Special reports are a good way for any business to grow, especially for writing businesses. Special reports illustrate your writing skills and your knowledge of a particular industry. The special report should build the case for copywriting as marketing and sales tools for businesses in your specialty industries. Offer the report as a free download from your website but this is not the most important step.

Here is the truly important thing to do: Build a print direct mail campaign and target at least 50 executives in the industry you want to reach. 100-300 is better, but 50 is a minimum. They might be vice presidents of marketing, sales, channel marketing, or others. In large companies you might also want to reach directors of marketing. You might also reach out to public relations agencies that often have work for skilled freelancers.

Write a special report that will help your target market to make money using copywriting services. You can see an example here. Also write a 1-page cover letter introducing yourself and your report and include your URL. Then print the personalized letters and mail with the special reports.

Ideally you should follow up with a phone call, and writer Peter Bowerman has done extremely well with that. However, you don’t have to – writer Steve Slaunwhite refuses to do so and he has also built a very profitable business. The upshot is that if you really need the work, then make follow-up phone calls. You’ll get more business that way. But if you just know that you’re not going to do that, consider doing a 2nd print mailing as a follow-up instead. A postcard might be a good plan in this case. The important thing is to follow up whether by phone or mail. And remember – unless you have a preexisting relationship with these guys, don’t email out of the blue! I can’t tell you what a bad idea that is. Sure it might work occasionally but you’ll shoot yourself in the foot. “Oh yeah,” the executive thinks. “I remember that guy. He spams me!”

Restrain yourself. This type of printed mail gets a lot more attention than email anyway, especially with a real stamp on it.