The miraculous powers of the follow-up email

I used to think that people who didn't get back to me were a) jerks,  b) not interested in hiring me, or c) not worth the effort. But it turns out that most of them are d) slow responders or e) forgetters.

Hence the power and importance of the follow-up email. It usually takes place after I've sent them my estimate for working on their project. I wait a week, and if I haven't heard anything, I send the follow-up. 

I get one of two responses: 1) Sorry, I'm not interested for x, y, z reasons, or 2) Hi. Thanks for emailing me! I want to hire you to do a, b, c. I didn't get back to you because of l, m, n sound reasons. Voila! A contract! All for five quick minutes of my time.

I think there are some people who want to be wooed, especially if they don't know you yet. And while it is often true that someone who doesn't get back to you isn't interested, finding out from them that's the case, and why it's so, is invaluable. You can use the information to tailor future estimates and to understand your market better.

Editors are a friendly bunch

What's always impressed me about freelance editors is their willingness to share marketing and business-building ideas with one another. I was attending the Editors' Association of Canada's annual conference this past weekend, and everyone I spoke to had some advice to give. We were constantly gabbing about our respective methods for gaining clientele, and it seemed as though I was the only one thinking "Isn't she my competitor? Why is she giving me all these good ideas?"

Maybe as a young fiction editor, I didn't seem like much of a threat. Maybe there's plenty of market share to go around. Or maybe we're just a really pleasant bunch. I like to think it's the third option.

I came away from the weekend feeling rejuvenated and ready to commit to improving my online presence (one of many tips). Hopefully this post will be the first of a steady stream.