Freelancing

11 Ways to Market Your Freelancing Business

Are you finding ways to market your freelancing business?

You might have heard me talking about getting freelancing jobs without freelancing platforms. Sure, a lot of freelancers work independently, meaning, they don’t rely on freelancing platforms to get clients. Therefore, we utilize other options available at our disposal such as social media, website, blogging, and public relations to market our freelancing business.

If you work on Fiverr or Upwork, you might think that it’s pretty much impossible to get clients without freelancing platforms.

If you look through my lens, I see a plethora of opportunities out there, which is why I’m writing this blog post in the first place.

I’m about to share eleven methods to market your freelancing business, but it doesn’t mean I oppose working on the freelancing platforms. I even wrote a blog post guiding freelancing starters on how to start freelancing on Fiverr. So I don’t dislike freelancing platforms; I prefer freedom over dependency.

Why am I saying all these things?

All I want is to help out people who don’t have the expertise to work on freelancing platforms. So I don’t want them to feel left out just because they’re starters. Moreover, this blog post might help them understand that freelancing sites aren’t the only option they got.

Freelancing is simple; you learn or polish skill, and you find someone who needs it. Once the service is delivered, you get paid for your work.

Before I tell you several ways to market your freelancing business, I’d highly recommend figuring out what you should do as a freelancer. So think about:

  • Something you’re good at
  • The thing your friends think you’re an expert of
  • A job that you’d do as a side hustle
  • Anything you’d do without getting paid for

Chances are, you’d have a monetizable skill or talent that you could sell as a freelancer.  My friend Nikola Roza does this. He’s a fantastic SEO expert, so he sells his SEO service online. If you don’t have one, you could always polish the next favorite thing and try to sell that.

Let’s move to the cream of this blog post.

market your freelancing business

11 ways to market your freelancing business

Ready?

Take a look:

1. Write a Blog

Off the top of my head, blog writing is something that has been working for me. It’s up to you to try it or leave it; I’d respect your opinion. Every one of you might not like writing a blog and I understand that. If you feel comfortable writing about your expertise and helping the prospective audience through your content, I’d highly recommend starting a blog. The reason is that you can use it to market your freelance business.

2. Word-of-Mouth

Whenever I meet new people and they ask me what I do, I tell them that I’m a freelance writer. If they have no idea what a freelancer does, I explain that I write blog content for businesses and websites and get paid. The benefit is that after the meeting, they know someone who works on the internet and writes blogs for a living. Don’t ever underestimate the power of word-of-mouth marketing.

3. Connect with Relevant People

One of the basic principles of using social media for freelancers is that they should connect with the most relevant people on social media. Not only should you add business owners, but you should also connect with other freelancers as well. If you just start doing this, you’d start marketing your freelance business right off the bat. For example, I mostly connect with bloggers, social media experts, business owners, and startup founders on Facebook and Twitter. As a result, whenever I talk about something, the audience has some idea what I’m talking about so it leads to engagement, discussions, and lead generation.

4. Live Stream Collaborations

Live streaming is one of the most underrated marketing tools of our time. Most people use live streaming for amusement and fun, for example, they’d go live when they are at a concert or watching a game or traveling on a highway. What they should do is bring a like-minded person on board and go live on Facebook and Instagram to talk about something they have in common. When both of them go live, their followers would start to show up and watch their content. This creates an opportunity to talk about the stuff you’re interested in or you do for a living. You can provide value to the audience and attract prospects for the future.

5. Hire Me Page

You might not have heard about a hire me page, but this thing turned my freelancing business upside down back in 2015. I have had a first-hand experience of using a hire me page, and it changed everything. I had no idea that 5 to 10 unique visitors could get me customers just because I created a “hire me page” on the blog. So all you need to do is create a page, write down the details about your service, and use a CTA to direct readers to your hire me page. Voila!

6. Content Repurposing

Content repurposing means you can take a piece of content and put it on a different platform, let alone in a different format. For example, you can convert a blog post into a Pinterest image using the key points of the blog post. Let me share how I mostly repurpose blog posts. I take the blog post that I’ve already published on my blog and I republish those blog posts on Medium and LinkedIn. Both these platforms allow republishing, meaning, you don’t need to publish unique content on these platforms. So, a few new eyeballs get to see my content there. Just think about it, you republish your blog post on Medium and LinkedIn and it goes viral on any of these platforms. As far as marketing your freelancing business is concerned, your profile and bio must be telling about your freelance business. Check out my profile bio on Quora, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

7. Guest Posting

Guest posting is the most underestimated strategy of getting freelancing clients. Most SEOs and bloggers would rather guest post for search engine ranking than building a connection with others. After blog writing, guest posting is my second favorite marketing strategy to get hired as a freelancer. I’ve worked with so many clients that came over just because they saw my guest posts. Ali Luke is a successful freelance writer, and she does guest posting too.

I don’t understand why people don’t get it; if someone is offering you their blogging platform and allowing you to write your content, it means, they’re giving you the stage to talk, engage, and impress people. I believe that name and face recognition is the next SEO. I couldn’t emphasize enough.

8. Social Media Commenting

Social media commenting is a free tool at your disposal to express your views and send a message across. If you write a status on Facebook or post a tweet on Twitter or leave a comment on YouTube, you’re doing social media commenting. Most of you don’t understand the power of this tool because you have not been told about it. I once wanted to build a connection with a prospect, and all I did was left a comment on Facebook. The same prospect turned out to be one of my regular clients. All I did was went through his content and left a good comment on his Facebook post. This way, I got introduced to him, and he found out that I’m a freelance writer, and the rest is history.

9. Follow Hashtags

It might blow your mind because I’m about to tell you a way to find untapped freelancing opportunities that you would have missed otherwise. Following hashtags sounds so simple. Isn’t it? It’s kind of simple on Instagram because you can use the search section for searching a hashtag and simply follow the hashtag. On the other hand, on Twitter, you need a standalone tool that could do this job for you because Twitter doesn’t have a built-in feature for following a hashtag. Try Tweetdeck, twchat, or tchat for following hashtags. The job doesn’t end here because to market your freelancing business, you need to follow the right hashtags for finding and connecting with the prospects. For instance, I’d follow a hashtag like #FreelanceBlogger to find the companies that are looking for a freelance blogger.

10. Answer Queries

Answering queries on the internet is a great way to attract eyeballs and bring people to your website. The point is to tap on the platforms that have attention and help people out with something you know. Plus, use your profiles to direct people to visit your site. It’d happen if you answer their queries and make a difference in their lives.

Moreover, when you’re finding freelancing clients, you might want to hang out in the communities that are related to your industry. For example, if you’re a freelance graphic designer, you must be answering questions related to graphics designing softwares, social media images tools, typography, Pinterest images, and infographics. The point is that if you answer relevant questions, you’d get closer to the related audiences. Use Quora, Blurtit, or Ask.me for answering your industry-related questions.

I’ve seen Ryan Biddulph answering questions on Quora. He does this because he knows the power of answering queries and helping out people.

11. Use Bio and Cover

One of the easiest ways to market your freelancing business is making the most of your social media accounts. There is no rocket science involved in using your bio and cover as marketing tools. All you need is to write a clear bio explaining what you do. For instance, if you’re a freelance website designer, you can write “I’m a freelance website designer” or “website designer for hire” just to let everyone know. The same goes for your cover image; most people don’t understand the power of the cover image. You never know who stops by your profile on Facebook or Twitter so make sure that your cover image tells what you’re up to. Take a look at my Facebook page’s cover. So both these simple things could land you a freelancing job while you’re sleeping. Got it?

Let’s wind up

I see people keep complaining about not getting freelancing projects, and when I ask them when they started, they tell me 3 months ago.

Let me tell you something, I only worked on 4 projects in the first three years of my freelancing career. After three years, I wasn’t taking new clients due to the workload.

So if you want to win, you have to be patient, persistent, and tough.

Nobody wins without putting in the work and staying out there.

I’ve shared 11 ways to market your freelancing business.

It doesn’t mean you have to try all of them; choose what you like the best.

Would you try any of these strategies to market your freelancing business?

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23 Comments

  1. Thanks so much for the shout Hassaan 🙂 Quora rocks. Millions of people looking for answers to their questions. So, answer their questions generously and some visit your blog, learn of your freelancing business and business grows, with patience and generosity.

    Ryan

    1. Absolutely.

      Quora is a great channel to meet new people, solve their problems, and turn some of them into your fans.

      Isn’t it?

      Glad to see you here, buddy!

  2. Hi Hassaan. Great post about ways to market a business, or a skill.

    All very true. Each way works but they work even better when combined.
    The first step one must do is having a prominent “hire me” page; where they can say what they do and what their rates are.
    The second step is getting people to visit the site.

    And it doesn’t take many. Literally, one person who’s a match will mean one new client and it all start from there.
    For me, my first client was someone who contacted me after I left a comment on his blog, with a link to my “hire me” page.
    Also, thanks for the mention, I appreciate it:)

    1. Hey Nikola,

      Of course, there is always a mix that matters. If something doesn’t work out, you could try out the next one; it’s a part of the game.

      Perhaps, one shouldn’t be trying out a handful of strategies at once, especially if the person is a newcomer. Isn’t it?

      Glad to see you here.

      Thanks.

  3. Hi Hassaan,
    Exciting post you have hear, and you tips are actionable that one can apply today. However, I also want to add that creating a solid portfolio can make a difference in marketing your freelancing business. Thus, one can setup a portfolio on Contently, Pinterest, or even LinkedIn. For example, I used my LinkedIn profile to create a mini portfolio and it has been incredibly phenomenal. Clients would contact me saying “I saw your profile and it’s good. I believe we can work with you.”
    Hence, it does wonders.
    Thanks a lot for sharing!

    1. Hi Moss,

      You’re right. A portfolio can do the wonders. I liked the idea of using LinkedIn and Contently for that. However, I use my blog for attracting freelance writing clients, and it works for me.

      You should write an in-depth guide on LinkedIn portfolio/LinkedIn marketing strategies. I’d be so glad to read that and others would also appreciate it.

      What do you think?

  4. Hello Hassaan,

    Great and very informative post. Today freelancing is a great way to work online through your skills. However, many newbies are complaining that they did not receive any projects. Actually, you have to show the skills and the tips you have shared here is awesome and helpful to market yourself. Great Insights.

    Regards,
    Vishwajeet Kumar

    1. Hi Vishwajeet,

      Thanks so much for your comment. I understand why starters complain about projects. As I wrote, “you have to be patient, persistent, and tough,” one shouldn’t let these things stop them.

      It all comes to keep going forward and respecting the process, which means you should learn from your experience and polish your skills every day.

      Do you agree?

  5. Thanks so much for mentioning me & linking to me, Hassaan — and what great suggestions about marketing a freelancing business. I think sometimes people are put off the idea of guest posting because they don’t want to write for free … which I can completely understand, but personally, I’ve had so many clients from guest posting that it’s been well worth spending a little time writing for free (and hey, I enjoy the writing anyway). 🙂

    1. That’s all right. I’m glad you liked the blog post.

      Perhaps, I like writing not just because it gives me satisfaction, but I also know if my content helps anyone, the effort would be worth it.

      A lot of people want to improve without doing the work. You and I know it doesn’t work out.

      Some of my guest posts helped a lot of people, and it kept me going.

      Thanks, Ali, for stopping by and leaving your comment.

  6. Hey, Hassaan!

    Very informative and well-articulated.

    And I liked the way you winded up by encouraging to be patient, persistent and tough. There is no success in freelancing if you don’t bag these three.

    Thanks

    1. Thanks so much, brother.

      These three ingredients can change anyone’s life.

      I’m glad you always read my blog.

      Anyways, you should also make a gravatar account with the email address you use for commenting. It could display your picture along with the comments. Go to gravatar.com to sign up for a free account and then upload your picture.

  7. Hi Hassaan,
    Love the strategies you shared!
    Staying active on Quora has helped me a lot in marketing my blogs and services.
    Gonna try republishing the content on Medium & LinkedIn.
    Sharing it right now. 🙂
    ~ Ahmad
    P.S. I came back to blogging with a new blog, linked it here: “ahmaddigital[dot]net”

    1. Welcome back, brother.
      I’ll check out your blog, for sure.
      Keep up the good work.

  8. Hey Hassaan,
    Here you have a really great strategy for freelancers. I’m pretty sure that this works great because I am also using most of these tricks but, I gave up on republishing or repurposing content on Medium and LinkedIn a few months ago because I felt like it will affect negatively on my blog. I don’t know much about Google’s new algorithm updates and SEO. So, I decided to confined my articles to the blog.
    Appreciate your expert idea.
    Thank you very much for sharing this.

    1. Hi Nirodha,

      I’ve read from the experts that you whenever you repurpose or republish your content, make sure to mention the (original) source to let the search engines know about it. It’s understandable why they advise that.

      But I respect your point of view; keep me posted, though.

      What’s new on your side?

      1. Thank you very much for the tip. Within the last few months, I was really busy with my research and the thesis. That is why I couldn’t work much on my blog.

        However, now I opened my blog for guest authors, and a few pretty good articles were already published from guest authors. Hope you’ll visit sometime and consider writing an article for my blog also.

        Thanks again.

          1. Awesome.

            I’ll check out the post.

            I’d love to guest post on your blog. I’m already working on a few guests for some major blogs.

            Plus, I invite you to guest post on StartedBlogging.com so that your blog could also get attention. Ryan, Sathish, and a couple of more bloggers are on board too.

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