When I started an independent editorial studio, most of my business came from referrals. I continued this as I rebooted my business writing practice several months ago. I also wrote thoughtful cold emails to companies I very intentionally filtered and focused on, and made time to chat with former clients and coworkers. These sales activities led to a lot of fulfilling conversations, and even potential deals that might land in coming months. Nothing worked out in the near-term though.
This was the perfect opportunity for me to try The Consistency Journal as a structure. It kept my experiences of despair and doubt at bay. Instead, I focused on what I was working toward, as well as small wins and new ideas.
One note I made was to try using my writing to support my sales. I’d done this to great success once, with my series on Slack’s copywriting, content strategy, and blog leading to multiple inbound leads. I stopped for no good reason other than a lack of focus and dedication. It dawned on me this was worth trying again, and I was ready for it.
This note had been sitting in my journal for almost a month, and I felt very blocked even prior to writing that note, so I made time to execute on it with greater immediacy.
I shifted my focus to write at two outlets: a newsletter which I sent to clients and prospects (with permission), and LinkedIn. I’d struggled to introduce my services at LinkedIn, and getting clearer on my strategy as well as finding the Guild95 community was the supportive context I needed to get unblocked. I told stories from my professional experiences.
Each of those posts and newsletter editions took at least two hours to write and edit, even with AI assistance. It felt like a gamble. However, after posting just a handful of times, several prospective clients have reached out asking me to chat. I’ve signed a contract to start a new project.
My talent isn’t in sales, it’s in writing. I realized that I had an advantage when I focused on my writing, and using that to drive sales. I was energized by the process of writing these stories, and also pulling them together into a book or another larger body of work at some point.
If you’re a designer, then use your design to drive sales. Explore interesting concepts, or do self-initiated makeovers (e.g., redesign a feature in a popular app, or come up with a cool campaign, etc.), and publish it.
If you’re a software developer, then use your programming skills to drive sales. Demo your work in a video, transcribe the text into a text post, and publish it.
Lead your sales with your talent. Instead of spending so much time looking for clients, they’ll find you.