Marketing resources for editors, proofreaders, authors and freelancers

I attended my first editorial conference recently when I travelled to London for the SfEP's 25th annual conference. It was a fantastic experience and I learned so much by attending the various lectures, seminars and workshops.

I met some lovely, interesting people who generously shared their knowledge, wisdom and experience and I returned home inspired and enthused. I was delighted to also share some of the knowledge I'd gathered while growing and marketing my own editorial business. In my seminar on marketing tools for freelance editors I chose to concentrate on five specific tools: customer service, brand, website, networking and social media, and I compiled a resources handout relating to these tools. These are resources I return to again and again in my own business marketing and which I share now in this blog post.

These resources may be useful for freelance editors and proofreaders, independent self-publishing authors, or indeed for any freelancer or small business owner.

Marketing (general)

• Marketing rules and principles for freelancers
• Seven marketing tips for small business.
• 25 low cost marketing ideas for your business
• List of marketing resources from The Proofreader’s Parlour

Brand

• How to build a great reputation as a freelancer
• 4 tips to manage your online reputation
• Manage your social media presence
• Three key elements in building your brand through social media
• Treat your brand like a person
• Why being on a publisher’s list might not be enough to get you work

Networking

• How to leverage your social capital
• Generating engagement and outreach opportunities from LinkedIn Groups
• 5 simple but effective networking tips for freelancers
• Business card etiquette: 7 tips to improve your networking

Website and SEO

• 10 SEO tools and plugins you need in 2014
• Weebly SEO tips for higher and focussed traffic for your website
• Top 5 free website builders in 2014
• Create a website with Weebly
• How to build a website – #1 setup guide.
• Setting up a website with Weebly (video tutorial)
• Setting up a website with WordPress (video tutorial)
• Setting up a website with Squarespace (video tutorial)
• Why WordPress?
• About.me is a free service that lets you create a one-page website all about you/your business
• Add This: free sharing-plugin tool for your website

Social Media (general)

• A beginner’s social media guide for small businesses
• Roundup: Using social media and the web to enhance your editorial profile
• Reciprocity and social media
• Social media etiquette for business: 25 do’s & don’ts
• When is the best time to post on social media?
• The complete social media cover photo guide
• Why your social media profile picture/avatar is so important. 7 things to consider

Twitter

• Enhancing your editorial profile: customize your Twitter page
• Twitter etiquette 101
• 10 tips for Twitter success in publishing
• Twitter for business
• Tracking and understanding your Twitter metrics
• How to really use Twitter to find more freelance work
• Bitly: a URL shortening service to get the most out of your 140 character limit on Twitter
• 12 Twitter marketing tips from the pros
• Twitter chats 101: a step-by-step guide to hosting or joining a Twitter chat

Facebook

• 5 steps to market your business page on Facebook
• 5 content tips for your Facebook business page
• Closing the Facebook
• Freelancers, is Facebook right for you?

LinkedIn

• How freelancers should create LinkedIn profiles
• How to set up your LinkedIn profile: a freelancer’s guide
• The ultimate guide to a perfect LinkedIn profile
• The ultimate guide to LinkedIn marketing
• Advanced LinkedIn techniques for getting more clients
• Online portfolios for editors, part 5: your portfolio on LinkedIn
• Are you making these 10 common LinkedIn mistakes?
• Seven ways to make your LinkedIn profile more appealing to editorial project managers

Google+

• Complete user guide: Google Plus Pages for business and brands
• 10 smart tips to leverage Google+ for increased web traffic
• Why Google Plus is a great traffic generation source
• 6 steps to getting started with Google+

Blogging

• 10 ways to build your business with a blog
• 10 ways to liberate your blog writing 
• 12 tips for a more successful business blog 
• 20 content marketing tips to boost traffic, engagement and sales
• Is blogging more difficult than you thought? 25 ways to make blogging easier 
• How to set up a WordPress blog 1: the basics
• How to start a blog: a step-by-step guide

Planning and Measuring

• What is Hootsuite?
• How to set up Hootsuite tabs and streams
• The beginner’s guide to TweetDeck
• Social media tools: SocialBro
• Can Klout help your online marketing efforts?
• The small business guide to Google Analytics
• StatCounter: a traffic analysis tool for your website

Further Reading

• Crowning the Customer, by Fergal Quinn. Published by The O’Brien Press
• Marketing Your Editing & Proofreading Business. Being interesting and discoverable, by Louise Harnby. Published by Louise Harnby in association with The Publishing Training Centre
• Small Business Marketing in a Week, by John Sealey. Published by Teach Yourself
• Socialnomics. How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, by Erik Qualman. Published by John Wiley & Sons
• Working the Cloud. The Ultimate Guide to Making the Internet Work for You & Your Business, by Kate Russell. Published by Crimson Publishing

Do you have a favourite website or blog that offers marketing tips, or have you read a great marketing book for small business that could be added to the above list? Please feel free to share in the comments below.

NOTE:
Spelling styles are as per the original articles, hence the inconsistency between the styling of numbers, the use of both Google+ and Google Plus, etc.

Related posts:
5 marketing tips for the freelance editor or proofreader
​Book review: Content Marketing Primer for Editors & Proofreaders

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