Writers and Marketing and Public Relations
January 9, 2008 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
Some freelance writers do marketing and PR writing, some don’t. But every freelance writer, editor, blogger, etc. needs to learn how to market themselves.
Common Sense PR is a b5media blog that covers all aspects of public relations. It’s written by Eric Eggertson and he recently posted a list of blogs and other ideas for his target audience. Some of it at least spills over to freelance writers and editors like us. Some of the links will probably be familiar to you; others will be a new discovery.
For example, I didn’t know about the World’s Top Surveillance Societies. (It’s getting more and more embarrassing to be an American.) And although I subscribe to Seth Godin’s blog, I missed The truth about word of mouth.
Write well and often,
Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision – for those who want to get a book written.
Writers often fall short on the public relations aspect of maintaining their careers. Hiring a PR person is, if done smartly, an excellent investment for a writer. It is a great way to increase your visibility. It is also fine to handle your own PR, but many writers just don’t have the time or motivation to really learn that side of the business.
John, how do you (or any freelancer)approach he cost of a pr person – it’s a new thought to me… yet my income has increased enough so it’s a maybe… hmmmmm
Hi Anne,
Cost is definitely an issue, but most independent PR people charge about the same as other writing freelancers. They charge by the project and by the hour depending on your needs. One of the key advantages to a quality PR person is that they have media contacts that the average writer doesn’t. I have been putting aside a portion of my blog income for advertising and PR, but I have yet to hire a PR person. So far I have stuck to a very efficient advertising service I found last October because it has been such a good buy for me, but I plan to invest in a PR person once I have my new book out (sometime soon).
Anne: Thanks for the mention. There’s some food for thought here. I’ll think about it and write a post about how PR people can help freelance writers.
Hint: there’s a lot of self-promotion that freelancers can do without a lot of professional help, but there are times when a pro really helps, even if it’s only for a quick consultation.
John and Eric… lots of food for thought here, at least for me… I’ve never even considered hiring a pro to promote me… it’s a lovely thought even if I don’t do it.