In the freelancing industry, uncertainty is the name of the game. You need to be adept at balancing on the changing tides of business. A strong marketing strategy, along with some forethought, can be your best tool for success.
These days tech tools dominate the workspace, and finding the right platform or app to help market your freelancing service can be challenging. Choose online platforms like Indy, designed with freelancers’ needs in mind. This all-in-one platform is designed and managed by professionals who know exactly what it takes to streamline and promote your freelancing business. Here are six more marketing strategies to strengthen your business’ foundation.
1. Define Your Brand
Before anything else, you must know how you define your business’ brand. By figuring out what your company stands for and some images or colors associated with those elements, you will better represent your professional expectations.
Like the prewriting stage or the brainstorming phase, you can create dynamic mind maps or bulleted lists if they help you. Pictures, sticky notes, and whiteboards are all useful tools to help you expand your ideas of what your business represents.
Narrow your brand to a couple of things – a statement, an image, and a few colors. Think about the theme; some questions that can help you define your brand are:
Is your business traditional or modern and sleek? This can be reflected in the font choices.
Are you an eco-friendly business? If so, green is always an excellent color option.
Perhaps your business is linked to an event or season, like Halloween, Christmas, or weddings. You can use imagery from any one of these.
Think symbolically. For example, use the image of a river running through mountains to connote serenity for your therapy practice.
The more you know about your business’ ethos, the better prepared you’ll be when you set out to tell the world.
2. Make the Most of Your Online Presence
Maintaining a presence on social media sites is a full-time marketing job. Freelancers rarely have the time or emotional bandwidth to dedicate themselves to continually updating content for all the different social media platforms. It’s overwhelming, juggling clients, projects, and postings, and a freelancer’s digital space can get cluttered quickly.
Certain platforms are tailored to freelancers who run digital freelance businesses. These platforms have everything you need to run your business so that you can stay on top of it all. They serve as catch-alls for everything associated with your company and include your profile, time trackers, and freelance invoice templates.
While you may have to pay to use these apps, the costs may be tax-deductible if you’re a freelancer.
3. Make Your Service a Product
The direct sale of a product is a much clearer transaction than that of a service. When you’re buying a product, it’s a split-second buy, whereas, with something intangible like a service, it’s sometimes harder for the client to say yes.
Productization is a marketing strategy in which you make a product out of your freelance service by offering subscriptions, self-service features, and package deals. A monthly subscription for your service or a Buy 5 get 1 Free Card may encourage your customers to become repeat clients.
If you still ask your clients to fill out a contact form through your website to request your services, overhaul this feature. Bring an element of self-service to your website by introducing scheduling and payment options that your clients can do themselves.
Consider offering a full package option and a no-frills version of whatever service you’re offering. Those trying to stick to a budget will appreciate the latter package, whereas an invested client may be looking to upgrade.
4. Upselling Works
Upselling is when you convince a customer to choose a higher-end product for the quality and longevity in place of a cheaper one. Add-ons like upgrades or a different brand of the same product (with a slightly higher price) can generate more revenue with minimal effort.
Some ways to successfully upsell your freelance services or products is to do side-by-side comparisons with your customers so they can clearly see the benefits of the higher-quality product or more-comprehensive package. Another strategy is to personalize the product or service with upgrades or monthly subscriptions.
Upselling is a delicate balance. You have to maintain the trust you’ve formed between yourself and your client, but you also have to convince them that the choice they’re making is the right one.
It helps if you believe in the service you’re offering. If you believe it, chances are your customers will too, and they may even refer you to their friends.
5. Referrals Deserve Rewards
Everybody likes getting a pat on the back, and your customers deserve one for praising your business to others. If your clients refer their friends or family to your business, give them something in return.
Reward customers who refer others to you with a gift or discount. It will build awareness of your brand, and those customers won’t forget it.
6. Print Media
Many people accuse print media of losing impact in the digital age, but specific print marketing tools never lose their allure.
Tools like business cards or bookmarks are time-tested marketing devices. Objects have a way of sticking around, and having a physical representation of your business can be more memorable than a dozen email campaigns.
The Bottom Line
With some forethought and careful planning, you can decide which marketing strategies make sense for your brand and business. Rewarding customers for their loyalty and referrals, making the most of your online presence, and turning your service into a product make marketing easier and more successful.
