One Ship, Coming In...

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’ll remember that I’ve been pretty antsy about trying to break into A. Larger magazine markets and B. Copywriting for more corporate clients.

I’m steadily working on the larger markets thing (and have been pitching to a lot more trade mags lately), but I’m happy to say that the copywriting is starting to happen!

My writing partner and I are working on a big, BIG proposal for a corporate client that is expected to secure us several months’ worth of work and include several different kinds of projects. Talk about jumping in with both feet! As we’ve been discussing this proposal, I had a friend of a friend contact me about doing some writing for her, as well, which I hope will lead to some ongoing projects.

I feel pretty confident in the fact that these projects will lead to more work for us. In a few weeks my schedule will free up considerably, so I'll have more time to spend on marketing and reaching out to more businesses. We’re planning to attend a networking event in early December, and it’s time to work the local contacts, as well. It’s both exciting and daunting, but I’m ready!

What about you? How do you secure more work from editors and clients?

Writers and Professional Organizations

One of my main goals for 2010 is to increase my marketing efforts. I want to work on getting my name and services out there to many more people. The problem I’m having is that it’s a bit overwhelming, and I’m trying to determine the best way to promote myself that’s both cost-effective and, well, effective. In other words, I don’t want to waste my money and have nothing to show for it. I’m well aware that I’ll have to start small and really focus on building a customer base, but now I just need a good strategy.

I’ve been toying with the idea of joining a Chamber of Commerce or some type of business networking organization to increase my visibility. Since I don’t live in a big city and have a very limited potential customer base, I’m really weighing my options. I also have to be careful because of my day job, so I’m looking for other alternatives. Most business organizations like Chambers promote their own members, so

So, I’m looking for feedback from other writers. Can anyone help me out? Are there freelancers out there who have joined these types of organizations? Was your membership worth it?