1. Create a Menu of Social Media Packages

Ask yourself what most businesses need in terms of social media help. Facebook and Twitter are the basic bread and butter for virtually any kind of business. But there are real rewards to be had for the company that can also successfully work LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and/or YouTube accounts.

The more outlets, the better, and I wouldn’t shy away from new platforms. Let potential customers know that you’ve got your finger on the pulse of today’s online trends.

Some businesses want to just dip a toe into the water with something simple, like Facebook. But what about a blog? Email marketing and newsletters?

If you’re a competent writer who knows their way around social media, you can easily create your own career online. So go ahead and make a list of every social media service you could offer a potential client.

For most businesses, you’ll want a lot of evergreen content that’s interesting and relevant all year round. But to really stand out in the crowd, you should offer a mix of quality curated content. That includes evergreen links, more timely stories, and local posts, along with some completely original and exclusive-to-your-client content.

Don’t forget to offer images and videos — these are highly shareable!

And if you don’t know how to do something or how to use a certain platform? Teach yourself online. You only need to be a few steps ahead of your clients, offering them the time, energy, and know-how to effectively manage their social media accounts.

2. Write Up a Pricing Guide

Once you’ve created a menu of services, it’s time to think about how much you’ll need to charge for each one.

I’m going to be very honest… I worked for an agency that paid me $1.25 per social media post (which basically involved me finding an appropriate article for a client and adding some copy to that post). But for many niche clients, I sometimes spent 15 to 20 minutes just to find one good link. I’m not joking.

Meanwhile, the agency charged each client hundreds of dollars a month.

Just think — $1.25 per social media post (three to seven per week depending upon a client’s package) and two $10 blogs a month — all with no benefits beyond the ability to work from home! Talk about cheap labor.

There’s no reason why you can’t make a better living as long as you’re giving your clients quality work.

Personally, I wouldn’t advise charging less than $25 for a well-written, 400-word blog post. But even that’s low. Always consider the time each task will take you as you draw up your prices. I also don’t think I would charge less than $4 per social media post.

Your time is valuable, and there’s a reason why so many businesses struggle to keep up with social media — it is time-consuming.

The last business I wrote for charges clients between $250 (just Facebook) to $900 (a couple of platforms plus two blogs) a month for its packages, along with a matching one-time setup fee. There’s no reason why you can’t rival such agency prices and provide solid work.

You can probably charge much more than you think. The key is to continuously deliver more than what you promise and make the experience as hassle-free as possible for the client.

3. Make a List of Businesses You’d Like to Help Improve Their Social Media Game

This should be fun. You might start locally with the businesses you already frequent and therefore know a lot about. Or, you might do all of your searching online.

Definitely start with the businesses that interest you. It’s so much easier to create legitimately good content for the businesses you already love. Just be sure to select businesses that also happen to struggle with their social media.

Go ahead and make an enormous list — way more businesses than you think you’ll ever be able to contact. And don’t worry about rejection. Follow Steve Martin’s advice: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

4. Approach Each Business With a Proposal and Strategy

Of course, it only helps your own business if you also maintain a great social media presence for yourself. Read Zulie Rane to get great tips on successfully navigating Instagram and Twitter.

You want potential and existing clients to see that you know what you’re doing, and you want to educate them on the benefits of outsourcing their social media marketing.

Each client should have a unique strategy according to their particular industry and goals. Don’t worry about “giving away” too many secrets. The clients are going to love you if you make it good and easy because they’re too busy running their business to dabble in social media themselves.

Remember, you’re offering them convenience. Make it convenient, and make it the best.

5. Use the Right Digital Tools to Optimize Your Work

There are so many great apps and websites out there for social media management. As your business grows, you will want to look into any services that might make your job easier.

Hootsuite, SproutSocial, MomentFeed, and more are all there to make your job go smoother. Use them. Do a little research to find the best tools for you.

Canva, PhotoGrid, and PicMonkey can be lifesavers for writers in social media who need to create images. Also, ask your most “social media literate” connections which tools they use.

6. Keep Learning to Offer Your Clients More Innovative Solutions

This is something the startup I worked for really didn’t do in the four years I worked there. They didn’t innovate in any way that offered their clients greater value. They didn’t help clients innovate their websites or profiles. Honestly, I see it as shooting themselves in both feet.

When I left the company last December, they were only just beginning to offer Instagram services to a few clients. They still don’t offer Pinterest or YouTube services.

And even though we knew that Google+ was going away fast, they hadn’t done anything to convince clients to take up an alternative platform.

Anyone who works online — whether in social media, web design, or etc. — must stay abreast to the current trends and technology. We all (well, those of us over 30) know what it’s like to visit a website today that looks like it still belongs on Geocities.

It leaves a lingering bad impression.

Remember, social media marketing isn’t simply about increasing sales — it’s about building a relationship with customers. And that relationship is essential to consumer trust today. So you’ve got to offer the very best.

Writers Today Are Lucky

Sure, there are currently plenty of agencies that will pay writers peanuts to manage social media, and it seems like everyone is competing for the same writing jobs. To be honest, I’m routinely amazed by what businesses will pay an agency for subpar work.

Why not cut out the middle man and do better than those guys?

The reality is that you can create your own writing gigs thanks to social media. Michael Thompson has written before about contacting different businesses to show them how they might make edits and upgrades to their copy. You can show them how to up their social media game too.

“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

If you’re good at what you do, and you cast a wide enough net, you’ll be surprised at the jobs you can reel in. All by having just a little bit of gumption.

Happy fishing, and happy writing!

Originally posted on: www.medium.com