Marketing Your Freelance Proofreading Business: Tips and Tricks

You might be the best freelance proofreader in the world. You could be conversant in all of the major style guides. You may very well even have years of experience servicing high-end clients. But even if all these things are true, without marketing your freelance proofreading business, you are going to miss out on clients. After all, no one can hire you if they don’t know about you!

Marketing is a necessity when it comes to freelancing. You have to be able to get your name out there so potential clients can see the value you provide. Thankfully, though, you don’t have to be a marketing genius to do this, and neither do you need to hire an agency (of course, you can if it makes sense in your situation, but my assumption is that for most of us, it doesn’t). 

In this post, we discuss the basics of marketing your freelance proofreading business, which includes understanding your target market, creating an online presence, utilizing social media platforms, and engaging in content marketing and relationship-building.

Understanding your target market

Before you start any marketing activities, you need to understand your target market. Who are you trying to reach with your marketing efforts? 

This could be a number of audience types. Perhaps you want to tailor your services to small-business owners or authors. Maybe you are looking to find customers in an academic niche. Or there may be a certain industry, such as the legal industry, in which you want to specialize. 

Regardless, identifying your target audience will help provide a foundation for your marketing efforts. As the old saying goes, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” Narrowing down who you want to respond to your marketing will help you succeed.

Creating an online presence

Should you create a website?

Most companies have an online presence. As a consumer, it’s almost second nature to check out a business’s website before contacting them. Try to imagine Target or Walmart operating without a website—do you think they would be as successful? So the natural question is do you as a freelance proofreader need a website?

Benefits of creating a website

Having your own website comes with benefits. For one, it’s your website. You have complete control over what information you put on it, how it looks, and how you use it. You can also use it as a hub for all of your social media accounts (see below). And with companies like GoDaddy, Squarespace, and Wix, setting up a website is as easy as opening an account and selecting a template. You can set up a professional-looking website in a few hours, in fact, and the cost is fairly minimal—you can be up and running for as little as $10 per month.

A website also gives you the ability to have a custom email with your domain name. This can lend an air of professionalism to your interactions with clients and potential clients.

One of the best benefits of having a website is the ability to create your own blog for content marketing purposes, which we will cover in more detail below.

Drawbacks of creating a website

There are some drawbacks to operating a website, however. For one, although the cost over time is relatively low, these charges and fees often must be paid up front. You may not have enough funds to cover a year or two of website payments when you’re first starting out. 

Another cost to consider is the cost of your time. Creating the website initially will take a few hours, but you will have to spend time maintaining and promoting it. And if you add a blog into the mix, writing will take time as well. While these marketing efforts may pay off in the long term, in the short term they will eat into your billable hours, so you will want to strike a balance.

The final verdict: it depends

Overall, while having a website isn’t strictly necessary for marketing your freelance proofreading business, it can lend credibility to your business. But it takes time and money to set up and run, so be sure to carefully consider your online marketing strategy to ensure if you do create a website, it makes sense for you.

Utilizing social media platforms

Another way to market your freelance proofreading business is to utilize social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, of course, are the go-to platforms here. You can create accounts and post frequently to one or more of these sites to begin to establish an online following. 

LinkedIn is also a very good platform to use when marketing your freelance proofreading business. This is a business-centric social media platform where people are expecting to read business updates and see job proposals and offerings. As such, it’s a place teeming with potential clients. It’s therefore worth spending some time crafting and posting LinkedIn content on a regular basis.

It’s important to work on creating engaging content when you post on social media. The number one rule is to always remember WIIFM—“what’s in it for me?” For people to engage with you, there must be something of value for or interest to them. Focus on the benefits you can provide to clients instead of just listing what you do, for example. Alternatively, create posts that contain engaging questions; many people are more than willing to share their opinions, and this can generate more engagement, leading to more potential clients.

Showcasing your expertise through content marketing

If you do choose to start a website, having a blog can be a key component of your marketing plan. It’s an easy and accessible way to create valuable and informative content related to proofreading and editing. (And if you don’t have a website, you can still create content long-form content via Facebook or LinkedIn, for example.)

Again, WIIFM is key here. What do your prospective clients want or need to know about proofreading? You can use content marketing to educate them about the field of proofreading, inform them of specific problems you can solve for them, and preemptively answer any questions they might have.

Once you’ve written a blog post, you can utilize your social media to share it with friends and potential clients. Be sure to pull out actionable nuggets from your post to share. This will both provide immediate value to the reader and also encourage more engagement.

Building relationships with clients and peers

Networking professionally

Networking with other professionals is another effective way to market your proofreading business. If you have connections with other freelance proofreaders, you can reach out to them for potential leads. Established proofreaders who are busy may be willing to refer new clients to you. Alternatively, you could collaborate with two or three other proofreaders to establish a proofreading agency. This would enable you to combine your resources and attract more clients, although it requires careful planning and well-drafted contracts.

Even if you don’t personally know any proofreaders, networking with professionals from various fields can still lead to client opportunities. For example, you might encounter a realtor in need of assistance with proofreading advertising copy or have the ability to connect with small-business owners or authors who require your services.

There are numerous valuable online resources available for professional networking, so it’s worthwhile to research methods that suit your needs. Regardless of the approach you choose, the more people who are aware of your role as a proofreader, the greater your chances of finding clients.

Referrals and client testimonials

Perhaps the best form of marketing is word of mouth. When you work hard to satisfy your existing clients, they are often willing to spread the word for you. I personally have gained a number of new clients thanks to referrals from existing clients. Of course, this type of marketing can’t be manufactured; it must happen organically. But if you are prepared to respond when it does happen, it can be a powerful growth tool. 

You can also ask your current and past clients for testimonials. These can then be used as part of your portfolio, in social media posts, or on your website. They provide external verification of the value you provide, so it’s good to occasionally reach out to your clients and ask for them.

When it comes to freelance proofreading, marketing is essential. It’s important to promote your services to attract potential clients and showcase the value you offer. The good news is that you don’t have to be a marketing expert or hire an agency. But you do need to learn the fundamentals of marketing your freelance proofreading business. This includes knowing your target market, establishing an online presence, leveraging social media platforms, engaging in content marketing, and building relationships.