How to boost your visibility as a freelancer

While the internet has brought with it numerous advantages, one downside is it can be quite difficult to make your voice heard. When you're competing with so many other people offering the same services as you, how can you stand out from the crowd when it's so easy to create an online presence for yourself and your business? Here are some of our tips to increase your visibility.

Create a website

If you haven't already got yourself a domain name and a web hosting package, then we'd advise you seriously consider it. 

When a potential client is trying to find a freelancer, it comes across as much more professional to have a website to browse with examples of your previous work and testimonials. While a free website might be a start, it's definitely not sufficient to boost your online presence and help you in the quest for more clients. 

Don't be afraid to put money into a website - it's an investment worth making. If it means you have to put aside more of your paycheck than you'd like, then so be it. Similarly, if you need to pay for the services of a graphic or web designer to add the professional touch, make sure you've got sufficient funds set aside to cater for this cost. A website that appears unfinished or isn't aesthetically pleasing could be worse than no site at all. 

Maintain a blog

Blogging is such an effective way to make your voice heard. While there are many such sites out there, ones with engaging, unique content are highly sought-after. Thanks to the mediums of Twitter and Facebook, blogs can be shared easily and quickly become viral, meaning your opinions can be heard by a plethora of people with whom you wouldn't normally come into contact. 

Don't post for the sake of it - take time to prepare what you're going to say, research what else is out there and get at least one friend to read your posts through objectively. A spelling or grammatical mistake - however small you may think it is - can drastically reduce your credibility and authority. Quality over quantity, every time. 

Having said this, do have a regular schedule for posting content. Take time out of your week to plan such posts. If followers recognise you upload an article every Wednesday morning, they'll come to expect it and develop a loyalty. 

Network with other freelancers

Freelancers network with others for a multitude of reasons - everything from collaboration to a way of combating loneliness. Why not offer to do a guest blog post on a fellow freelancer's page? This will benefit your business, as you'll be communicating with a different audience than the one generated from your own blog and can generate more links back to your site. However, it will also be advantageous for the site owner, as they will have a special post to share with their followers and create more interest for their blog. 

Furthermore, the very art of networking and sharing ideas could help you overcome any creative block you may be experiencing. Alternatively, it could enable you to see the same idea in a different light and prompt you to explore different avenues of working, ultimately making you more prolific. 

Social media

While the benefits of Facebook and Twitter could be talked about for a long time, don't forget they're just two sites of many. Don't neglect others that are growing in popularity, such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+ to name a few. Some potential clients will only frequent one or two such sites and it's important you attempt to gain traction in as many different markets as possible. 

Research how each site works before you take the plunge and start sharing everything through every possible outlet. See how experienced social media users go about maintaining their online presence and adopt the ideas you think will be of most benefit to your business.