This Underrated Marketing Strategy Can Let Your Audience Know You’re There

For whatever reason, let’s say you find yourself in a position where you need to drum up some business in a hurry. There are more options than ever before in a well-executed digital marketing arsenal, but if expediency is what you’re looking for, some will work better than others.

Some of the regular go-to strategies that are increasing in popularity can produce steady results – but take time. For example, blogging, landing page, website or SEO strategies can take several months before you effectively increase your visibility. They’re all highly effective but they take time.

Sales Emails

But let me tell you what I did, when I needed to increase my customer base – fast. I started compiling a list of roughly 1,000 Chicago-area marketing agencies and the appropriate contact information. While I’m sure I could have found a program, or a programming whiz that would have shown me how to scrape this information from available websites, I built it the hard way and the long way – to gain familiarity with the names on the list.

As I compiled the list, I started emailing these agencies – 10, 20 or 30 on a given day. It’s purely a numbers game. I’d hear back from a handful and I’d receive paying work from a few. But that was all I needed. As I repeated the process, I gained several Chicago-area agencies as clients and began writing for their clients on a regular basis. I’ve easily done tens of thousands of dollars worth of work for these clients over the last ten years.

The email itself was very simple. It was a few sentences asking agency representatives if they ever go with freelance writers for their client projects. I dropped my website, contact information and invited them to chat about the idea at their convenience. It worked often enough to produce tremendous results.

I tell you this because it’s easy to get caught up in all the marketing strategies designed to draw customers to us. When you’re looking for work fast, it pays to reach out to them as well.

Email isn’t the only way to make that happen.

Introductory Sales Letters

Introductory sales letters can have the same impact. I’ve worked on several letter campaigns for clients. People think of sales letters, and sometimes they think of the long elaborate, traditional letters.

I’m talking about 4-5 paragraphs to let people know you’re there, and you’re accepting clients. Done right, they can be highly effective. They’re a very simple way to tell people in your local area that you exist, and encourage them to come use your services.

Conclusion

It’s no fun when you’re struggling to find work now. It can be complicated when you’re floundering around the web. It’s a competitive place. Don’t let yourself drown. Emails and introductory sales letters can help you find faster, more immediate work, so you can get started. From there, it’s possible to put the systems in place that will strengthen your long-term marketing.

The internet tells me this quote is unknown, but it applies here:

“If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do things you’ve never done.”