By Leo Babauta

As a long-time freelance writer, I know that marketing your freelance work isn’t always an easy proposition.

Luckily, marketing skills aren’t that difficult, once you learn some basic ideas, and for those of us on a tight budget, there are some free or cheap ways to do that.

1. Blog. This one’s my favorite, of course. But it’s not enough to create a blog and hang up your shingle. You’ve got to work at it. Commit to writing one extremely useful post every day on your blog. If you do this, eventually you’ll get some readers. Other blogs will want you to write for them. You might hit it big on one or two of the social bookmarking sites. And then, my friends, your name will begin to spread. Be sure to have an “About” page on your blog that tells exactly who you are, what you do, and how to contact you if they want your services.

2. Email friends. When you first begin freelance work, send out an email to your friends and family and anyone you know (who won’t get mad at a little mass emailing). Tell them you’re going into business for yourself, and tell them specifically what kinds of services you do: articles, brochures, web pages, ad design, wedding photographer, whatever. People who know you might have some idea of what you do, but if you tell them the specific things you can do, they’ll be more informed and are more likely to think of you when the need for those services comes up. And be sure to ask them to refer people to you who might need those services. Friends can be your best marketers!

3. Email publications. Take the time to look up the contact info for major, medium and minor publications, both in your area and abroad, and email the editors or ad directors (depending on your services). Pitch an idea and try to get a one-time gig with them. If it sells, do the absolute best job you can, and feel free to accept a low rate for this one, especially if your blog url or email address can be published. It’s free advertising. And if things go well, it can be an ongoing job for you.

4. Guest writing. If you decide to create your own blog, it can be discouraging as not many people will know about your blog at first. So create the awareness yourself, by doing a free guest post for other blogs. Just contact various bloggers within and outside of your niche, and ask if they’d be interested in a guest post from you. Half the time you won’t get much of a response, but if you get a few positive responses, it’s a golden opportunity. Not only can you create some traffic for your own blog (and thus get people to contact you regarding your services), but you are creating your own brand on multiple websites. Be sure to put out your absolute best work on other blogs — you’re advertising your skills.

5. Collaborate. Try to find projects you can work on with other bloggers or others in your field. The power of collaboration is that you take each of your strengths and combine them, you take your respective marketing skills and connections and combine them, and you can create something much bigger and better than any of you can individually. A group blog is a good example of this — you can do so much more as a group than you can by yourself.

6. Partnerships with other freelancers. For example, if you are a writer, form an alliance with a designer, or vice versa. There are many times when a job requires both services, and if you are a team (even if you’re just friends and not actually business partners), you can get many of these jobs that you wouldn’t otherwise. In addition, if the designer hears of a job that requires a writer, he can refer the potential client to the writer, and vice versa. These kinds of alliances can be formed with any kind of freelance workers, of course.

7. Teach. Offer your expertise to those who want to learn. You can find opportunities to teach at community colleges, community centers, workshops, and more. The value of this is that you build your own credentials by teaching, you are spreading the word about your services, and you can get paid at the same time.

8. Join organizations. Is there a chamber of commerce or other such professional organization in your area? Most areas have several. Look them up, join them, go to their functions. These are chock full of businesses who are potential clients. You should take every opportunity to network with them, and leave your card (with your blog’s url if you have one) whenever you can.

9. Create buzz. One of the best marketing skills is the ability to get people to talk and write about you. How do you do this? Create a news event. A launch, an opening, a novel idea, a new trend … find something newsworthy, and send out a press release, and contact as many potential media types as possible about writing about it (including high-profile bloggers).

10. Contact potential clients directly. Think about everyone who might possibly need your services. Publications, businesses, individuals, non-profit organizations, government agencies. Now take the time to email or call each potential client individually, with a specific, individualized proposal for each client. Come up with an idea of how you can help them, then make the pitch. The more of these you do, the better the potential that you’ll get business.