Here’s an optimistic thought: writing is a necessary part of every business. You read that right. Every business – big and small – has the need for written language.

More good news: most businesses don’t have a full-time or even part-time writer on staff. Hint: here’s where you come in.

Local businesses need your skills. They just don’t know it yet. It’s up to you to tell them.

Identifying potential clients

First you have to find them. Take a walk or a drive and make a note of locally-owned businesses in your town and the writing needs they might have. Browse the Yellow Pages online at yp.com. Identify potential clients by joining the chamber of commerce. Local rotary clubs also give you access to small business owners. (I’ve found small businesses better targets than large businesses, which are more likely to have in-house writers.)

Compiling your information

Once you’ve identified potential businesses, it’s time to give them something – for free. I’m not advocating you work for free. Instead, put together a brochure or letter that includes helpful writing-related information: how email newsletters benefit businesses, ways to generate social media content or writing for your target audience.

Then remind them of your skills and availability. Use a bulleted list to show the plethora of writing tasks you can take off their shoulders. Be sure to include website, social media and blog entries along with brochures, letters, press releases, newsletters, ad copy, etc.

Include contact options – email, website, social media and phone number. Make communicating with you convenient for them.

End your piece with a thank you. It’s just courteous and polite.

Method of contact

You can reach out in a number of ways, depending on the business. Start by compiling email addresses. You may only have a few at first but the list will grow over time.

Social media is another way to keep in touch with potential clients. Ditto that for your website.

I also suggest utilizing the old-fashioned way: snail mail. This isn’t a mass mailing. You want to choose a dozen, perhaps two dozen businesses to target. Snail mail provides prospective clients with something physical to hold – and hopefully keep – until they have the need to contact you.

Wait about three months and follow-up with a similar message. Repeat after another three months. Think quarterly contact. You want to establish yourself as a consistent presence, but not a nuisance. Potential clients aren’t going to need your services immediately, but they will eventually. When they do, whom will they think of? The nice writer who’s been sending free and helpful information.

Free press

Consider doing pro bono work for a charitable organization that can give you free press. I do this for a local foundation that has a quarterly newsletter where my logo is printed in every issue.

I’ve been utilizing this technique for years and have worked on a variety of jobs for a variety of businesses:
• Coffee shop – menu writing
• Insurance company – quarterly newsletter
• Locally-owned bank – ad copy
• School district – referendum campaign
• Gift shop ­– catalog descriptions
• Medical clinic – ghostwriting a monthly medical column
• Library – website copy
• Grocery store – social media presence
• Home builder – sales brochures
• Not-for-profit organization – annual report
• Local charity – letter to potential donors
• Bed and breakfast – radio ads
• Mayoral candidate – door hangers and press releases
• Legal firm – blog posts
And the list goes on.

These were all paying gigs. I’ve found once a business is aware of your skills and the convenience you provide they’re likely to hire you again for future jobs. There’s another optimistic thought.

Bio: Jill Pertler writes for businesses as a partner of the design company, Marketing X Design. She is an award-winning syndicated columnist of “Slices of Life,” published playwright, author of “The Do-It-Yourselfer’s Guide to Self-Syndication” and member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Her business writing feeds the checkbook. Her columns and plays feed her soul. https://www.marketingxdesign.com/