In 1995 I created and distributed a free document
called Frequently Asked Questions about Freelance
Writing, or the Freelance Writing FAQ. (http://www.yudkin.com/flfaq.htm)
I've updated it several times since then and
allowed anyone to post it at their Web site
without a fee. That FAQ has done more than
anything else to keep my 1988 book Freelance
Writing for Magazines & Newspapers from
HarperCollins in print. The last time I checked,
my FAQ was posted at more than a dozen Web sites
and linked from scores of others, as well as
recommended in numerous books and magazines.
With the maturing of the Web, the strategy of
setting out free bait for your target market has
become more and more powerful. Here's how and why
it works, and some non-obvious ways to make the
most of the bait you create.
On the Internet, people are ravenous for
information. Correspondingly, lots of sites find
it in their interest to point their visitors to
the best resources available in their topic area.
If you can create a mostly un-promotional
informational piece and make it available with
minimal strings attached, you'll find complete
strangers publicizing and distributing it to your
benefit. Really!
In a nutshell, start by asking what data or advice
would be of value to the group of people you want
to attract as product buyers or clients. Search to
see what's already available on that topic, so you
don't spend your energy satisfying a thirst that's
already been slaked. Create something
authoritative on the topic that unobtrusively
establishes you, your company or your product as
serving that market. Then set out your bait online
with explicit permission for people to spread it
widely. Keep your piece updated and every once in
a while search for new takers, and then enjoy the
results.
I concocted my FAQ after interviewing a law
student named Terry Carroll who said that his FAQ
on copyright law had made him a minor celebrity
with respect to the topic and helped him land his
first job as an attorney. Since I'd been teaching
classes on freelance writing for years, I knew all
questions beginning writers had, and their
answers. Following the format of other FAQs I
looked at, I organized 24 commonly asked questions
into five categories and did my best to keep the
answers concise.
To make sure that writing and distributing the FAQ
would redound to me, I also composed the last of
the 24 questions to read, "And who are you,
anyway?" That gave me a natural way to present my
credentials and the titles of several of my books.
Although I believe the FAQ format has particular
power on the Net, for you the ticket might be an
article along the lines of "Five Things to Think
About Before You Hire a ___," "11 Low-risk Ways to
___," "___ DeMystified," or simply "How to ___."
Call your bait piece a "white paper" if you're
appealing to a corporate population.
Resist the temptation to devote any more than 10
percent of your bait piece to self-promotion.
Doing so would make it less appealing for others
to recommend or reprint it. Producing something
that benefits your market without a heavy sales
pitch attached puts you in a very positive light,
and just a low-key business bio and contact
information at the end entices readers to get in
touch.
Think broadly about what kinds of sites might be
willing to host or link to your informational
offering. In addition to resource sites that aim
at a comprehensive collection of topical links,
consider non-competing businesses whose visitors
need to know about your specialty. For example,
with some of my small-business-oriented bait
pieces on marketing and publicity, I've had
requests to repost them to sites for a stock photo
company, a specialty printer, a crafts dealer and
numerous trade associations. Always request a live
link to your Web site and an e-mail link to you
when someone reposts your piece at their site.
If you have a Web site, the out-of-pocket cost to
add a bait piece there will usually be zero.
Mentioning your bait piece in your signature when
you post to discussion lists is another way to
spread it around effectively. If it has an
appealing title and genuinely useful content for
some well-defined, information-hungry audience,
you'll find this piece soon funneling leads to you
-- without the big expense of a conventional push
for traffic.
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