You’ve been at this freelance writing business for a while now. People should know your name by now.
So why don’t they?
Continuing what we started at the beginning of the month with our first Not-so-new Freelancer’s Guide, let’s just tick down the list of things that more experienced freelancers need to know, but aren’t seeing out there in that vast cesspool sea of freelance writing advice.
Today, let’s talk about name recognition.
All the marketing wonks know that name recognition is half of the goal with potential customers. Why? Customers have to know your name in order to consider your product or service. Tons of money and effort are poured into advertising and marketing that’s designed to put this company or that product top of mind with consumers. (The other half is brand awareness, but I’d argue that the two are linked.)
[bctt tweet=”Fortunately you, #freelancer, don’t have to spend anything but time on building name recognition.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
Why You Want Name Recognition
For us freelancers, having potential clients know who we are is the first step toward getting work, referrals, and invitations to events where potential clients hang out. I’d attended three annual trade shows before I was invited to outside functions held by contacts I’d met at those trade shows.
Name recognition gets your foot in the door. Your foot in the door is one step ahead of those freelancers who are still struggling in that rut you’re climbing out of. Your foot in the door is also a first step in having someone call on you for their next project.
Here’s how to build name recognition:
Know to whom you are selling.
You can’t really attract clients if you don’t know who they are, can you? So the first step is to figure out who is in your client base. Let’s assume you’re writing about widgets. Everyone who manufactures widgets could be your client.
But you have another client base — possibly several. Who supplies those widget makers with their materials? Who promotes those widgets? Who runs the trade shows associated with widget makers or the manufacturing of those widgets? Who sells products, equipment, or services to those who manufacture widgets? Who handles the servicing of the widgets?
To find your own client base, remove all instances of the word “widget” and replace it with your own focus. Mine would be insurance. Yours might be fashion or stock car racing or elder care or ….
Build an audience.
Time to head to social media. Find that hashtag that your intended audience is using. Follow it. Comment, share, and post your own news or thoughts. Make yourself known as someone who shares. I’ve made plenty of good acquaintances just because they shared something I wrote or I did the same. Create dialogue in Groups and forums. Conduct online polls. Hold Twitter chats. Attend some. Make great use of the ability to connect directly with people who could be in a position to hire you. Be seen sharing quality stuff.
Publish content online.
When I was marketing regularly, I would publish helpful content on LinkedIn. I only did this a few times before my workload prohibited taking on any more new clients. Part of that was because of that content (not all — I had other client prospects I’d nurtured, and a few came to fruition).
Become an influencer.
You hear plenty about social media influencers. Why not be one in your own circles? A Twitter connection of mine who is particular good at it is Catherine Christaki (@LinguaGreca). Catherine sends out weekly email blasts that include links to translation content, but also includes language, writing, and marketing links (as well as others). This kind of curated content puts the emphasis on sharing, not promoting oneself. It’s memorable.
In the same way, you can become an influencer by having experts in your corner. Invite them to guest on your blog. Get them to contribute or guest one of your Twitter chats. Invite them to speak at your next webinar.
Another influencer-building moment: create a group on LinkedIn. Make it relevant to the clients you want to attract, and start threads that ask for input or opinions.
Ask for referrals and testimonials.
That client you just pleased? Ask if they know of anyone else who could use a writer. And get a testimonial for your website. Ask to use it in your marketing materials.
Rub shoulders with successful freelancers.
Use successful freelancers as a human schematic (there’s an image!) for your own business. What are they doing right that you could be doing? How is their approach different than yours? What marketing techniques are working for them, and how?
That’s really all you need to get going with building your name recognition among freelance writing clients. As you get better at it, you’ll discover your own ways of doing things, and you might even come up with better methods of reaching your ideal client.
It’s not a ton of work to do, either. Once you nail down who your client is, you’re nearly home.
Writers, how did you build name recognition in your area of writing?
What worked best for you when you were trying to advance beyond beginner stage?