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Last Updated on January 20, 2024 by Work In My Pajamas
Your brand is who you are and what you do. A freelance brand defines this for you and is important to your future income. But how to do you make your brand sustainable and long lasting?
Here are a few ideas to help.
In This Post:
Create an Online Presence
Buying your own domain name is the first step to creating an online presence. There are many places to get a domain but be sure they can host your website also. Because in addition to getting your unique brand domain, you’ll want to create an eye-catching website that has great SEO to draw your ideal customer. This will be key to building an audience that will continue to come back to buy from you or use your services.
Also, be sure to create a social media presence for your specific brand. Don’t be the one who uses their personal social media platforms as places your customers and clients go to find out more about you. While it might be okay for some things and unless it’s part of your brand, your clients probably don’t care to see your kids making faces in a car, grandma in a bathing suit, or your dog.
Post Regularly
It doesn’t matter how often you post or blog, truthfully, just as long as it’s on a regular basis. Your clients and customer will rely on information from you and tend to return in the future for more. This is key to building a strong brand as a freelancer. Post something relevant to your brand regularly.
If you hang out on Twitter, then you could interact with those you follow and occasionally post new content yourself and your followers. Interaction means re-tweeting something that is interesting to you and you think your audience or clients might enjoy.
If Facebook is your favorite place, then don’t just like a post, comment something meaningful. Things like, “I like this post” are too generic and make you look like you’re just trying to be seen. The key is interaction. Then, occasionally, post something on your business page that is thoughtful and relevant to what you care about most as your brand. This means only post funny cat videos if your brand is about funny cats.
Identify Your Customer, Then Talk to Them
Most inexperienced freelancers think they can help the whole world. That just might be the case, but when it comes to making your brand future proof, you need to narrow down exactly who your customer is, where they hang out, what they are passionate about, and then talk to them in the language they understand.
Here’s a great example. You are a website freelancer who has a degree in geology. While you could easily build a website for a finance company, you might be better suited for long term work to focus on mining, sand and gravel, and drilling companies. That would create a long-term relationship with those who understand you and you understand. You can talk to them in the language they understand.
Another example would be if you were a freelance editor who used to work at the local bakery before and during college. Focusing your skills on those bakeries who need blogs, content, or marketing material and talking about what bakeries care about, you’re more likely to find long running clients.
Set Yourself Up Like the Business You Are
Don’t fall into the trap that because you work from home in your pajama’s you are not a ‘real’ business. You are a business and the only way for your brand to be future proof is to act like one.
That means, if you’re in the U.S., set yourself up as a business entity on your state and federal level.
Get training on the financial aspect of running your own business. You can learn a lot through Quickbooks online or Freshbooks, then implement the pieces you decide are best for you.
Self-Care Is One Key
You are your brand and therefore it’s most important asset to the whole business. If you don’t take care of yourself, then your freelance brand has no future. The final way to future proof your brand is to find ways to integrate self-care into your daily routine. Taking breaks, eating healthy, finding time to do things you love, and taking vacations.
Self-care is the most important aspect of creating a future proof freelance brand.
The freelance world is growing quickly and if you’ve been in this arena for a year or six months, you want to know that you’ll be around for at least ten more years. To make sure this happens, use the ideas we’ve talked about here to make your freelance brand future proof. Don’t be one of the 80% of businesses that fail before the 5th year.
