Monday, January 16, 2012

Marketing Mistakes that Freelancers Make


It’s a new year and you are set to market yourself as freelancers. Getting in the marketplace and marketing your skills is extremely important. More important is marketing those skills the right way. You want to make certain that you are getting the right business inquiries to work as a freelancer.

There are some marketing mistakes that freelancers make. Avoid the pitfalls that cost freelancers work, money and time and could possibly cripple you working toward your financial freedom as a freelancer.  

Avoid Aiming at Everyone
Every freelance that works has a niche. This is the category of work that you specialize or have an expertise in. you may be a graphic designer that specializes in building websites or a writer that has a web presence or portfolio full of articles aimed at health and beauty. Whatever your niche happens to be make certain that you aim your skills at the business category that is searching for your freelancer work. You will not be everything to everyone. Don’t aim at everyone. Direct your inquiries and market yourself accordingly. The wedding planner shouldn’t aim their expertise at auto supply companies.

Businessweek.com relates that information that aims at everyone is an oxymoron. Aiming at everyone is aiming at no one. The best marketers understand that narrowing the audience they want to target will increase the intensity of their job appeal.

Make certain you are aiming your freelancer skills at the right target audience to achieve the greatest appeal and success.

Bet on Rationality
Avoid convincing your prospects. You want to connect with prospective clients and employers. Engage with clients. Spending hours on social media selling yourself to everyone can be a waste of your resources and the resources of others.

Rationally a freelancer should offer their advice which will intensify the appeal they have instead of shoving your agenda at everyone though social media resources.

Avoid the Seduction of the New
The new is always a seduction. Having the newest and the latest best thing isn’t always having the best. Many freelancers permit themselves to get seduced by the new. There will always be new marketing and media choices on the market, but these are not always the best.

New things come and go all of the time. Don’t always jump out to the newest thing when the old may be working fine for your needs. The old may even be working better than the new. New things aren’t always here to stay. What if you jump out at the new to get new clients and lose half of your current clients? Research the new and determine whether or not this is actually going to help or hurt your options. For an example, Google + is new and ready to go. However, research the options they have to offer before making a bold change in your current marketing strategies and determine if Google + has more advantages and benefits to offer you than your current marketing strategy.

Follow the Leader
Following the leader is not a bad thing. This is something that many freelancers don’t realize. Though, many freelancers can also profit from. There will always be competition. Following the leader doesn’t mean you have to imitate or immolate the leader. Follow the leader and be different while you do your utmost to lead.
The competition may have some answers to many questions. However, they may also have some disadvantages that put you in an advantage position. Make the most of what you have and go all out to make it better.

Spend a Little Money to Make a Little Money
There may be times when you have to spend a little money to make a little money. A lot of freelancers simply don’t have the same budget as a larger competitor. You may not be able to hire a team of writers for your blogging company. However, you may have a couple of dollars to spend on a consultant to advise you on marketing strategies to make more money with your blog.

There may be times that as a freelancer on a string budget that you find you have to spend a little money to make more money.

Don’t Quit on Your Freelancer Work
Many freelancers will chicken out at the last minute. You work on a project or campaign and when it comes time to act on it, you chicken out. Don’t quite on your freelancer work or marketing strategy when it comes time to act. Believe it or not eight times out of ten this happens.

It happens with small business entrepreneurs that are just starting out. It occurs with many freelancers that see how difficult marketing your expertise and skills turn out to be. Hunting for those clients and creating a source of income can be difficult. However, don’t make this daunting task impossible. Hang in there and make it work as a freelancer.


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