Freelancer Forum: An opportunity to work on YOUR brand

Last week, we held our second Freelancer Forum, an event meant to highlight and spur discussion around a topic pertinent to freelancers. Attendees gathered around the stage at Skylark Lounge to hear a panel of five local entrepreneurs and experienced freelancers discuss their approach to marketing their business.

As professionals in the ad world, we spend much of our time branding other entities, but somehow when it comes to our own branding, it’s tough to find the time. Our panel answered some key questions and importantly, left us inspired to take on the self-promotion tasks that often fall to the end of the list.

Below are a few of the key themes that rose to the top during the panel session:

• Know your audience and the channels to reach them; then be consistent with your message.
• Build relationships and be persistent. Don’t be afraid of hearing “no.”
• Partnerships, collaboration and project sharing can lead to further projects and a broader network.
• A mix of channels is key. A social presence can be just as important as an in-person presence; test different channels and find the mix that works best for you.
• Define your personal story and then google yourself. Do they match?
• Marketing your business takes time and a lot of effort; often the ratio of real work to marketing efforts can be almost 50:50.

We’re excited to host this event quarterly and provide our freelance members with an outlet to discuss and solve challenges they face while building their business. This event will be ever evolving based on the needs of our members, so please feel free to weigh in and let us know your thoughts. Comment below or email president@rafconnect.org.