The Awkward Business of Marketing Ourselves

Gill Booles is Words Are Everywhere. She provides content. She also provides marketing services. She understands copy and how it works as a direct marketing technique, how it should work as a marketing tool. And she works across all channels because what works offline (in print – brochure, newsletter, poster) will work online too (web, blog). Gill is also a trained journalist, copy editor and proofreader. With a background in communication she share her thoughts on business marketing.

Creative freelancers may like to think they’re special. But we are just like accountants, lawyers and architects. You can be the most talented award-winning creative in Scotland and yet, like anyone else who provides a service for a living, you still need to market your business.

And unlike widget manufacturers we can’t stack words, images or websites on a shelf and use in-store promotions to sell them. We have to market our business, which often means marketing ourselves. For those of us brought up to ‘stop showing off’ here are my top tips for marketing a creative business:

1          Work on getting work in 3-months time. There’s a time lag between marketing and winning work. You may be too busy now but when the work dries up and you do have time for marketing, your efforts won’t produce immediate results. Spend an hour every day following up enquiries, pitching or submitting proposals, asking for referrals, writing a blog post etc. Get into the habit – do you know where your work is coming from in 3 months’ time?

2          Get your 5-a-day. Yes, I do work on public health improvement campaigns (www.fightcervicalcancer.org.uk was one of mine). I believe you need to keep yourself regular. Social media is about consistency – being regular, even if you can only manage 5 minutes a day. Whatever site you favour – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook – being a regular user, little and often, is more effective. Nothing is sadder to see than a Twitter page last updated a year ago.

3          Have a plan, even if your plan is to ‘make a plan’. Decide where you want to be and work out how to get there. What is realistic and achievable? As simple as a campaign to get back in touch with clients you did work for six months ago – getting repeat business is easier than winning new clients. Or big stuff such as identifying new opportunities – are you willing to learn a new skill? Could you collaborate with a like-minded freelancer to offer clients a one-stop-shop? Check out the Folio14 directory for creative talent in your area.

4          Don’t do it yourself. If you find marketing difficult don’t beat yourself up. In my former life as a Marketing Manager for, amongst others, accountants KPMG, Deloitte and Baker Tilly it was surprisingly common to find people who were experts in their field (the most creative tax partner, the corporate financier who structured a multimillion pound buy-out) who would do anything rather than pick up the phone and call a prospective client. Like them, maybe you could benefit from marketing support. Why not outsource and use the summer for a spot of housekeeping – overhaul your website, update your portfolio, refresh your profile or update directory entries. Recently I produced a series of case studies for a client – it was easier for me as an outsider to get good positive feedback from their customers.

5          Keep your distance. Marketing yourself is akin to online dating. Writing a profile, whether for a directory entry or to find the love of your life, is easier if you can distance yourself from the process. Rope a friend in. But don’t seek reassurance, hearing ‘it looks OK’ won’t help. Ask them, for example, to tell you what is wrong with your promotional material – your website, business card, logo, photo, portfolio – and get them to tell you what kind of clients they think you are looking for. If they see you as pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap web designer and you’re offering a tailored bespoke service you need to think about how you can re-position yourself. It could be as quick and dirty as applying a new look and feel. Or time for a strategic review of what you are trying to achieve – are you offering the right services, to the right people, at the right time and for the right price?

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