introduction
Once, a freelance designer had an experience of extreme frustration when, despite a portfolio full of quality work, they had gone several months without receiving a legitimate inquiry from any potential clients. Meanwhile, a competitor had less technical expertise and was able to keep themselves booked out due to their excellent marketing tactics.
Today, it is vital for freelancers and agencies to use marketing to create a successful and sustainable business for themselves. With the rise of remote work, coupled with the increasing number of freelancers and agencies within various industries, even individuals with exceptional skills and knowledge will now find themselves needing to take active steps to position themselves effectively in order to generate new and ongoing business. Visibility, credibility and consistency are quickly becoming as valuable as anything else in today’s marketplace when it comes to adding value to the way that people conduct business.
This article will look at how effective marketing will create ongoing sustainable growth for freelancers and agencies through focusing on three main areas: developing a personal or brand identity; effectively using digital channels for marketing; and creating systems for acquiring and maintaining long-term relationships with clients.
Create a Distinctive and Lasting Brand Identity
The marketing process starts long before you submit your proposal or schedule your Discovery call; it starts with how well the market understands who you are and why you matter.
Many freelancers believe branding is only for large firms. However, the clarity of your positioning will impact whether you compete on value or price.
Why Branding is Important
Studies show consistently that buyers prefer to do business with specialists rather than generalists. If your messaging conveys that you specialize in something, then your potential client will perceive less risk in picking you as their provider.
Some of the elements of an effective brand identity are:
Niche definition: Rather than offering “digital marketing services,” you might offer “email marketing services for SaaS startups.”
Consistent voice and look across all platforms: Your website, social media accounts, and/or LinkedIn profile should have a consistent feel.
Clear Value Proposition to Explain not Just What You Do, but the Results Clients Can Expect from Using Your Services.
An Example from the “Real World”
A freelance copywriter who transitioned from providing general content writing to providing conversion copywriting specifically for e-commerce businesses doubled her number of qualified leads within six (6) months of making the change. The nature of what she does did not change significantly; only her positioning changed.
How This Differs from the Old Ways
Traditional marketing advice suggests casting a net that is too wide. Newer marketing methods use precision targeting rather than general targeting.
Old Methodology- “Help anyone with a need for services you provide.”
With Intent, Use Digital Marketing Channels
Simply having an internet presence does not equate to being a successful marketer. Many marketers will post to a different social media outlet multiple times, try other outlets out, then stop using any one of them when they do not see instant results.
Effective marketing is about creating depth, rather than breadth.
Choosing Channels That Will Produce the Greatest Impact
Instead of trying to chase every trend, use your knowledge of how your best clients make their decisions to identify the best ways to reach them.
1.Content Marketing:
Publishing valuable information about your subject helps to demonstrate your expertise before a meeting takes place.
Some examples of this include:
- Educational blog posts;
- Industry reports;
- Case studies, and;
- Articles from thought leaders.
Agencies that publish their case studies frequently will often find that their prospects have already established a level of trust in them and will shorten their sales cycle.
2.Visibility through Search:
Search engine optimization is still one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business.
Why is this true?
- Search is used primarily by people that are further along in the buying process;
- There is continued traffic to your website for many years after you have optimized your site for search; and
- The longer your site is optimized for search, the greater the return on your marketing investment will be.
For example, a branding agency for start-ups that has a high ranking for its name will typically generate new leads from its website without incurring any advertising cost.
3.Authority Platforms
Professional communities, LinkedIn, and niche forums provide services where freelance and agency experts can showcase their abilities publicly.
You can use these methods to achieve.
- Provide actionable insights
- Provide intelligent insight on industry trends.
- Share successful project breakdowns.
Over time, familiarity develops into trust.
Evidence of Effectiveness
Demand Metric shows that content marketing generates more leads than traditional outbound marketing, as it costs less. Content marketing is very appealing for freelancers and smaller agencies working with limited budgets.
Differentiation From Obsolete Marketing
Old-school thinking values aggressive outreach methods such as cold emailing, mass emailing, and transactional pitching as king.
New school marketing is about attraction versus interruption.
When potential customers find you through organic means, the conversations start off warmer and close faster.
Create a System to Build Lasting Relationships With Clients
Referrals are one of the most important ways for freelancers to get new customers, but most freelancers think of referrals as “nice-to-have” bonuses rather than as structured opportunities for generating more business through referrals. The best companies have transformed building relationships into repeatable business growth.
Why Relationships Are Better Than One-Time Success
The cost of acquiring a new client can be significantly greater than the cost of retaining an already established client. In the long term, a business’s revenue is more stable when there are long-term relationships with its clients and there is less pressure to continually seek out and find new clients.
Some of the key elements of building relationships include:
- Follow-up after projects are complete on a consistent basis
- Checking in every few months to see if there is something you can help the client with
- Sending the client relevant information or letting them know when you’re aware of an opportunity for them
- Providing incentives to reward loyal customers
A Client Example
A small marketing agency started conducting quarterly strategy review meetings with existing clients. Each meeting helped the agency to discover new needs within the client, which resulted in new contracts being established with clients and ultimately a 40% increase in annual value from each client.
The agency didn’t seek to find additional clients, but instead focused on deepening its relationships with existing clients.
Making Strategic Partnerships
Many freelancers and agencies overlook another way to find growth — collaboration with other businesses.
Freelancers and agencies can form strategic partnerships with the following types of businesses that offer similar products:
Web design companies
Public relations companies
User experience design companies
Companies that produce video
When freelancers and agencies create these strategic partnerships, they build mutual referral-based ecosystems, helping to reduce the reliance on finding potential customers through unpredictable sources.
How this Works Differently Than Lead Generation
Lead generation is all about the transaction: find the prospect, close the deal, and repeat the process.
Relationship marketing is about the cumulative impact of each satisfied client, improving your reputation, producing more referrals, and increasing your revenue.
calculation
Marketing is more than just advertising; it’s the support system that helps freelancers and agencies achieve predictable success through the way they use the marketing channels they have available to them.
Here are three key aspects to remember:
You will show up as a specialist by having a clearly defined brand image when people look for you online, instead of looking for the exact product (or service).
By strategically marketing through the many digital marketing options available today, you’ll build trust with your prospects (and potential clients).
Acquiring customers through a strong relationship-centric approach creates stability, increases lifetime value for both sides, and promotes a tendency for new business through referrals.
Moving forward, as the competition grows stronger and more people work from a global location , those who utilize marketing as an investment over the long term will have the best chance of finding success.
To that end, here are a few overall suggestions:
Take stock of your current branding and services; if you need to narrow your focus to a smaller area, do so.
Focus your energies on 1 – 2 marketing channels that will have a high impact; rather than trying to do everything.
Develop a system for creating long-lasting relationships with your customers.
While visibility and trust are both highly regarded in the marketplace, neither is created by accident and certainly don’t exist without effort.
The call to action
marketing as a strategy today. Get clear on what you’re saying, communicate your knowledge on an ongoing basis, and invest time and effort into creating relationships that will grow in value over time. As you take intentional action to market yourself, you will not only attract customers to you, but also build business models that last.