Freelancing can be one of the most lucrative careers out there. Many people gravitate towards being a freelancer for the ability to be their own boss, but they don’t know where to start or how to grow their business. The only way to grow as a freelancer is by getting out there and putting your business in the market.
Regardless of whether you’re looking to break into the freelancing career for the first time, or you’re a seasoned veteran, we want to show you some great tips and tricks to keep in mind.
Let’s dive in!
Start Blogging
First, break the stigma that your niche dictates whether you can create a blog for your business. If you look up any business under the sun, there is a website that caters to the needs of people who are interested in that topic.
Start cultivating different places on the internet that shows you content in your niche. Many people use Quora to create their own newsfeed based on topics they enjoy. You’ll begin to understand the type of content the people in your target market have the desire to read.
Now you’re going to want to start developing your own topics. Create custom titles, use a keyword finder to optimize for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and start thinking about your link building strategy.
SEO is important because it allows you to target specific keywords in order to rank higher on Google and to appear more reputable on the biggest search engine in the world –and who doesn’t want that? Link building is equally important. According to one survey by OptinMonster, the way you build your links can potentially increase traffic by 73 percent.
There is a ton of work that goes into developing blogging, so don’t be distraught if you’re not perfect right off the bat — that’s a near impossibility.
Cold Call…Er…Email
Now it’s time to get your hands dirty. We all know about the dreaded cold call, or in our case, cold email. The average person may not be interested in the services you offer.
The best way to fine-tune your chances of getting a positive response is to target companies and individuals who either work with your niche or know someone who does. Though there are some broader freelancer careers that can benefit virtually everyone.
Specifically, if you’re in SEO, content creation, development, or illustration, the possibilities are virtually endless. You can email anyone with a website and they might be interested in your services.
Set goals for yourself, such as 10 cold emails a week, and remember — every no is one step closer to a yes!
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Start Networking
There are multiple ways to network as a freelancer. If you’re looking for something a little more general, you may want to make a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn is a social media account for professionals.
You can easily create an account, including information about your freelance business, upload portfolio pieces, and even find potential clients and fans through this part of the social media web.
In a couple of clicks, you can find people in the same business as you, “connect” with them and engage with them. It never hurts to make friends with peers in the same business. The main reason for this is that you and your peers can grow your businesses and share leads together.
Maybe one of your peers finds a job that would be perfect for you, they can pass it along in seconds. Just make sure you don’t forget to return the favor!
Social Media + Advertisement
We talked about networking, but what about the big mainline social media pages like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Well, as it turns out, there are multiple great uses for these outlets.
Essentially, you’re going to want to flesh out your freelancer profile, make sure you’re following all of the groups that relate to your niche, and now it’s time to start advertising.
You can use things like Facebook’s Ad Manager, or Twitter’s Ad program. These programs are excellent choices for your freelance business because they allow you to market yourself to the groups and people that fit your niche.
You can set an age range, location, and more in order to pinpoint all of the ads that show up in the newsfeed of people who may benefit from your service.
Write Guest Posts
This last tip is going to apply more for the seasoned freelancers, but it’s worth considering if you’re brand new to freelancing. There is no better way to market your business than by publishing your guest posts to high authority sites.
When you write for such large audiences, you can increase backlinks which generates more traffic to your site. Everyone wants to work with you when they have found out that you’ve been published for high authority sites because they know you have the experience to back up your words.
As you begin to get more recognized and your freelance business grows, eventually it will snowball. You’ll be putting in more hours, sure, but you’ll have the funds you need to live a happy and successful life as a full-time freelancer.