Welcome to the first post in the new Building a Freelance Writer Brand series on Freelance Writing Jobs.
Have you considered what your brand is as a freelance writer? In simplest terms, a brand is a promise to consumers (or clients). It sets expectations for what that consumer will get every time he takes out his hard-earned money to pay for a product or service tied to that brand.
As a freelance writer, your name is your brand (unless you write under a separate company name or pseudonym that has become your brand identity), and you need to do everything in your power to ensure the information associated with your brand communicates your brand promise. I’ll write more about that in an upcoming post, but today, I’m going to share the three steps to building a brand, and it applies to your brand as a freelance writer just as much as it applies to well-known global brands like Coca-Cola or Google.
The 3 steps to building a brand are:
1. Consistency
You need to be consistent in your messages or consumers will become confused by your brand and turn away from it in search of a brand that continually meets their expectations for it. That means every customer touch point must consistently communicate your brand image and message without fail.
2. Persistence
Building a brand takes time and patience. You cannot give up. Instead, be persistent. In fact, be relentless in communicating your brand messages again and again and again.
3. Restraint
While it might be tempting to extend your brand into a new market or to venture into activities and pursuits that contradict your brand message, exercise restraint. There are many business examples that demonstrate how brands have failed when the people behind them forgot to exercise brand restraint (I often point to Donald Trump Steaks as an example in my books and speeches). Contradiction in messages and actions leads to consumer confusion, and they won’t stick around for you to clear up that confusion.
If you’re trying to build your career as a freelance writer, you’re an entrepreneur (welcome to the world of small business owners), and you need to work on building your business as much as you work on building your portfolio. That means the rules of marketing apply to you, too. The first steps are to establish your brand identity, promise, message, image and position. Stay tuned for more information about building your brand and how doing so affects your business in the ongoing Building a Freelance Writer Brand series on Freelance Writing Jobs.
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