how to make Tony go back to Boston

Marketing can feel like that distant cousin who thought it was fun to sit on you and squeeze all the air out of you.

Ugh. Tony. Go back to Boston.

You listen to smart, impressive people have a?conversation like this one —a really good one, mind you—and marketing becomes so bulky and complex.

You’ve got to have the plan, and the strategies, and the tactics and activities that support them, and the busy little processes, and systems tying everything together and… [deep breath]...

Seriously, Tony, GO. AWAY.

Let’s simplify things, shall we? I’ll give you 3 different plans.

Roll with whichever one grabs you. You can always add more reps later once you’ve developed the muscle, or habit.

1. Try Austin Saylor’s 30 Day Networking Challenge.

When I interviewed Austin Saylor for?Fix Your Pricing Masterclass , he told me about a challenge he had set for himself.

The thesis of this challenge is connecting with people you admire and keeping in touch.

Is it networking? Is it marketing?

The line between the two gets blurry because relationships are at the heart of freelancing.

You may find it helpful to stop thinking about “clients” and “projects” and “work” and “repeat business” and instead think about nurturing mutually beneficial relationships, both new and old.

Here are the steps:

1. Make a list of 30 freelancers, consultants, agencies, or other potential collaborators whose work you admire. People you haven’t talked to before.
2. Add them all to a GSheet or CRM like Pipedrive. I promise you, you won’t remember all of them, so you need a way to track who you like and why and when you last spoke with them.
3. Email 1 new person a day for 30 days. Start with, “I’m reaching out because….” Then, give them a compliment. Or, mention a cool post or project they put out. Don’t ask for anything. Just tell them you’ll see them on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, or wherever they hang out most often.
4. Keep in touch by checking in every 3 months or so. Shoot them a text or DM. Ask them if they’re working on anything exciting. Share a few updates about yourself. Be a fan. Be a friend.

The goal isn’t to get freelance projects right away. This is a long-term play where you’re making a habit of reaching out to new people and staying connected.

Opportunities to share project leads or collaborate will emerge organically.

Some freelancers don’t get enough projects simply because their network of potential referral partners is too small. They don’t know enough people who can recommend them.

The solution? Proactively connect with more cool people who can recommend you.

Austin Saylor made $206,775 in 2021.

If you want to watch the full interview with him, you can find it?here .

2. Try Gina Horkey’s 10-10-10 prospecting schedule.

Gina is someone I really admire in the freelance space. We first met in 2016 when we both spoke at Double Your Freelancing Conference.

I interviewed Gina last year, and she shared a prospecting schedule that will appeal to those of you who want a simple but scalable system.

Each week, you’ll have 3 tasks: 1) research 10 new people to contact, 2) email 10 people, and 3) follow up with 10 people you’ve already emailed.

Here’s the schedule:

1. Pick a niche where you’re pretty sure you’ll like the people and the work and make decent money too. (Related:?Check out this podcast episode about niching down .)
2. Research 20 prospects in that niche to get a head start for Weeks 1 and 2.
3. Look for a few areas of commonality with each person. Some point of connection—e.g., you both went to Ohio State University or you’re both parents of boys. A shared interest like running or fantasy fiction. A compliment you can give. (Note: If you struggle to find prospects and their contact information, I’d recommend a free trial with LinkedIn’s?Sales Navigator tool , a quick export of the profiles you save with?Dux-Soup , and an email discovery tool like?Hunter.io .)
4. In Week 1, email 10 new people—or, 2 per day. Do not send the horrible, boilerplate, typo-ridden, instantly delete-able, “Dear Sir or Madam” spam emails we all receive daily. Send warm, thoughtful, well-researched,?personalized emails.?Send emails you’d want to receive yourself. If you don’t have your own cold email outreach templates to personalize,?grab one here .?Watch this video ?from Alex Berman too. Don't worry about what day or time you send it, or if you?know?you’re going to worry about that, use a tool like?Boomerang ?to schedule emails to go out at a certain time. Gina made a good point: “We're in this worldwide economy nowadays. Nobody really cares about the timestamp of an email and when it enters their inbox.”
5. In Week 2, email 10 new people, research 10 new people, and follow up with the first group of 10 you emailed in Week 1.
6. In Week 3, you keep the flywheel going by researching 10 new people you’ll email in Week 4, and sending your 10 outreach emails and follow-ups.
7. In Week 4, well, you know the drill. 10, 10, 10.
8. Track opens, subject lines, email body content, and calls to action so that you can home in on the combination most effective at starting conversations.

Gina recommends following up with each new person?at least 10 times.

That may seem like a lot, but remember that people are busy, even if they’re interested.

The answer is always yes until you get a clear no.

If you want to watch my full interview with Gina Horkey, you can find it?here .

3. Follow my Freelance Business Launch Plan.

This plan offers a step-by-step process and includes 3 core strategies: 1) the 3 R’s, 2) email, and 3) content. Whether you’re new to freelancing or a veteran needing a hard marketing reset, this plan can work. In fact, it’s the one I use.

Here’s the full write-up .

If your marketing isn’t giving you the results you want, borrow from Henry David Thoreau’s playbook:

“Simplify, simplify, simplify!”

If you know you need to take marketing more seriously, let’s talk about what it would look like for me to be your mentor and business coach.?The first step is answering some questions for me here .

Speaking of marketing, do you have strong positioning?

A positioning cheat code helps make you the easy, obvious choice for your dream clients.

Read parts 4 & 5 in Freelance Fixes, and follow the instructions in the Key Takeaways sections at the bottom of each section.

Get Freelance Fixes . →

About Austin L. Church

Hi, I'm Austin, a writer, brand consultant, and freelance coach.

I started freelancing after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to mobile apps (Bright Newt), a tech startup (Closeup.fm), a children's book (Grabbling ), and a branding studio (Balernum ).?

I love teaching freelancers and consultants how to stack up specific advantages for more income, free time, and fun. My wife and I live with our wrecking balls and two cats in Knoxville, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains.

You can learn more at?FreelanceCake.com . You can also connect with me on?Twitter .