Home
>
Writing
>
Why Every Freelancer Should Have A Web Site

Why Every Freelancer Should Have A Web Site

"Do I send samples, a media kit, or just the query, postcard and/or sales letter?" As a freelancer, when you are trying to reach new clients or stay in touch with old ones, how to approach the contact can be a sticky, confusing, discombobulating journey. Having a web site can solve all of these situations. How?

Outlined below are four ways a web site can contribute to the bottom line success of your business.

1. Save Postage: When prospecting for new clients, instead of sending an entire media kit, numerous clippings, and/or writing samples, simply direct your target to your web site.

A simple postcard can list the services you offer and/or products you sell. For samples of your work direct prospects to your web site, which can do a better job of selling. A web site can list client testimonials, special deals and discounts, awards - the possibilities are endless.

In essence, you are selling a potential client on your business for just the cost of a postcard. Of course, you can always send a sales letter instead of a postcard. The point is, you don't have to spend a lot of money on postage up front.

If a client is interested enough from your initial postcard/letter to look at your web site, then you have a better chance of them contacting you. One could argue, the less you spend up front, the better. This weeds out the tire kickers from the serious buyers.

Can you do business without a web site? Yes. But, consider the following first.

2. Increase Revenue: Would you like to make money while you sleep? Essentially, a web site allows you to do just that. Proof?

After launching a Web site, 41% of small businesses report an increase in their sales volume, and more than half (55%) with a Web site say their sites have generated a profit or paid for themselves. SmallBusinessComputing.com, "Internet Future Bright for Small Businesses." January 14, 2003.

This does not mean you don't have to do all those things necessary to drive potential customers to your site, i.e., market your site. A web site is simply another avenue, albeit a powerful one, for you to increase your bottom line.

Providing such info as location, photos, testimonials, price, hours of operation, et cetera, somewhat pre-qualifies clients without you ever having to meet them. This greatly increases your chances of making a sale.

A 2001 study from Cyber Dialogue reveals that 86% of U.S. adults who were online have either clicked on e-ads or gathered product information online and then made an offline purchase based on the web ads or data.

3. Stay in Touch with Existing Clients: Via your web site you can alert clients to special deals and discounts, announce new hires and promotions, advertise feedback and company awards, showcase media outlets where your business has been featured - the possibilities are endless.

As postage increases, adding some type of listserv* software to your site to collect names and address of visitors is not only smart business, it's essential. Sending announcements via email is infinitely less expensive (some studies quote as high as 90%) than doing even a postcard mailing.

Staying in touch with your clients puts your business foremost in their minds when it comes time for them to purchase the type of product/service you offer.

*LISTSERV is a computer program that allows you to create, manage and control electronic mailing lists. Each list has a general (or sometimes very specific) topic of interest. It makes sending email to groups of people fast, easy, and cost-efficient.

4. Saves Time (Hence Money): Thomas Jefferson said, "If you love life, do not waste time, for that is what life is made of."

Remember, posting all pertinent information on your company web site - hours of operation, location, company history, products/services offered, type of clients served, et cetera - saves untold hours in phone time answering the same rote questions. This is time that can be better spent servicing existing customers (hence, making more money).

And, to reiterate, adding listserv software automates the process of collecting names and addresses of customers. This saves time and money because you don't have to (or pay someone to) type all of this information into a database. The customers themselves do this. Further, since the customer voluntarily gives you their information, this builds your in-house mailing list. By building your own mailing list (which will almost always out pull most purchased mailing lists), you won't have to seek out lists for which you have to pay.

Lastly, an in-house mailing list can be rented or sold to companies with complementary services. For example, a wedding consultant might rent/sell their list to a photographer. However, be very, very careful about this. It should be clearly stated in your privacy policy if you outright sell your list.

Instead of selling an in-house list, most companies prefer to offer the products/services of an outside company in conjunction with their own services. In the example mentioned above, the wedding consultant's mailing of, for example, 10,000 brochures, would contain a mention of the photographer's service. The photographer's mention can be large or small, depending on mutual agreement.

Note: Most customers WILL NOT voluntarily give you their contact information if you sell it. Guard your in-house list as if it's gold - because it is. These are customers you have worked hard and spent untold dollars to obtain. Although selling your list might be tempting, it breaches customer trust. In the long run, it is almost never worth the short-term gain.

In conclusion, having an Internet presence speaks volumes about your firm's professionalism. This is especially important for small businesses. It adds another measure of credibility to your growing enterprise, while adding positively to your bottom line.

Parts of this article were excerpted from How to Get Your Small Biz on the Web Quickly & Affordably, available for immediate download.

About The Author

May be reprinted with inclusion of the following: Yuwanda Black is an entrepreneur, author, speaker and syndicated small business columnist whose focus is controlling your destiny through small business ownership. Her most recent e-books, How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer and Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built Their Careers & How You Can Too! are available for immediate download at http://www.inkwelleditorial.com/bizguides.html Visit her on the web at http://www.inkwelleditorial.com/bizguides.html for a complete list of how-to, small business books and articles.

http://www.inkwelleditorial.com/bizguides.html

disinfecting cleaning services Winnetka ...

In The News:

Uber teen accounts now feature live video streaming from the driver's camera, but encrypted recordings stay on Uber's servers for up to 14 days.

Router firewalls and software firewalls serve different roles in protecting your home Wi-Fi from unwanted traffic and suspicious connections.

A Chrome extension with 70,000 users and a 4.7-star rating began injecting fake update warnings after a threat actor acquired and weaponized it.

Amazon's Alexa+ rolls out free to Fire TV devices across the U.S., but hands-free microphones and stored voice data raise key privacy questions.

Meta's new teen accounts settlement sets a default two-hour daily limit on Instagram and Facebook, plus night mode and school mode restrictions.

The CareCloud data breach exposed Social Security numbers, banking information and medical records belonging to more than 3.75 million people.

Waymo reveals its custom 5-nanometer chip and dual computing systems designed to take over instantly if the robotaxi's primary computer fails.

Identity theft now includes account takeover, phone hijacking and payment card exposure. Here's what to look for in identity theft protection services.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

The FBI and Justice Department seized domains tied to QScan and QTRouter, tools allegedly used by China-linked hackers to breach NASA and other agencies.

Uber Eats drone delivery launches later this year through a Zipline partnership, starting in Dallas and Houston with a goal of one million daily flights.

Medicare Open Enrollment scams start with data broker targeting months before October. Learn why August is the time to remove your personal info.

The World Humanoid Robot Games' crashes show how far the technology still needs to go to be useful, "Survivor" reality TV star and robotics scientist Christian Hubicki says.

X-Humanoid's TianGong Ultra ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds at Beijing's World Humanoid Robot Games, beating last year's winner by more than half.

A tap-to-pay charity scam is turning small $15 or $20 donations into charges of nearly $5,000, with victims losing thousands before they notice.

Kurt Knutsson shares seven emergency preparedness lessons from surviving Hurricane Katrina inside a New Orleans hotel as conditions turned desperate.

A contractor stored credentials in a Google Doc set to "Anyone with the link," and Google Search autocomplete eventually surfaced the password string.

New Orleans 911 uses Carbyne AI to triage repeat auto crash calls, but strict limits keep human call-takers in control of all other emergencies.

A single card skimmer can generate $1 million in stolen funds, and Secret Service video shows criminals installing them in under two seconds.

ChatGPT, Meta AI and Google now use memory, connected apps and past chats to personalize ads and responses in ways most users overlook today.

MagicalAuth by Glide.id uses cryptographic SIM credentials to verify bank logins without sending SMS OTP codes that scammers can intercept or phish.

A humanoid robot named Lightning Bolt ran 100 meters in 9.39 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, edging Usain Bolt's record.

An AI agent using Claude AI canceled another person's gym booking after finding a security flaw in the reservation system's authorization checks.

Trump signed a memorandum allowing vetted private U.S. companies to conduct cyber operations against foreign criminal organizations under oversight.

Your Social Security number appeared in a breach, but exposure and identity theft are not the same. Here's how identity restoration actually works.

Why Every Freelancer Should Have A Web Site

Writing