Tere Mullin

How do I find potential clients?

by

Congratulations, you’re ready to start marketing yourself as an indexer! But who are your potential clients, and how do you reach them? There are a number of ways to make contacts, but we’ll focus on email marketing in this article. Here are some ideas to get you started.

[restrict]

Take it seriously

Marketing yourself to potential clients is a multi-step process that requires research and strategic-thinking. Taking the time to do it thoughtfully will pay off in the long run. You may need to send many, many emails before you secure that first paying project.

Make a longlist

Begin by compiling a list of “potential” potential clients. A good starting point is the member lists that publishers’ organizations put on their website.

In short, until you’ve landed your first project, think of marketing as your job. It might help to set aside a concrete amount of time you intend to spend on marketing yourself each day, and stick to it as best you can.

Information Today’s Literary Marketplace is a fantastic resource for new indexers: https://www.literarymarketplace.com/lmp/us/index_us.asp You will need to subscribe in order to access detailed publishers’ listings, however, a weekly subscription is quite affordable, at $24.95 USD (about $31 CAD).

Vet potential clients

Now that you’ve got a list of publishers who sound interesting to you, it’s time to narrow that list down. You want to use your time wisely, so don’t waste your time crafting emails to publishers who wouldn’t be a good fit for your indexing skills. Visit each publisher’s website and ask yourself:

  • Do they publish non-fiction material?
  • What subject areas do they focus on? Are these areas you have subject knowledge in?
  • How many books do they publish each year? This is often included in the “about” section of publishers’ websites. Again, use your time wisely—if a press publishes only three or four books per year, it might be best to put them at the bottom of your list for now.

Do they publish hard-copy books, e-books, or both? This is often also included in the “about” section of the website.

Find out who to contact

You want to send your well-crafted email to the right person. Usually, this means the managing editor or the production coordinator. Contact information can often be found in the “contact us” section of publishers’ websites, and university presses will sometimes even include a “staff” page which is even more helpful.

Information Today’s Literary Marketplace website (mentioned above) often lists publisher contact information as well, although it’s always a good idea to visit the publisher’s website to double-check that the information is up-to-date.

If you’re unable to find a specific person to which to address your email, it’s worth trying the publisher’s general inquiries email address.

Once you start sending out your marketing emails, make sure to list who you’ve already contacted so that you don’t inadvertently contact them again. If a publisher responds to let you know they aren’t looking for indexers, or that they only work with in-house indexers, make sure to cross them off your list.

Keep track of things

Keeping track of who you’ve contacted is also a good way to stay on track and avoid getting discouraged. For instance, if you send 20 emails this week and you receive 4 positive responses (such as “We’d love to add you to our list of indexers”), that tells you that about 1/5 of all the emails you send will be positive. Only a fraction of those will lead to an actual job, however, so you know that you’ll need to send out more emails each week.

Don’t get discouraged if you’re not getting responses! Keep going until you’ve done all you can do.

[/restrict]

How can I track my projects for invoicing?

by

Whatever method you choose for keeping track of information, one way to save yourself time and hassle is to set up a little routine as part of each job you take on.

[restrict]

When you begin a project, take a few minutes to collect and note pertinent information that you will use for invoicing. Perhaps you do it at the beginning, while you’re counting blank pages and familiarizing yourself with the text; perhaps you do it at the end. Regardless, make the task a part of your workflow routine.

Here are two low-tech ways to track invoicing information for your indexing projects.

Idea 1: Jot it on the book’s table of contents page

If you tend to print off the table of contents for the book you’re working on, jot down the following on your printed TOC hardcopy:

  • number of blank pages
  • fee per page, total charged
  • tax rate and taxes charged
  • estimated income tax
  • date started
  • due date.

Once you’ve finished the project and you’re ready to write up the invoice, all of the pertinent information is handy. You can then also transfer this information easily into your accounting/bookkeeping program. This method encourages you to quickly note the basics.

Idea 2: Keep project files

If you prefer to keep digital records, try creating a simple document for each project when you begin, to keep any information you consider relevant. Since space is unlimited using this method, you could also collect other notes.

For example, some indexers like to make a Word document in which they list invoicing information as well as notes about the job, and/or queries for the author, inconsistencies and errors discovered in the text, etc. You might find this “project file” useful to refer back to later on when you work with a particular client again.

Related questions

What information should I track for my indexing business?

How do I start on the right foot for keeping track of my finances?

[/restrict]

How do I start on the right foot with keeping track of my finances?

by

As a small business owner, you’re responsible for keeping track of finances. Not only does maintaining accurate records save a lot of hassle and stress at tax-time, but it also allows you to look back on your progress as your business grows. Bookkeeping can be intimidating at first glance, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are the steps to starting on the right foot as you launch your indexing business.

[restrict]

Find a system

There are many accounting applications to choose from, ranging from very simple to very sophisticated.  Unless you enjoy learning the ins and outs of new applications, and using features such as charts and projections, at this stage in your career you’re probably safe in choosing a basic program. Several popular applications even include a free basic version which may suit your needs just fine (for example, ZipBooks (zipbooks.com) and Wave Financial (waveapps.com/accounting) both offer free versions). If you’re having difficulty deciding on a program, you may want to explore user reviews online before you settle on one.

Another approach is to set up spreadsheets to keep track of some or all of the information you need to collect. Depending on your comfort level with Excel, this could be a very good way to begin until you start getting more clients and incurring more expenses.

Excel has many advanced features that can make updating financial information incredibly efficient, but even in its most basic form it provides a convenient way to track dates and numbers and perform calculations.

Start early and do it regularly

Regardless of which bookkeeping tool you choose, the sooner you establish a system and the more regularly you update your financial records, the less stressful bookkeeping will be (in fact, you may even come to enjoy it!).

If you’re still working on finding clients and developing sample indexes, this could be the perfect time to set up a spreadsheet or begin test driving your chosen accounting software. Once you’ve got jobs coming in, decide on when you’ll make updates and stick to that routine. You may want to do this on a job-by-job basis, or on a weekly or monthly basis.

Updating your records after each job means everything is at hand (your invoice, and any notes you made about the job or the client, for example), and you’ll be less likely to have to go flipping through emails and file folders to retrieve the information you need.

You may wonder whether you could just update your business’s financial records when you update your household budget. While this makes sense in terms of establishing a routine, keep in mind that there are advantages to keeping your business finances separate:

  • You will more easily be able to see your business income and expenses if things are kept separate
  • If you are ever audited at tax-time, you may be asked to collect and provide financial information specific to your business income—it may be inconvenient to have to disentangle this from your household income.

Try keeping a hard copy

Of course, it’s always a good idea to keep a backup copy of your financial records in the event of a computer crash, and these days there are a number of ways to do this electronically. However, for some people, working with old-fashioned hard copies of records such as invoices can make it easier to stay on top of accounting tasks.

For example, try printing off your invoice as you send it to the client, and keep it in a labelled folder. When you’ve received payment, jot down the date of payment on the invoice and move it to a folder you’ve labelled “Paid Invoices”. Your invoice should include most of the information that will later go into your accounting software or spreadsheet, so you’ve already done 90 percent of the work!

Even if you don’t have the time to make your electronic update, at least you can now easily consult your folders when you do have time.

Related questions

How can I track my projects for invoicing?

What information should I track for my indexing business?

[/restrict]

What information should I track for my indexing business?

by

As a freelance indexer you’re also a small business owner. With that comes the task of keeping track of business costs and billings. But successful indexers also look back on their progress as their business grows.

Here are three kinds of information that you will want track to keep your business thriving and growing:

[restrict]

1. Information for taxes

This includes revenue, expenses, sales tax billed and collected, and details for allowable deductions or “write-offs”.

Review the most recent year’s tax forms or consult an accountant to learn what deductions you might be eligible for from your self-employed earnings. For example, if you work in a dedicated home office, you can deduct a portion of your property costs, such as utilities.

Also make sure you are capturing and collecting the investment costs you incur before you even begin billing clients. These might include computer, software, reference books, membership fees, and courses.

2. Information to ensure you get paid

This is why you’ll want to track the following for each invoice:

  • Job title
  • Invoice number
  • Invoice date
  • Client name and contact information
  • Amount charged
  • Any sales tax charged
  • Total invoiced
  • Payment due date (if not “due on receipt”)
  • Job start and end date
  • Payment received date
  • Payment method

When you work from one job to the next without taking a break, it’s easy to lose sight of unpaid invoices—especially invoices to publishers that take 30 days or more to pay.

This information will also provide the supporting detail for reporting your revenue and collected sales tax at tax time.

3. Information to track your productivity and improve your pricing skills

  • Job title
  • Client name and contact information
  • Number of pages/words indexed
  • Your estimated hours
  • Your target rate (price per page, for example)
  • Your quote
  • Your actual hours
  • Your effective hourly wage
  • Job start and end date
  • Notes about the client or the job

Related questions

How can I track my projects for invoicing?

How do I start on the right foot with keeping track of my finances?

[/restrict]

How can I make a good impression with a client so that I can secure repeat jobs?

by

Establishing and maintaining positive relationships with clients is a long term investment that can yield high rewards. If you can cultivate a few solid relationships with editors and prolific authors, you’re more likely to have reliable, regular work coming in, which will reduce the amount of time you need to put into marketing. Plus, it’s nice to not have to start every new job getting to know the client. There’s comfort in working with clients whose needs you’re already familiar with.

So, how can you make a good impression and make sure clients want to work with you again?

[restrict]

Make the editor’s job easy

Make it your goal that the editor has as few changes to make to the completed index as possible. Edit well in order to present a professional finished product. Pay close attention to the editor’s requests, and make sure you’re clear on them, as well as on the press’s style guidelines1.

Attend to the little things

If the editor asks you to include an invoice along with the finished index, do so; if they have specified they want the introduction indexed but not the preface, do exactly that. If you’re not clear, ask, or do your research to make sure you have it right. Make a checklist and confirm that you’ve addressed all of these things before sending off the index.

Anticipate needs

When attempting to secure new clients, anticipate what they may want to see. Rather than ending your marketing emails with “I can send you samples,” include a link to your website page where samples are located so that they don’t need to ask. And if you offer to provide additional samples, or more information (such as a résumé), be prepared to send it off right away if asked for it.

Communicate clearly and promptly

Clients are taking a chance when they hire new indexers. Given that they’re already under pressure with a deadline, working with someone new can make them even more anxious.

Good, open communication puts the client at ease, and it shows you’re taking the project seriously1. Be prompt in answering emails, and confirm that you understand what’s expected of you. Effectively communicating your expectations as an indexer also helps to prevent problems.

Established indexer Pierke Bosschieter discussed her approach to healthy client relationships in her ISC/SCI conference presentation Pre-emptive Preliminaries2.

Think “customer service”

Remember that editors and authors are paying for a service just like any other, and there is a customer service aspect to what we do as indexers. Be flexible and accommodating whenever you can. This might mean occasionally having to work a little harder in order to accommodate an unexpected change in a press’s production schedule, or taking the time to include a list of the typographical errors you come across in the text. It may seem like more work at the time, but going the extra mile reflects professionalism. It could help you stand out from the crowd the next time the client needs to hire an indexer.

Be personable

Lastly, be friendly! We all remember pleasant customer service interactions, and if all else is equal, why wouldn’t we return to someone we really enjoyed working with?

Related resources

Hopefully this has gotten you off to a good start. Here are two resources that may also help:

  1. For further reading on client relationships, see Chapter 9 (“Keeping Editors Happy”, by Sylvia Coates) of Marketing Your Indexing Services, edited by Anne Leach. This title is available in both print and digital format from the American Society for Indexing: www.asindexing.org/publications/asi-books.
  2.  A recording of Pierke’s presentation is available to conference registrants until June 2022: indexers.ca/annual-conference/conference-2021-congres-2021.

[/restrict]