As a freelance editor, it’s important to market yourself effectively. Why? Well, because when you are self-employed, the responsibility to gain more visibility among prospective clients falls to you!

You might be the perfect editorial fit for many writers who are out there searching for an editor, but if they don’t know you exist, your skills alone won’t exactly get you anywhere.

So, if you’re wondering how you can promote your editorial prowess more effectively, read on!

Start with a Website

The best place to begin is by creating a website for yourself. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, and starting off with a free website builder is fine. (We’ll actually have a website-builder round-up coming to the blog soon, so keep an eye out for that as well.)

When you’re starting out, it’s best to make sure your website answers three very important questions: (1) Who are you? (2) What do you do? and (3) What do you want the visitor to do?

Who Are You?

Answering the first question might seem deceptively easy, but when answering the question, you need to keep your “brand” in mind. If you could think of three words that encapsulate your editorial approach, what would they be?

Your brand’s voice is its personality—how it communicates and expresses itself to potential clients and website visitors. Defining key attributes that encompass and convey your brand, whether friendly, professional, humorous, or authoritative, is important.

That being said, it’s also important, and totally okay, to let your own personality shine through! Share some information about yourself, such as your hobbies, what you’re passionate about, and what makes you you. Maybe you can bond over a shared love of baking, being in the same fandom, or perhaps a client will simply be charmed by your witty and humorous writing style on your website. This is a great way to give potential clients an idea of who you are as a person, in addition to being a great editor and service-provider.

Remember that you are doing more than just editing a manuscript—you’re working with the author behind the pages, and that author will want to work with someone they know they’ll get along with. Letting yourself shine through encourages potential clients to connect with you more authentically.

What Do You Do?

This is pretty simple: you need to clearly lay out what services you provide and for which types of writers. Perhaps you offer developmental editing for romance novelists, or copyediting for business communicators, or proofreading for nonfiction authors. Or perhaps all three! There’s no rule that says you can only offer one service in one category of writing.

The catch is that you need to clearly convey what you’re offering, what it is that you do, so that visitors to your website know right away if they are in the right place.

For example, if you only work with romance novels, making that clear on your website is beneficial to you and to authors of other genres. Why? Well, because romance writers will know right off the bat that you can help them and be more likely to get in touch. If writers of other genres visit your page, then they will know the parameters you work within and won’t bother emailing you queries for manuscripts you wouldn’t take on anyway.

This way, everyone saves time, everyone gets what they want!

What Do You Want the Visitor to Do?

When someone visits your website, what do you want them to do? Do you want them to fill in your contact form if they have a potential project? Do you want them to complete a CTA (Call to Action) in some other way?

If you’re just starting out, it’s more than likely that the only thing you’ll want them to do is to contact you if they have a project. As your website grows, you can start to introduce other Calls to Action (for example, downloading a free resource you’ve created, or signing up for an online course or educational webinar). But to start out, if you just want people to contact you, make sure that they have a clear and easy way. Be sure you include a contact form that is easy to fill out and submit.

Sending Out Emails

Once you have a few clients in your roster, it can be a good idea to create some kind of email marketing campaign to keep yourself front of mind. Sending out valuable content to your clients builds further trust in your brand and establishes you as an expert in your field.

The content you can create and share can be anything—how-tos, checklists, printable resources. If you’re creating blogs, you can definitely include a recent posting, and the same goes for other content you might create, such as videos and webinars.

Of course, make sure you’re working within any legal confines you might have to contend with when it comes to email communications and marketing! We’re sure you won’t be spamming anyone, but it’s always good to know the rules and ensure you’re following them.

And be sure to schedule your emails. You don’t want to send emails too frequently. Monthly is fine, and even weekly can be good (if you have enough content to support it), but daily…maybe not so much. You want to make sure that your clients are remembering you for the right reasons, after all!

Following Up

Many editors neglect the end stage of a project, when everything is wrapping up and files are being delivered. This can be a great opportunity to end on a very pleasant note, and make sure the client remembers you fondly (making it all the more likely they’ll refer new business your way, and become a repeat client).

Once you’ve delivered the final files and everything seems like it’s done, sending out a short email to follow up with the client and thank them for working with you doesn’t take up much time, but can have a big impact on your working relationships.

Following up means you can ensure that the client really has received everything they needed, and allows them a chance to come to you with any final questions. This follow-up email also lets you sneak in an authentic thank-you for the chance to work with them and their project, which is a lovely note to end on.

You can also ask the client if they could provide a testimonial that you can add to your webpage. These are worth their weight in gold!  

Word-of-Mouth Referrals

Getting new business via word of mouth is what you should be striving for. What it means is leveraging your existing network to spread the word of your services. This also includes satisfied clients who would be more than happy to recommend your services to their friends and colleagues.  

This type of marketing can take some time to get underway, because it involves building authentic relationships based in the delivery of a great service. That doesn’t just happen overnight. However, it is one of the most reliable ways to bring in new business.

For example, it’s one thing if a friend of yours says they saw an ad for a new restaurant in your city, but quite another if that same friend tells you they ate at a new restaurant in your city and it was an amazing experience. Wouldn’t that make you more likely to try that restaurant?

We trust our friends and family to not lead us astray, so when a satisfied client of yours recommends you to a friend of theirs, that recommendation has real weight.

Be Authentic!

There are endless tips online for how to market yourself. Some of these tips are great, some are good, and some are bad. To help you figure out the difference, and know what will work best for you, just remember to remain authentic to yourself in your marketing efforts.

Search for opportunities to create real connections—write a blog to help authors with something, reach out and answer a writer’s question on social media, try attending a networking event (if you’re up for it).

Continuing to be authentic as you market your services will help you stick to the good and great approaches, and naturally avoid the “tips” that can end up harming you in the long run (such as buying followers on social media or trying to get one over on Google’s algorithm).

You’re a unique, kind, and interesting person who offers your own unique approach to how you edit. And there are so many writers out there who would think you’re the perfect fit. All you have to do is make the effort to get yourself out there, and they’ll find you!

As a freelance editor, figuring out your marketing strategy can be tough. We've got some tips to help you start off on the right foot!