I’ve had had several friends ask me this question. And I’ve seen several posts in the Freelance Content Marketing Writer group on Facebook on this exact topic. Even though I know the answer, I find myself asking the same question every year.

It’s easy to think that the holiday season being in full swing – vacations, office parties, people taking long lunches for shopping – means that this is a terrible time to market. But the opposite is true for four reasons:

1. Companies still must produce content.
2. Companies are trying to spend their 2018 budgets so they don’t lose the money for 2019.
3. Fewer freelancers are working.
4. January sucks for marketing.

Look for new clients

So, yes. Keep marketing. Don’t stop. Reach out to potential new clients. And make sure to highlight clearly that you are working over the holidays and available for last minute work. It’s a great way to get your foot in the door of a client that you have been wanting to work with. Be sure to also follow up with potential clients who have sent you the not-to-be-dreaded ‘we’ll keep your information on file’ response. If they need help, your email might turn into an ongoing gig.

Yes, a lot of people will be out of the office and won’t respond. But if your email happens to land in the hands of someone who is in a panic and not sure how to get a last-minute project done, you very well may land a lucrative new client. Each year, I hear about freelance friends who scored big with their holiday marketing.

But if you market over the holidays, you absolutely must plan to follow up in a few weeks. Otherwise, your outreach to people who were on vacation. But by following up, you get the best of both worlds – possible last-minute work and maybe some new clients after the holiday.

Reach out to past and current clients

If you are available for work the week before and after Christmas, make sure to let everyone you have ever worked with know that you are available. Many staffers will be out of the office and many freelancers won’t be available. And they will be more likely to want to work with you than someone brand new. I usually vacation the week before the holidays and am always around between Christmas and New Years. Every year, I get a last-minute assignment from my touching base emails, usually with a pretty hefty rush fee attached.

So let’s talk about January

January is weird. And a total crap shoot as a freelancer. It usually sucks workwise. But you can’t really can’t predict what will happen. One year I lost three anchor clients in January and had no paying work for a few weeks. The next year, I had a moderate January – not great, but not terrible. Then last year, I had my highest ever single earning week as a freelancer – more than $7K, followed by two weeks of zero paying assignments.

I have learned the hard way that you have to actively plan for January. Check out this post about things you can do to help make it less painful. Most importantly, start lining up work with regular clients for the first few weeks in January. I’ve found that new assignments right after everyone returns to work tends to be scare. And my best bet is lining stuff up in advance.

So even though it seems counterproductive, keep marketing. Don’t stop. You will thank me in January – either when the checks come in or you have paying work, while the rest of us, me likely included, moans about how slow they are.

What has your experience been with marketing in late December? What is your plan for marketing this year?