Lead Generation For Freelance Writers

Don't assume that Facebook and Twitter are the only ways to get traffic to your articles, blogs and websites. By harnessing lead generation on your own website, you can get the same people coming back to read your articles over and over again. All you have to do is send out a newsletter each time you post a new article.

The best way to incorporate lead generation into your freelance writing is to start your own blog. Nowadays, this is very easy to do with WordPress. Once you have your WordPress site set up, there are multiple ways to integrate lead-generation tactics into your site.

WordPress publishers typically use AdSense to make money from their articles. Read our lesson on WordPress AdSense integration to learn how freelance writers make money on their own blogs by setting up AdSense ads.

By following the steps below, you can start building a blog with your own articles and using lead generation to build a list of subscribers that keep coming back on a regular basis.

Important: When you start a blog for lead generation, it is a good idea to focus on a specific topic. What many people don't know is that you can actually set up multiple WordPress blogs on the same website. All you do is choose to install WordPress in its own directory instead of the root directory. You will see this option when you set up WordPress. After setting up one WordPress blog for your chosen niche, you can just install other WordPress blogs on the same website by choosing a different directory and different directory name for subsequent WordPress installations. Alternatively, you can purchase a separate domain name for additional blogs and use that as an add-on domain.

The reason setting up a niche blog is important is because you can find targeted subscribers through the search engines who will be interested in additional topics in the same niche. For example, if you are a freelance writer focusing on pets, then pet lovers who find your articles in the search engines are more likely to subscribe for and actually read more articles about pets. This helps you to build a more responsive newsletter of loyal readers. Having a niche blog is not always the right thing to do. For example, Writing Shares has articles on multiple topics. But that is because we are focusing on finding freelance writers.

Lead Generation Setup Steps:

1. Get a Web host with one-click WordPress installation. Actually, it takes more than a single click to set up WordPress, but you need no technical skills. Just point and click to set up your WordPress blog and website. After that, you just log in and post articles with the built-in editor. It's about as easy as sending email with no special skills required.

You can use HostGator as your Web host if you want to use one-click WordPress installation. This is the host we use, so we recommend it. If you are just getting started, keep in mind that you only need the Hatchling Plan, which is the cheapest hosting package.

Disclaimer: Of course, this means we have a material connection to HostGator. We are affiliates and get paid a commission for referring other website owners. We have no problems telling you this because we do, in fact, use their services for this very website.

2. After setting up WordPress, you need to add an opt-in subscription form or some other tool or method to start lead generation. EmailAces is what we use. You can see the subscription form on the right-hand side of this page in the sidebar. In WordPress, there is a widget section. You just get the code from EmailAces and add it as a widget in your blog's sidebar or other parts of your blog. This is great in that the form will automatically show up on every page of your blog. Yes, that is right. With WordPress, you simply write new articles, and the software includes your lead generation form on every single page automatically. Just install it one time and forget it.  WordPress is so easy once you learn the basics.

3. When you write your articles, put a note at the end recommending that people subscribe to your newsletter. It is helpful to offer some kind of bonus for subscribing. For example, if you write articles on the stock market, you can offer some free stock picks. You do not need to give away something that costs you money. Just give away some kind of valuable information in return for subscribing. 

As another example, if you are writing articles on fashion, you can write a short report on modern fashion tips and give it away as a bonus for subscribing. If you have an entertainment blog, offer some juicy gossip for subscribing. People eat this stuff up. I have built lists of thousands of people before. It's all about information. Provide good articles and content, and you will get quite a few subscribers joining your list and reading on a daily basis. 

Conclusion:

This simple 3-step plan is an excellent method for lead generation because all you have to do is write more articles and wait for surfers to find the articles in the search engines. You don't have to buy leads with this method. Your job is to write new articles on a regular basis and send out a newsletter for each new blog entry. Interested readers will simply join the newsletter when they see the opt-in form. Just remember that it is a good idea to put a reminder to join the newsletter in a message below each article.

There are loads of other things to be said on the topic of lead generation. But to avoid information overload, just follow the three steps above to get started. You can always learn more later, but getting started is the most important part.