How to Gain Clients Without Feeling Dirty

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Too many freelancers are neglecting proper marketing to better their business. In fact, many freelancers are consciously opting not to market. They refuse, flat out, to use any strategy they consider manipulative. They see all marketing tactics as evil, snake oil, in-your-face car salesman strategies geared only to use people to make money.

Wrong. Dead wrong.

But try as I might to sway more people to learn about marketing to use the strategies in the way they feel comfortable, resistance is high. It’s easier to refute than to realize that something we thought bad might actually be good.

There’s a bunch of psychology in that, too. When people make up their minds, they’ll reinforce that decision. Their brains find justification and heap it on until the belief becomes utter truth – and it’s extremely difficult to sway them from that belief.

These people look at sales letters and sneer. They read advertising and snort. They delete emails asking them to buy (continually. There may be a lot of them if you’ve signed up for anything). They’re skeptical, they’re untrusting, and they’re damned jaded.

They’re also in business themselves. They’re writers who want gigs. They’re designers who want projects. They’re businesses who want sales. But they’ve dug their heels in and decided marketing is Evil with a capital E.

They’re Good People. Marketing is Evil. They refuse to use it.

That’s a problem. If you’re in business, if you have a product to sell, if you want to be hired, you need to market. If you can’t put forth the benefits and show that what you have is worth buying, you’re going to fail. No hires. No projects. No sales.

But marketing is Evil. And you’re Good.

There’s a solution: Marketing for Nice People.

Now, readers familiar with our blog know that we tend not to promote much. In fact, it’s been said that we basically suck at selling, because we don’t sell people. It’s true – we could, and we choose not to.

But this time, I’m going to stick my neck out and say something about Marketing for Nice People. I think it’s worth it. Plus, it’s written by two people I highly respect: Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz, who knows marketing inside and out, and Sonia Simone, who is about the nicest, quietest, most ethical person I know.

Marketing for nice people is the kind of marketing for people who hate marketing, who don’t want to be a person that manipulates others uncaringly for cash. Marketing for nice people is for those who just really want to be hired because they’re good and have their products bought because they’re worth buying.

Marketing for Nice People is for people who want to be Good and don’t want to be Evil.

I’ll be upfront. You’re going to have to pay money for Marketing for Nice People. It’s $32 a week for six weeks. But honestly, that’s a lot less than the cost of a single university credit or even a supper for four at McDonalds.

Plus, the course pays for itself. You’re making an investment into something that could bring you back returns – and in a way that makes sure you still feel good about yourself. You’ll have higher chances of being hired, selling your products or getting the gig, all without feeling dirty or sleazy.

And when you rock your client’s socks off, you’ll get repeat business. Ethically. Nicely. Without compromising your personality.

Here’s what you get in your first lesson alone:

• Sonia’s Copywriting Checklist (She’s a kick-ass copywriter. I know this for a fact.)
• 12 Reasons Your Copy Isn’t Converting (People pay us over $250 an hour to tell them this. You realize that, don’t you?)
• 101 Tweaks to Fix Your Marketing (Come on. 101 tweaks from pros that you can make yourself and start to have a better business immediately.)
• How to Be an Email Marketing Rockstar (This really means How to Avoid Being a Frank Kern Copycat and How Not to Feel Dirty Sending People Email.)

But here’s my favorite, and here’s why I want to tell people about Marketing for Nice People: Lesson one teaches you Non-Sleazy Copywriting, or How to Sell Stuff Without Embarrassing Yourself, Alienating Your Loved Ones, and Offending Your Customers.

Oh, and if you do sign up, think the course is total sleaze, can’t help you and you won’t use it? Just tell Naomi and Sonia. They’ll give you every single penny of your money back, no questions asked.

The last thing you need to know? Marketing for Nice People starts tomorrow. I recommend you sign up now.