What to Do When Freelance Business Is Slow

Freelancer tips for getting the phone to ring Even the very best freelancers go through times when the phone just isn’t ringing. It’s nothing to get worried about. If you’re managing your money properly, you should have enough in the bank to ride it out.

In fact, down time gives you an opportunity to do a little marketing. Here are a few tips for using your free time productively and getting the phone to ring with paying projects.

Call past and present clients. Don’t sit around getting depressed. Pick up the phone and call everyone you’ve worked with. Don’t tell them your business is slow, just say you wanted to touch base and see how they’re doing. Chitchat for a minute, then ask if there’s anything you can help with.

Call leads and prospects. Again, don’t say things are slow. Just say you wanted to stay in touch. Ask if there’s anything you can help with or if they need more information. Keep it short and friendly.

Make mini-proposals. This works best for established clients whose business you know well. Write up a short one-page proposal telling your client what you can do, how it should be done, and what it will cost. Look for improvements you can make or ideas they’ve overlooked. Generally, clients appreciate this, as long as you don’t do it too often or too aggressively.

Suggest add-ons for work you’ve finished. If you’ve written a brochure, suggest a letter to accompany it. If you’ve designed an annual report, ask about creating a shorter version that can be used in promotional literature packages. It doesn’t always work, but now and then, clients will bite.

Offer to handle different types of projects. If you normally handle technical documentation for software products, tell your client you can also write ad copy for the packaging. If a client usually calls you to design a newsletter, suggest that you can also handle the photography for less than the cost of buying the photo rights. If you create a Web site for a client, say you can also provide consultation for online marketing.

Do a quick mailing to prospects. One thing I often do during a slow week is copy an article I’ve just read and send it to clients with a note that reads, “I thought you’d be interested in this.” Of course, you can send a letter, re-mail your brochure, send samples, or anything you like to let them know you’re still available. This works with e-mail too, though it’s a little less personal. And there’s a chance clients won’t open attachments.

Welcome a different type of client. If you normally work with banks, take on a fast food chain. If most of your clients are software companies, solicit work from a publisher. It’s good to specialize, but sometimes you have to branch out to get a project or two. And the variety will do wonders for your mood.

Offer your services in a less expensive form to smaller clients. If you handle an eight-page newsletter for a major clients, you might charge a pretty penny for your work. But you may know a small business owner who needs a simple two-pager and who isn’t very picky about it. Give then a steep discount and you have some bread and butter money. I used to do something like this with a small client who needed a dozen little radio blurbs with health tips every quarter. I only charged $250 for all twelve, which is far less than I usually charge for just one full radio script.

Remind people that you want referrals. Referrals are the best way to get business, but you can’t do much to control them. What you can do is tell people you want them. One way to get referrals is to give referrals. A more immediate method is to send a short note to your clients to thank them for their business and remind them that you appreciate referrals. Keep it short and sweet. And sending a few business cards can’t hurt.

Write an article for a magazine. This is my little “big” secret for marketing, because a lot of the business I get comes from people seeing my articles and then calling me with a project. An article on a topic relevant to your prospects will position you as an authority and prompt a few people to call. Some will just want information. Others will have a project ready to go.

Offer a special package deal for more work. If there’s a client who has ongoing work, it can help to offer a small discount in return for getting repeat projects. It’s a fair trade, since after the first few times, you’ll be able to do the work faster and more efficiently. And it’s regular income you can count on month after month.