If you’re building your editorial business, you can’t afford to sit back and hope the work will come to you – too many colleagues will be taking a more proactive approach.
So, this time round I thought it would be fun to pretend to be someone else – someone with a different educational background and career history.
I’m going to pretend that I’m new to the field but that I have completed some sort of recognized training in proofreading/editing and have joined my national editorial society. My technical skills are there but I’ve got to work out how to get myself noticed. So who am I today? My name’s Basil Rhoueny [it’s the best anagram I could come up with – alternatives on a postcard].
So how am I going to create awareness of my new business? I know it’s not going to happen overnight, but I have a plan! At the moment, this is who I am: My name is Basil Rhoueny and I’m a fully trained copy-editor and a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.
Market
I write, I blog, I run, I (used to) manage staff, and I scamper around the garden with my kid (and the guinea pig when it escapes). I’ve retrained as a copy-editor, but which element of my experience will help me develop the best editorial business brand? All of them? Perhaps later on down the line I can expand my portfolio but right now I need a focus, something that I can really get my teeth into so that I can target my services. As I said, I have 20 years’ experience of working for a large financial services organization. I understand the language of business: money, insurance, capital, funds, investments, portfolios, stocks, shares, corporate culture, management, organizational behaviour. Those terms trip off my tongue without a second thought. I can edit this stuff with my metaphorical eyes shut. So that’s how I’m going to sell myself. I want a tight message that I can sell to people and I don’t want to confuse potential clients as to what my niche is. I’m not going to talk about running, or writing, or blogging. Not yet, anyway. So, now, this is who I am: My name is Basil Rhoueny and I’m a fully trained copy-editor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years’ experience in the finance industry and I am a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.
Clients
Now that I’ve sorted out how I’m going to brand myself, I need to think about who my potential clients are.
Now, this is who I am: My name is Basil Rhoueny and I’m a fully trained copy-editor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years’ experience in the finance industry and I am a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. I offer copy-editing and proofreading services for publishers, professional societies, companies, independent business professionals, academic researchers and students.
Subject areas
I now need to think about widening my net to make my niche as comprehensive as possible. A quick browse through the management sections on only two large publisher websites tells me a great deal about the sub-disciplines that are being written about. The world of business and finance has a lot of options that I can focus on – key words which will demonstrate that my specialist knowledge is wide-ranging. Now, this is who I am: My name is Basil Rhoueny and I’m a fully trained copy-editor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years’ experience in the finance industry and I am a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. I offer copy-editing and proofreading services for publishers, professional societies, companies, independent business professionals, academic researchers and students. Specialist subject areas:
Getting the information out there
Next, I need to decide where I’m going to put this information.
Networking
I need to think about networking, too. Fellow freelancers who have established businesses may be able to refer work to me once they get to know me. I’ve decided to join the local chapter of my editorial society so that I can meet some of my colleagues face to face. I also aim to build up a network of freelance colleagues on Twitter and Facebook. I might pick up some good business-building tips as well as make some online friends who’ve taken the journey that I’m now on. But I’m going to take it further than this …
Being interesting
... I’m going to take a look at what’s being tweeted about in the business world, both from an academic and a trade angle. The aim is to build up a Twitter network that stretches beyond the freelance world and into the world of my clients. If I want to get followers who are potential clients, I need to give as much as I take. I need to tweet about news, tools and resources that will make me interesting to these business people. Since I’m branding myself as an editorial specialist in the fields of business and finance, I’m putting JogMeBlogMe to one side and attaching a new blog to my editing website. I might call it BazBiz (then again, maybe not!). Regardless of the name I choose, it will feature links, news, articles, resources, tips and tools related to business – about business people, and for business people. Some of the features/links will cover editing and proofreading, but from the point of view of a client (tips for report writing, good-grammar guides, working with a freelancer, etc.); others will focus on business tools and tips based on my previous career knowledge (financial planning, good management practice, staff motivation, time management tips, latest research, etc.); still others might explore useful tools and apps for on-the-go business professionals. The point is to make the content interesting to the kinds of people who might also use my services. And it might drive up my Google rankings because the freshness of the content will generate juice for my site. I have a lot of work to do, but I’m focused and I know what I need to do. The results of my labour may take months to bear fruit but I’m investing in the future success of my business so I believe the hard work is worth it. Now I’m off for a run. Did I mention that I’m good at running?
You don’t have to be Basil to try out the strategy above. You can take the same principles and apply them to your own background with a little bit of tweaking.
Maybe you’re an ex lawyer, teacher, accountant, sales manager, soldier, nurse, or social worker. Perhaps you have a degree in politics, biomedical science, or psychology. The point is to focus on your specialist area and then mine the field to see what the associated areas and sub-disciplines are. In this way you can develop a core profile, rich in description, which can be displayed across a range of media. That profile will provide a comprehensive list of key words that will help you get found when potential clients are searching for editorial freelancers with specific skills. It’s not the only strategy by any means – it’s simply one for you to consider if you’re starting out. I’ll not claim the ideas above are mine alone – they’re more a culmination of time spent watching, listening and talking to my successful colleagues about how they network and market themselves to fellow editorial freelancers and potential clients by making the most of their specialist skills. They are editorial professionals now, but they came from a variety of career backgrounds: science, law, academia, education, management, publishing, journalism, and much more besides. I’d name each and every one of them if I had the space, but there are far too many. I thank them, anyway, for their wisdom and their knowledge sharing.
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn. If you're an author, you might like to join Louise’s Writing Library. Members receive monthly updates featuring self-publishing news and resources.
13 Comments
26/9/2012 04:52:16 am
Hi Louise
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26/9/2012 05:01:26 am
Thanks again, Richard. Always lovely to get such positive feedback. I do appreciate you taking the time to do this!
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26/9/2012 06:10:08 am
A really helpful article - thank you Louise!
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Louise Harnby
26/9/2012 06:19:12 am
You're most welcome, Mary! Thanks for the feedback.
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26/9/2012 07:53:19 am
Thank you Louise. Perfect timing for this article for me! Betsy
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26/9/2012 08:08:28 am
This is a very thorough and specific post with 100% useful information for beginners through experts in editing, indeed, in any field. I enjoy your writing and the fact that you never waste readers' time. Great job, thanks.
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Louise Harnby
26/9/2012 08:29:04 am
Hi Maryan - that's praise indeed and much appreciated. Thanks so much!
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26/9/2012 03:16:58 pm
I'm happy to see I'm doing most of what you recommend!
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Sarah
25/10/2012 05:03:18 am
Hi Louise,
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15/9/2014 05:23:58 am
This is a good business you have choose unique idea to start up thanks for sharing
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