The best place to start with branding yourself is to consider what it is you stand for. How do you want customers to see you? Although you may be tempted to list every positive adjective you can think of, try to focus on only one or two. A brand is always more powerful if it has a clear and concise message.
Some things you might like to stand for are:
- Quality
- Experience
- Value
- Service
- Expertise
- Efficiency
- Reliability
Your aim is to own a word the way Volvo owns ‘safety’, Mercedes owns ‘engineering’ or BMW and owns ‘driving’. Sure Volvos are about driving and are well engineered, but it is ‘safety’ that people would identify as their defining trait.
Similarly a freelancer might give good service and be an expert in their field, but have clients identify them with ‘Experience’ and hence trust them with important jobs. Alternatively a freelancer could decide that they are all about ‘Value’ and ‘Budget’ and build a brand that promises clients that they will get a good deal. Yet another option would be for a freelancer building a brand around ‘Expertise’ who works on developing an industry reputation to bring in prestigious projects. To create an effective brand you need to decide what you represent and then express that value in everything you do. The word you have selected will form your core brand value.
Of course the most important part of this brand is you! So it is important that it reflects your personality and disposition. Many people deliberately hire freelancers as they want to deal with a person as opposed to a larger business, so it’s important not to feel you have to be something you’re not.
Building a brand will take time and it will likely be something that develops with your freelancing career. However, it is important to decide on your core brand value right from the start, so that when you do create branding elements they express a unified message.
Some things you might like to stand for are:
- Quality
- Experience
- Value
- Service
- Expertise
- Efficiency
- Reliability
Your aim is to own a word the way Volvo owns ‘safety’, Mercedes owns ‘engineering’ or BMW and owns ‘driving’. Sure Volvos are about driving and are well engineered, but it is ‘safety’ that people would identify as their defining trait.
Similarly a freelancer might give good service and be an expert in their field, but have clients identify them with ‘Experience’ and hence trust them with important jobs. Alternatively a freelancer could decide that they are all about ‘Value’ and ‘Budget’ and build a brand that promises clients that they will get a good deal. Yet another option would be for a freelancer building a brand around ‘Expertise’ who works on developing an industry reputation to bring in prestigious projects. To create an effective brand you need to decide what you represent and then express that value in everything you do. The word you have selected will form your core brand value.
Of course the most important part of this brand is you! So it is important that it reflects your personality and disposition. Many people deliberately hire freelancers as they want to deal with a person as opposed to a larger business, so it’s important not to feel you have to be something you’re not.
Building a brand will take time and it will likely be something that develops with your freelancing career. However, it is important to decide on your core brand value right from the start, so that when you do create branding elements they express a unified message.
