7 steps to consider before you take the plunge
Making the move from in-house to freelance marketing is a big step. If you’re thinking of doing this you’ll probably have a lot of questions. How much do you need to earn? Where will your first clients come from? Do you need a website? What about taxes?
For five years, I contemplated going freelance in various guises before making my final decision in December 2019. I planned and launched Into The Woods Marketing during the Coronavirus pandemic. I started with one client which covered my mortgage and bills. Within a year, I had four clients on retainer and invoiced much more than I earnt in-house, which was great but in saying “yes” to everything, my services were starting to sprawl. In subsequent years, my focus has been on niching down my services and reducing my working hours with a steady income.
I’m now five years into running my own business and I can’t imagine doing anything else. Certainly, I have a lot to share about the journey, so here’s seven steps to laying great foundations and setting yourself up for a successful freelance career.
1. Your freelance marketing brand
When I first started thinking about going freelance, I went straight into brand mode. This is one of the most fun parts of starting a business, especially as a marketer who has probably worked on dozens of brands, but never their own.
Consider how you business might develop over time. As a freelancer, you have a choice between your own name, or a business name. I chose a business name to give more scope for future growth. (Plus, my personal name is difficult to pronounce!)
Once you choose a name, you need to check its availability as a web domain and social accounts, as well as registered trademarks. Like me, you may find your first choice has been taken, so check this before developing the brand further. Even if you don’t want to develop a website or social channels just yet, it’s worth buying the domain and setting up accounts with your social handles of choice.
I used a graphic designer to work on my brand visuals. As well as having a very beneficial skill set (I am not a designer!), we talked about my services, my values and the brand grew from there. The visuals of the brand are far better than anything I could have come up with myself. If you don’t have the budget for a designer, I know of plenty of freelancers who created a simple logo in Canva, and then rebranded down the line.
If you’re struggling for creativity, don’t rush the process. Do some research, let the ideas percolate, and get feedback on your initial thoughts. Working on your services might also spark some ideas.
2. Define your services
The next stage of my brand mode was to figure out what I was going to offer to clients. As with any marketing plan, you need to consider the customer: who your service is for and how you can meet their needs. I’d recommend being specific, offering “freelance marketing” (or “graphic design”, or “accounting”), is too vague. You can then develop your service around your ideal customer and what will appeal to them.
In my case, I worked with many small business owners over the years who told me to get in touch if I went freelance. Either they needed short term support, or someone to support on marketing for a few days each month. From these conversations, I knew there was a market and that’s how I built my offering.
Your services will change over time. Many freelance marketers start broad – either offering one thing across many sectors, or offering a wide range of services – and then niche down once they find a specialism or demand in one area. And of course, some go on to start collectives or agencies.
3. Set your pricing
My approach to pricing was to decide how many hours I wanted to work, how much money I wanted to earn, and use this as my starting point. You also need to benchmark yourself in your industry, take into account your years of experience and qualifications. Online freelance databases such as this one are really useful benchmarks. Don’t undervalue what you do.
Definitely do not take your full-time employed salary and divide it by 40. Firstly, you have overheads to consider, and secondly, it’s unlikely that you’ll be doing 40 billable hours a week. Overheads and expenses could include co-working space rent, freelance insurance, website hosting, Adobe licence, stock imagery licence. Your non-billable time includes accounting, admin, promoting your business, etc. What you charge also needs to cover holidays and leave.
4. Getting your first client
There are several routes to getting your first client as a freelance marketer. The easiest route is to tap into your existing network. If, like me, you have contacts who have expressed interest in your potential freelance marketing service, then get in touch. Be honest that you are starting up and they are the first person you are approaching. Find out how much work they can send your way. Make sure that everyone you know (and your family and friends contacts too) that you’re available for freelance work.
If you don’t have a network, find a charity where you can trial your services as a volunteer. You can also try freelancing sites such as Upwork or Fiverr to trial your freelance service before doing it full time. Both of these options will not pay well (or at all) so get a testimonial and use this as a springboard to better clients.
Marketing agencies often use freelancers, especially with sector-specific experience or specialist skills, so this is another route. And other freelancers similarly look to outsource or collaborate, so look for these opportunities through LinkedIn or co-working spaces.
Be wary of freelancing whilst working full time. In my previous jobs, this would have put me in breach of contract with my employer. So by all means work on setting up your business while working full time, but check your contract before doing any paid work. Four of my previous employers have been my clients, so it’s worth leaving knowing you acted ethically and everything is above board.
5. Pick your marketing channels
This comes back to considering your customer, where they spend their time and how you can get in front of them. I launched with a website, Instagram, Twitter and my well-established LinkedIn profile. As my customers are B2B, I quickly binned the Instagram and Twitter accounts. I now focus on my website, LinkedIn and newsletter as my main channels.
Some freelance marketers put a lot of time and effort into regular posting and writing articles – I am not one of them! As much of my business is word of mouth and recommendations, this is where I focus my marketing efforts. However, if I didn’t have such an established network, I would focus my efforts on other channels. That being said, I know that if you land on my website or my LinkedIn profile, they are both up to date and show who I am, what I do and how you can work with me.
6. Get your finances and legals in order
All advice to starting freelance marketing points to having money saved. Unless you have fully signed up clients, ready to go, then you will need savings or a reduced cost of living. Whatever your financial situation, set a budget for your business and personal costs, and track this forensically with your income and outgoings.
Do your research on business bank accounts, being self-employed vs a limited company, what records you need to keep and meeting your tax requirements. I pay an accountant each month to keep my business finances in great shape.
As a freelancer, you need your clients to sign a contract with you. Get your contract template drafted or checked by a solicitor, or buy one from a legal platform. It’s expensive, but you’ll be so grateful if you ever get into a tricky legal situation with a client. Make sure you have business insurance in place too (my insurer includes a legal platform as part of my policy, which ticks a lot of boxes).
7. Take the plunge!
Your next step is to launch your business into the world! And once the word is out there, keep launching.
If you are in full-time employment, resign from your job after all of the above is in place but not dont burn your bridges. Your current employer might become your next freelance client, or they might acquire the competitor that just agreed to work with you. And don’t breach your contract however tempting it is.
Doing a great job for clients is one of the best ways to invest in the future of your business as this will lead to testimonials and referrals. Share your journey on your marketing channels, keep building your network and refining your services.
In summary: How to start freelance marketing? Invest in your brand, make sure everything is financially and legally sound, line up some clients and take the risk!