Have you ever asked yourself “HOW DO I PROMOTE MYSELF AS A FREELANCER IN NIGERIA?”
You are not alone.
Freelancing , like any other business, requires a lot of time, commitment, passion and hard work for you to be successful.
If you have ever dreamt of making freelancing a full-time career or even as part-time hustle, there are some things you have to do… and promoting yourself is near the top of the list. This is because, as the number of clients you serve increase, the more money you make.
While promoting yourself may seem like a difficult task at the beginning, there are smart ways to promote yourself as a freelancer even with a small budget that are also very effective and produce results.
In this article you will discover 5 smart ways you can promote yourself as a freelancer here in Nigeria without breaking the bank.
- Improve Your Social Media Presence
In today’s world , social media can be a very effective marketing tool if used correctly.
As a freelancer looking to get clients, your platform of choice should be LinkedIn as you can reach a lot of business owners on the social media platform.
Facebook, and Twitter are also good platforms to check out as there are many groups and communities you where your potential clients will be hanging out online there. With the help of social media, you can generate traffic to your freelance business by branding yourself appropriately, creating and sharing relevant content more often and interact with your potential clients.
You should actively invest in improving your online presence as it will play a big role in helping you land the clients you seek.
In addition, you can leverage social media management tools that help you to communicate effectively with potential customers and help you to achieve your goals faster as a freelancer.
- Always ask for referrals
As a freelancer, one of the smartest ways to promote yourself especially here in Nigeria is to always ask for referrals from your satisfied clients – including present and former clients.
If a client is truly satisfied with your work, he is guaranteed to make referrals if you ask of him. This is why you must always put in the best in every project you work on. In fact, a recent research shows that almost 84% of Business to Business buyers start buying through referrals.
A large percentage of the buyers, about 90%, are influenced by their peers to make purchases. Once your freelance business starts getting referrals, you will become more popular among the niche you serve and your client base will gradually grow. You should always motivate your clients to make referrals by giving them incentives such as offering a discount for them and sending them a simple thank you message.
- Word-of-mouth advertising
In the freelance business any one that has grown his or her freelance business will totally agree with me that word-of-mouth advertising is a highly effective marketing strategy. This method is not just effective it’s viable and also free. Make sure you always inform close friends and family members that you run a freelance business. About 64% of marketing executives consider word-of-mouth to be one of the most effective form of marketing.
It would also be to your benefit to tell influential individuals about what your freelance business is all about . Immediately people close to you know about what you do, they can help grow your network by informing people around. After all, marketing and advertising research proves that about 88% of people tend to purchase items recommended by friends and family.
4 . Using social media ads
Social media ads is one of the smartest ways to promote yourself as a freelancer in Nigeria. What is social media ads? Simple it’s the maximizing of the social media space to advertise your your products/ services. Unlike other online advertisement that requires much money from your bank account, social media advertisement is a very effective and affordable method to promote yourself as a freelancer here in Nigeria . However, you have to keep in mind that these platforms are not entirely free and that will have to put in a few dollars. For you to get started it doesn’t require much. Once you update your profile, the interface will generate an audience that fits into your demographics.
5 . Guest blogging
One of the ideal ways for promoting your freelance business is guest blogging . This is a blog where you can comment and often post on an already established blog, whose clients match up to your demographics. This serves as a platform for you to share your knowledge with readers of the blog , and readers may be interested in what you do and what you have to offer.
If you are getting started on your freelance business, marketing is key to the success of your freelance business. Using the five smart ways above , you can see your business grow into a reputable brand that’s constantly on people’s mouths and minds. Most freelancer do not have the resources to commit into an elaborate self promotion; however, you can take good advantage of this smart ways and methods that I have shared with you in this article.
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