Promote yourself as a freelancer? DO! But how?

As a start-up freelancer, you will go through several stages to belong to the freelance landscape. Both as a startup, it is important to promote yourself and continue to do so. For example, making yourself known is necessary to build and maintain an extensive network.

It is also important to make it easier to win contracts. After all, people tend to do business with independents they know, trust and like. Which all starts with adequate visibility. So you have no reason to be reticent; turning out your talents can only move you forward!

Unpacking yourself as an expert!

Before getting started with your communication, it is important to figure out for yourself what you need to communicate. Using a USP or unique selling proposition, describe how you differentiate yourself from competitors and why clients need you. In short, identify what you really stand for as a freelancer and what solutions you offer.

To position yourself properly, you must first and foremost ask yourself a few questions:

• Who am I?
• Why am I doing this?
• What do I stand for?
• How do I want to be seen?
• What is my added value?
• What are my qualities?
• …

After thinking about this, it is important to also identify your competitors. Based on this, you can complete for yourself what you can do differently and possibly better than them. Determining your target group and the customers you want to work for also contribute to good positioning.

By focusing on a few things you specialize in, you as a freelancer create your own golden "DNA. Based on this DNA, you can better personalize and communicate your messages. Furthermore, this is also an important selection criterion when assignments arise. This on the one hand for yourself, to see if the assignment suits you. As for the potential client, to evaluate whether your positioning fits their company.

Also have your positioning evaluated by those close to you so you can be sure it 100% exudes what you stand for! After determining the unique solution, it is important to communicate all of this to the outside world.

And now specifically, how do you tackle this as an expert?

Share your USP, valuable ideas and content as well as experiences without expecting anything immediately in return. Build a connection with your audience and be in the picture regularly to create awareness and be remembered. Some ways to do this include participating in networking events, maintaining your own website or blog and your various social media channels.

Specifically? Keep your social media channels/profiles and website up to date after completing an assignment on the one hand. But on the other hand, also stay social by starting online conversations. Furthermore, regularly demonstrate your expertise by sharing an article. Of course, it is important that the content you share is consistent with your USP. Be consistent in the way you promote yourself to the outside world, so always use the same image but not always the same content.

Furthermore, on Facebook and LinkedIn numerous groups where you can participate in conversations and share your expertise. However, many competitors do the same thing so dare to look for groups that are a little further from your core competencies, but who are definitely interested in your expertise.

Using social media alone is of course not enough, personal contact also remains an important factor to share your expertise as a freelancer and to promote yourself. Participating in events is an important factor in this, both events in your own sector and outside of it. Here you meet a lot of people, you can show off your own expertise but you can also pick up tips on how others do it.

In short, don't be afraid to adequately highlight your own expertise! GET ACTIVE AND SHARE!