Ever been tongue-tied at a networking event?

Somebody asked, “And what do you do?”

And you said, “I’m a freelance writer.”

So far so good.

But then they followed up with… “So, what kind of writing do you do? Who have you written for?”

And everything fell apart.

You didn’t know what to say.

How can you prevent this problem?

You need a “me” speech

I was introduced to this concept by IJ Schecter, author of 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less.

What’s a “me” speech?

It’s a short script about yourself. It tells what type of writing you do — white papers? blog posts? — and what types of clients you do it for. National magazines? Trade publications? Small businesses? The Fortune 500?

If you have a specialized industry you cover, it talks about that too.

I had developed a “me” speech over the years. I just never thought of it as that. But that’s what it is.

If you don’t have one, you should write one.

Why?

Networking happens everywhere

Even if you think you will never go to an official networking event, you should write a “me” speech.

You never know when an opportunity to find a client will appear — at a family dinner, in an elevator, at a professional conference. Be ready to take advantage of that moment.

Also, writing the speech helps you clarify what you’re doing, and the types of clients you’re looking for.

What are you looking for?

I remember being flummoxed the first time a networker asked me who my ideal client is. The question made me realize they weren’t small businesses anymore. Which is what that particular room was full of.

I needed to find new networking groups where my ideal clients were hanging out.

Once I did, I was able to get much better-paying gigs.

When you crystallize what you’re looking for, that helps people in your network find it for you. It also helps you ask for it with confidence.

What’s my “me” speech?

Right now, I’d say “I’m a freelance writer specializing in business. I write articles for national magazines and websites, blog for Entrepreneur, and write for big companies in Seattle and around the world.”

My “me” speech has changed a lot over the years. Remember to review and update your speech now and then, as your career progresses.

Final tip: Practice saying your “me” speech out loud, to make sure it’s conversational. You don’t want to sound like you’re reading your resume.

What’s your “me” speech? Write one and leave it in the comments below.

Note: The Marketing 101 series is taking a holiday vacation. Coming up in 2012: How to find what you’re looking for.

See the previous installments of Marketing 101 for Freelance Writers starting here. To make sure you don’t miss any upcoming installments in this 21-part marketing series, subscribe now.

It’s a big, wide world of freelance writing out there in our shiny 21st Century. Global, even. I’ve had clients in Australia, the U.K., Canada, and states all over the U.S.

But if you’re just getting started, it can be a good move to start close to home. A local focus will help keep you from getting overwhelmed by all the possibilities out there.

Here are four ways you can connect with local prospective writing clients. The first one involves one of my favorite strategies — helping those clients find you.

1. SEO your website and LinkedIn profile. Hate marketing? Spend a few minutes on these two tasks and then let Google and the LinkedIn search bar send you clients. Stuff your LinkedIn bio with every sort of key word prospects might search on to find you. Add key words to your LinkedIn skills, too.

If your writer site has your name as the URL, add a descriptor to your tagline — mine is “Seattle Freelance Writer.” Fortune 500 companies have called me because of it. Using these descriptive phrases can help kick you to the top of the first page for the sort of thing clients might search. Also consider giving up a location and getting in Google Places — that’ll help, too. Keep updating your site and using your key words to get Google’s attention. Do key word research and target the searches that are right for your niche or location.

2. Meet other local writers. Do a search for “freelance writer yourcity” and see who comes up at the top. Get to know those writers. They’re smart. Where do they hang out? Hang out there, too. I know a writer who got referred a book contract from another local writer who didn’t have time. Knowing other writers is really, really worth it. Too many writers think of other writers as “the competition,” instead of as a vital support network. This is especially important if you’re focused on local publications — who else is going to tell you who’s great, and who pays on the schedule I like to call “half past when the messiah comes”?

3. Go to local networking events. I may have mentioned this before, but meeting live humans rocks for getting gigs. I met both the editor of Costco Connection and the editor for Microsoft Office Live at in-person events…and a few other editors who even hired me, too.

4. Teach a class. I know one blogger who gets all her clients from teaching a free class. Some seem to do better with a cheap but paid class. But either way, get out there and offer something of value. It can be simple — something like 10 tips for better business writing. Anything that shows what you know and how you can help clients. Teaching is a proven way to present yourself as an expert in your niche, and attract good clients.

How do you find local clients? Leave a comment and let us know.

By Tiffany Jansen

I used to write for content mills. I know I should be ashamed of myself, but I’m not.

Working for Demand Studios taught me a lot: sticking to a word count, following guidelines, writing on a deadline, working with editors and, most importantly, that I could earn money writing.

After moving to the Netherlands in 2008, I found myself friendless, jobless and confused.

To pass the time and cope with my newfound expat status, I began actively meeting other expats and discovered that many turn to freelance writing. No work permit necessary and you can do it no matter where you are, how many times or how frequently you relocate.

Building relationships with these expats led me to Demand Studios. Once I realized I could make money writing I started searching for other paying gigs.

I had some clips from DS to get started. Now all I needed were connections.

I discover networking

Enter ACCESS, a non-profit expat organization here in the Netherlands. One of their services is a quarterly magazine which I heard about from a fellow expat writer who had done some writing for them. They liked my clips and introduction letter.

Although they don’t pay, they are an amazing networking source. The clincher was the fact that they produce a very professional-looking publication that would give me more serious clips. Through them, I was able to connect with a staff member at XM Magazine (an expat lifestyle publication in the Netherlands).

Through ACCESS I was able to connect with a staff member at XM Magazine (an expat lifestyle publication in the Netherlands), who asked me to pitch a list of article ideas. They chose two event pieces which I covered for more than $280. Quite a jump from $15 per article Demand Studios pays.

One thing leads to another

Unfortunately XM went out of business. But not before the assistant editor told me about the newspaper The Holland Times. This paper reports Dutch news in English for the international community, and I was eager to try my hand at journalism.

The editor responded to my letter of interest, inviting me to the next editorial meeting. I learned so much from hearing what other writers pitched and what the editor was interested in.

I came to the next meeting armed with story ideas and left with my first assignment. I earn $0.36 per word and have been writing steadily for the publication for over a year.

My editor at The Holland Times introduced me to the Amsterdam City Tours blog. Thanks to her recommendation, I was approached by the blog owners to be a regular contributor at more than $70 a post.

Another connection urged me to contact the editor at expat/travel magazine Transitions Abroad. I got a $100 article assignment, and I now contribute regular expat and travel book reviews to the publication.

As much as I love writing for the expat community, there are simply not enough paid opportunities to make a living. I need to branch out.

I get serious about marketing

With this in mind, I tried cold-calling businesses to offer my services. I quickly learned that businesses here don’t need or want English content, or hire a professional translator to take care of that for them.

U.S. and UK companies prefer to work with someone local, or at least living in the same country. Expat entrepreneurs typically don’t have the funds to hire a writer.

So I’ve turned to pitching magazines. Magazines are often keen to publish work by writers from another country for the unique angle those writers bring. Produce interesting, well-written articles by the deadline, and magazine editors won’t care where you’re based.

I’ve only just started querying, so I’m still waiting to hear if my pitches have been accepted.

Whatever happens, I’ll keep plugging away. I’ve seen that good paying markets do exist and I want to write for more of them.

No more content mills for me. My writing’s worth more than $15 per article.

Tiffany Jansen lives in the Netherlands, where she is a freelance writer and owner of the musical theater company Little Broadway. She is the author of two children’s books and a frequent Twitterer.

One of the questions freelance writers ask me most is, “How can I find better-paying clients?” Another one is “Where are all the good-paying clients hiding?” A third one is, “Why can’t I find any good-paying clients?”

I’m sensing a theme here, that people want to know more about how to connect with great clients.

There are many ways to hunt these elusive good clients, but today I want to talk about two of my favorite in-person techniques for connecting with good-paying clients.

That’s right, these methods involve leaving your writing cave, going out, and meeting live humans.

Don’t be scared!

Once you get the hang of it, networking is actually a lot of fun. Or it should be — so remember to have fun with it.

Since I’m headed out to SOBCon next week, in-person networking is on my mind. Here are two techniques that are pretty fail-proof and simple for maximizing your networking time:

1. Eat lunch for two and a half hours

When I used to work big trade shows, I did this all the time. If you’re at an all-day or weekend networking event, there’ll be lunch. Often, there’s a big food court in an exhibition hall where people will wander in and eat at various times.

Start early — I usually go in around 11:15 and eat my own lunch, so that I could talk when others sat down. I keep a little on my plate so it looks like I’m still eating lunch.

Shortly, new people arrive with their lunch.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” they ask. “Of course not — sit right down!” I reply.

They take a bite or two of food, and then I start shmoozing them up, just like you see those two guys in the photo doing at a business event. “Where are you from? How are you enjoying the conference? What does your company do? Interesting…do you use freelance writers at all at your company? Who’d be the best person at your company to talk to about that?”

Often, I could keep sitting there chatting with new prospects until 2 pm. As people finish lunch, new people arrive, and you begin again.

I love this technique because you’ve got a captive audience — they’re chewing. If you do it pleasantly, they won’t become so annoyed they pick up their plate and leave. Everyone’s in a good mood and on a mental ‘break’ while they eat, so it’s a great time to meet people.

If you’re in a scenario where everyone sits down to lunch in one place at the same time, circulate amongst the tables. When you go back for a second roll or dessert, sit back down at a different table, and begin your shmooze-up over again with the new crowd.

2. Host an event

If you’re going to take the trouble of going out to a networking event, you can put in a tiny bit more effort and ensure you meet every single person who attends the event. How? By being the host or co-host.

My writing bud Michelle Goodman is the co-host of our Seattle MediaBistro networking events, and I’m jealous! It is a great gig.

Why? Here’s how hosting helps you meet the largest number of people and be seen in the best possible light:

First, the host gets to stand by the check-in table and greet everyone as they pick up their name tags. You can chat up a lot of people that way.

Next the host gets to make a little speech somewhere in the proceedings to thank everybody for coming, in which you can say a bit about what you do…so anybody the host didn’t connect with on check-in now knows what you look like, and a little about your freelance writing business.

Finally, it’s my experience that when attendees leave a networking event, nearly all of them do one thing: They go over and thank the host for putting it on.

In other words, the host gets to meet basically every single person who attends the event. Those people all come away with the impression that you are a happening coordinator of events as well as a freelance writer.

Networking doesn’t get more effective than this. It’s a big payoff just for setting up a table, printing out a few nametags, and maybe sending a couple promotional emails. This one is a strategy I recommend to all the writers in my mentoring program, who’re looking to ramp up their earnings and — yes, find those better-paying clients.

How do you make in-person networking effective? Leave a comment and add your tips.

Photo: Stock.xchng – LotusHead