Fearless Freelancing

Of all the writing assignments freelance and staff writers are asked to take on, speech writing can be the most complex, the most interesting, the most intense, and the most enjoyable form of corporate assignment going.

After all, we get to write on all sorts of topics. We get to put words in peoples’ mouths. We get to help in articulating government or corporate policy. Or help launch a new product. And by the time we are sick of the subject it is finished.

Not that there isn’t a down side. By definition the deadlines are tight, access to the speaker almost always minimal, and even though our brilliant words might hit the 11 o’clock news we can’t take credit for them.

For the in-house speech writer there is an added complication. Most have many other communication tasks on their plates other than speech writing. Let’s say it takes 20 hours to write an important keynote speech for a CEO. I know very few public affairs/communications employees who can drop everything for three days and devote all hours in the day to this one activity. So it gets spread out over time - half an hour here, half a day there and - fingers crossed - a coherent speech comes out at the other end.

For the freelance writer it’s a similar dilemma. If you have a medium full plate of non-speech assignments on your hands, you pretty much have to drop everything if you are taking on an urgent speech. And they are almost all urgent. What do you do?

So when someone calls and says “We need a speech” and you don’t know where or how to start, this online speech writing course might just be the ticket.

Next session: September 15-October 30, 2008. Full course description and sign up/registration can be found here.

August 17th, 2008
Comments:No Comment Category: From the Fearless Files

If the U.S. economy tanks, I mean really tanks big time, how will that affect the lot of freelance writers? No matter where they live.

In the normal ebb and flow of economies this is what usually happens. In bad times the first thing corporations do is downsize - that wonderful euphemism for throwing their workers on the trash heap with little thought to the human side of the equation. They have to preserve shareholder value don’t you know. Fools that they are they tend to first chuck out what they consider the most expendable part of the operation, the Communications Division. And in one fell swoop they get rid of half their corporate memory.

When the shit hits the fan, and it always does in bad times, all of a sudden when they go to their communications team to explain to the press what went wrong…. whoops they no longer have the capacity to do so. What to do? They temporarily turn to freelancers to fill in the gap.

And when times turn good again they slowly bring their communications shop back up to strength. But the problem is, much of that corporate memory is now gone.

None of which is our problem except to say that if we position ourselves properly we can take advantage of those ebbs and flows.

But if the American economy really does blow up - not saying that it will - but if - then all bets may be off. So as a freelance speechwriter, if I dwell on that possibility and go to a dark place, this is how it might play out.

As oil and travel costs go up, will many of my current crop of clients curtail their attendance and speaking engagements at international conferences. There goes 10% of the business. As corporations ask all their divisions to cut back all costs by 15%, the head of PR insists on no more contracting out of speech work. Another 20% gone. Governments send out a similar message to their various ministries and departments and all of a sudden there is no more work to bid on. And so on.

Since we don’t know for sure what the economy will bring us over the next year, I would suggest you hope for the best but plan for the worst. I won’t go into the various marketing strategies that I have talked about so often before. But I would suggest that you think of as many ways as you can to bring in multiple sources of writing income.

Assuming you are a specialist - and please tell me that you are - then you could, in addition to providing your regular services:

Write articles for magazines on your specialty.
Double up by selling reprint rights for articles you have written for your web site. you do have one of those do you not?
Teach your own specialty at a community college.
Host your own course online or in person.
Write and sell your own eBook.
Hold your own Teleseminars on your specialty.

The secret is having multiple irons in the fire. Out of writing can come the teaching. Add the Internet as a marketing tool, and you would be amazed at how many possibilities can come up.

We freelancers have to be a little like cockroaches…the ability to adapt to any set of circumstances that the working environment sends our way.

But start now. All the above are doable but they take time. It is not as hard as you might think.

August 16th, 2008
Comments:No Comment Category: From the Fearless Files

I know I have talked about this before. And I know you have read this from other marketing people. I am talking about the mantra that says “in the service sector, people do business with people they like and trust.”
Let me give you an example.A few months ago I got a call from a senior executive who wanted some help with a convocation speech he was to give. It was strictly a word of mouth referral.

Now of course when he called me I wanted his business.

But you know what? He wanted me to be the right person even more. Why? Because if I wasn’t, he would have to go through the process all over again and hunt for someone else.

A secret truth here. It is much easier for writers to find good clients than it is for clients to find good freelance writers. And so in a reversal of what freelancers usually think, clients need us more than we need them.

Read more…

March 1st, 2008
Comments:No Comment Category: From the Fearless Files

A few weeks ago - at about 10 pm on a Thursday - I got a semi-frantic email from a semi-frantic consultant who was due to give a speech on Saturday - and “would I be free to give him a hand with editing his draft?” He would have it to me by three or four Friday afternoon.
It was one of those instances where I had to make a fast decision. I was working on another speech for a client that was due fairly soon. Although it was reasonably under control, the client you have must never be sacrificed for the client you might have. A bird in the hand - so to speak.

On the other hand, you never have a second chance to turn down a first time client.

This request and the decision to take it on was somewhat problematic. First, I generally only take on “emergency” speeches for my ongoing clients, not for new ones. Second, I count emergency as being 24 hour turnaround time, not the few hours he had in mind. Third, in this case both the client and I were buying a bit of a “pig in a poke”.

I didn’t know if I would be editing a disaster that was unfixable. And he didn’t know if and how much I could help him. He knew of me because he had heard me give a talk on speech writing, but that was it. It was entirely possible that we would be both committed to an enterprise that might all end in tears.

Even before talking to him on the phone I did do a bit of research - the gods of Google be praised - and got relevant background on him and on the sum and substance of the event.

“What the heck”, I thought. The subject matter was interesting and we seemed to talk in the same vocabulary. The process was not without its moments however. The draft I was supposed to get at 3 or 4 didn’t show up until 7 in the evening - so it was a pretty frantic 3 or 4 hours after that.

Fortunately my gut didn’t let me down because the draft he sent me wasn’t a mess. It was actually pretty good. I was able to tighten it up. add a few value-added comments of my own and turn it around by about 10:45 pm.

The job got done. The client was happy. The Saturday event apparently went well.

It’s not something I recommend on a regular basis. But sometimes you go with your instinct and you have the makings of a new ongoing relationship. In fact we had coffee the following week, exchanged war stories about things political, and we plan to keep in touch.

Was there a price to be paid? Well yes. Not financial. I was well paid for the work. But you forget how much this sort of last minute on-the-fly work can take out of your system. The output of mental energy can be physically draining. I sort of crashed the rest of the weekend.

Still, the adrenaline rush cannot be denied.

What about you. Do you take on emergency work? Do you make sure to charge a premium for it? Do you demand quick payment? Do you demand payment in advance?

March 1st, 2008
Comments:No Comment Category: From the Fearless Files, The Business

When I talk to my students about putting together their portfolios, I talk of course about including an appropriate functional (rather than chronological) resume, testimonials, business cards, and work samples. All assembled in a spiffy looking folder of some sort. I regret to say that almost as important as the quality of the words you cobble together - is how good they look as a package. It sounds absurd I know. But as in most things in life - first impressions count.Putting together a good looking portfolio is a bit of an art form itself, and perhaps worthy of commentary another day.

But lest you think I am exaggerating on this matter - let me tell you a little story that is illustrative.

Last year I attended a workshop given by a very well known Internet marketer of information products. He talked about all the material he gave away for free and noted of course how much is given away these days on the internet.

So how did he decide what he gave away for free and what he sold? It didn’t seem to matter that much.

In the electronic universe it’s all basically electrons anyway. But wrap those electrons up with an offer of extra free stuff, add an audio file or two, perhaps a hard copy CD along with some very good copy about the value on the whole bundle and there you have it - a package with a price tag. Perceived value is everything.

Don’t get me wrong - the content has to be very good too. He produces great content and of course, if he didn’t, all the pretty packaging in the world wouldn’t help him very long. But the first sell definitely comes - in part - from the packaging. You best give that some thought as you consider how you are marketing yourself.

March 1st, 2008
Comments:No Comment Category: From the Fearless Files

In previous articles on this subject I have talked about how the internet - email and blogs and web sites - have given us a powerful marketing tool that was unavailable a decade ago. And that we would be crazy not to take advantage of them. I also talked about the importance of joining at least two associations - one writing-related so you can share in the wit, wisdom and warmth of your colleagues who are in the same boat as you are. And one association that has nothing to do with writing but everything to do with the niche market you are trying to service.
I suggested that there was futility in sending out unsolicited hard copy marketing materials willy nilly hoping to get a hit. Dumping your junk mail [and that’s exactly how your brochures/resumes/work samples/testimonials will be regarded] on someone else’s desk unasked is a big no-no.This takes us back to the basics of marketing, the purpose of which is to develop one-on-one relationships with potential clients. Because in the end of course, that is where your business is going to come from. A single individual making the decision to buy from another single individual - specifically and hopefully you.

Read more…

February 29th, 2008
Comments:No Comment Category: From the Fearless Files