Estimated reading time: 5 mins
Becoming a freelancer is no easy feat. To start off with, you will have to endure a few months of not much work while you try and set up your new business and client base. Eventually, though, once you start to attract more clients, you will find that things start to go swimmingly.
But how exactly do you get new clients? This is one of the biggest problems that all new freelancers will come face to face with. If you already have experience in your industry of choice, maybe from spending a few years working full-time with a company, then you might find it easy as you have the expertise that many potential clients will be looking for. But if you are going freelance straight out of college or university, you will probably find that this becomes a big uphill struggle.
The best way to increase your client base is to work on your marketing. As a freelancer, you will need to continually push you and your business out into the public sphere, so you are easy for new clients to find. Not only that, though, but your marketing has to be very on point so that it is attention catching and stands out from all the other freelancers in your local area.
Need some marketing tips? No problem; I’ve got you covered. All new freelancers need to read on for some great ideas that will help you up your marketing game!
Your Marketing Is An Investment
Good marketing is going to cost you some money. Some freelancers, especially in the first few months of working for themselves, might see this as too much of an expense. But rather than viewing it in this negative way, you should see it as an investment. Sure, it is going to cost a bit to set up your marketing, but eventually, it will really pay off. In the long run, this marketing will help you bring in more clients and increase your profits. So, if done right, good marketing will pay for itself. If you can’t really stretch to cover your marketing costs to start off with, you might want to visit www.unsecuredfinanceaustralia.com.au/unsecured-business-loans to see about getting a loan that could cover the costs. Once the effects of all your marketing efforts kick in, you will find that your revenues increase so you will be able to easily pay back the original loan.
You Need To Be Constantly Marketing
Ideally, you need to aim for a steady flow of work. That way, you won’t experience any peaks and troughs with work, which will help you get a constant income. Plus, this will help you with a work-life balance, as you never be super busy with too much work. The best way to ensure you get a steady for of work is to keep on constantly marketing yourself. So, even once you start to pick up a few more clients, there is no reason to stop your marketing efforts. Many marketing campaigns have a delayed reaction, and it is always worth bearing this in mind as you might have to wait for a few months once you kick off a new marketing strategy after a long pause.
Remember Social Media Is Your Friend
If you are really struggling to find any extra cash in your budget for marketing, you should utilize social media as much as possible. There are so many members of the public on social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, that many companies and business are now targeting customers online. It’s important that you join them so that you can try and target as many new customers as possible. There are various ways you can use social media to your advantage. For instance, you might want to run a social media competition. These are easy ways to go viral and push your name out there to as many people as possible. If you have never carried out a social media competition before, you can find lots of tips online at http://blog.hellosocial.com.au/blog/social-media-competition-ideas. It’s also worth paying for sponsored posts on Facebook and Twitter as you can set the audience scope so that you target specific demographics. That way, you can aim your posts at people who are more likely to use your product or service.
Keep Your Business Cards Handy
You never know when you might bump into someone who would use your freelance services. So, it’s important that you always keep your business cards on you. That way, you can quickly hand over one if someone ever sounds interested in what you do. If you regularly attend networking events – which you should do as a freelancer! – it is also important to take plenty of business cards with you so that you can hand them out to everyone you meet. Don’t have any business cards just yet? You can get them made at most printing companies.
Update Your LinkedIn Profile Regularly
As well as all the usual social media, you should also look at creating a professional social media profile on LinkedIn. If you already have one but have neglected it for a while, it is very much worth updating it. There are lots of company owners and recruiters who still search through LinkedIn for new employees and contractors. Updating your profile will help to attract more people to check it out, and it will help you stand out from the crowd of other freelancers. There is the option to subscribe to the LinkedIn premium account feature, which can also be beneficial if you are trying to source new clients. It means your profile will come top of any searches and you can also browse other people’s profiles privately.
Marketing yourself as a freelancer can be very difficult, especially from day one. However, there is no reason for it to always be so tricky. You just need to follow all of these great tips and ideas, and you will soon find that you start to increase your client base!
