When working as a freelancer, you are your business, your product, and your marketing team all in one.
Having control of all of these aspects of your business is extremely exciting and motivating because it puts you in control of your success.
Like any successful business, you need a solid marketing strategy that will help you gain visibility in your industry and draw in more clients!
In this article, we will be discussing the following ways in which you can increase your marketing for yourself and your business while freelancing:
- Become a Guest on a Podcast
- Be a Subject Matter Expert (SME)
- Write a Book, E-book, or Article
- Utilize SEO Strategy
- Network, Network, Network!
Become a Guest on a Podcast
Podcasts have increased in popularity in recent years, with the number of listeners in the United States expected to grow by about 10% in 2021 to about 117.8 million listeners.
With podcasts emerging from every industry and point-of-view, the medium has a dedicated base of listeners that are exploring different topics.
There are several benefits to marketing your freelance business by becoming a guest on a podcast. With a podcast, the listeners are there to learn and will, therefore, are a captive and engaged audience.
Additionally, podcasts are a more personal medium. By sharing your ideas on a podcast, rather than approaching marketing with a sales mindset, you come across as more authentic. When you connect with an audience, you can develop greater loyalty!
Next, one of the most important marketing principles is communicating directly to your target audience or market. Podcasts allow you to do that!
Each podcast has data outlining the type of people who listen to the podcast, such as demographic stratification and personal or professional interest.
Or, you can even start a podcast yourself!
Become a Subject Matter Expert (SME)
A subject matter expert or SME is someone who is an authority in their industry or vertical because of their extensive knowledge.
While one can be an SME in almost any field, it usually relates to knowledge in a technical or educational field. For example, if you are a freelance marketing consultant, you can become an SME in the field of marketing.
Marketing is essentially persuasion. In other words, you want to persuade your audience to use your services as a freelancer.
Across the disciplines of both psychology and communication, we know that one of the best ways to persuade someone is by having authority. People are more likely to trust you if you are educated on a topic.
Therefore, becoming an SME will have a positive influence on your brand. Not many people can tout that they are experts in their field. Having this classification will encourage others to work with you.
Write a Book, E-book, or Article
Writing a book or article relating to your industry or work will help establish your authority in the field. Having published work means you are recognized as an expert in your industry! The self-publishing industry has created affordable means of getting a book to market. However if long-form content is not your expertise, try writing articles for the Medium, of Business Journal Trust or publish on Linkedin.
Additionally, writing a book or article can help establish greater recognition and top-of-mind awareness with your audience. People are more likely to choose someone whose name they recognize, and the expertise they seek.
Utilize SEO Strategy
When marketing yourself as a freelancer in today’s highly saturated climate, it is crucial to have a focus on search engine optimization (SEO). The goal of SEO is to increase a website’s ranking on Google search results.
Why is this important? Because people will see your website first and be more likely to click on it when searching for the service you offer. The best part is that SEO is free. You need to learn the Google algorithm and how to work with it.
For example, if you use the right density of industry keywords, your website will better fulfill the search queries of users, and therefore, be ranked higher.
Or, if your website is user-friendly, well designed, and quick loading, users will stay on it longer, signaling to Google that it is a quality website. Google, in turn, will rank it higher in search results.
Network, Network, Network!
As a freelancer, you are your brand! Therefore, one of the best ways to get your name out there is to network. Networking can mean a lot of things, from adding other professionals in your industry on LinkedIn and social media platforms to directly contacting potential clients.
By connecting with other freelancers in similar industries, you can find a community of like-minded people who will support you. You can learn from each other about new trends and share clients, especially if you have different expertise.
There are also a number of portfolio-sharing websites specifically for freelancers so that you can share your work with others and give clients an overview of your past work.
The wider you grow your network, the more work opportunities will present themselves. Working with recruitment agencies such as Artisan Creative allows for your network to expand.
Conclusion
Working as a freelancer has many benefits, from the flexibility of working when and where you want to work to having control over what work you do daily. So, if you are a freelancer looking to gain exposure, implement some of the marketing tips we presented above!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our 593rd a.blog.