out. Your work needs to be in the limelight and not be lost in the pile of several new blogs. To be honest, being simply good, doesn't help these days. You need to be intelligent as well. You need a tailored plan to make it to the top.

And though you may detest Facebook and Twitter for all the time they consume, for setting your freelance writing business and watching it soar, you need to make social media your best friend.

Like mentioned previously, your blog, your website, your services - all this can be broadly considered as a business. And for getting good returns, you need to invest in your business. Now, investment doesn't go synonymous with money. It includes time, interaction and patience as well.

Lesson-1 Your Reception Room

While randomly browsing the internet, I came across a very important quote.
"Facebook is like your very own reception room."
And it holds true in every context. Your blog or your website is the main office but to make it there, one has to cross the reception area. It is in the reception room, where first impressions are made.
Here, you give the potential audience a sneak peek of what your product is about or what your business deals with.
In short, you want to show then what you're made of!
Owing to the fact that a major percentage of people are more active on their social profiles, makes a Facebook/Twitter page a priority. Think of a company which doesn't have a social media account? Well, I honestly, can't think of any. Even the littlest companies open a Facebook/Twitter page. In fact, people open a page before hand to publicize their product even before it is available in the market!
That is how important a social profile is.
However, no matter how easy it seems to open a page and publicize your product, it is probably one of the trickiest things you'll ever encounter.

Lesson - 2 Creating Impressions

True, first impressions are magic.
But they aren't easy.
There are a few things you need to keep in mind before launching a Facebook/Twitter page for your freelance writing business.

• Get motivated - this is where most people end up making a major mistake. Don't open a page just because you think it is pretty cool. It may turn into nothing but a sheer waste of time if you don't know how to use it effectively.
• Creating a page - This is easy, we all tell ourselves. No, it is not. Beginnings are scarier. Though the idea of beginnings has always mesmerized us, you don't realize how tough it is to take the first step until you are standing out there.

Think of this page as a newsletter for your potential audience. What can you give them? What do they learn? What are your services? Are you charging them anything?  Most importantly, why should they be checking that page!
Design your page. Make it look attractive. Have a decent theme and a cover and pictures. Treat it the same way as you'd treat your own social profiles.

• Be active - don't open a social page just for the sake of having one. You need to be active if you want to reach somewhere. If messages go unread and enquiries are not answered, people are never going to visit your page again. Make sure, you devote at least half an hour to maintaining your social media pages. Interact with people, find a fan base, find people with similar interests. But remember, never to over do it. That tends to stand out as a rude gesture.

• Professionalism - one of the major reactions I have recorded from people is that, they are fascinated with the idea of professionalism. People tend to be more attracted to pages with a professional edge than the ones which lack them.

It is like a natural human instinct. We will be more attracted to this twitter description - Bestselling author of so-and-so novel. For further queries, contact ... than this - I'm a bestselling author of a novel. Please like my page to know more about me. The latter is a way of committing social suicide. It projects you as an amateur writer, a rather desperate one and though you might get a couple of followers, they'll not be serious people.

• Find your potential audience - although this may take a while, it will reap the best results. If your freelance writing business deals with providing students the necessary tools to make presentations, make sure it reaches them. It is very important to identify your audience. Beating around the bush blindly is going to take things downhill.
• Link your social media accounts - If you have a blog/website, make sure you link your social profiles to the same. This way, it'll save you some time while giving your fans more than one platform to interact with you.

Now let us discuss why exactly social media plays a vital role in boosting a freelance writing business.

1.Think SEO -

Let us be selfish for a while.
Each one of us wants to be noticed. Each one of us wants to create a fan base even if it is not for business. We all look forward to people appreciating something that we've invested so much in.
And, that is not bad.
Now your freelance writing business might have the best content and maybe really effective, but that alone, is not going to help you hit the charts.
Here is where social media accounts and profiles come to help.
Facebook pages are visible to search engines.
Besides that, Facebook has its huge community which is actively searching for things. So make sure you add the appropriate keywords so that people stumble across your page.

2. Facebook and audience - It has been observed that people check their Facebook first thing in the morning than their email accounts. This should give you a clear idea why it can give your business a major boost.
Facebook is notoriously social. It is this big universe where your target audience resides! And remember to utilize this fact to the best.

3. Demand Explosion -if you are looking for freelance writing gigs and want to land a deal with some popular company, remember, they are looking for talented writers who can even drive a major social traffic. So, you may want to start brushing your social skills. The number of markets who care about social traffic is only growing.

4. Establishing yourself on every platform - when I first started blogging, I read numerous articles regarding using Reddit to drive immense amount of traffic. So, I joined. But then I realized that it was this huge platform. What if your product is localized to only a certain group of people? There, you need Facebook more than Reddit because finding your niche on Reddit becomes a tough affair.
However in Facebook, you not only have the support of your friends and family but their friends and family as well.

The social platform is crowded. Most of the posts go unnoticed. To stand apart from the crowd, you need to carefully observe trends and try different marketing practices to make your business stand in the limelight.

About the author: 

The author is a teenage blogger and an occasional short story writer. Her blog deals with snippets from the life around her, including her own. She can be found at http://www.acaffeinatedblog.wordpress.com