• Much of the difference between just getting by and earning an executive-level income as a freelance professional lies in what you do with prospects who are not ready to hire you today.

• At any given point, only about 5 to 15 percent of viable prospects for your services are either actively looking for or considering what you offer. Yet as many as half of those who aren’t looking for a freelancer today will typically buy the services you provide—either from you or from one of your competitors—over the following 18 to 24 months.

• Effective lead nurturing is all about starting a meaningful dialogue with your “not today” group (your longer-term leads), regardless of their timing in hiring you.

• By staying on your long-term prospects’ radar screens in a nonthreatening way, you’ll often be the first person they think of when the timing is right.

• When done right, lead nurturing dramatically reduces your marketing costs in the long run by increasing the overall quality of your leads.

• A wealthy lead-nurturing program involves developing or compiling an information library, using multiple forms of media, leveraging the power of frequency, and implementing a simple management system.

• Evaluate your nurturing list once a year and decide who’s worth staying in touch with. In many cases, prospects who seemed to be promising long-term leads at first may no longer be receptive to your services.