Today’s guest is business coach and author C.J. Hayden, who lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

C.J. Hayden is the author of seven books and hundreds of blog posts, articles, and courses on marketing, self-employment, and productivity. Her bestselling book “Get Clients Now! A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants and Coaches” has become the marketing bible for thousands of self-employed professionals and freelancers. 

C.J. has been a business coach for several decades now, helping self-employed professionals and creatives thrive. Her newest book is “Overcoming the Fear of Self-Promotion.” Other books include “The One-Person Marketing Plan Workbook” and “50 Ways Coaches Can Change the World.”

In this episode, we talk about: 

• How C.J. helps her coaching clients by being a “thinking partner”
• How the pandemic changed how we connect with clients
• Why referrals are the best way to land clients — and how to cultivate a referral network
• How introverts and shy people can prepare for networking conversations and build business relationships
• Marketing mistakes people make when trying to land new clients
• Consistent tactics — and creating a marketing routine —to get new clients
• Why tracking your follow-ups is important — and how to do it 
• 7 types of fears we may have when it comes to self-promotion
• How to discover which fears you have and learn how to overcome them
• How the fear of success might be holding you back

Biz Bite: Shut Up & Write! (a community to help you get your writing done)

Resources:

• Donate $5-$50 to support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
• Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group
• Connect with C.J. at https://cjhayden.com
• Download C.J.’s free “Blueprint for a Thriving Mission-Based Business” ebook
• Episode #173 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Rethink — and Land More — Anchor Clients, with Wudan Yan
• Episode #167 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Use a “Cornerstone” Piece to Build a Content Marketing Plan, with Cassandra Le
• Episode #164 of Deliberate Freelancer: Using a “freakout” protocol to get work now, with Austin Church
• Episode #61 of Deliberate Freelancer: Getting Very Specific on Who Your Perfect Clients Are, with Eman Ismail
• Connect with Melanie on Threads
• Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn