As a freelancer there is an opportunity to create a working lifestyle to suit you, but without enough work or clients you may not achieve this, or end up always trying to. Some freelancers are lucky enough not to need to market themselves in the beginning, but at some point they will need to in order to find more work. Mark Bowley of Creative Agency Freelancing shares his advice on gettings started and finding work:

I’ve been a freelance designer for the last five years and the following are some of the things I believe are important to consider as early as possible in your freelancing career:

What is your aim or plan?

Many people enter freelancing without an ultimate plan, possibly testing the water before deciding where to go. However, even if you don’t want to put a timeframe on your freelance career, it’s worth considering your main goals and aims so that you can market yourself effectively.

By this I mean what do you want to get out of it primarily? Do you want to boost your CV with some big industry names? Are you looking to add a certain type of work to your creative portfolio? Are you looking ultimately for a particular full-time job? Once you have thought about this it should be the guiding factor in deciding what kind of businesses to approach for work, and for briefing recruitment agents on where best to place you. It’s easy to get pigeon holed as a freelancer so if there’s a particular type of work you want to do, or types of company you want to work for, you have to actively seek them out.

Consider your skills or specialisms

It’s also worth thinking about what your main skills or specialisms are. Just like any business needs a USP to market itself, freelancers can also benefit from defining what they do best. It’s becoming more common for freelancers to be employed because of a certain skill that businesses don’t have, or don’t have enough of, in-house. I would say this is because of the general squeeze on budgets which means they need to justify the cost of employing freelancers against specific tasks. Make a list of the top two or three things you do best, and make sure they are obvious in everything that represents you: your CV, your online profile or portfolio, and your blog if you have one. You could even go as far as to list them in places like your email signature if you want.

Good portfolios

If you are a creative freelancer like me, you will know you need a good portfolio. Not only that but it’s worth having both an offline and online version. The traditional offline one will be needed for interviews and meetings, and the online one will be crucial as a quick reference for employers and as a means for them to find you. I have written articles on both preparing design portfolios and getting a free online portfolio if you need more information on this.

An online presence

If you are not visible online as a freelancer you are missing a vital trick in marketing yourself. It’s often the first place employers will look if they want to find out more about you. At the very least you should have a free profile on a website like Linked In, or any one of the many other social media websites available today. Having a blog is another good way to be visible online, as it’s a good way to showcase your expertise and what kind of work you like doing. Also, as I mentioned above, for creative freelancers it’s a must to have an online portfolio with a profile.

Seek out work

Even with all the above suggestions you can’t just sit and wait for work. Once you are freelance you need to develop a proactive attitude and have a number of sources you regularly use for work. The main four ways I find freelance work at creative agencies are: recruitment agents, job websites, word of mouth and networking, and approaching businesses direct. All of these options should be open to you in your particular field, and it’s worth putting in a bit of time with them each month, even if you don’t currently need any work.

If you want to find out more information on freelancing at creative businesses, I publish similar articles and resources on my website Creative Agency Freelancing.

By Mark Bowley of Creative Agency Freelancing