CASESTUDYElizabethHansonFreelancescienceandmedicalwritersince2007
Afterfreelancingfor10years,ElizabethHansonwasdoingfairlywell.Butsheknewthatshecouldattractbetter,steadierclientsifshecouldjustgetmotivatedandorganizedtomarketherbusiness.
“Iwasfocusedonmeetingimmediatedeadlinesratherthanplanningahead,”saysElizabeth.Likemanyfreelancers,Elizabethwasalsoworriedaboutannoyingprospectiveclientswithmarketingemails,anduncomfortableaskingcurrentclientsandcolleaguesforreferrals.Andshewasafraidofbeingoverwhelmedifhermarketinggeneratedtoomuchwork.
ThenElizabethenrolledinFindingtheFreelanceClientsYouDeserve,anonlinecoursethathelpsfreelancerslearnthemosteffectivewaystotargetandreachtherightclients.
GuidanceandEncouragementtoStepUpMarketing“Beforetakingthecourse,Ihadhalf-donemanyofthetasks,butIcouldn’tgetorganizedtoputthemtogether.AndIdidn’tcommitthetimetoit,”shesays.
Elizabethhadalogo,buthadn’tbeenusingitbecausesheknewthatitneededmorework.ShehadstartedworkingonawebsitebutneverJinishedit.Elizabethhadmadelistsofclientsandcolleaguestoaskforreferrals,buthadn’tfollowedthrough.AndsheknewsheneededtoreplacetheselJieshewasusingonherLinkedInproJilewithaprofessionalphoto.“Ineededthestructureandsupportofacoursetomotivatemetodothework,”shesays.
FindingtheFreelanceClientsYouDeserveisavailableasaself-studycourseorwithcoaching.SinceElizabethwasanexperiencedfreelancerandhadalreadystartedsomeoftheworkcoveredinthecourse,shechosetheself-studyversion.“Forme,theself-studycoursewasenough.IfIwereanewfreelancer,Ithinkthecoachingwouldbehelpful,”shesays.
ANarrowerandBetterFocusedSpecialtyTheJirststepforElizabethwastoevaluatehercurrentworkwithtwodistincttypesofclients(targetmarkets):
• Scienceandmedicalwriting• Naturalhistorymuseumsandotherscience-basedorganizations.
“Scienceandmedicalwritingisamorereliablewaytomakealivingasafreelancer.Takingthiscoursehelpedmefocusandcommittothatroute,”shesays.Elizabethwillfocusmostofhermarketingonscienceandmedicalwriting,whilestilldoingsomeworkinhersecondspecialty.
OnceElizabethhadaclearprimaryspecialty,shedevelopedmarketingmessagestoattractscienceandmedicalclientsandstartedherprospectlist.SherevisedherLinkedInproHile.andJinishedherwebsite,andhadaprofessionalphototakenforuseonboth.ElizabethalsoJinalizedherlogo(shownbelow).
MoreConHidencetoReachOuttoProspects,Clients,andColleaguesSincetakingthecourse,Elizabeth’sconJidenceinherabilitytogettheclientsshedeserveshasskyrocketed.“Ifollowedthecourse’sclear,step-by-stepinstructions.ThatwassomucheasierthantryingtoJigureoutformyselfwhattodonext!,”shesays.
Elizabethhiredadesigner,whohelpedherdevelopaprofessionalwebsite.Sheissettingasidetimeeveryweektoresearchprospectsandsendthemdirectemails,andtofollowupwithprospectswho’verespondedtohermarketingbutnotyethiredher.Elizabethisalsoaskingclientsandcolleaguesforreferrals,andstayingintouchwiththemregularlysothey’llthinkofherJirstforfreelancework.
TheRightProjectsfortheRightClientsAsElizabethlearnedduringthecourse,choosingastrongspecialtyisakeytofreelancesuccess.Butit’salsoimportanttoenjoyyourwork.
“Thinkhardaboutwhoyouwouldliketoworkfor,andwhatyouwouldliketodoforthem,”shesays.“Ifyoucanaffordit,chooseyourprojectscarefully.”Turningdownprojectsthatmakeyoumiserablegivesyoumoretimetodotheprojectsyouenjoyforgreatclients.Italsopreventsthestressofbeingovercommitted.
AboutElizabeth’sFreelanceBusinessElizabethisaversatilefreelancescienceandmedicalwriterwhoworkswithhospitals,universities,disease-focusedorganizations,andotherclients.Shehelpsclientsreportsciencenews,proJileresearchers,tellstoriesofdiscovery,andeducatepatients,consumers,anddonors.Shealsoworkswithnaturalhistorymuseumsandotherscience-basedorganizations.
LearnMoreAboutElizabethWebsite
LinkedInproHile
Elizabeth’slogo