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.

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