Your Freelance Writing Brand: What Sets You Apart

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Branding is the art of establishing distinction. Who are you and how you are different from everybody else? Clients want to know why they should hire you and what you have to offer. With a clear brand identity and even clearer communication of what you can deliver, you not only stand to earn a lot more but have a higher likelihood of loyal clients coming back for more work.

In this post, we are going to walk you through the process of establishing a unique freelance writer brand for yourself and how you can leverage it to get continuous work at top rates.

1. Do you have a personal brand?

Image: Lorraine Olivia

 Your brand is a combination of several things that make you, you, and set you apart from the pack in the freelance market. This includes your unique writing style, how you design your logo, the way you approach problems, the way you solve client conflicts, the services you provide, and much, much more.

But it doesn’t stop there. You have to market your brand too. You have to get social and tell people what you do, showcase your expertise, and let them see you in your element. For that, social media is your best friend. Go on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. An Instagram profile won’t hurt either. You can join writer groups, networking groups, and other spaces where you can meet your peers and potential clients. Show off your writing, take part in discussions, answer questions, and offer expertise.

The magic trick here is to do it all with intention. Know what you want to be known for. Are you the writer with unimpeachable research, or the copywriter with the punchiest taglines, or the writer with some seriously funny bones. Just choose your brand and build on it.

2. What does your brand look like?

Image: Dribbble/Petra Lee

We are talking about visuals here. Successful freelancing depends on successful marketing, and modern marketing relies heavily on great visuals. If your visuals aren’t striking, people are not going to stick around to hear or see what you have to say.

So, get your visuals in order. This includes your writer brand logo, your website/portfolio, your social media post templates, and everything else you use to present your brand visually. When you are designing your logo, keep in mind that it should reflect who you are. That means no vague, abstract visuals or acronyms in your logo. If you are going to use your name as your brand, either use your full name or a name that you go by. Just your initials may not have the same impact as a proper name, especially when you are just starting out. 

When you are using images and other visuals such as infographics or videos, your style should shine through. Do not deviate from that. Keep the stock photography to a minimum and balance it with a healthy amount of personal photographs that give people a glimpse into your personality. Authenticity is a key element of success. People respond to authenticity and if you can project that through your portfolio, logo design, imagery, and other things, it’s a recipe for success. 

3. Do you have a niche? 

Image: Behance/Samia Mughal

As a freelance writer, establish your niche early on. Are you a content writer or a copywriter? Most writers tend to combine it but it helps to choose one as both these disciplines are quite different from each other. Content writing is usually long-form and should have a storytelling aspect to it. Copywriting needs to be short, punchy, and to-the-point, and it requires a certain kind of flair for tugging at the emotions.

Then there’s technical writing and web content writing. Also, within content writing, you have so many industries to think about. Mental health and wellness, beauty and lifestyle, travel and leisure, graphic design and other creative fields, and many more.

Establishing your niche helps you achieve several key objectives:

• You communicate your authority as an expert in your particular field.

• When you specify your skillset, you get a more focused string of clients who know what they are looking for.

• Your quality of work improves when you specialize in a subject and can appraoch it from multiple angles. 

• You separate yourself from a huge swarm of freelance writers who aren’t defining their niches.

• As an expert writer, you earn loads more than if you just write for every job that comes your way. Loads more.

To build your freelance writing brand, and carve out a distinguished reputation for yourself, you must choose a niche.

4. Can people see you in action?

Image: Behance/Kendra Wilson

This means your portfolio.

People need to see your work to learn what you are capable of. Your portfolio can be a standalone website or a dedicated digital space on a platform like Behance. Behance is an online launchpad for creative professionals to network, see each other’s work, and find jobs.

Your writing portfolio should be a brief showcase of your absolute best work. These are your writing samples that every new client will see and they need to see your best. Also, keep your portfolio updated and fresh. Showcase your latest work so prospective clients can see what you have been recently working on.

If you have your own website, consider launching a blog too. It can be a great way to showcase your personality and build a knowledge base for newbies in your field. An updated blog is an authoritative way to show clients your mastery of the subject.

5. Do you have credibility and authority?

As a freelance writer, you are going to rely a lot on what people call ‘street cred’. What your customers think of you, how believable they perceive you to be. Do they agree that you have the expertise that you claim to have?

The more credible you are, the more knowledgeable, the more elevated your brand becomes.

There are several ways to build your author credibility and authority.

-        Invite your clients to leave you reviews. Every time they do so, format it neatly according to your brand visuals and display it on your website. Let people hear from their peers how great you are!

-        Share your knowledge. Write on your niche topics, share what you have learned so far, and help others on the path to success.

-        Post articles on authority websites. Make sure you are posting on websites that hold sway with people. Focus on high-authority blogs that readers and clients trust.

-        Establish your own blog and keep it active. Having your own blog goes a long way in establishing your writer authority. Your posts get shared, your SEO improves, and your exposure increases. All of it contributes to bolstering your authority as a writer.

-        Display your picture. I know I’ve said it before but it bears repeating. People like to put a face to the name. Let them know you so they can feel safe connecting to you.

Remember that authority is built over time.  Remaining consistent, patient, and focused, you can hope to create a successful and distinguished brand.   

Conclusion 

Brands grow from within. As you set out on your journey as a freelance writer, stay true to yourself and invest in what you are good at. Your own voice, your unique style, and the distinct way you write and engage with the reader all come together to create your brand. 

We hope our discussion today brings you closer to finding your brand and growing it into the successful enterprise that you deserve.

About Author

Nina Hoffman is a writer, graphic designer, and marketer. She has been freelancing for over five years now and she loves exploring new ideas through her content. She is also an avid reader. Her favorite genre is fiction.