by Niamh Sweeney
Find out more at Workee blog
Becoming a successful freelancer is challenging, mainly due to the copious number of freelancers that clients can choose from — 57 million in the US alone, as of 2021. Today we plan to advise you on how to advertise yourself as a freelancer, set realistic expectations and choose the right price point. As freelancing values people to people relationships and relies on strong business connections, choosing how your clients find you or your services is rather important.
There are many ways to make yourself known to potential clients — such as through word of mouth, marketplaces, social media or building a website. Contacting people that you already know to ‘spread the word’ is a good place to start if you want to keep your client base personal — however, it may prove difficult to expand and diversify your brand. Marketplaces are a suitable place to start as a beginner freelancer to gain experience, but for the most part we recommend avoiding them. Check out our previous article “Why you should avoid being on a marketplace” to find out more.
Freelance tips for advertising
Considering that 3.96 billion people use social media as of 2021, social media is the most popular form of advertising and our main freelance tip. 74% of freelancers use social media to advertise their services, 21% of which is via Instagram. From a consumer psychology standpoint, social media is a good option if you want to employ the advertising techniques of emotional appeal or influencer endorsement. If your freelance service spares someone emotional ordeal (such as sickness, stress, time pressure, abandonment) or increases societal acceptance, an eye-catching social media post may prove influential. Social media advertising is also successful if done so through celebrity or influencer affiliates. In fact, a study by Abdullah et al founded that people are more likely to buy a product or employ a service if a credible celebrity recommends it.
Learn more about how to Start your Freelance business in our full article.
