As a freelancer, building an online presence is vital for your profit goals. After all, you’re not going to become known without effort, and part of that involves creating a name for yourself. It’s not always easy to get it right, though, especially if you have little experience with online marketing.
To make sure your brand becomes both reputable and well known, here’s what you must remember when building an online presence as a freelancer.
A Memorable Logo
Your logo is the image people will associate with you, so make it as memorable as possible. A couple of ways to nail this include keeping it simple, using just a few colors, and choosing a clear font.
When designing your logo, use equipment like letter stencils and graphic design software to find the perfect fonts, colors, and images. Stencils, in particular, will come in handy, as you’ll be able to use them on physical objects to ensure your logo is a part of everything to do with your brand. Your goal is for people to remember it, after all!
Focus on Your Niche
There is no point in marketing to the wrong people, so use your niche to identify your audience and market directly to them. Trying to appeal to too many people at once will only damage your brand’s reputation! If you’re a freelance wedding photographer, for example, you want to pitch your business toward newly engaged couples.
Email Marketing
To be successful with email marketing, you must first focus on building your email list. To do this, you should encourage your regular clients and customers to provide an email when entering your website. Once you’ve attained a list, you must then focus on the quality of your email’s content. You want to include a catchy subject line, offers, and any other useful information in a well-written, engaging format to pique the interest of your readers.
Build a Usable Site
One of the most crucial parts of being a freelancer is having an attractive and usable website for your clients and customers to find your services. Without one, you will struggle to attain new and reliable clients.
On your website, you should showcase your work in a clear and appealing format. Make sure your links are easy to find and the load times aren’t too long, as you want users to stay on the site as long as possible. The best way to do this is to find a reputable web designer to do the bulk of the work while you focus on how you want the site to look.
Use Color Wisely
The color you choose to represent your brand will influence how your clients and customers see you, so pick the shades wisely.
When it comes to colors for your logo and website, you must consider how well it matches with what you are selling. If you are a freelance copywriter specializing in medical writing, for example, you will want to give off a professional vibe, which means using muted, classic colors like creams, blacks, and whites. For a health blog, however, you might want to choose earthy tones like greens and yellows.
Prioritize Clients
Sometimes, the easiest way to build a positive presence is to focus on delivering the best work possible. While you should put time and effort into online marketing, you should put even more effort into ensuring your work meets the highest standards possible. When your client requests your service in a particular way, and it is doable, you should do your best to accommodate them. Not only will they see that you deliver a high-quality service, but they’ll also appreciate that you go above and beyond in your work, meaning they’re more likely to come back to you in the future.
Work on Social Media Sites
Social media is a vital part of building your online presence, and fortunately, it is so easy to do. First of all, you must create a profile for your brand on popular social media sites, including Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. While you don’t need to be on every single platform, you should choose the ones that your target audience tends to use.
Having a profile isn’t enough – you must update it regularly and communicate with your followers to slowly but surely improve your reputation. If you struggle to create a positive social media presence, take a look at the brands you love and their social media profiles and take notes about what makes them likable, and then apply similar strategies to yours.
Deliver Excellent Customer Service
When you walk into a big brand’s store, you expect to receive excellent customer service, and the same should go for clients working with freelancers. While you might not have thousands of staff working for your business, you do still need to act as if you are the most professional, thoughtful, and detail-oriented business out there.
To deliver great customer service, you should respond quickly to clients, address problems in a timely fashion, and communicate in a professional, polite manner. After all, the way you present yourself represents your business as a whole.
Show a Human Side
While you should keep your image professional, it helps to show off the more human side of your business, too. To do this, incorporate parts of your personal life into your social media sites and your websites. If you want to tell the story about how you began freelancing, for example, you could dedicate an entire web page to telling your potential clients where you started, how you climbed the ladder, and where you are now. This little touch will make your online presence feel less like a machine and more like a business that genuinely cares.
Creating an online presence as a freelancer isn’t always easy, but it important for building your brand and bringing more clients to you. By building a great website, having great communication with your clients, and knowing your niche, you are sure to achieve this. For help, refer to this article to keep you on track to find success.
