Grow Your Business: Who do you want to write for?

Happy Friday, everybody!

I'm not writing from my air mattress today. We're still living in an unfurnished house (our stuff arrives in another week and change). But since I last posted,we've found some lovely patio furniture and I'm outside. Turns out, California mornings are nice and cool and great for patio dwelling, even in the heat of August.

So, from the red Sunbrella couch comes the first post in my new "Grow Your Business" series:

Who do you want to write for?

Prospecting and courting potential writing clients is like any other sales process: It takes tons of time and perseverance. So, you don't want to waste your time prospecting editors that aren't a good fit for your strengths and areas of interest.

Here are my top tips for prospeting effectively:

1. Don't get stuck in a content mill.

We've all seen them. Big, homogeneous Web sites, such as about.com, ehow.com and wikihow.com, designed primarily to pop up quickly in google searches. While it may be relatively easy to get a gig with these companies, they pay terribly low rates ($15 per article according to some recent reports) and eat up your time. Sure, you'll be able to say you're a "published writer," but let's be real: These sites are rarely, if ever, the most trusted sources out there for the subject matter you're interested in writing about. Know what your time is worth and don't settle for less.

Carol Tice, at Make A Living Writing, wrote a fantastic blog post on this topic, in which she featured lots of testimony from content-mill writers. It's worth a read.

2. Aim high, but start in the middle.

If you're relatively new to the industry, it's important to structure your prospects accordingly. Many budding writers make the mistake of pitching only to small, local media outlets believing that larger national publications with broader readership are out of their reach. Make no mistake: If it's a good idea, the big guys want it, too. However, if you don't have lots of previous work to show a national editor, a national publication isn't likely to take you on. You'll need to establish some history first.

I suggest applying a two-pronged process when identifying prospects. Approach high-quality local publications in your physical area (an established city or regional magazine, for example). You can also approach midrange and top Web sites and blogs in your area of expertise. Begin pitching to those outlets right away. Choose a few more with national and global reach and begin establishing relationships with their editors at the same time. Once you build your portfolio base with high-quality work at the local and / or regional level and online, those national prospects will already be familiar with you and they'll be more likely to give your pitch a second look.

3. Find good matches.

Don't make your prospect pool too broad. Instead, make sure you're targeting publications that specialize in content that also falls within your areas of expertise. Choose the subjects you're most interested in and that you're also most skilled at. The more you specialize, the easier it is to find good media matches.

For example, I specialize in family life, agricultural equipment, ecofriendly living, home decor and pet care. I've written extensively on solar technology for residential applications in the past. I've also done some work in the personal-finance area. When I prospect, I choose publications, blogs and Web sites that specialize in these types of content.

If you're into emerging technology, vintage car restoration or triathlon training, don't bother yourself with an article on makeup application or how to find the right pair of jeans for the price. You'll be a better, more effective writer (and be likely to get more jobs) if you stick to what you love and what you know. Bonus: If you're into something super esoteric (like residential solar) you're probably one of few. Use that fact to your advantage!

4. Find your magic number. Then create a spreadsheet.

I get it. You're not a spreadsheet person. You're a writer. Why deal with the drudgery of organization and administration? The answer is, because getting clients requires a certain amount of hardcore sales and the sales process is built around method and repetition. Once you've done your research, decide on a master list of prospects you plan to approach. There's no magic number. Rather, the number of people you contact will be based on the amount of time you can spend prospecting, the size of the pool of media outlets in your interest area, and the amount of time you plan to spend writing.

In my experience, for every ten editors I approach, I'm likely to start one good relatioinship. So a prospect list of 100 yields me about ten clients per year. While that sounds defeating, it's really not. Ten clients per year can keep me working more than full-time.

Once I have my prospects identified, I create a spreadsheet, complete with contact names for each publication, phone numbers, emails and Web sites. I leave plenty of room in the sheet for entering in status updates every time I contact the potential client. It's an ultra-methodical approach, I know. But it's designed to keep me on top of my process and it works for me. Sure, there are other ways to do this, so if you don't like the idea of a spreadsheet, feel free to work with some other sort of method. If you're interested in the spreadsheet / 100 prospect model, you can read much more about it in The Wealthy Freelancer.

Note: I know the previous tip advises readers to hone in on a few areas of expertise and that can limit your prospect pool to less than 100. But I've found that, even with the few areas I cover, I've been able to discover at least 100 local and national outlets to target. There's more media out there than you think!

Follow these four steps and I promise you'll feel great about your prospecting plans. That's all I'm going to cover for this week. Trust me: setting up your prospect list will take you at least a week if you do it carefully and thoughtfully. So good luck! And please let me know if you have any questions. I'm here for you.

I'd also love to hear your prospecting advice. What techniques have you used to plan your pitch list?

Have a fantastic weekend, everybody. I'll be on the red Sunbrealla.