Marketing Yourself

Some of you are natural marketers. You instinctively understand how to put yourself in front of people who can help you and don’t hesitate to do it. You’re up-to-date on all the latest gadgets and thingamajigs that can help you get your name out.

CYBER SNAGS

If you’re not a marketing and social media natural, don’t go throwing yourself into these endeavors all at once. You may get frustrated and burnt out wondering how you actually veered away from your dream life rather than getting closer to it. Rather, take it one chunk at a time. Start with building a professional website or signing up on Twitter and let that sink in before you take on the next marketing angle.

Others would rather crawl in a hole and hang out with the shrews than promote themselves. Talking to strangers about yourself and your services is awkward and something you only do at virtual gunpoint.

Fortunately for both types of people, vehicles exist to make marketing yourself easier. It’s a fact that if you want your business to grow, more and more people need to know about it. You can rely solely on feedback and proposals, but you can also kick the process in the behind and get quicker results.

Social Media and Elance

Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, YouTube, and other social media venues are a great way to spread the word about what you do. Due to the “social” nature of many of these, you can also spread the news in a friendly and casual way. This helps alleviate the stress associated with promoting yourself that many people experience.

It’s pretty easy to link your Elance presence with social media outlets. You can post your profile on your Facebook page as well as let folks know of any new jobs you’ve taken on. This is a way to celebrate the new work, as well as to spread the word about what you do. You just never know where the next referral will come from.

When you post a project, you are automatically asked if you would like to post it on your Facebook page. You can also Tweet about it or upload it to Linked In.

If you’re new to the world of social media, get involved step by step. If you’re an old hand, then proactively use these tools to get the word out about what you do. Don’t pummel people with it, but instead regularly update them on what you’re doing. Most of the time people are fascinated with this online work thing and want to know more.

You Don’t Have a Website?

Really? Okay, I have to lay down the law here. You must get a website. Now.

Whether a contractor or client, if you intend on growing your business you need to have a website. This is where you continue to promote your services, let people know who you are and what you’re up to, and nurture that precious human connection.

It doesn’t need to be fancy. You can have a streamlined and simple site, or one with as many bells and whistles as you can stand. The fact is your website is a crucial link in your marketing process.

BEST PRACTICES

Many top clients say they always check out a potential contractor’s website as yet another gauge as to how professional the freelancer is. If they don’t have a site, or it’s shoddy and out-of-date, that’s a red flag when the client is building his short list.

You can easily embed your Elance profile right on your website. To do this, go to Resources on the main top toolbar and click on Widgets & Tools. From here you can download the Elance Profile Widget (Figure 16.1), which will place your profile in your website.

Figure 16.1: The Elance Profile Widget embeds your Elance profile within your website.

If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, you can build your own website without too much turmoil. Or you can always hire an Elance contractor to do the job for you. This is a great alternative as you get quality talent working on your behalf, but you also get a close look at what it’s like to hire and work with someone within the Elance system. This alone is worth the price of building a website.

The Least You Need to Know