Are you a manuscript or book editor looking for more work?
Perhaps you’re looking for more regular work, instead of the cash flow ups and downs that many editors are intimately familiar with?
Are you exhausted of continuously discounting your editing rates to appease cheap customers who end up not valuing your expertise?
The good news is that with a sprinkle of time and deliberate effort put into your online presence, much of the slog of finding new clients can be automated, resulting in a steady flow of new leads into your inbox.
The catch? Most of this advice will require an investment of either time or money before bearing fruit. Before implementing these changes, I invite you to consider which of these assets you are currently more comfortable spending. That said, here’s my website advice for manuscript editors looking to win more business. Let’s start by getting the obvious out of the way.
Should every freelance editor have a website to promote their services? Yes.
Does building the website have to be complicated? No.
Why should an editor bother with a website?
Having a professional website to promote your editing services helps you both find and convince new leads faster and more efficiently than you could ever do in person. (IF the website is built correctly.)
Will building or updating my website be costly?
It can feel costly. However, if the new or refreshed website brings you 3 new eager leads in the next 3 weeks, it should have already paid itself off.
But I already have a website!?
There’s a difference between having a website and having an effective website. I know many of you reading this may already have some sort of website. Here’s the thing; Does your website actively attract new leads each and every month?
- An effective website acts as a polished and professional business card,
- An effective website speaks directly to your ideal client, convincing them to make contact,
- An effective website also dissuades the wrong type of client from wasting your time. Ain’t nobody got time for a cheap client.
If you’re able to rely on word-of-mouth to continually find and convince enough new leads into paying clients, this article may not be for you. Alternatively, if you’re already receiving regular queries from your website, with the right sort of client clambering for your editing services, this article may not be for you.
Everyone else, let’s get started. ⭐
Recommended Elements of an Effective Editor’s Website
These are the elements or parts that should appear on every editor’s website
1: A professional portrait photo
No selfies. No pictures of you in your garden, or on a hike, or drinking coffee from your grumpy mug. I want you to find and pay a professional portrait photographer. A cheap-looking picture is the quickest method to ensure your online guest vanishes. Uncomfortable, yet effective.
2: What type of editing services are you selling?
In simple terms, clarify your editing type or preference. This also applies to your preference of genre. Avoid casting your net too wide, the more niche your editing services are, the easier it becomes to target new clients. There’s nothing memorable about the editor who offers to edit every genre.
3: Clarify your USP
What makes your editing services different? This is uncomfortable to answer. It should be. Every prospective customer asks this question before purchasing your product or service. Have a clear answer ready.
4: Editing experience and/ or qualifications
Explain your experience only as it’s relevant for your target client. Prune the irrelevant. Where possible, I want you to liven this up a little. A dry rehearsal of your CV is going to be forgotten.
5: Social proof | testimonial + reviews
From now on, I want you to connect with every new customer over LinkedIn. Once the final draft of their edit has been approved, pop the question: “Would you mind if I ask for a review of my editing services over LinkedIn?”. If LinkedIn isn’t an option for any reason, consider using a Google Local Business profile to request the review. Only as a last resort, would I ask for an emailed testimonial.
These sorts of testimonials work wonders on your website when it comes to convincing new potential clients to trust you. Avoid lumping all of your editing testimonials together on a single page. Rather, place curated testimonials wherever your visitor makes a decision on your website. For example, near your contact section, as well as near your pricing.
6: How much do your editing services cost?
For many years after starting my business, I struggled with the choice of listing an upfront cost for my own book publishing services. As a result, I kept my costs off the website and advised new leads to contact me directly for a quote. What do you think happened? Although I was kept busy with queries from eager authors, most of these calls would abruptly end when the price was eventually mentioned. The result? Wasted time. Oodles of it.
I know that the little voice in your head is likely going into overdrive right now with reasons as to why listing an upfront price for your editing services is a bad idea, or perhaps not even possible. Here’s the thing, would you rather be busy answering 10 new leads with a low chance of being converted into customers OR only answering 3 new leads where the leads have a high chance to convert into paying customers?
Your website needs to contain some sort of indication of price or cost for your editing service. Even if you simply frame the price by stating that your editing services “start from” $X per word. Showing any sort of cost for your services will automatically set you apart from 80% of the other editors. It also means that when someone does make contact, less time is spent doing the “Can they afford it?” dance.
7: Portfolio of published work
Many books that benefit from the love of an editor will be destined for the shelves of bookstores such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble or our very own Exclusive Books stores. I want you to prompt your clients to share these store links with you, where possible. Frame this as a positive for your client, as they benefit from the added exposure from your website, whilst you benefit from the impressive list of titles. Win-win.
For titles published on Amazon, here is an easy method to link the book directly to your website.
8. Editing FAQ
I want you to list and then succinctly answer the 10 most common questions your customers are asking you. Done correctly, these FAQs not only facilitate a smoother editing experience, but they can also lead to upselling your clients.
Examples of FAQ questions that subtly setup more business from a prospective lead 👇
- What happens if add additional word count is added whilst the edit is already underway?
- Do you also offer manuscript evaluations?
- Do you offer writing coaching?
Your Ideal Customer
Much of the advice above hinges on your awareness of your ideal client. If you’ve not already done this, I recommend working towards building a very specific (ideal) customer avatar. What is their age, gender, nationality, level or type of edit, genre etc
Here are a few pointers to help you understand when you may be working with your ideal customer.
- You love working with your ideal client as much as they love working with you.
- Your ideal client pays you what you ask, spending less time haggling.
- Your ideal customer trusts your experience and expertise.
The Importance of Keywords
What do you think your ideal clients are searching for online? Ensure that these keywords or phrases appear in your website, more than once. Avoid being too obvious or “spammy” with their usage.
“Historical fiction editor in Durban” as an example could be used tastefully in a few different locations on your home page. Consider the synonym of “historical fiction book editor” and perhaps also exchange Durban for KZN etc.
I recommend that every new lead from your website is asked how they found you. This helps you both appreciate and measure the success of your on-page SEO effort above.
Avoid These
As a bonus, I wanted to share a few things I would recommend book editors should avoid doing online.
- URLs or domain names with too many characters. By the time I am halfway through typing dangerdavesamazingeditingservices.com I have lost interest. Short and sweet = memorable.
- Free website builders that offer you a domain name with their brand name automatically inserted in the URL. Rather, pay a little extra for the ideal domain name.
- Email address that are not linked to your own domain name. Free email addresses, whilst easy to use, do not add any perceived value to your editing brand.
- A blog that has not been updated within the last 12 months. An unpopulated blog is an easy way to show me you are not serious about your services.
Recommended Resources for Editors
- About (re)branding your editing services
- Advice to improve your freelance editing business
- How to ensure a smoother, cheaper and more fun editing process
- How to win more business over email
- What should go into the ideal author website
PS. If it mattered, all of these words were written by a well-caffeinated human.
