As a freelance writer, you have the unique opportunity to create your own brand and promote yourself as a professional. Your brand is how potential clients perceive you and your work, so it’s important to get it right.
But that’s easier said than done. A lot of freelancers struggle with how exactly to present themselves to the world. How much personality is too much? When does witty branding become unprofessional? How often should I be networking? These are all questions every freelance writer and copywriting has asked themselves at one point. And here, we’re going to go through 10 easy steps on how freelancers of all experience levels can start (and continue) building their personal brand and identity.
Choose Your Niche Early On
When you’re a freelance writer or copywriter, one of the most important things you can do to build your personal brand is to decide early on your niche. This helps narrow in on your target audience and fine-tune the copy you create for your clients.
For instance, if you’re a health and wellness writer, you could specialize in blog posts about nutrition, recipes, or home remedies. If you’re a business writer, you could choose to focus on marketing or finance.
By becoming an expert in a certain area, you’ll be able to develop relationships with clients who are looking for someone with your particular skill set. You’ll also be able to create quality work that appeals to your target audience.
Start a Blog
Building your personal brand as a freelance writer or copywriter is essential for getting ahead in the competitive job market. One of the best ways to do this is by starting a blog and promoting your own content. What better way to get your voice out there, right?
What you want to cover on your blog is completely up to you. A lot of professional writers and freelancers write various “How To” articles or share tips and advice on specific topics pertaining to copywriting. This not only boosts your personal portfolio, but also helps establish you as an expert in your field (and your niche).
Get Active on Social Media
As a freelance writer, one of the most important things you can do to build your personal brand is to become active on social media.
LinkedIn is a great place to start. It allows you to easily network with potential clients and peers, share your work, and post updates about what you are doing. Additionally, it is a good way to get connected with industry leaders and influencers in your niche. Facebook is another great tool for building your brand as a freelance writer. You can create a business page that showcases your work, share updates about your projects, and join groups and conversations related to your industry.
Wherever you think your audience is scrolling, that’s where you should be posting!
Build Up Your Portfolio
As we mentioned before, your personal and professional portfolio is an essential part of building up your brand. Your portfolio can make or break potential clients’ first impressions of you, so it’s important to make sure you put your best foot forward. Here are a few tips to help you create an impressive portfolio:
- Highlight Your Relevant Experience – Showcase your relevant work experience in a way that emphasizes the skills you bring to the table. Include work samples from any past writing gigs and showcase your capabilities as a writer.
- Showcase Your Writing Skills – This is where your blog will come in handy! Select pieces of writing that demonstrate your ability to write clearly, concisely, and effectively. This will help demonstrate to potential clients that you are capable of producing high-quality content.
- Share Testimonials – If any of your past employers or clients have been pleased with your work, include their positive feedback in your portfolio. This can help give prospective clients more confidence in your abilities.
- Showcase Your Creativity – Feature writing pieces that showcase your creativity and originality. This will give clients an idea of what they can expect from you when it comes to original content.
- Update Regularly – Make sure to keep your portfolio updated regularly with new writing samples.
Write Guest Posts
Writing and publishing guest posts on other websites is a great way to get your name out there, demonstrate your expertise in your chosen field, and build an audience.
Some sites will pay you for your work, while others may offer exposure instead. Either way, you should be sure to include links back to your website at least once per post so that people are able to find out more about who you are and what services or products you provide.
Develop A Tagline
It is important to make sure that your branding is consistent across all of your professional profiles. What’s an easy way to do this? Create a tagline for yourself and your business.
When creating a tagline, think about what makes you unique as a writer. What do you specialize in? What do you offer that other writers don’t? Once you have an idea of what you want to say, start brainstorming different ways to phrase it. Make sure to include keywords related to your specialty so that potential clients can find you easily.
It also helps to take a look at what some of your competing freelance writers have as their branding to get a sense of what works in the industry. A tagline is your opportunity to show off your personality and describe who you are and what you do in a more playful, witty way.
Once you’ve settled on one that really sells you and your talent, put it everywhere! Social media, your website, email signature — anywhere potential clients could see it.
Pair Up With A Graphic Designer
One of the best ways to achieve a strong and professional personal brand is by working with a graphic designer to create collateral for your business. A graphic designer can help you create and execute a unified branding strategy.
A graphic designer can provide you with a logo, social media graphics, and website design that will help you to create a unified brand. By having all of your visuals look cohesive and well-designed, you’ll have a stronger presence in the market. Plus, have them incorporate the stellar tagline you just wrote to really create a quality visual brand identity.
Create Content About Yourself
As a freelance writer, creating content about yourself is one of the most effective ways to establish your personal brand. You can create content that showcases your skills, knowledge, and experience as a freelance writer, and helps to demonstrate why potential clients should hire you. Use these posts as opportunities to show off your writing abilities by crafting pieces that are informative, thoughtful, and well-researched. Make sure that you are including links back to any projects or previous articles where appropriate so readers know where they can learn more about what you do.
Content about yourself and your professional journey can be a nice addition to more educational blog articles.
Offer Consulting Services
By offering consulting services, you can help other businesses and organizations create content that best reflects their brand and mission. Consulting services also allow you to share your unique knowledge and perspective with potential clients.
And aside from the physical, tangible benefits you’d be providing these clients, consulting is an important networking strategy. Networking is a tricky game to play, but building up a rolodex of individuals and businesses that you can trust will make it go a lot smoother.
Network With Other Writers
And speaking of networking, it’s important to reach beyond just potential and existing clients. Chat with other writers as well! Here are some tips on getting started on your networking journey.
- Attend writing conferences and events – Attending conferences and events is a great way to meet other writers and build relationships. Many of these events have a networking element to them so take advantage of the opportunity to mingle and make connections.
- Make use of online forums – Online forums like Reddit and Quora are great places to network with other writers, discuss industry news, and share advice and experiences.
- Follow industry leaders – Following industry leaders such as bloggers, journalists, and authors can help you stay informed about the latest news in the field and give you insight into how successful writers operate.
- Participate in Twitter chats – Twitter chats are great ways to meet and interact with other writers from around the world. Participating in them regularly can help you build relationships and increase your visibility within the writing community.
