Freelance work is a dream come true for many people. The ability to build flexibility into your working life, while doing something you are truly passionate about is a huge draw for countless people. In an economy that is constantly on the move, more and more people are choosing to become self employed.
However, it is unlikely that you will be able to dive headfirst into a freelance career without first laying the groundwork. Many people juggle full time work with freelancing before they feel like they are ready to take the plunge. We have to remember that a freelance career is much less stable, going through peaks and troughs. Here is some advice for getting your career going.
Brand Your Business
Just like any successful business, you should have a strong brand with a logo and distinctive colour scheme. This makes you appear professional and instils trust in your clientele. Your branding should be used across everything including your website, office stationery, emails and any other correspondence that is being distributed to your clients. People will gradually start to associate your branding with your business and it should help when it comes to finding new clients.
Build Your Website
It is likely that your website will be your single most important tool when it comes to generating business. Everything should be laid out in a clear way, with the essence of your business boiled down to a few key sentences which should be clearly displayed on the home screen. If you are employing the service of a website development agency, closely examine their portfolio to see what work they have done in the past. Consult with them and give them as detailed a brief as possible.
Think about getting some photographs professionally taken as this will give you a touch of personality that is missing from sites that rely too heavily on stock imagery.
Try to keep your site simple so people are not bombarded with information. Everyone is time-poor these days and wants you to get to the point as quickly as possible. Make sure the content on your site has been optimised for search engines. Many web design agencies will offer this service as well, so check with them before the site is built. Think about what keywords you would like to focus on based on what you think your potential customers may be searching for.
Get Your Name Out There
Promote your services in any way you can. Try to contribute to popular forums and websites with some guest blog posts which offer links back to your website. Blog regularly through your own site about interesting topics and promote these back through your social media accounts. Make sure everything is updated regularly. When you have some customers, think about sending out a newsletter with any new developments in your business included as well as anything else you think they may find useful. It’s useful for clients to know that you are always thinking about them and keeping them in the loop.
