How To Boost Your Freelancing Career
A creative freelance career is very different from other types of businesses. Rather than a whole team, for example, you’ll be working by yourself. This can make it hard to think of ways to boost your creative freelance career because there isn’t anyone to bounce ideas off, and it’s difficult to take time out to really concentrate on marketing, for example, because you need to keep working in order to make money. However, there are some important ways that you can push your freelancing further, and in this contributed post, here are some to get you started.
Networking
Making sure you have time to network when you're a freelancer is one of the best ways you can boost your name and start getting to know other people who may be able to help you. It will take time and some preparation, but the rewards can be exceptional if you keep at it. If you attend meetings regularly, you will start to be recognized, and people will begin to recommend you to others, just as you can recommend them to other people too.
Networking is about more than simply referrals, however. It's also a brilliant way to find other people who work in businesses that could complement your work. Perhaps you're a portrait artist, for example. You might find a photographer who wants to add portraiture to their list of services. You can work together. Or maybe you have tips for school IT budget preparation and someone needs that information, and they have knowledge you could use.
Craft Fairs
Craft fairs take place on almost any weekend you want to pick. Finding one that will work for you is going to take some research, but it's well worth taking the time to do so as selling your work at a fair will really help to boost your freelance career. Why is it such a good idea? To start with, people will want to talk to you. When you sell online, it can seem a rather impersonal thing to do, and it’s hard to get your story across and let people know why you do what you do. When you're selling face to face in a craft fair, you can talk to as many people as possible, and let them know about your vision and about the products that you sell. They'll be more willing to listen because that’s what they are there for.
Social Media
Social media is every creative’s best tool for spreading their name and work as far as possible. Create a business page and then post images of what you do on it. It may take time to get the reach you want, but as you build up a product range, you'll be able to see how many more people are following you and liking your page. You can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media platform (or perhaps more than one) that will work for you, and the key is to find out what platforms your target market is likely to use. Once you know that, you can focus your efforts there.