Innovations in Freelancing

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Beverly Boyd
5 years ago
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1 Innovations in Freelancing Ruwaida Vakil, MS, Gets Great Clients through LinkedIn, Volunteering, and Public Speaking Actively using LinkedIn, volunteering for professional associations, and public speaking enables Ruwaida Vakil, MS, to target and reach the right clients. Ruwaida is a freelance medical writer and owner of ProMed Write, LLC. Key Takeaways Attract prospective clients (prospects) who are already interested in you - Connect with them after they view your LinkedIn proeile Highlight your expertise and reach many colleagues and prospects - Write and publish articles on LinkedIn Publishing (formerly called Pulse) Get more referrals - Volunteer for professional associations to build trusting relationships Get more clients and more referrals - Make presentations and lead webinars to become an authority and build your network Get the inside scoop on how Ruwaida is targeting and reaching great clients in the full report, starting on the next page.

THE INSIDE SCOOP Connecting with Clients on LinkedIn Developing a compelling, client-focused LinkedIn proeile was just the Eirst step for Ruwaida in getting great clients through LinkedIn.

2 THE INSIDE SCOOP Connecting with Clients on LinkedIn Developing a compelling, client-focused LinkedIn proeile was just the Eirst step for Ruwaida in getting great clients through LinkedIn. She uses two main strategies to attract clients, build relationships with prospective clients (prospects) and colleagues, and expand her network: 1. Connecting with prospective clients (prospects) who view her proeile 2. Writing articles for LinkedIn Publishing (formerly called Pulse). And she does all of this with a free LinkedIn account. Marketing through LinkedIn is not in-your-face marketing, she says. It s showing who you are and demonstrating your knowledge without asking for a job. Ruwaida has gotten several clients by connecting with people who viewed her pro?ile. I met a great client who was looking for a writer for patient education materials. I invited her to connect with me, and within two weeks I had my Eirst project with her. She is now a valued ongoing client, says Ruwaida. Most clients are very busy. They may check you out on LinkedIn, but not connect with you. They could be too busy to do this even though they need freelance help or not be looking for freelancers right now. Either way, being proactive and inviting people who view your proeile to connect with you will help ensure that they think of you Eirst when they do need a freelancer. With a free account, LinkedIn lets you see the names of the last three people who viewed your proeile. So you need to check your page regularly. Ruwaida usually does this every day, but always does it at least a few times a week. 2

You ll know you re in the right place when you see an ad that says Try Premium for free after the section that has the people who viewed your proeile.

3 Innovations in Freelancing See who s viewed your profile and connect with them To see who s viewed your proeile: Go to your Home page Click on the box next to your name and title (x people viewed your proeile in the past 3 days) Scroll down to below the blue bar, which has information about the people who viewed your proeile. You ll know you re in the right place when you see an ad that says Try Premium for free after the section that has the people who viewed your proeile. Visit the person s proeile to see if he/she is a prospect and if so, a prospect that you would like to work with. If you might want to work with the person, send a personal invitation to invite him/her to join your network. Write articles for LinkedIn Publishing Writing articles on LinkedIn Publishing (formerly called Pulse) lets you highlight your expertise and reach a large audience. When you publish an article, everyone in your network is notieied. (Note: In some places LinkedIn calls these articles and in others it calls them posts ; they are the same thing). LinkedIn Publishing articles are great for marketing. They get more trafeic than a regular blog post on your website, says Ruwaida. She started out writing articles about her presentations but now focuses her articles on the type of writing she does, to demonstrate her expertise. Ruwaida likes to write several articles when she has time and then publishes them later. She writes her articles in Word and checks them carefully before putting them into the LinkedIn article editor. You can also see who s viewed your posts. While readers are most likely to be people who are already in your network, they may forward your posts to people you don't know who could be good prospects or contacts. And if a prospect views your articles, this gives you a great opportunity to send a message asking, for example, if you can provide any more information about the subject of the article. 3

4 Building Strong Relationships by Volunteering Getting referrals from colleagues is one of the best and easiest ways to get great clients. Ruwaida generates lots of referrals through her volunteer work with the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA). Currently, she is co-chair for the AMWA Delaware Valley Chapter Freelance Workshop, held every spring. She is also former chapter secretary. As a volunteer, you get exposure to many people in your Eield. When you re dedicated to your role, you establish your credibility as a reliable person and build trust. The more people trust you, the more likely they are to recommend you, says Ruwaida. She s also learned more about opportunities in freelance medical writing by volunteering. To build those trusting relationships though, you need to take your volunteer work seriously. Follow through on what you say you ll do, she says. Becoming an Authority through Public Speaking As a frequent presenter, mostly for professional associations, Ruwaida builds her authority and gets both more clients and more referrals. Public speaking is an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise and get exposure to colleagues and potential clients, she says. Ruwaida speaks on continuing medical education and other types of medical writing, social media, and other topics for AMWA, the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (the Alliance), and other organizations. She does live presentations at national and local/regional conferences and webinars. After a presentation for the Alliance, for example, one client invited Ruwaida to apply for freelance writing work at her organization. Another audience member recommended Ruwaida to a colleague, who hired her. Then he hired her himself. People notice and remember you based on presentations you give, says Ruwaida. Many people connect with me on LinkedIn after my presentations. To increase your exposure to new audiences, Ruwaida recommends linking a Twitter feed to your presentation. Create a Twitter hashtag, put it up during the presentation, and encourage people to tweet. While public speaking is scary for most freelancers, it s a skill that you can learn. The authority you build as a presenter and the clients and referrals that you can get as a result is a strong incentive to conquer your fear and build this skill. 4

Ease into public speaking Here are a few less stressful ways to get started as a public speaker: Facilitate a roundtable discussion, where you re the expert on the topic with a small group, but don t

5 Ease into public speaking Here are a few less stressful ways to get started as a public speaker: Facilitate a roundtable discussion, where you re the expert on the topic with a small group, but don t have to give a formal presentation Moderate a session of speakers, where you Eind the panelists, introduce them, and facilitate the session but don t have to give a formal presentation Make a presentation as part of a panel, which is easier than being the only presenter. About Ruwaida s Freelance Business Ruwaida Vakil, MS, is a freelance medical writer, communications specialist, and owner of ProMed Write, LLC. She specializes in CME, patient education, sales training, and medical communications. Ruwaida is the former secretary and current Freelance Workshop co-chair for the AMWA Delaware Valley Chapter. She has presented at the conferences of AMWA and the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions. She has also presented in-person and virtually to global publication leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, and she has educated health care professionals on webinar design and presentation. Learn More About Ruwaida Website LinkedIn pro?ile TheMightyMarketer.com 5

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