Marcel van Marrewijk's Blog, page 61

How to Find Clients & Market Your Freelance Business

Congrats
on becoming a freelancer and joining a fast-growing workforce consisting of
millions of people in parts of the world. Chances are you’ve decided to leave
your office job to enjoy a more flexible schedule and complete your projects in
the comforts of your own home, which is something that you should definitely
try.

If
you’re reading this article, chances are that your business has not been
getting enough clients recently, so you need some tips on changing that. Well,
whether you’re a beginner freelancer or you haven’t been getting enough
business lately, you’re going to find some helpful tips here.

But
before we start, you have to know the most common problems that many freelancers
experience on a constant basis but you can solve by applying techniques we’ll
describe shortly.

Top Challenges of Being a Freelancer

Lack of Clients

A
lack of clients is something that many freelancers are struggling with,
especially beginners. Unfortunately, there’s no advantage of being a new kid on
the block in this business, because of the ever-increasing competition and a
rising number of freelancers.

Competition

More
and more people choose to be freelancers and leave their traditional 9-to-5
jobs. For example, according to Freelancing in America 2018
report –
one of the most comprehensive measures of the freelance workforce – more than
one in three U.S.-based workers freelanced in 2018, while the total number of
independent workers increased to 56.7 million people.

Source: Freelancing in America 2018

Unpredictability of Income

“Many
of your clients will need you for one-time projects, so the level of your
monthly income may fluctuate,” says Chelsea Ann Dowdell, a blogger from RewardedEssays. “Needless to say, this can
be a big challenge and a significant demotivating factor.”

How to Find Clients and Market Your Freelance
Business

If
you’ve been freelancing for some time, you know how frustrating it can be to
have to experience these challenges. So let’s minimize their negative impact on
your new and exciting career.

Technique #1: Make Your Freelance Profile Irresistible

Every
freelance job site out there requires you to market yourself with a profile. Essentially,
your profile becomes an online resume that determines whether your potential
employer contacts you for an interview.

To
make you a great candidate for customers, you have to make every profile
element perfect:

Your photo. Make it professional, so
no weird selfies, let alone with someone. Dress well and smile.Your bio. Always write it in the first
person, don’t brag too much and focus on your qualifications and experience. Your portfolio. Only showcase your best
work there. Your potential employers won’t spend a lot of time looking at it.Your experience. Freelance work sites typically ask clients to leave
reviews of contractors, but you should do it immediately after you complete a
project. Don’t be afraid to do it because your long-term success depends on the
reviews left by your clients. Keywords. For example, Make sure
that you include keywords related to your industry or niche in your entire
profile, especially in the headline and bio. For example, if you’re a content
writer, you should include keywords like “content writing,” “marketing
writing,” and “website content writer.”

Use
a tool like SupremeDissertations, Hemingway
Editor or GrabMyEssay to check your profile for
any errors before making it live. It doesn’t take a lot of time but it can help
to keep your image intact.

Technique #2: Craft a Winning Proposal

Freelance
job sites require you to send proposals to clients to persuade them that you’re
the best fit, so having a great proposal is an excellent way to maximize the
chance of getting noticed.

Here
are the tips to create it:

Keep
in short. Employers typically receive a lot of applications, so they don’t have
time to read all of them. That’s why a long proposal won’t convince anyone that
your candidacy is worth considering. Grab
the client’s attention from the very beginning. “In many cases, clients won’t
read past the first two sentences of your proposal, so you should be very
persuasive from the start,” says Ethan Dunwill, a content manager from HotEssayService. “For example, you call a
client by name or describe what makes you the best fit right away.”Add
work samples to the beginning as well. To know whether you can do their job,
clients need to see your real experience, so insert links to published or live
projects you’ve completed to persuade them that you’re a great fit.



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Additional
tip: even having a super proposal template isn’t always enough to get a job.
Some clients filter applicants by asking them to include a certain word or
sentence in their proposal to make sure that they read the job description
fully. Here’s an example:

So,
read every job description completely before applying.

Technique #3: Apply only for Recently Posted
Jobs

Every
day, people all around the world post hundreds of jobs on well-known freelance
job sites like Upwork
and People per Hour. Since these sites also
have thousands of thousands of freelancers hungry for work, a new project gets
tons of proposals in the matter of hours (in fact, Upwork introduced a feature allowing
clients to restrict the number of proposals that contractors can submit for
their projects because of that).

For
you, it means that applying for a job that was posted only a couple of days ago
may be pointless because of all the crazy competition. Besides, the number of
times you can apply to jobs may be limited (for example, Upwork lets freelancers apply to
only about 30 jobs a month),
so send your applications only to recently posted projects.

Additional
tip: don’t be lazy to answer additional answers that a client includes in the
job posting. Freelance job sites allow them to do so to get more information
from applicants, so they provide an excellent opportunity to stand out among
others by giving thoughtful answers.

Be
prepared to answer questions like these (they depend on the nature of the
project, but these are commonly used by clients on freelance job sites):

Why
do you think you are a good fit for this particular project?What
similar projects have you completed in the past?What
is your experience in this niche?Have
you written content on this topic previously?Which
part of this job do you think will take the most time?

Technique #4: Use LinkedIn ProFinder 

Did
you know that in addition to being a social media platform for networking,
LinkedIn also has a freelance marketplace? It’s called LinkedIn
ProFinder
and you can use it to find freelance projects and submit proposals.

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Your
LinkedIn profile will play a major role at winning you some projects, so keep
it up to date and fully completed. Since 87 percent of recruiters use
LinkedIn to find candidates,
you should definitely make it polished to make a good first impression.

Over to You

With
the number of freelancers steadily rising, finding work as an independent
worker becomes more difficult. That’s why you should learn how to stand out and
market your freelance business. Hopefully the above tips will be helpful to you
to find more clients and build a successful freelance business that provides a
steady, high income.

The post How to Find Clients & Market Your Freelance Business appeared first on Seats2meet.

Mom Cycle on screen voor Seats2Meet video 6

Directeur Rebecca Slotboom van Mom Cycle, een community van ZZP Mama’s, neemt kijkers van Seats2Meet Magazine mee in haar leven als ondernemer en ZZP Mama. In deze video vertelt ze samen met Inge Solleveld over haar missie voor flexibele opvang bij flexplekken.

The post Mom Cycle on screen voor Seats2Meet video 6 appeared first on Seats2meet.

10 Socially Impactful Resolutions

We are used to making our personal new years resolutions. But how about resolutions that would not only benefit you, but also the rest of the world? Add those 10 resolutions to your list!

A week ago 2019 has started, bringing us a new fresh beginning.
Some of us might have made resolutions to make ourselves and our lives a bit
better. More sports, eating heathier, quitting smoking… we are all familiar
with these good old classics. At the end of the day, a better world starts with
ourselves. But if want to have a positive impact not just on our own lives,
but on the lives of others, we better include the next ten socially impactful
resolutions in our list.

Buying less stuff

Long live minimalism! Let’s leave the values of consumerist society in the past, and switch to sustainable products, fair fashion brands and support local stores. 

Grab your bike more often

Leave your car along with traffic jams and problems with parking
behind, and get on your bike! Less pollution, more physical exercises (wasn’t
that you who made a resolution to exercise more in 2019 ;). And your wallet
will feel the difference too! 

Switch to Timeless fashion

Seasonal trends are there to get you on a temporarily wave of
common style. Don’t be afraid to be left out of mass-market trends and develop
your own timeless and individual style. Vintage items, high quality clothing
and unique designs will create your signature style and keep you out of overspending
and trying to keep up with the fashion race.

Travel sustainably

Traveling and sustainability in one sentence? That might
sound contradictory, since flying – is extremely environmentally
polluting. To compensate for the CO2 emissions of your flight, choose a
sustainable travel destination once in a while – bike to a small village nearby
and stay there for a weekend. Discovering your own culture and roots can be a
truly fascinating experience.

Eat vegetables more often

We are certainly not asking you to become a strict vegetarian, but
a small effort to eat one or two meals a day without meat already counts. 

Rent and borrow more

We live in the times of the Sharing Economy. Why trying to
own everything when nowadays cars, houses, tools, camping equipment,
workplaces, and many other thing can be shared? Sharing is caring, after all

December 6th: Seats2Meet Tilburg Opening

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While we are all getting back to the productive mode of the new year, we would like to share one of the Seats2Meet milestones of the end of the year 2018.

On December 6th our team visited opening of the new S2M location in Tilburg located in LocHal! From an old Locomotive factory the location has been transformed into an amazingly designed spot for meetings, events and co-working.

Dive into the atmosphere of @Seats2Meet Tilburg with the photos from the opening ceremony and make sure to check it out in 2019!

The post December 6th: Seats2Meet Tilburg Opening appeared first on Seats2meet.

Mom Cycle on screen voor Seats2Meet video 5

Directeur Rebecca Slotboom van Mom Cycle, een community van ZZP Mama’s, neemt kijkers van Seats2Meet Magazine mee in haar leven als ondernemer en ZZP Mama. In deze video een super business tip van ondernemer Jolanda van Velsen.

The post Mom Cycle on screen voor Seats2Meet video 5 appeared first on Seats2meet.

Mom Cycle on screen voor Seats2Meet video 4

Directeur Rebecca Slotboom van Mom Cycle, een community van ZZP Mama’s, neemt kijkers van Seats2Meet Magazine mee in haar leven als ondernemer en ZZP Mama. In deze video een super business tip van ondernemer Joyce Vlamings.

The post Mom Cycle on screen voor Seats2Meet video 4 appeared first on Seats2meet.

New year, new trends!

You have probably received different emails, blogs, letters with the message “Merry Christmas and a happy new year!”. Of course, we wish this for you too

Goede voornemens en trends voor 2019!

Foto gemaakt door: Rawpixel

‘We wensen je fijne feestdagen en een gelukkig nieuwjaar!’

Je hebt inmiddels vast al een aantal berichten ontvangen met deze boodschap: ‘we wensen je fijne feestdagen en een gelukkig nieuwjaar!’. Dat wensen wij je uiteraard ook graag toe (dus bij deze!), maar doen het dan wel net even een tikkie uitgebreider. We blikken hieronder terug op 2018, lichten wat trends voor 2019 uit en geven je nog een paar extra goede voornemens voor het komende jaar mee.

Ontmoeten, werken en serendipiteit. Voor wie het nog niet wist: dat zijn onze drie kernactiviteiten. We willen ondernemers met elkaar te verbinden, plekken bieden om (samen) te werken en om toevallige, maar relevante ontmoetingen te initiëren. En dat alles gebeurt sinds dit jaar via passport.seats2meet.com.

Terugblik op het S2M-jaar

Want er was genoeg te vieren

Why it is increasingly important to be an opportunity space ✨

Opportunity space

Good news for all Powered by Seats2meet locations: you are already an opportunity space: a space with a certain core business where you also use co-working as a means to grow. You create an extra possibility, an opportunity. And that will only grow in importance in the future.

Experience economy

You may have heard about the experience economy. The idea in that as an organization you offer experiences to customers. When you create an experience around your product or service you can set its price higher. Starbucks is a good example, it’s not just about the coffee, it’s about the whole experience.

Joseph Pine, one of the authors of the book The Experience Economy, believes it goes even further than that. Offer a transformation. This is another layer on top of the experience economy. This may sound out there, but what it means is that you help your user along a bit further every time. You do this by being an opportunity space where they meet new people that help them along their journey.

Opportunity space thanks to S2M

A Powered by Seats2meet location is not just about providing a good level of comfort and service. It is about the fact that a person after a visit to your location transform into a better person of him or herself. For him or herself. This transformation can be different each time. We see that the transformation is facilitated by serendipity. When someone who paid your location a visit, had a useful meeting or was able to answer a question. This then helps them develop. They grow. And that is why you are an opportunity space.

Social Capital

Seats2meet uses social capital. When people book a desk to work at, they don’t pay with money. They are asked to check-in using the S2M Passport. We ask them what their focus of the day is after which they are matched to people, S2M locations, events, and content. All based on their focus of the day and profile.

Co-working as an enabler

We at Seats2meet use co-working as a means to keep your location relevant and dynamic. To help support and grow your core business. This way co-working isn’t just a business model on its own, it turns your location into an opportunity space.

More than ever we need spaces and places where people can play, experiment and create the future. The future of work is about creating, the rest will be automated. This ‘creating’ work is what we facilitate together by offering beautiful places where people meet, work collaborate and grow.

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7x goede PR-voornemens: zo word jij beter zichtbaar in 2019

Originally posted on: PR-cursus.nl

Is een van jouw goede voornemens voor 2019 ook om beter zichtbaar te worden? Om jezelf en je bedrijf vaker te laten zien? Zodat jouw ideale klanten jou feilloos weten te vinden? Wij hebben zeven goede voornemens voor je PR op een rij gezet. Go for it! 

1. Start met bloggen

We kunnen het niet vaak genoeg zeggen: start met bloggen. En nee, je bent niet te laat. Content is nog steeds king. Je hoeft niet de grootste blogger van Nederland te worden. Wat je wel kunt doen is minimaal een keer per maand een blog schrijven voor je bedrijfswebsite. Zo blijft je website vernieuwend, en dat vinden Google en je klanten hartstikke leuk. Goede blogs als ‘de meest gestelde vragen over [jouw onderwerp]’ of ‘succesvol [jouw onderwerp] in vijf stappen’ doen het altijd goed. Klanten gaan jou hierdoor als autoriteit zien en bovendien word je door zulke blogs beter gevonden in Google. Ook interessant: ga gastbloggen en deel je kennis op andere relevante websites, zoals het online magazine van Seats2meet.

2. Social media on fleek

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram… moet je daar overal de hele dag actief zijn? Heus niet! Maar social media is wel degelijk belangrijk voor jouw zichtbaarheid. Het is een gemiste kans om geen social media te gebruiken, omdat het zich perfect leent om een personal brand te creëren, contact te maken met klanten en top of mind te blijven. Kies het kanaal waar jouw doelgroep zit en zorg dat je daar minimaal een keer per week wat nieuws post. Denk hierbij altijd: is dit relevant voor mijn ideale klant? Wat heeft mijn klant hieraan? Zo blijf je de moeite waard om te volgen. Vergeet ook niet om af en toe te reageren op anderen.

3. Check je statistieken

Net as bij marketing zijn statistieken erg belangrijk voor je PR. Wil jij meer bereik en beter zichtbaar zijn? Dan moet je weten wie je klant is, waar ze op zoeken, hoe ze bij je terecht komen, etc. Kijk dus eens goed naar je Google Analytics: wie komen er nu op je website? Hoe komen ze bij jou terecht en wat wordt er goed gelezen? Borduur daar op voort, zowel voor je eigen content als voor jouw earned media. Bedenk ook wie nu jouw klant is: wat zijn dit voor mensen en op welke kanalen zitten er meer van dit soort mensen?

4. Vergeet je SEO niet

Om even door te gaan op die vindbaarheid: mensen komen bij jou terecht met bepaalde vragen. Schrijf daarom blogs waarin je antwoord geeft op die vragen. Zo vinden potentiële klanten jouw website als ze zoeken naar die antwoorden. Weet je niet goed waar jouw doelgroep op zoekt? Schakel dan de hulp in van een SEO-expert. Eventueel kun je ook Google Adwords gaan gebruiken. Je betaalt dan als het ware om hoger in de zoekresultaten van Google te komen. Een veelgemaakte fout is dat ondernemers te veel in jargon schrijven, terwijl de doelgroep daar niet op zoekt. Zorg dat je de taal spreekt van je klant.

5. Maak een medialijst

Je kunt veel zelf doen om zichtbaar te zijn (‘owned media’), maar de echte kracht van PR zit ‘m in earned media. Oftewel: publicaties in de krant, tijdschriften of in online media. Zo bereik je immers een heel nieuwe, veelal grote doelgroep die jou nog niet volgt. En als anderen (lees: de media) over je praten is het veel krachtiger dan wanneer jij dit zelf doet. Beginnen met earned media? Stel een medialijst samen. Simpel gezegd komt dit erop neer dat je gaat bedenken welke media relevant voor jou zouden kunnen zijn, welke relevante journalisten daar werken en wat hun contactgegevens zijn. Dit houd je bij in een Excel of Google Sheet.

6. Bouw mediarelaties

Als je een relatie nodig hebt, is het te laat om die te gaan bouwen. Zorg dus dat jouw mediarelaties al warm zijn, en dat deze warm blijven. Wacht niet tot je een groot persbericht verstuurt, maar mail de media uit jouw medialijst vandaag nog voor een kennismaking. Dit creëert goodwill, juist omdat je niets probeert te ‘verkopen’. De volgende keer dat je ‘echt’ nieuws hebt, weten de media al wie je bent. Dat helpt altijd mee. Het volgen van journalisten op social media kan helpen om je pitch persoonlijk te maken.

7. Reageer op oproepjes

We hebben ‘m al vaker genoemd, maar meld je echt aan voor de Facebook-groep RUM (Roept U Maar). Hier plaatsen journalisten die interviewkandidaten zoeken hun oproepjes. Zo ben jij als eerste op de hoogte van een relevante oproep en kun je jezelf direct pitchen als ideale kandidaat. Het leverde veel van onze klanten al mooie publicaties op, waaronder interviews met RTL Z, AD.nl en Sprout. Reageer altijd snel en het liefst in een persoonlijk bericht. Vermeld daarbij waarom jij geschikt bent en hoe ze jou kunnen bereiken. Voor jou anderen tien anderen!

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