Modern Freelance

By: Chris Clarke

In today’s technologically focused society, the ones who take full advantage of online networking will reap massive rewards. By pushing any and all content that pertains to your business on several different platforms in a public fashion, you can push the bounds of exposure further than ever before. I speak from the perspective of building a client base for photography but I do believe this can be applied to all fields. I’ve been able to build a solid roster of repeat clients using word of mouth and through online networking. Take a niche business and turn it into an all-encompassing community. Learning how to navigate the plethora of platforms that exist today is a rather large undertaking. The reward is well worth the work. Make use of several platforms. Transfer your audience to personal platforms over time. And work publicly in order to capitalize on ideas that receive praise.

For any product or service-oriented business, and everything in between, using the internet as a catalyst for success is something that can’t be ignored. It’s time to create a loyal following not only in your hometown but all over the world. You’ll need to start building a digital footprint. What’s the first step? Deciding on a succinct message and planning out your distinguishing features. Why are you creating this business? What will it convey to your customer? How have you turned your business into a community? This will allow you to sell more effectively and pivot whenever necessary. People are naturally eager to be unique and participating in the new wave. If you can display a genuine love for your business online it will bring people to your doorstep in droves.

The important aspect here is to start harboring a collective of people who enjoy coming back out of curiosity. The first move is creating profiles on every platform in order to extend exposure across several levels of the internet. Take pictures and create advertisements, post them on Instagram. Create videos and give insights into why you do what you do, post them on YouTube. Consider your process, write down concise thoughts and advice, post them on Twitter. People choose to give their loyalty to products in large part because they respect the person they’re buying from. Supporting small businesses and up and coming entrepreneurs is the new craze. Social Media platforms allow you to attach yourself to your brand in a profound way. The world is going back to a renaissance era where everyone can work for themselves and build a business that thrives off a unique blend of skills. By working and sharing your idea’s on new products and services in the public eye you are able to receive live feedback and speedup efficiency tenfold. Take your latest and greatest idea, post it on all of your platforms, analyze the feedback, and use your refined judgment to decide whether it is worth pursuing. Stop second-guessing. This allows you to brainstorm new ideas and add avenues for your revenue to scale. Consumers have come to love the process. Videos and pictures of your step by step method starting from scraps and building to a finished product gets people going. Shady activity coming from big brand names is being documented all over the internet and puts companies in the ground overnight. Give yourself the credibility by showing your fanbase some behind the scenes content. At this point, you’ve turned a product into a piece of entertainment. You’ve not only sold your work but you’re selling your image. Start generating revenue from the people who will never buy your physical products but enjoy watching you get creative. Create functional content, post your process, keep everyone whos familiar with your brand in the loop.

This is where you monetize every aspect of your business and never leave a single step behind. Consumers today aren’t purely classified by buying products. They can be digital consumers and they are wildly underestimated. If you’re making handcrafted surfboards, Sell. Every. Step. If someone isn’t buying your surfboard they might be buying into videos of the creation process because of their love for DIY projects. “If not this, then that” is the key here. One might love going down rabbit holes of electric surfing videos. You must be their supplier. Get as many people as possible in your corner. With a well-made video of your next surfing trip, you might just tip someone over the fence whos been considering the sport as a new hobby. Now they’re your customer. Push and pull your audience through your chain of content and products until you’ve cornered them into supporting your brand in some way.

Now you have a captive audience of people from all over the world interested in you and your brand. Outgrowing the platforms you used in order to build an audience is the natural progression. Make it your own. Create a website that includes all the resources you’ve made. This includes videos, pictures, testimonials, articles, products and everything there is for fans to see. This way you aren’t losing out on profits taken from platforms when you were just starting out. You’re no longer the small fish. Give exclusive deals and content which can only be seen on your personal platform. Collect customer emails. This data will be beneficial in marketing your products and personalizing them. Make customers feel special and supply newsletters or updates to keep your brand fresh in people’s minds.

The key to all this is diversifying in the end. If your business grows to the point where it can be your sole income, then hats off. But if you’re hungry, don’t stop at the first victory. Diversify. Continue to use these steps throughout all of your endeavors. Invest in yourself. Rinse. Repeat. As you show your knack for building businesses from the ground up, doors will only continue to open. Don’t forget, this entire time you’ve built your business publicly via internet platforms which are documented and easy to find. This gives ample evidence to future partners or investors by showing you’d be worth their time. You’ll only grow from here. Go build.