Waiting for a Hare (Client) to Appear

“Waiting for a hare to appear” is an old Taoist story. Taoism is a philosophy of the middle way, of not forcing effort, of observing nature and trying to stay in tune with it. Sometimes people take the wrong message away from Taoist teachers, and the hare story is an example.

The story goes like this. There’s a farmer plowing his fields one day when a hare runs out of the stubble, knocks into a tree, and breaks its neck. As a result, the farmer has dinner with no effort. This is a great system, he thinks, and gives up farming to wait for more hares to run into the tree. But it was a fluke, of course; another hare never runs into the tree.

What’s a Good Marketing Method?

One of the challenges of starting a freelance career is that you can’t always distinguish between a reliable method for getting clients and the “waiting for a hare to appear” method.

Your marketing method of choice might be something like engaging on social media…

…or posting your bio to editor directories

…or using content marketing

…or giving talks for writers’ groups

…or something similar

…or some combination of all these things.

How to Determine Your Marketing Approach

How can you know when to continue an approach and when to shift your attention to something else?

I recommend you ask yourself some questions:

1. Have I gotten a paying client using the method after three or four months of trying?
2. Have I gotten any nibbles after three or four months of trying?
3. Do I enjoy my work so much that it doesn’t matter?

If the answer to all three questions is no, it’s time to try something else. But often, the answer to any or all of the questions is “Sort of.”

In that case, use the power of three to make decisions:

1. One paying client or extremely interested prospect is a fluke. Don’t make any decisions based on this.
2. Two paying clients or extremely interested prospects are encouraging. Keep your mind open, but don’t make any final decisions or assumptions just yet.
3. Three paying clients or extremely interested prospects suggest that your approach is not a fluke and that you should keep moving forward with it (until it stops working).

Be cautious about making assumptions about any marketing method, which will help you avoid waiting for a hare to appear.

Tips for Editors & Writers