For many creative entrepreneurs and freelancers, the prospect of ‘putting yourself out there’ can be daunting. But knowing how to market yourself effectively could be the difference between a thriving business and fading into the background.
Working freelance brings many perks, but it also means you have to balance a lot of tasks — and become your own cheerleader. Wondering where to start with self-marketing? Read on for self-marketing tips, tricks and inspiration.
Defining your USP
No matter your niche, it’s essential to know what makes your business different. Before anything else, you need to define your unique selling point (USP). What is it that sets you apart from your competitors?
Whether you’re a freelance writer, life coach, jeweller or hair stylist, pinpointing your USP is the gateway to effective self-marketing.
Finding the right channels for your creative business
Knowing how to reach the right audience is also vital — after all, there’s no point putting time and energy into your marketing if it’s not being seen by people who will appreciate it.
Who are your target customers, and where are they likely to search for you? Many creative freelancers find social media platforms the best place to find potential customers. Alternatively, perhaps you sell products on Etsy or a similar eCommerce platform and find creating an email list is the best way to reach your audience.
Narrowing down your marketing channels gives you the chance to streamline your efforts and get better results.
Don’t forget marketing channels aren’t always digital! Depending on your niche, you may find dropping your business card or flyer in local cafes effective. Networking could also be a good option, particularly if you offer B2B services.
Boosting your online presence
We’ve mentioned Etsy and social media platforms, but the internet is a wide and sprawling web — and chances are you already have your own website. If so, you want to try and increase your chance of being found by potential customers. This is where blogs and SEO can come in handy. Why not consider setting up a business blog? Paired with targeted keywords, these can help bring more traffic to your website.
If you need support in keyword research and content creation, you can always seek help from a virtual assistant.
Setting time aside for self-marketing
Freelance work, particularly in a creative field, can involve juggling tasks and deadlines. It’s easy for self-marketing to slide down the to-do list, particularly when you’re focusing on making or creating and supporting your clients.
But by prioritising your marketing efforts and carving out time for them, you can increase your customer base and drive growth. If you find yourself struggling to spin all those freelance business plates, there are some nifty apps, project management platforms and scheduling tools that can help.
Measuring your results
Developing a self-marketing strategy is a great start — but it’s only half the story. To know if your efforts are working, you need to be able to track your progress and analyse results. This might entail reviewing engagement rates on your Instagram posts or looking at traffic to your website using analytics tools and seeing how these translate to enquiries or sales.
Which marketing techniques got the best results? Once you have an idea of the most successful channels and strategies, you can streamline your efforts to focus on those more.
Freelance marketing support
Creating an effective marketing strategy takes time and thought — but it’s worth it. Of course, there are only so many hours in the day. So if you find yourself struggling to fit in keyword research, content creation, and outreach, why not consider a helping hand? A virtual assistant can take on these pesky tasks — giving you more time to work on client relationships and other areas of your freelance business.
To learn more, give Erin at Bizzybee a buzz.