Editor’s Note:  This is a guest post from Kirk Ward.  Please read more about Kirk in the author’s box.

Freelancers of all types have one thing in common, they are notoriously bad marketers. Freelance writers are among the worst of the lot.

Well, after throwing that out, I’m probably not going to get an all expense paid invitation to come speak at your next writers club coffee klatch.  After all, what in the Sam Hill does an accountant know about marketing writing services?

Nothing. Nothing at all about marketing your freelance writing services.

But, about marketing services, I know a lot. And, it is my opinion that a freelance writer can market their services using the same techniques as any other professional.

Rainmaker Marketing

In the “professions” (law, medicine, engineering and, yuk, accounting) the top marketers are called “Rainmakers.” And, a whole field of thought has sprung up called “Rainmaker Marketing.” If you haven’t heard the term, run a web search and see what you get. You’ll get anywhere from under 40,000 results to over 1.25 million hits, depending on what search engine you use, and whether you use the quote marks or not.

The term Rainmaker was first applied to senior partners in law firms who had such drawing power that they brought in more business than they could handle, so they passed it off to the junior members of the firm who had available time. Since new business rained down on them from the senior members of the firm, the juniors began to refer to the partners who generated the billings as Rainmakers.

Cute, huh? But, why is it important to you?

Until the mid-70′s when the Supreme Court decided in Bates vs. State Bar of Arizona, attorneys were prohibited from advertising, which included sales and marketing. Heck, it wasn’t until 1990 when the AICPA (American Institute of CPA’s) acquiesced and signed a consent order allowing accountants to advertise, in any way as long as it is truthful, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission.

Now, if these guys (and, back then, most were guys) couldn’t advertise, then how in heck did they bring in so much business?

The same way Bob Bly does. (You do know who Bob Bly is, don’t you? If not, here’s a chance to get out the old Google homepage again.) They positioned themselves as experts and celebrities.

Become an Expert in Your Field

Take our buddy Bob Bly.

In addition to his job as an advertising copywriter, Bob is the author of 83 books, either written or forthcoming. Each one of these books has one single purpose: to act as a self-financing business card for Bob’s services as an advertising copywriter.

Bob has positioned himself as an expert. He’s even fashioned a small industry around his writings, with products and services ranging from copy critiques and web page critiques to copywriting, coaching and on-on-one consultations. He’s a veritable whirlwind of activity.

You’ll find that same philosophy taught to accountants and financial professionals over at Secrets of Marketing Accounting Services where subscribers are taught how to position themselves as an expert in their local community. They learn to become public speakers, using their technical knowledge to speak before groups and organizations in their community.

And, just as you are trying to get published, these accountants are told to get published. And, they become coaches, teachers and trainers to small business owners in their community.

The whole program is designed to enhance their credibility in their community. To position them as local experts in their field.

Become a Rainmaker as a Writer

As a freelance writer, you can use these same techniques to build your reputation and develop your own following. No matter what type of writing you want to do, there will be some form of Rainmaker Marketing available to you.

If you’re a business writer, you can pick a niche and develop a recognition as an expert in that field. One idea that jumps out to me is to write a book on how to write a book in a particular field. If you want to write for veterinarians and pet stores, write a book on how to write a book about veterinarians and pet stores.

That’s the route our good friend Bob Bly took when he wrote a book about how to do copywriting.

Bob was a copywriter. Do you think he was trying to get more folks into copywriting so he would have more competition? Heck no. He was building his credibility as an expert copywriter.

If you want to write a book of fiction, maybe you could start an online webinar series coaching other writers who want to write a work of fiction. Build yourself an email list and start offering the webinars for free using a service like AnyMeeting.com.

Besides the networking you’ll do, the open exchange of ideas from the group will spark your imagination, and the contacts you develop can lead to doors being opened for you book proposals.

Back to good ol’ Bob again.

Does Bob really want to improve your writing and create more competition when he offers his services as a copy critic? Again, the proverbial, Heck No! Bob is again positioning himself as an expert.

Whatever your writing genre, if you want to market your writings, there is nothing more powerful than being able to present yourself as an expert in the field. Positioning himself as an expert is what keeps Bob’s fees in the $15,000 per page range.

It’s nice to be looked at as an expert. In any field.

Related articles

• The Crawl Stage to Becoming a Copywriter (inspiredtowrite.com)