FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2007

Freelance marketer: Avoid office politics at all costs

by Jeremy Schnitker

Rogers

While working a 9-to-5 job, it's nearly impossible to avoid inter-office politics. The fact that you're surrounded by fellow employees and bosses all day makes it simply unavoidable. But for a freelancer, marketing guru Maureen Rogers says office politics are the last thing in which to get involved.

Rogers, one of the authors at marketing blog The Opinionated Marketers, said that often times freelancers can get very involved with a client on a certain project, but you don't want to get too close. Rogers clarifies this and other marketing do's and do not's in a recent blog post she wrote titled the "Ten Commandments of Freelance Marketing."

"[Office politics] are not typically something you can avoid if you're in a company," she said. "Sometimes you really do need to align yourself and take a stand. If you're freelancing, though, you should not involve yourselves in internal politics. It's just good practice to avoid taking sides."

Avoiding office politics is just one of the ways one can improve client management, which is something Rogers says is essential with being an independent worker.

"You can be a marketing genius, but if you don't know how to deal with clients - and that means respectfully, truthfully, openly, and intelligently - you will not get asked back, nor will your clients pass your name on to others," she said. "Freelancing is about relationship building - and it can't just be relationship building that only "works" when you need work. It means dropping someone a note when you see something that might be of interest to them. Or calling them up just to see how things are going. Or making a business connection for them."

The best way to do that is to keep the lines of communication open with a client. It's been said that the backbone of every good relationship is communication, and that goes for freelancing as well.

"Communication is the name of the game with marketing, so I'd be surprised to find many successful freelance marketers who don't have good communications skills. Not that we don't sometimes drop the communications ball. It's just that it tends to be something we're good at and interested in to begin with."

While maintaining solid communication, she said it's also essential for a soloist to have confidence in themselves and know what your limits are when dealing with a client.

"Having confidence in your ability to help your client, and also knowing that, at the end of the day, you can't solve every last problem your client has," Rogers said are important. "When I worked for companies, I always agonized about everything. And I do mean everything. Freelance may be chancier, but it's less agonizing."

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Filed Under: Marketing