One of the things I often teach coaching clients and students is that freelancers need to think like marketers. It doesn’t really matter what kind of freelancing you do either – you need to think like a marketer to build your business. Additionally, if you do something like writing or design you essentially are a marketer to your clients.
As simple and straightforward as it seems, starting to think like a marketer is actually something I see a lot of freelancers struggle with. There are many reasons for this including feeling like a sellout, getting paid, being afraid to put themselves out there and sometimes just being plain stubborn.
Here are some of the ways you can overcome your fears so you can start thinking like a marketer and start making more money.
Focus on benefits.
One of the key ways to think like a marketer is to focus on the benefits that you provide to clients. How are you making their lives easier? How do you go the extra mile for them? What extra value can you provide that others can’t?
Everyone has their own unique special sauce, it’s just a matter of uncovering and starting to own it. For example, my secret sauce is that my work often times gets picked up by media outlets. That means there’s a good chance that my writing for them will get picked up (and often times does).
Find ways to showcase your clients.
Another way to think like a marketer is to find ways to showcase your clients in a natural way. Everyone does testimonials – which is great – but there are so many other ways to let your clients shine while showing others that yes, you actually work with people.
For example, I recently started a podcast as another way to market myself as a millennial business and finance expert. One of the things I plan on doing is interviewing some of my clients who are doing some pretty amazing things. For example, I’ve interviewed a coaching client who is a genius at building relationships for career success and I’m planning on interviewing one of my long-time editors who works for a non-profit dedicated to educating college grads about how to repay federal student loans.
I not only let them have their time to shine and educate my audience, I also let my audience know that my clients do some pretty cool stuff. Everyone wins.
Start seeing your life as content.
If you want to think like a marketer, it may be helpful to realize that your whole life serves as content. Marketers always have their ear on the ground for a good story that they can either use to market themselves or, at least in the case of writers, pitch to a client.
For example, I regularly pull content from my own life and use it as a way to market myself. Just recently I did a podcast episode where I call myself out for spending too much money and challenge my listeners to join me for a No Spend Challenge. I show that I’m human, I create community and I help people. I’m just so happen to be marketing myself in the process.
At the end of the day, a key part of thinking like a marketer is to always be thinking up some new content. You’d be surprised at how easy it becomes to think like a marketer once you’ve made it a habit.
