by Tanya Mykhaylychenko
Freelance editors often rely on cold emails to find work. Cold emails (emails sent outside of any hiring period, where you propose your skills to someone in a position to hire) are often ineffective because they are formal, can be easily ignored, and it is difficult to predict the best time to send them. When a cold email does get a response, it is sometimes out of politeness. The response may be that your résumé was saved or forwarded, or that there is no work at the moment, but you may follow up later. Hardly anyone remembers a cold email. To get hired, you need to start a professional relationship in a positive way and be memorable.
Here are some options to prioritize instead of cold emails:
1. Request informational interviews (Zoom or phone calls, 20 minutes).
Speak with people on video or on the phone if an in-person meeting is not possible. Identify professionals or colleagues who can help you learn about a specific niche, an organization, a professional development program, or an industry association you are interested in. These may be people who currently hold the roles that you want or are one level above. An introductory conversation can give you reference points for future contact. Be prepared to ask insightful questions and talk about your skills, specializations, interests, or most successful projects. There is no hiring intent involved, but you are building relationships.
2. Send LinkedIn InMail messages to publishing professionals.
Have a list of decision-makers in your industry and build relationships with them over time. These may be managing editors, publishers, business owners, department heads at universities, etc. Because you only have one chance to make the first impression, send your introduction at a good time. This can be in relation to the person’s latest post or publication, or as a response to a job opening they are in charge of. Follow their updates and you will see a message that invites a response from you. (If you don’t have a LinkedIn account already, consider getting one.)
3. Attend conferences and webinars.
Connect with colleagues before and after attending industry events (conferences, webinars, book launches, etc.). You can message presenters to ask questions about the conference or message a presenter whose session you attended. If you are writing after the event, mention one or two key points or resources that resonated with you. Find the points in common or mention your specializations. Establish cross-referral partnerships.
4. Send regular communications to your past clients.
Some of the common occasions to send your clients a personal message are winter holidays or vacation planning. You may create a digital holiday card with your brand visuals and send it every year to all the clients you worked with during that year. You can thank them for their trust, ask how their year has been in terms of work projects, update them on yours, and/or mention your next availabilities.
If you are planning a vacation outside the winter holidays, you can send the following:
To follow up: I am starting to schedule editing projects for the week of March 20 to be delivered before my vacation on April 6–11. Are you still looking to get your project edited?
To encourage new orders: I am starting to schedule editing projects for the week of March 20 to be delivered before my vacation on April 6–11. If you have any projects that I can assist with or know someone who can benefit from my services, I’m available for a discovery call from 8:30 am. to 4:30 pm.
You can also announce your new website, a new service, or a new newsletter in an email to your past clients. Send emails individually, as this will give you a chance to personalize the message and refer to the last thing you discussed or worked on with that client.
5. Create your own content.
Write a variety of content that answers your clients’ questions, helps them understand your services, or points them to useful resources. As you accumulate more content, you can easily repurpose it to keep increasing your social media visibility. Some marketing experts say that only about 20 percent of your audience will see your post at the time it is published. If you want to reach a wider audience, try posting five to seven days a week (once a day). Tools like Buffer can be used to schedule posts several weeks in advance; LinkedIn also has a scheduling feature. As your visibility grows, new clients will be able to find you more often.
If you are feeling stuck with cold emails—or any other marketing tool that is not serving you well—experiment with the options that are better designed for building trust and making you memorable. The “know, like, and trust” factor is important for self-employed professionals. Anything that allows work to come to you is worth exploring.
Tanya Mykhaylychenko is a copy editor and professional résumé writer in Montreal.
This article was copy edited by Leslie Lapides, who, as Word Crisper, edits mostly business content.
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