The life of a freelance writer can be exceptionally tough. Especially when the hunt for new clients seems to yield little hope. Even when you do find an avenue to explore, managing new writing gigs (or streamlining your existing routine) isn’t an easy endeavour at first. Particularly if you happen to have picked up a brand-new client or you’re exploring an unfamiliar niche. Taking some time to work on your personal brand is a good way to establish yourself as a trustworthy professional.
The more people that can discover you, the better your chances of securing a new gig. Which means making sure that you are as accessible as possible. Here are some top tips to help you extend the reach of your personal brand. All while making your online world a little easier for visitors to navigate.
Table of Contents
Utilize Audio Description on Your Video Content
Creating video content and showcasing it on your website is a wonderfully effective marketing tool. Especially for a freelance writer with a big personality and a great storytelling ability.
Not all of your customers will benefit from video content in the same way, however, whether this is down to a disability or circumstance. The great audio description services by Verbit are worth checking out in this regard, as they can allow you to add an extra access point to your videos and help support those who are unable to benefit from the visual elements of your video. With the audio describing exactly what is happening in all of your videos, everyone can enjoy your craftsmanship. This is the perfect solution for bigger companies looking to attract potential freelancers to work for them, too.
The power of video content should not be underestimated when trying to grow a personal brand; just think of all the highly successful YouTubers out there. Moreover, if you wish to write scripts as part of your freelancing wheelhouse, video content is likely the perfect way to present your skills to potential customers.
Conduct an Accessibility Assessment
To maximize your content value, whether it’s in the form of a video, a pamphlet, an article, or a pitch, it needs to be as accessible as possible. If you established your online presence and posted a great deal of branding content a while ago, there may be a good chance you are due an accessibility assessment.
This is fairly straightforward and can be done quickly. Plus, it gives you a deeper understanding of what it is like to access your site as a customer.
Potential issues worth watching out for might include:
- The Nature of the Theme – Not every theme is designed equally, and some will likely be more accessible than others. If you had your website made from scratch, you might need to return to the drawing board to improve certain areas.
- The Font – Hard to read or overly lavish font benefits nobody. It is difficult to read and tends to detract from the rest of the page and the meaning of the words themselves. As a freelance writer, words are your most valuable weapon, so why not give them some room to shine with a clear font?
- Navigation – A site that proves difficult to navigate is unnecessarily harming your personal brand, as it frustrates and confuses the customer before they even have a chance to work with you. Accessibility and ease of navigation go hand in hand, particularly if you make your site reachable by voice search and you do not need a mouse to traverse it.
Use the Right Social Media Platforms to Advertise
While the right or wrong social media platform may not exist, there is an art to accessing your ideal target audience, and it means finding them on their home turf.
For example, your target audience could have a preferred platform based on their age or location. They might not even use social media at all! Who would have thought it?
Social media can often prove to be the entry point through which people access or interact with your personal brand for the very first time, so making sure you get it right is a must.
It is worth noting that you may want to start including image descriptions of any posts you might be making online, as this can help ensure you work on your brand’s accessibility, no matter the platform.
Watch Your Language
Throughout history, writing has inspired, shocked, informed, enlightened, lied, revealed, and just about everything else in between. You may wish to do the same with your own writing at some point. But until you can construct your magnum opus, shocking your audience online may harm your personal brand. Even if you are trying to emulate the likes of your favourite writers.
While you should feel confident enough to do this in your personal writing, it may turn off potential clients if you apply it to your professional writing. Especially if you use words that exclude or offend.
Exclusionary or offensive language is hardly the way to emanate professionalism or represent accessibility. So remember to think about the value and the impact of your words before posting anything.
Tip – If you happen to be trying to break onto the global stage with your freelance writing career, watching your language may also mean getting hold of some reliable translation services and reading up on the culture, as this can help you avoid a nasty faux pas.
Ensure Your Writing is Clear and Well Structured
As a freelance writer, any copy that you write for the public eye will likely be scrutinized. Technically, it deserves to be scrutinized if you aim to let your talent do the talking.
Going for a clear and concise structure while striving to avoid overwhelming your audience with too much text is a must. This can make your personal brand’s content so much more desirable, wherever you happen to be showcasing your writing.
Continue Reading: Over Branding and Over Marketing
Make Yourself Reachable
Last but surely not least, make yourself reachable and available to answer any queries. This is a surefire way to help support all your customers, and it looks great for your brand too. If you can offer a more personalized service, it could make all the difference in attracting more customers.
