When I first decided to do this freelance writing thing, I focused on myself.  How would freelancing benefit me?  When you get down to it, applicants for every job, from flipping burgers to managing a Fortune 500 company, go through the same process.  It’s a valuable process; examining your motivation is a good thing. Why take a job if there isn’t some benefit, even if it’s just minimum wage?

My reasons are fairly simple, and probably resonante with many freelancers. I want a truly portable career as a military spouse.  I want more time with my family, to be home with our children during summers and other school holidays.  I want to do something that I already know how to do, something that comes fairly naturally to me.  Freelance writing satisfies all of those criteria.

So I got busy.  I bought my domain, set up a website, wrote copy for it, sought advice from seasoned professionals, had headshots made and a logo designed, printed business cards… the works.  And then reality set in.  It turns out that all of that doesn’t being home the bacon.  Clearly, if I wanted to write as a freelancer, I needed clients.   

I struggled to determine what, exactly, I had to offer those clients.  Why on earth would anyone want to hire me, especially as a brand-spanking-new freelancer?  I don’t have a huge portfolio of well-known, high-paying clients.  I don’t have a degree in English or journalism.  I’m not a good saleswoman.  I don’t pitch people.  I figure that, if people want to spend money on something, they’ll spend it.  If not, I’m not going to be the one to convice them. 

But therein lies the rub: clients are out there, looking to spend money on writing.  I just have to convince them to spend it on me. 

Marketing myself doesn’t come easily. What do I have to offer?  Some introspection revealed that I know I’m good at stuff, but what stuff, exactly?  And how would any of that benefit a prospective client?

That’s when it hit me.  This question is the key to landing clients.  How would any of my skills benefit a prospective client?  They want to know how I would help them.

Up to this point, I’d been focusing on myself.  Clients want me to focus on them, and rightfully so.  They’re the ones spending their hard-earned money, carefully evaluating which writer will give them the best value.  It’s the same mentality I have about our household budget.  Where can I spend the least and yet get the most? 

Clients want to spend money on something (or someone) who will help them succeed.

I can definitely deliver that.

What about you?  What (or who) is your priority as a freelancer?  How do your priorites shape your ability to find or keep clients?