In
1995 I created and distributed a free document called Frequently
Asked Questions about Freelance Writing, or the Freelance Writing
FAQ. (http://www.yudkin.com/flfaq.htm)
I've updated it several times since then and allowed anyone to
post it at their Web site without a fee. That FAQ has done more
than anything else to keep my 1988 book Freelance Writing for
Magazines & Newspapers from HarperCollins in print. The last time
I checked, my FAQ was posted at more than a dozen Web sites and
linked from scores of others, as well as recommended in numerous
books and magazines.
With the maturing of the Web, the strategy of setting out free bait
for your target market has become more and more powerful. Here's
how and why it works, and some non-obvious ways to make the most
of the bait you create.
On the Internet, people are ravenous for information. Correspondingly,
lots of sites find it in their interest to point their visitors
to the best resources available in their topic area. If you can
create a mostly unpromotional informational piece and make it available
with minimal strings attached, you'll find complete strangers publicizing
and distributing it to your benefit. Really!
In a nutshell, start by asking what data or advice would be of value
to the group of people you want to attract as product buyers or
clients. Search to see what's already available on that topic, so
you don't spend your energy satisfying a thirst that's already been
slaked. Create something authoritative on the topic that unobtrusively
establishes you, your company or your product as serving that market.
Then set out your bait online with explicit permission for people
to spread it widely. Keep your piece updated and every once in a
while search for new takers, and then enjoy the results.
I concocted my FAQ after interviewing a law student named Terry
Carroll who said that his FAQ on copyright law had made him a minor
celebrity with respect to the topic and helped him land his first
job as an attorney. Since I'd been teaching classes on freelance
writing for years, I knew all questions beginning writers had, and
their answers. Following the format of other FAQs I looked at, I
organized 24 commonly asked questions into five categories and did
my best to keep the answers concise.
To make sure that writing and distributing the FAQ would redound
to me, I also composed the last of the 24 questions to read, "And
who are you, anyway?" That gave me a natural way to present my credentials
and the titles of several of my books.
Although I believe the FAQ format has particular power on the Net,
for you the ticket might be an article along the lines of "Five
Things to Think About Before You Hire a ___," "11 Low-risk Ways
to ___," "___ DeMystified," or simply "How to ___." Call your bait
piece a "white paper" if you're appealing to a corporate population.
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Copyright 2002 Marcia Yudkin.
Marcia Yudkin marcia@yudkin.com is the author of Internet Marketing
for Less than $500/Year, Poor Richard's Web Site Marketing Makeover
and nine other books. Based in Boston, she provides business owners
around the world with creative publicity strategies and performs
marketing makeovers of Web sites and print materials. You can read
more articles by her or subscribe to her free Marketing Minute newsletter
at http://www.yudkin.com/marketing.htm.
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