The 22 Commandments Of Freelance Email Marketer

You’ve thought about him. You’ve asked around. You’re ready to take the leap and start your own business. Being a freelancer is a viable option for many people: it’s a great way to be your boss, set your hours, and work from anywhere. The first step can be daunting, though and there are many resources available to help you succeed.

In this article, we are going to introduce you to 22 of the most important commandments of a freelance email marketer.

10 Commandments of Freelancing

Takeaways
1. Embrace Diverse Income Streams
2. Establish a Strong Freelance Email Marketing Business
3. Employ Clever Techniques for Successful Email Campaigns
4. Explore the Suitability of Freelance Email Marketing
5. Blueprint for Launching a 7-Figure Email Marketing Agency

Table of Contents

1. Thou Shalt Not Spam

Spamming is a bad idea, and not just because it’s ineffective. Email marketing must be done in a targeted way, so that customers or leads see only what they want to see, and therefore become interested in purchasing your product or service. Email marketing aims to increase sales and build loyalty with customers, but spamming is neither targeted nor effective for achieving these goals: only about 3% of spammers’ emails get read by their intended audience

For the rest, their email hits inboxes but fails to engage its intended audience on any meaningful level (in fact, more than half go straight into the trash). This not only means you’re wasting time writing up these campaigns but it also means that instead of building brand loyalty by sending engaging content to an interested audience, you’re increasing your chances of losing business through a reputation for spam!

Making a successful living as a freelance email marketer requires diverse income streams. Explore our guide on 13 Ways to Make Money as a Freelance Email Marketer to discover various avenues for boosting your freelance income.

2. Thou Shalt Not Use The Same Email More Than Once

Just because it was a good email doesn’t mean that you should send it to everyone. There are two main reasons for this:

You might get a bad reputation in the marketer community. No one likes spam, and sending the same message to multiple people is considered spam. If you want to make it as an email marketer, you have to keep your name squeaky clean or else no one will hire you.

Not everyone is likely interested in receiving the same message. They will unsubscribe from your list if they don’t like what you have to say, and then they won’t even see your future emails.

3. Thou Shalt Know Thy Writing Style

Your writing style is your voice as a writer. It’s what makes your writing unique. Once you have it, it’s important to keep it consistent so that your readers can recognize you.

For example, I would never say “You should do this,” because I don’t speak like that that sentence doesn’t feel authentic to me. Instead, I might say, “I recommend doing this” or “Here are steps for doing this.” Or maybe: “If you’re looking for ways to do this, try the following.”

In his book “On Writing Well,” William Zinsser writes, “[E]veryone has a natural voice.” He goes on to explain how yours may sound false at first if you’re not used to writing nonfiction (i.e., not fiction). But the more you practice and the more comfortable you are with yourself and your subject matter, the more confident and less self-conscious your written voice will be.

Want to establish a thriving freelance email marketing venture? Learn the crucial steps in our article: How to Build a Freelance Email Marketing Business, where we share insights on turning your email marketing skills into a sustainable business.

4. Thou Shalt Not Write About Everything Under The Sun

If you want to make it as a freelance email marketer, you have to be an expert in something. Becoming a specialist will make you more valuable and help you stand out from the crowd of generalists who are competing for projects on sites like Upwork or Freelancer.com.

To become an expert, narrow your focus to one particular area, like doing market research for companies that are launching new products online or writing product descriptions for e-commerce stores that sell outerwear accessories.

Then work hard to get some experience in this area so that your proposal can highlight your specific expertise when you apply for jobs. If your proposal is too generic, it will be competing with the proposals of hundreds of other writers who have applied for the same job simply because they know how to use email software and type sentences on a keyboard.

5. Thou Shalt Build A Relationship With The Editor And Publication

Building and maintaining a relationship with the publication you’re pitching to is one of the best ways to ensure your articles are given a chance. If you know that a publication has covered an article on a similar topic, reach out to them about other ideas.

When pitching new topics, incorporate details about your past work for that publication as well as any experience or knowledge you have on the subject. Try not to pitch cold letting the editor know who you are ahead of time will make it easier for them to get back to you (they’ll be more likely to recognize your name).

If you aren’t already familiar with the editors at publications where you’d like to write, use social media and Google to research them. You can also network with other writers in your field word-of-mouth referrals are extremely effective when it comes to getting people interested in writing for new publications.

When contacting an editor about potential assignments, keep things polite and professional. Show interest in their work and how they do theirs; remember, they’re busy people too.

Follow their advice carefully when writing an article you don’t want your piece rejected because it doesn’t fit into their style or format guidelines. And finally, try working as a regular contributor if possible it will make it easier for both of you if there is less negotiating involved each time around (plus it will give you more opportunities!).

6. Thou Shalt Know The Art Of Self-Promotion And Networking

You must also know the art of networking. Networking is a crucial part of business and is so much more than handing out your business card at cocktail parties. It’s the art of building relationships between people, whether it’s with people inside your company or outside. Networking is a state of mind; it’s not about selling yourself, but about building relationships and learning about other people. You can learn this skill by practicing with friends, relatives or colleagues.

Mastering the art of email marketing involves a clever approach. Dive into our resource: The Clever Trick All Successful Email Marketers Use, and gain valuable insights that can help elevate your email campaigns to new heights.

7. Thou Shalt Keep A Clean Copy Of Your Work

Always keep your work backed up in two or three different places (on a hard drive, in the cloud, and on your local computer). Think of these as backups.

That way if you ever need to look back at an earlier version of the work, you can compare how it’s changed over time. This is also helpful when creating reports for clients so that you can show them how much their copy has improved since your first draft.

8. Thou Shalt Respect Deadlines

You can’t afford to miss deadlines. It’s as simple as that. If you miss a deadline with one client, they will assume that you do it all the time and start asking questions about your other customers. If you miss enough deadlines, they might start to wonder if there is something wrong with your company. Aim for at least 90% of your work to be completed on time or ahead of schedule, and never hand in anything late unless there are exceptional circumstances (like a family emergency).

Set realistic deadlines for client projects. There is nothing wrong with asking for extensions if they have been unreasonable in their expectations. If a customer asks you to finish something by tomorrow morning but it’s going to take three days, then ask them if they want you to choose between quality or speed and make sure that they understand which option will cost more money!

9. Thou Shalt Follow Submission Guidelines

If you’re not submitting to publications that have an open submissions policy, you’re going to have to do your research and get connected with editors to get published. Remember, editors are people too, and they receive hundreds of submissions a day. They don’t always have time to respond to every one of those emails. Don’t be a pest and don’t assume that just because you don’t hear back that it’s been rejected.

Follow up on both accepted and rejected submissions. When your article is accepted for publication, follow up with the editor again after your piece goes live. Mentioning how much traffic your article has garnered will help show them the value of your piece as well as remind them of how great working with you was! And if it was rejected? Be professional and keep your eye out for more opportunities! Don’t take rejection personally it happens all the time!

Curious about venturing into freelance email marketing? Explore our article: Freelance Email Marketing: Is It Right for You? to discover if this field aligns with your goals and interests, and learn about the potential benefits it offers.

10. Thou Shall Always Look For Ways To Improve Thyself As A Freelance Writer

Take classes, read books and listen to podcasts on how to improve your craft. Join a writing group or critique group. Don’t get stuck in a rut. If you write for two websites, try branching out to three or four. If you write about one topic only, try researching another subject and see if that sparks any ideas.

Whether you’re an experienced freelance email marketer or just getting started, always look for ways to improve yourself as a writer. The more effort you put into improving your skills the more success you will have as a freelancer.

11. Thou Shalt Value Thyself

The freelance economy is growing rapidly, and not just freelancers are taking notice. In a survey conducted by Upwork, 44% of people working for large companies said they plan to work independently within the next five years.

Freelancing is no longer an outsider activity; it’s becoming the norm. Knowing your worth is part of this transition from “other” to “mainstream.” Going freelance should be a decision that you’re confident about because you made it with full awareness of what it means to be a successful freelancer and the self-respect that comes from knowing your true value as a professional play a huge part in this confidence.

12. Thou Shalt Be A Master Of Thy Time

As a freelancer, thy time is not just important to you; it’s also your livelihood. This makes the ability to manage it essential for your continued success and happiness. For many, this is an easy lesson to learn the hard way when you get slammed with work and start stretching yourself too thin in an attempt to please all of your clients.

However, some things can be done from the very beginning of your freelance career to avoid this pitfall:

Use a calendar app (or, if you’re old-fashioned like me, a physical planner) to schedule out when each project will be worked on and completed. If some overlap is inevitable (i.e., several deadlines fall on the same day), rank them in order of importance and make sure that they’re assigned enough time accordingly so that none of them suffer as a result of others taking priority. This will help reduce stress when crunch time comes around!

Estimate how long each project will take you before accepting it so that you can reasonably determine whether or not its deadline fits into your schedule before committing to anything. Taking on more projects than one person can handle is a great way to spread oneself too thin, which can have negative impacts on everything from one’s quality of work and personal relationships down to their health if they aren’t careful about how much they decide to do at once!

13. Thou Shalt Work In The Morning

First, you must become a morning person to thrive as a freelance email marketer. As a morning person, you’ll have the most time available to focus on your work and be productive. Morning people are less likely to procrastinate by watching TV or scrolling through social media when they should be working. They feel more energized and motivated in the morning, which helps them get their best work done without feeling like they’re sacrificing other parts of their lives for it.

Once you have your mornings down pat, it’s good practice to set aside time each day for reflection. Spend some time thinking about where you are in life and what you want out of your career. Maybe something is missing from your routine that could make you happier, more energetic, and more successful all around as a freelance email marketer.

14. Thou Shalt Protect Thy Margins

Thou must always make sure you’re earning more than it costs to work. To do your work, you need tools and supplies, equipment, and other business expenses. You also need to get paid for your time and it’s gonna take a lot of time. It’s all too easy for your costs to eat away at what you’ll be taking home in the end.

To illustrate: let’s say that you’re putting together a proposal for a client who has requested an email newsletter series of 30 emails over 60 days. You estimate that it will take 120 hours total to complete this project: 30 hours of consultation with the client and 90 hours of actual time spent drafting emails (that’s 3 hours per email).

Let’s assume that to do this work, you’ll have a variety of expenses associated with your business (let’s keep it simple): $200 per month on software and services, $100 per month on supplies, $350 per month on rent for your home office space, and $500 per month on health insurance costs (which is less than ideal but…reality). This means that just your operating expenses are going to cost you about $1,000 per month before even one hour is worked toward completing any projects!

And if one were inclined to factor in things like food or rent or electricity or paying student loans or any number of other living expenses…well…we can see how quickly things can become overwhelming! Limiting the potential damage here making sure you can still profitably earn money after all these expenses are paid for requires protecting those margins.

Aspiring to create a thriving freelance email marketing agency? Our guide: The Definitive Guide to Starting a 7-Figure Freelance Email Marketing Agency provides actionable insights to help you establish a successful agency from the ground up.

15. Thou Shalt Be A Social Media Wunderkind

You can’t be a successful freelance email marketer without the help of social media. It’s one of the best ways to build a personal brand, find clients, and conduct market research. To maximize your use of social media as an email marketer, there are certain do’s and don’ts that apply across the board.

16. Thou Shalt Diversify Thy Revenue Streams

If you became a freelancer because you love to travel, then you should be prepared for the potential downside of frequent traveling: interruptions in your income. While it’s extremely unlikely that one client or project will provide all of your income forever, sometimes even just one big client can make up a substantial portion of your business which is problematic if they ever decide to leave or if something else goes wrong.

17. Thou Shalt Negotiate Everything (Even Coffee)

Ask for more than you expect to get. You often need to ask for more than you want, to make the counteroffer a pleasant surprise. Be prepared to walk away from the deal. If it doesn’t work out, it won’t be the end of the world. Negotiate everything. Even coffee. Once you start negotiating, it becomes an integral part of your everyday life – and that is great news!

18. Thou Shalt Wear Pants

I know it’s tempting to spend all day in your pajamas when you work from home, but there’s a good chance you’ll have video meetings or other web-based interactions with clients and potential clients, so for the sake of professionalism, it’s best to get dressed (pants are very important). Also, many people find that getting out of their pajamas gets them into more of a working mindset. It’s all about finding what works best for you!

19. Thou Shalt Take Time To Relax

This might seem counterintuitive considering the above commandment, but it’s true. Taking time to step away from your work and focus on things or people outside of work will help keep your sanity and increase productivity in the long run.

20. Thou Shalt Negotiate Everything (Even Coffee)

It doesn’t hurt to ask for a little bit more than what someone is willing to give or even what they think they can give when negotiating any contract. You never know unless you ask! And if they really can’t pay more, you can always negotiate non-monetary benefits such as future exposure opportunities or networking introductions instead.

21. Thou Shalt Diversify Thy Revenue Streams

It’s nice when everything is going well and one client is paying your bills for a few months at a time, but don’t rely on that money forever; it could dry up at any moment! Be sure that if one client stops sending checks (or PayPal payments), you have some others ready to pick up the slack until you’re able to find new clients who need email marketing help/Thou Shalt Take Time To Relax.

22. Thou Shalt Take Time To Relax

Freelance email marketers make their hours, but that doesn’t mean that you have to work 24/7 to be successful. Being able to balance your work life with your personal life is an important part of being a successful freelancer. Freelancers should set aside time for themselves (or with others) to relax and do the things they like to do. This can be as simple as reading a book or bingeing on a Netflix show you love.

Whether you’re working from home or your favorite coffee shop, email marketers need to take time out of their schedules for self-care and relaxation. Set aside time every week specifically for this purpose, whether it’s a weekly dinner date with friends or just some alone time in the bathtub each night after work. Your mental health will thank you for this gesture!.

Final Thoughts

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of our article about the 22 commandments of freelance email marketers. We hope that you found this guide useful and that it’s inspired you to make some changes to your work habits that will help you grow as a writer. Thanks for reading!

People Also Ask

What Are The Best Freelance Websites?

You can find freelance work on job sites like Upwork or Guru, social media networks like Facebook or Twitter, and freelance marketplaces like Freelanced.com. The benefit of these sites is that they’re accessible to everyone and you don’t have to pay a fee before you can bid for projects.

How Do I Find Freelance Work?

The best way to find freelancers is on reputable online platforms with a built-in reputation system like Freelancer.com, PeoplePerHour, and Upwork. These sites vet freelancers before allowing them on the site which provides some peace of mind when hiring someone new.

What Is The Role Of A Freelance Email Marketer?

A freelance email marketer can assist with various aspects of an advertising campaign, but they most often help craft compelling and creative emails that will entice recipients into clicking on a link or taking some sort of an action (such as purchasing something online). A good freelancer should be able to write copy that sounds like it’s coming from someone in-house at the company rather than being outsourced.

A freelancer will also have experience working with multiple clients simultaneously so they can handle any changes that may occur along the way. They should also be adept at juggling all aspects of an effective marketing strategy for their clients, which includes writing content as well as helping design visuals that go into creating email campaigns – especially those who specialize in this area because there’s more to it than just writing!

How Do I Write A Freelance Email?

There are plenty of reasons you’ll need to reach out via email as a freelancer. Many times, emails will be part of your initial outreach introducing yourself and pitching your services. But even after you’ve built relationships with clients, there are many reasons why sending an email might make sense.

You might want to check in on the progress of your current project, share an idea for future work over email, or even ask someone to recommend other potential clients they know who may be looking for help like yours. Or maybe you’ll simply want to let someone know that you were thinking about them personally or professionally and hope they’re doing well! Don’t forget that emails can be professional while still being warm and informal!

What Should I Write In A First Email?

When introducing yourself via email for the first time, keep it short and sweet! You can include a summary (no more than 3-4 sentences) about why this particular client is interesting to you and why you think what you offer could be helpful for them. Then tell them briefly about your background/credentials (again no more than 3-4 sentences).

You can conclude by saying something along the lines of: “I’d love to learn more about what challenges this client is facing so that I can develop concrete ways my services may be helpful.”

What Are The Best Ways To Freelance?

The best ways to freelance depend on your area of expertise, but all freelance professionals will benefit immensely from having a website and portfolio. A good website should be simple and easy to navigate, featuring both your work samples and contact information. Your portfolio should be your best work, with a representative sampling of what you’re capable of.

What Are The Best Ways To Start Freelancing?

The first step in starting as a freelancer is taking stock of what you have to offer and figure out who needs it. Create a list of any skills or services that you might offer as well as what you know about different industries that might need those services.

Then make an effort to network! Join local professional organizations, introduce yourself at industry events, and talk with anyone you know who may have connections within businesses or other organizations that can benefit from your skillset.

How Do I Freelance My Services?

Once you’re confident in your ability and ready for business, take steps to advertise your new service offerings.

This could mean handing out business cards at relevant professional events, posting flyers in public spaces like coffee shops or libraries/bookstores/co-working spaces (following rules about doing so), and posting ads online through social media or websites like craigslist or Fiverr (just be cautious when dealing with online potential clients ask for references from past clients if possible before signing any contract).

You might also want to consider creating small promotional pieces like brochures outlining some detail about how freelancers can save companies money because they don’t require full-time salaries/benefits packages.

Herman Edward

I am a content writer, and I love what I do! Writing makes me feel like the words are flowing through my fingers, and then onto the keyboard, like magic. My experience as a writer has taught me that writing makes me feel good, as well as helps others to feel better too!