Most freelancers enjoy their craft but are less
enthusiastic about what they need to do to make a living from it. One of these necessary
evils is marketing. As in most chores, nobody argues the necessity of doing it
in theory but everybody hopes that it will get done without their intervention.
The reality is that it is impossible to have a successful freelance business without some
type of marketing. Here are five simple marketing techniques that involve
little effort, time and personal exposure. In other words, it is possible to
mark a check on this item in the to-do list without great personal
investment and see some results.
1. Let your friends
and, more importantly, the service people you use know what your profession is
and the type of projects you do. Your accountant, insurance agent and hairdresser/barber,
to name just a few, are your best marketing partners. They are constantly
meeting people and provide great referrals.
2. Set up a website or
a LinkedIn profile. The first may require a small investment of time and money
but the latter is simple and free and takes minutes. Make it easy for potential
customers to glean more information about you and find your contact
information. Most people are not willing to make any great effort to find you.
Don’t lose business by playing hard to get.
3.
Set up a business
page on Facebook or other media. You can and should keep your personal life out of
it. Instead, showcase your business in terms of skill and achievement. Enlist
your children to help you if they are the appropriate age. It is a great bonding exercise.
4.
Sign up for any
relevant list or application for selling your services or goods. Define a
relevant geographical range and join. If participation involves some payment,
it is often worth it for a year as they tend not to remove your name after you
stop paying.
5.
Whenever possible,
participate in discussions involving issues within your expertise, written or oral, whichever you are more comfortable
with. You don’t have to and often should not “sell” your business. Instead,
publicize your expertise by suggesting practical solutions. You are branding
yourself.
None of these actions requires standing up in front of
people and talking about how wonderful you are. Aside from a website, none of
them involves serious costs, if any. They don’t have to be perfect in the
beginning as it is simple to change the content and language. There is no need
to consult a tech expert. As the advert for the Lake Wobegon’s celebrated Powder
Milk Biscuits said, keeping it simple can “give shy persons the strength to get up
and do what needs to be done.”
