Freelancing does not exsist in a vacuum
Some may think that freelancing exists in a vacuum. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether guest blogging for a company’s LinkedIn page or email marketing through your own website, becoming a successful freelancer means becoming the most effective marketer on behalf of your own skills.
This requires determining the right marketing strategy for you or your small business. You may be a fully remote and hire for many clients, primarily communicating with them on digital platforms. As a result, it’s important to know how to communicate well and in such a way that clients feel confident in your professional abilities.
Independent professionals who want to do well with their freelance work need to embrace digital marketing to draw in new clients. The following steps serve as a general template for promoting and finding work for your freelance business. While not exhaustive for every type of freelance work, these steps can be a great place to use as a starting point and can be modified as needed for your unique situation.
Build a professional social media presence
Whether you’re a graphic designer, content marketer, or freelance writer, your online portfolio should appear across all social media channels, including your LinkedIn profile. Depending on the services you offer as a freelancer, different social media sites will better help you market your freelance business. For example, if you are a graphic designer, you’ll likely find greater benefit using Instagram than LinkedIn to show clients the quality of your work.
How to set up your LinkedIn profile to maximize exposure as a freelancer
Some clients use LinkedIn to double-check a potential freelancer’s work history before hiring for a project. These four quick changes below will optimize your LinkedIn profile and indicate that you’re open to new work projects.
Add your freelance work experience
When adding your job experience on LinkedIn, choose “Self-employed” or “Freelance” from the Employment Type dropdown. Then, take full advantage of all the fields offered by adding a short description of your services and a link to your Upwork Profile.
Maximize your exposure and drive people to view your Upwork profile
It is beneficial to include the phrase “Freelancer on Upwork” in addition to your area of expertise when adding your work experience. This phrasing effectively lists your freelance experience and clarifies how potential clients can find you across platforms. See the examples below for a PHP Developer on LinkedIn and Facebook.