Self-Promotion For Freelancers

By: Katy O’Dowd  (katyodowd.com).

Self-Promotion For Freelancers

We all want an amazing CV/portfolio. We want to work on cool stuff that looks great. We want to earn great money doing said creative things. We want to work from home in our jammies while eating too much chocolate. All commendable ambitions, in my opinion.

But consider this: to attain those excellent things, we all have to do stuff that isn’t so much fun and that we wouldn’t have to touch if we worked in an office where that side of things would be taken care of for us. Like wages. Company marketing and promotion. 9-5 work days. And so on.

That said, the whole freelancing thing, when it works out, beats working from an office with a big stick. We just have to take care of all that other stuff ourselves.

First and foremost, being a freelancer is being your own business. And to succeed by yourself without someone else’s money behind you, you have to be a bit of a whore in self-promotion. I’m in no way claiming to be an expert (ahem), but the ideas below have helped me to land jobs.

Brand yourself

Now I’m not saying that you should marry a premiership footballer or member of Girls Aloud. Instead, make your CV, online portfolio, blog and business cards match. Yes, you read right. Any good marketing materials are instantly recognisable, so why shouldn’t yours be too?

Nurture your ambitions

And then take a deep breath and pitch to people that you would love to work for on the chance that they have a now-and-again need to use freelancers.

Network in person

Give your business cards to everyone. Even your granny. Post your business cards through letterboxes. Attend seminars. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. Tell everyone what you are doing and hope to do. It’s amazing who knows someone who needs something.

Network online

Be a member of forums, and post to them. Have a blog. Use social networking. Get your name and details all over the net by whatever means (legal, of course).

Enter competitions

Or have someone else enter on your behalf. Not Take A Break’s Simplex Crossword, but any competition to do with your chosen field. Even if you never win anything, it will get you noticed if you can put ‘Short listed for/Runner up/Long listed for’ on your CV.

Make sure your CV looks (and reads) well. Comb marketing books for ideas. Be prepared for knock-backs. Be relentless, be confident, be brave, and don’t be shy about making your presence felt.