If you’ve had anything to do with marketing, online or offline, you likely already know that the best way to get the word out about your business is through word of mouth. And how do you get people to talk about you? It’s usually through people who have used your services.
The hard part of putting word of mouth into action is that people do not always think to say something good about a business that they have had good service with. Why? Because they expect good service. That’s why bad word of mouth news tends to travel faster.
But you can encourage clients to talk about you! Ask them for five things after you have done good work for them (which should be always!).
This video from Working Writing Happy Writer (be sure to check out the newsletter) has 5 questions (or favors) that you can ask of your clients:
I’d say that #3 and #5 are my favorites. #3 is to ask for testimonials. Ever wonder how other freelancers have all those great testimonials on their sites? They asked for them! Clients do not usually think to give them out on their own, but if you’ve done good work for them they are often more than happy to give you a couple sentences. Make sure you ask if you can use their name and a link to their website to give the testimonial more validity. #5 is to ask them to pass your name along to others that might need your writing services. Until you ask them they might not even think of that but once they are asked the might remember someone that could use your services.
It can be hard to ask thinks of clients other than your fee but if you’ve done a good job, clients are often more than happy to help you out. Don’t be afraid to ask – the worst they can say is no!
Article by Danielle
I'm a social media junkie and professional freelance writer living in small town Manitoba, Canada. I drink a lot of coffee and love my computer (named Garcia after Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds - the ultimate girl geek!), my kids, my husband, and my cats. In 10 years I hope to be that crazy lady travelling across Canada and the States with her three cats and her loving hubby. :) If you're interested in my professional services please visit my professional writer's site to find out more about my services or check out some testimonials from some of my clients.
has written 248 awesome articles for us at The Social Freelance Writer
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Twitter: thewahwife
August 16, 2010 at 7:10 am
Great post. Word of mouth is so important to any business, and it’s free.
John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing published a book called “The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself” a few months back. It is such a great resource for learning how to set up a referral system among your clients/customers. It has a lot of great ideas for getting your clients to start talking about your business to others.
Angie – The Work at Home Wife recently published this rocking post..Choosing Your Ideal Client
Twitter: DanielleMcGaw
August 18, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Thanks for the suggestion Angie – I’ll be sure to add it to my list of books to check out.
I don’t see any reason why a client would not be willing to do favors for you if you have provided them exceptional service. Well, there may be some who will not be willing to disclose that they’re hiring writers. However, the benefits of getting them on your client list for example, has tremendous positive effects. There’s really nothing to lose if you ask. So what if they say no? You can always move on and ask another client. Sooner or later, someone will grant you your request.