Intro:
Freelancers require audiences to thrive. However, the audience can vary, depending on the industry, scope, and needs.
Influencers require large audiences since they must maximize sales and influence. Nonetheless, some influencers can succeed by maximizing revenue per order for luxury brands.
Social media helps to build audiences for networking purposes. Then, find individuals and build communities together.
Before embarking on the journey to grow followers, subscribers, and audience numbers, set some goals.
For example, some entrepreneurs might decide that they want to reach 100,000 followers on each social media account by the end of 2023. Then, they might filter their audience to find a loyal base with whom they can actively engage.
Goals help freelancers set their expectations; it also helps them establish game plans. It’s possible to grow an audience by 10% quickly. However, it’s essential to prepare for the moment the journey reaches critical mass and starts falling off.
Instead of entering the panic mode, have a plan to address the fall-off. It also helps to establish milestones or an endpoint, which will help avoid becoming discouraged.
Why Is an Audience Important for Freelancers?
Audiences are essential to freelancers because they help them find clients, community members, and opportunities.
As freelancers build their audiences, they become susceptible to more risks, including lawsuits. Therefore, entrepreneurs must protect their businesses, their income, and themselves.
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Let’s look at how freelancers can kickstart their audience.
Establish a Social Media Presence
Technology helped create more opportunities for independent contractors starting in 2008.
Suddenly, professionals could code, write, and sell from the comfort of their homes or a spot on the beach – they just needed a laptop and an internet connection.
Therefore, use technology as an advantage and method for picking up more followers, clients, and subscribers.
Establishing a social media presence is mostly free. Professionals will put a few hours into opening accounts and posting to them. However, the accounts themselves remain free on most platforms.
Social media allows thoughts, portfolio entries, and opportunities to travel online. Depending on the industry, the audience size isn’t the most essential factor. Instead, success depends on conversion.
Thus, judge the success of your social media accounts by engagement and incoming revenue.
Join Freelancing Platforms
Freelancing platforms also help independent contractors increase their audiences.
The platforms double as search engines. Moreover, the platforms’ successes depend on their abilities to match buyers with sellers. Therefore, an incentive to boost top-rated members.
Search engines continually tweak their algorithms to ensure users find the most relevant information to their queries, and freelancing platform profiles appear in the results.
Thus, top-rated freelancing platforms can appear in search engine results, boosting the number of eyes on the profile and audience members.
Moreover, it’s a great way to find new clients and create repeat ones.
Complete Some Jobs, Gigs, and Tasks
Audiences crave legitimacy and credibility. Thus, boost audience numbers by completing jobs, gigs, and tasks.
For example, food delivery professionals gain access to better-paying options after they earn high ratings. Therefore, ratings matter.
Outstanding ratings create credibility with potential clients and new audience members. In 2023, most individuals read reviews before purchasing or signing up for new services.
Therefore, individuals are more likely to join a network, follow professionals, and hire freelancers who have sustained positive and high ratings.
Completing jobs, gigs, and tasks helps entrepreneurs earn ratings and feedback. Fresh, positive feedback invites new audience members and opportunities.
Form Partnerships
Forming partnerships is a tried and true strategy for boosting audience numbers. Two professionals can combine their skills to deliver products and services that unite two customer groups.
The cross-promotion strategy can help individuals exercise to stay and eat to boost energy.
Entrepreneurs can also combine promotional methods like podcasting and live video streaming. The strategy is helpful for individuals who require visual cues and those who prefer to listen.
Retail stores continue adapting the payment methods that they accept. By accepting the most popular payment methods, retailers ensure they don’t accidentally turn away essential customer bases, including the younger ones.
Therefore, form partnerships to cross-promote and build larger audiences.
Position Yourself as a Thought Leader
Lastly, freelancers benefit from positioning themselves as thought leaders.
Start by picking a niche. Then, become well-versed in the trends impacting it.
Next, find an issue that has the industry’s hair on fire and find solutions. Speak at industry events locally, regionally, and nationally and share ideas. The good ones will float to the top.
As the audience grows, remember to practice ethical habits. Some freelancers capitalize on their numbers to sell books, products, and services. Others accept promotional offers from brands and start promoting their products and services.
Legitimacy helps freelancers sustain large audience numbers, which leads to stable incomes and an inflow of offers.
Conclusion
Growing an audience might take time and several steps. Some entrepreneurs only require a solid base to thrive. Therefore, use the tactics that fit the industry and goals.