But in the freelancing world, who you are and what you can do is everything. It’s why up-and-coming freelancers can have a hard time gaining new clients. When you have everything to prove and only a small portfolio to back you up, your services can be overlooked.
That’s why you need to make your services sound as appealing as possible. From the moment you become a freelancer, the power of your own marketing will help you to become an attractive prospect.
But if you feel like there’s very little power in your ability to market, we’ve got some helpful tips below. Use them to help yourself stand out; the more you put yourself out there, the more confident you’ll become.
Even Small Portfolios Have Power
Worried that a small portfolio will mean no one wants to hire you? Don’t panic. Even small portfolios carry a lot of power.
Not only do they let future clients know you’ve been hired and done a good job in the past, but they can provide an insight into the way you work. After all, small portfolios don’t necessarily mean a lack of work – they can be a sign the freelancer chooses their clients carefully.
Of course, you want to have as many clients as you can juggle, but even then, not every result is going to make it into your portfolio. Remember, a portfolio is the place to highlight your best, most relevant projects.
If there’s something you’re not proud of or look back on with a very critical eye, it shouldn’t be in your showcase!
This all leads to a powerful impression in the freelancing world. Curate what a client is able to find and all they will find is what you want them to see. This will allow you to start building confidence in the way you market yourself.
Invest in Your Own Online Presence
Any and all freelancers should have an online presence. It’s the one thing that makes you discoverable in the modern world. Offline portfolios can be used alongside, but your online presence is what people will come across first.
That’s why you should invest in your website and its rank on search engines, especially for those in the freelance writing circles.
Say you offer SEO content as a service. Use SEO on your own website and prove the power of your strategy. After all, if a client didn’t have to click through too many pages to find your link, they won’t mind paying your prices!
And why? Because the SEO work you’re capable of is clearly worth it. If it works for you, it’ll work for them.
But even for freelance designers, accountants, and the like, the more refined your website is, the better it’s going to come across. You want your portfolio to stand out and be an interesting eye piece, but don’t make it too complicated.
Follow basic online accessibility tips here. Indeed, make sure clients can easily navigate through your pages and your contact details are in prime of place.
Describe What’s Possible Through Hiring You
You have a talent for the skill you’re freelancing with. Why not give someone looking to hire a freelancer like you a taste of this through the description of the services you offer?
This often requires a bit of experience or some case studies to rely on, but if you have little to none of these things, it’s OK. You can still paint a picture for prospective clients and what they can come to expect from working with you.
If you’re a freelance photographer, this means creating a gallery experience of the pictures you’ve taken (whether for a client or not). Walk people through the work you’ve done, leading them from snapshot to snapshot, showcasing your skill in the form of a narrative.
What is it that a client can get from hiring you for their event? The same clarity? The same detail? The same color and vivacity? Give each image its moment in the spotlight and your work has the chance to speak for itself.
Or if you’re a freelance writer, take a service like content writing and make it stand out via the same words you’ll use on their projects. Let them know what tones you can capture, what styles you’re familiar with, and how effective the language you’re using can be with the right audience.
Really, all you need to do here is understand the intentions behind someone looking to hire you and then speak to them. Any time you write up a pitch that details what you can do for a client, it’s this intention that should take clear focus.
Talk About Your Services in Person
Have you ever been to a networking event? If not, you should grapple with the chance in the new year. Networking events are the best place to talk about the services you offer; anyone who’s anyone will be in the same place and in a mind to find someone they can hire.
New freelancers can find this method one of the hardest to manage. If you’re new to the scene and don’t have a large portfolio (or any at all), what are you supposed to talk about? Well, that’s what an elevator pitch is for!
Highlight what you offer in a concise and conversational way. Keep it short to make sure it’s not hard to listen to. And when you’re quick about it, you’re going to feel less like you’re intruding on someone’s time!
Get on Social Media
A lot of freelancers don’t take to social media. They think there’s little to no content to be made, or little to no contacts to follow up on. They’d much rather focus their efforts on direct outreach via email using pitches and query letters.
This can be a big mistake. If you’re not on social media in a professional capacity, you could be missing out on a whole host of benefits. Namely, the chance to get your name out there on a platform that nearly everyone in the world uses.
If you haven’t already, make using social media on a regular basis one of your top priorities. Create content about your journey as a freelancer and become active in relevant hashtags.
In doing so, you’ll start to build an audience of your own, which is the most powerful thing a freelancer can have in their quest to make their services appealing.
Build Your Own Audience
If a freelancer has an audience of their own, they have an advantage above most other freelancers in the same niche. With a receptive, engaged following, anything you post about the work you do will carry a level of notoriety with it.
This audience will be made up of fellow freelancers and those interested but not yet in the freelancing world. Anyone interested in marketing is also likely to pop a follow to keep up with you.
That makes this an essential follow up method to getting on social media. You build an audience of like minded people, but you also build your own network. Here you can find leads to new clients, events you might want to attend, and plenty of advice that can be shared and shared alike.
When people pass your name along, your services come with a mark of guarantee. Social media gives you a community interested in doing this.
But the power of an audience doesn’t stop there. Brands and/or businesses can look you up and find an impressive follower count, regular likes and comments, and traffic to your website.
This is a great look. When a freelancer is capable of generating engagement off their own back, what could they do for a brand or business looking for the same effect?
Do Your Services Sound Appealing?
When a freelancer focuses on making their services as appealing as possible, they invest in their long-term marketing with one simple decision. After all, they’ve made themselves easy to hire.
There’s a sense of legitimacy and trust in a good service description. You know what you’re talking about and you know what you can achieve. Combine this with an online presence that makes it clear you can also walk the walk, and you’ll soon have a lot of clients in your inbox.
So let’s make this future possible for you. Focus on what you can do and what results you can deliver. Make it easy for someone to want to hire you!
Plus, practice equals perfect. Get your marketing legs on and the difficulty involved in finding new clients slowly fades into a thing of the past. Gain a bit of confidence and the process won’t be daunting any longer.
