Think about the most successful businesses you know. What comes to your mind when you picture them?
Chances are, you can envision the company’s logo, colors, voice, and products without thinking too hard. That’s due to their strategic use of marketing and brand development.
Brands are subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) techniques that link your business to a visual or other sense. Your brand includes all the colors, voices, and images that connect what you do with who you are. The more powerful your brand is, the more it stands out to your audience.
How does a brand relate to you as a freelancer? Well, if you want to attract more clients and stand out in your field, a professional brand can do that for you. Use these steps to develop a brand that builds and promotes your freelancing career.
Step One: Know Your Niche
What do you do in your freelancing career? Take that general profession and narrow it down to what targets your ideal customer, and you’ll have your niche.
For instance, McDonald’s sells food, but they target the on-the-go family who wants good food in a hurry (and on a budget). Burger King followed that marketing idea and then broke off into a niche that told people they could “have it your way.”
Your brand should instantly define your professional personality. But until you identify who you’re trying to attract, it’s hard to get to that step.
What do you offer that goes deeper than the average person in your profession? That’s your unique selling point, and that’s what you need to include in your brand.
Let’s use a freelance photographer as an example as we work on building a brand throughout this article. Our photographer works primarily with pets, but specializes in birthday photos as a niche. They’ll use that in their final brand.
Step 2: Define What You Do
You have something to offer that no one else does (your niche). Now, you have to get people to recognize what that is when they see your brand.
McDonald’s started out with the slogan, “You deserve a break today.” Combined with the visuals and logo, this told their audience that the company’s value was giving the customer a break from cooking.
What is that you do that serves your customer? When you define it, you can share that definition as part of your brand. Your business identity sets your services apart from others in similar fields.
Coming back to our example freelancer, they’ll define their profession as a pet photographer who brings the party props to the customer.
Step 3: Determine Your Voice
This step is crucial if you want to attract the right audience. The voice of your brand is how people know whether you’re laid back or serious. You’ll take this voice with you as you create your website, choose photos to represent you and communicate with followers on social media.
The key to finding your voice is to be authentically you. For instance, maybe you’re a lawyer, so you need to be professional. But if you’re a humorous person by nature, let that shine through your brand and play it as a strength.
In the case of our freelance pet photographer, a casual, fun-loving voice would be more likely to attract a target audience than a serious one.
Step 4: Connect the Dots in Your Profile
You now have everything you need to put together a website, social media page, or freelancer profile with your brand.
Use the information you’ve collected to post a profile picture that includes those elements. Add a heading that explains what you offer that others don’t. (Such as: Make Memories of Your Pet’s Special Day: We Bring the Props to You!)
Within your “About Me” section or resume area, use text that brings that voice onto the page. If you’re communicating with followers through social media, use that voice in your posts.
Step 5: Get Networking
You’ve done the hard work already. Still, clients don’t usually fall into your lap. You have to put yourself out there and let everyone know that you exist. That’s done through networking.
You have the basics that everyone else has at your fingertips: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms. But as a professional, be sure to take advantage of the networking services LinkedIn provides, too.
And as a freelancer, you have communities designed for gig workers that connect you with other like-minded solopreneurs, such as Selfgood. Sign up for a membership on those platforms to get discounts on insurance, purchases, and entertainment and build your network of other freelancer connections.
Conclusion
Building a professional freelance brand that attracts your audience doesn’t happen overnight. But as you get to know your value and what you bring to the table, you can put together a combination of text, voice, and visuals that let people know who you are. With consistency, they’ll be more likely to remember your brand when they need your services.
