The big quandry: Who to work for

Welcome to my adventures in networking. As your typical introverted freelance writer (yes, sad but true, I am generalizing) who prefers to remain safely behind my computer screen, socializing on any level is a struggle! Here's what I am doing to change that.

At the Creative Freelancer conference I attended last year, there was a lot of talk about creating a marketing machine; a system that would continue to market your services no matter what your workload. A successful marketing machine keeps you in front of potential clients on a regular basis and keeps the work from drying up.

Unfortunately, here I sit a year later with no marketing machine.

Thankfully my writing assignments remain steady, but the problem is I am not gaining any new work or clients. The big question for me is: Who do I want to work for?

It sounds like an odd question, but from the books I've read and the blogs I follow experts say that is the all-important question. I suppose I need to look at it from a different standpoint. As a freelance writer, I actually have control over who I work with unlike at my full-time job where those parameters are determined for me.

Of course, I can't be too picky considering I am new to this world of entrepreneurship, but I've learned that the more projects I take on, hopefully the more kudos I receive from work well done, will ultimately result in me choosing clients I really want to do business with.

That would be the goal, right?

So who do I want to work with?

I love the real estate field and considering that my full-time job is marketing for a real estate company plus I write virtual tour scripts for one of my freelance clients, it seems natural to pursue real estate writing. I suppose a Google search is in order.

Next, I would love to write for more trade publications in the real estate, construction and green industries. My Writer's Market membership should help with that.

Once I have completed this research, I suppose the next step would be plunging ahead with the cold calls (eek!) and letters of introduction to see where the opportunities lie. Just another form of networking that I need to tackle!