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| A Writer Finds a Winning Formula in a Bad Economy |
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It is quite an easy matter to comprehend: my occasional dabbling in my field became a desperate hunt for survival after my separation and divorce. I had sat on my haunches over the course of ten years and simply waited for the sunshine client to contact me when they needed me. In truth, I gained a great deal of experience during that time. But the fact was that I simply didn't need the money. It was a luxury and used as such. Now, faced with the prospect of paying for my own rent, car, health insurance, and other sundries, I found that I could no longer afford for the timid deer to come to the stream. I had to go out and hunt big game in order to survive on my own. I am, by nature, a writer and, fortunately, by profession a writer, as well. We aren't all so fortunate to be able to do what we love and get paid for it, but I am one of those enviable few who does just that. I am a standardized test item writer and correlations expert. I write SATs, ACTs, TOEFLs, ISATs, etc. as well as state tests, boards of examination and curricula. I have read the educational standards for K-12 in all fifty states and have correlated them all to some form of text or program. I have written for dozens of top publishers in the field (Houghton-Mifflin, Riverside, McGraw-Hill, Pearsons) as well as state boards of education. My resume was hard-hitting if not a little spaced between the experiences I touted (dates aside, I am impressive - on paper, anyway). But it's the economy, stupid. And it isn't pretty. How would I break in? My marketing strategy was simple: get them to ask for my rates and my samples. I work cheaply because I have little overhead and my work is stellar and seasoned. In short, I have to get a call back to land a contract. I began in earnest. First, I prayed. Then I emailed. I came up with a customizable form email that introduced me and my experience. I proceeded to research test prep companies by engaging in a state by state search on Google. I would begin a search in a particular state and then email every company that looked like it might need a writer to come up with new tests and materials. My email explained what I did and what I could do for them. I landed several contracts and was able to live on what I made. I even had a little extra money from time to time to purchase real coffee (I am an anti-Folgers snob. Sorry.) Flushed with victory, I began to set up a business. I purchased a domain, set up a web-site (it's a work in progress - in other words, I work like heck and it never progresses), went for counseling at Elgin's Small Business Consulting Center (which was very helpful). I even sought out paperwork for incorporation. As a couple of contracts wound down, I began to do my next state search. I emailed 15 companies. This time, however, I introduced myself as a company that could do what I did. I was a company of one, but the materials I created looked otherwise. I was Faulkner Consulting, a company of one lone writer and a couple of experts who helped me from time to time. But my prospective clients didn't know that. To them, I was a Consulting Firm cold calling them. For the first time since beginning my great hunting expeditions, I fared badly. Not a single response. I had a contract that came to a head so I was too busy to worry about more work. But I wondered what happened. A month later, I re-emailed those same companies using my old marketing method: here I am, Kristina Rake, solitary writer and expert, who can help your business grow by providing new and exceptional material for your students.
I got five responses and landed one tremendous contract that will feed me for months. The difference? What I said in my materials was essentially the same. However, my first offer of help came from my company; the other from an individual. And therein lay the rub: perception. To the presidents and owners of these prep schools, which range in size from small and competition weary to huge national franchises, I was more marketable as an individual writer. I believe, and I'm only theorizing, that their perception of A) what my rates would be and B) their control over the process of creation was entirely different when I was a company than it was when I was an individual working out of my home. When I receive an impressive piece of literature from a corporation, I often judge their prices by their materials. Apparently, my own prospective clients did the same. They also may have assumed that it was better to have a "contract employee" than a "contract firm" because they have a greater flexibility in retaining or expelling me from their stables of writers. I also don't discount personality. One firm forgave a lackluster writing sample (I had sent the unedited version by mistake) because of my "ease to work with and responsiveness." Again, that perception that I was more valuable as an individual who could do what I do than a company was a powerful one. My new marketing strategy is simple. My customers don't know I own a firm until they receive an invoice. By then, they are happy and satisfied and the fact that I am actually a professional enterprise only makes them feel secure in a decision they've already made. The days of searching for the most expensive-looking option have gone with the SUV. I'm no economist by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't help credit the current financial state of the country with our new-found frugality and need to have control. What companies want is responsiveness (control) and reasonable rates (financial flexibility). They take a risk, hiring an individual, as do I in being hired, but they stomach that risk for their perception of control over the process of creation. In the last month, my business has grown to the point where I need to subcontract in order to keep on deadline. I believe many factors have contributed to my success. But, in particular, I believe that perception of a lone professional who works for you and is reasonable because she has no overhead is key to my marketability in an economy that is the worst I have ever seen in my years (yes, Virginia, I am under 80). I have molded my marketing strategy to compensate: I market myself and my skills. I approach people personally and in a friendly manner. I offer a little free advice and don't go for the hard sell. I lose some prospects sometimes, but what I manage to net fills my goals and surpasses my expectations. And the prayers help, too.
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