How to Establish a Unique Brand as a Freelancer

The word is, the world of freelancing is quickly becoming a crowded one. And predictions aren’t good; numbers continue to rise, begging the questions, could it become overcrowded?

Perhaps it’s reasonable to presume, the more freelancers there are, the more companies will outsource to reduce costs, resulting in natural equilibrium.  On the flip side, it might mean a freelance price race to the bottom. Gulp! It could go either way; the question is, which way will you go?

Will you sink to the bottom because you’re solely dependent upon freelance websites and a half-hearted LinkedIn profile for your gigs?

Or will you be the cream, become a brand, and rise to the top?

To succeed in this competitive market place, you first need to know how to establish a unique brand as a freelancer; only then will you light up your freelancing world.

Allow us to tell you how.

Develop Your Unique Selling Proposition

To get noticed in your market place it helps to have a unique selling proposition that makes you different from all the other freelancers, so what’s yours?

Maybe you have a unique combination of skills; perhaps it’s your experience within a particular niche or your knowledge of a specific subject, but what if you’re only beginning and it’s none of those?

If so, don’t worry, because there’s another way you can cut yourself free from the clutter, your style!

Defining yourself with a particular style

Originality is a hard trick to pull in this day and age, but defining yourself by a particular style is more than possible.

To find yours, look at your work, find a common trend that you naturally use, perhaps you create in a minimalistic or an elaborate way. Whatever it is, that’s your voice, so use it because it’s what makes you original!

Once found, call out your voice and infuse it throughout everything you do; this way, when prospective clients look at your portfolio, you’ll stand out from the crowd.

Choose An Appropriate Name and URL

If your name’s available as a domain, buy it so no one else can, regardless of whether you’re going to use it now or go with a brand name, as you might need it in the future.

For freelancers using their name make sense, as it’s how prospective clients will search for you online. Sure, a catchy phrase might sound great, but how’ll they know to use it?

Examples being:

• Name: Tara Joyce – Profession: Writer, clients would search for“Tarajoycefreelancewriter.com.”
• Name: Tara Bailey – Profession: Photographer, “Tarabaileyphotography.com,” get the picture!

Perhaps you’ll be expanding in the future, forming a company, and hiring staff. If so, your choice of brand name should be made with keyword research in mind, don’t be too vague, stay relative to your niche, and you can always add an extra bit of spice by using a Tagline, more about that next.

Grab Their Attention And Show Them Your Personality

Add your personality to your search name, email signature, social media profile, and anywhere else you’ll be using it by creating a snappy Tagline. It grabs the viewer’s attention and gives them something to remember, and you can build an entire brand around it.

Here’s an excellent example of a Tagline:

• Diamonds Are Forever: Copywriter, Frances Gerety, created the famous Tagline for De Beers Jewellers in the 1940s, at a time when diamonds were only worn by the rich and famous. In doing so, she changed how we viewed diamonds, once a symbol of wealth, it instantly became a symbol of eternal love, and by 1951, 80% of US brides wore a diamond ring; the rest, as they say, is history.

OK, it’s an extreme example, but Frances Gerety couldn’t have known that her Tagline would change how the world viewed diamonds, and De Beers still use it to this day!

• You can also add your personality to your Tagline: It could be something you believe in, creative use of words, or a sense of humor. Your goal is to engage your audience and retain their attention, so “Just Do It.” See what I did there?

Create Your Identity With A logo

Have you heard the branding term “A Visual Identity”?

What you need to know about it is, as a freelancer, you need one.

Your visual identity is, yes, an image, no prizes there, but it’s more than just a pretty picture. It’s a crucially essential tactic designers use to unify a brand’s presence throughout their marketing strategies.

And you do it by first creating a logo:

Your logo’s often the first thing clients see, so it has to make the right impression, and your choice has to follow specific design rules if it’s going to have the desired impact.

You can create logos that are suited to your market by researching color, font, and logotypes that work for your niche. Online logo making tools can help you with that, and the bonus is you can see your logo on the screen. You can also play around with it until you find one that delivers the right message and suits your style.

Build Your Website Around Your Brand

Your website’s how you’ll ensure you stand out from the sea of freelancers flooding your marketplace; it’s also where prospective clients will go to find out more about you so they can make an informed decision to hire you or not. 

Many people get stuck at this point for numerous reasons, too many options, not knowing where to start or finish!

The trick is to keep it simple, and you do it by building it around your brand, and that’s you.

A three-page site is all you need to get started, consisting of:

1. A clean landing page with your logo, Tagline, and face on it, with a clear description of what you offer.
2. An About You page telling the story of who you are, how you work, and examples of your work.
3. A Hire Me Now page with a clear call to action.

Further Your Brand With Your Social Media Profiles

You have to get social to create a public presence, and by doing so, you’ll build the awareness required for getting noticed as a freelancer.

Your social media accounts are where you connect with your market place, other freelancers, influencers, run brand marketing campaigns, and showcase what you’ve got to offer.

Get your profile running by adding the following info to your profiles:

• Your Bio – After your logo and Tagline, your Bio`s the first thing clients read. Keep it short, informative, and to the point. And add relevant links to past clients and examples of your work.
• Portfolio – You can use social media to link back to your website so prospective clients can view your portfolio; once there, and if you’ve built it right, chances are they could become a client.
• Blog – Not everyone’s comfortable writing a blog, but you don’t have to be Amy Porterfield to write one that successfully promotes your freelancing career; just write about what you know and use that voice you’ve found.