I’m always looking for different and clever ideas to land clients, earn more for the work we do and enjoy more time off.
So when I heard from Mojca Mars about the Twitter strategy she used to build her freelance social media marketing business, I knew I wanted her on the show.
I met Mojca last year at the Double Your Freelance Conference in Norfolk, Va. I was very impressed with how quickly she grew her solo business after getting laid off. It’s a great example of being resourceful and putting in the work, even when you experience occasional setbacks.
In this episode, Mojca talks specifically about the Twitter strategy she used to get her business off the ground and into extremely profitable territory. This is something you can easily replicate if you’re willing to put in the work and maintain the discipline necessary to develop momentum.
The notes that follow are a very basic, unedited summary of the show. There’s a lot more detail in the audio version. You can listen to the show using the audio player below. Or you can subscribe to this podcast series in iTunes.
Tell us about yourself
Mojca Mars is a social media expert. She founded her company after she was fired from her job at an advertising agency in Slovenia. The agency resisted Mojca’s efforts to move them beyond traditional advertising to digital marketing.
When she started her company about three years ago, she only had local clients. She wanted to land international clients. And she found a way to do this through Twitter.
How do you use Twitter to find prospects and turn them into clients?
When she lost her job, Mojca didn’t know how to find international clients. But she had a few hundred followers on Twitter and was well versed in the platform. So she decided to focus her efforts there.
She would conduct Twitter searches to find people who’re having problems with social media. She’d search for phrases such as “I need Facebook help.”
Then she’d help them solve the problem.
With additional keyword research, she got more and more specific in her searches, such as “How to increase my engagement rate on Facebook.”
Often, she’d use these problems as fodder for blog posts.
She wouldn’t link to her blog when she responded because she wanted to keep the conversation personal. She was helping someone, not promoting herself.
Not many people take this kind of approach. Most people automate a bunch of things and broadcast links to their blog posts.
When you take a personal approach—and really try to help people—that’s when magic happens.
Let’s use the example of “How do I increase my engagement rate on Facebook.” What would you do to help this person?
Mojca already had a pretty good idea of the mistakes people were making. So she would give them the solution, i.e. “Based on my experience, you’re probably doing this wrong.”
Then, she’d offer to provide more specific advice if they sent her a link to their Facebook page (for example).
She would review the Facebook page and send them another three tweets or so, describing areas they could improve.
Then, she’d invite them to email her for additional help. In the following email exchange, she’d offer her paid services.
Would you have this conversation this via private message or public tweets?
The conversation would take place on Twitter, in public. She would use the public space to demonstrate her expertise and the value she provides. It would also encourage others to respond to her messages because they can see how she’s helped others.
When the conversation moved to email, she didn’t try to close the deal too early. She would continue to build trust before talking about her services. She’d simply mention that she had a client spot open, and she’d layout her packages.
What kind of response did you get?
Although not everyone signed up for her services, it was still a win-win situation. She would use the conversation as fodder for her blog posts, and her blog posts would attract new readers to her blog. They also attracted more Twitter followers and newsletter subscribers.
In addition, Mojca was getting valuable market intelligence. She was learning what problems her target market were encountering and how to solve them.
You use a productized service model. How did you come up with that?
Open-ended services would have hurt her conversion rate. People don’t know how they want to proceed. A productized service model is tangible and concrete.
Mojca offers what she calls “super spicy sessions.” Super spicy sessions are a social media audit, essentially. She asks for the client’s social media links and reviews their presence. From that, she gives direction on overall strategy and specific types of posts they should publish.
Her super spicy sessions sold out in the first month.
She started with a price point of $100. They were so popular she increased the price to $349. She’s planning to increase the price to $750 in the coming weeks.
When you’re offering a new service, start with a lower price point and grow it over time.
What other services do you offer?
Most of her clients start with a super spicy session. After a session, they’ll come to realize that social media is a lot of work. So they may hire her to do the work for them.
By this point in the process, she’s demonstrated her expertise and built trust.
What advice do you have for people starting from scratch?
You’re already an authority in your area of expertise. You know what problems people have in that area. Go to search.twitter.com and see what people are talking about. Include yourself in the conversation and help people. Then see where that takes you.
You don’t have to have hundreds of followers for this method to work. You’re not waiting for people to find you—you’re reaching out to people.
How can people learn more about you?
Twitter: @mojcamars
Website: superspicymedia.com
