Top 10 Online Marketing Tools for Freelancers
These days, being a multi-skilled freelancer is not enough to get you on the freelancer’s hall of fame. You HAVE to market yourself. When information is the key to being a successful freelancer, you need to know the hottest Web 2.0 tools that can help you in your quest. Hard work isn’t enough! You need to step up and create a buzz about you.
Top 10 Tools to Help You Market Yourself Online as a Freelancer
To cover all tools on how you can promote your brand and skills as a freelancer won’t fit in a single blog. For this, we have chosen these top ten tools to help you:
1. Blogging
With the advent of Google caffeine means people can easily find you through blogs. Don’t know how to start? All you have to do is start thinking of topics you know best, or something related to your skills. Like, you may blog about design if you are a graphics designer. You can use many blogging platforms on the web like WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, or Posterous.
2. Social Networks
Social media is definitely not all hype, and there are reasons why you must embrace it. Facebook alone gained over 200 Million users in less than a year (now at 500 Million users!) and LinkedIn is fast-growing to be the most popular tool in recruiting. Make sure you sign up for both and create a complete professional profile. Connect with people, get recommendations, join groups and answer questions like a PRO.
3. Microblogging
Is there a sense in posting 140 characters on the web? That’s exactly why Twitter is so popular these days. It’s easy to create an account and setup your profile. There are plenty of useful Twitter tools that let you manage your posts like TweetDeck, HootSuite, and CoTweet. Whichever microblogging tool you use, just keep in mind to keep the conversation relevant and real.
4. SEO
It may sound like Space Science, but SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization. This means that whatever you post on the web, make sure to use the right keywords. SEO helps people find you faster when they try to use search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing. You won’t learn SEO overnight, but it is a skill worth investing in. Take advantage of these tools: Google Analytics, Google Adwords, Google Webmaster, Yahoo Site Explorer, and W3C Validation. For tips and tools, you may try SEOMoz.
5. Wikis
A wiki lets you create simple web pages that includes interlinked web pages through simple text. You may use it to create informative contents, connect with online community, knowledge sharing, or for personal use. The most popular is Wikipedia, whose contents are almost as accurate as any online encyclopedia. There are also other open wikis that don’t verify contents.
6. Photo Sharing
If you would love to showcase your visual works online, you may try any of these photo sharing sites: Flickr, SmugMug, Picasa Web Albums, PhotoBucket, or Go2Album. If you’re not a website designer, you can try Pictobrowser that converts your Picasa and Flickr gallery into a design portfolio. No matter what photo sharing site you use, make sure your work is protected by a Creative Commons license.
7. Video Sharing
Videos definitely speak louder than words and if you fancy sharing a video on the web related to your skills, you may try these top video sharing sites: YouTube, Vimeo, BrightCove, Google Video, Daily Motion, Metacafe, Flixya, Veoh, and Yahoo Videos.
8. Article Sharing
If you love writing, you may also share your knowledge to various article directories on the web. Some of these sites let you earn passive income through web traffic: Ezine Articles, Suite 101, Buzzle, Article Snatch, Go Articles, Bukisa, and Associated Content. Make sure you read the site rules and follow strict editorial guidelines when submitting your work.
9. Podcasting
A buzzword among techies, podcasting lets you share audio content through an RSS feed. Many people like listening to radio on demand. Unlike radio, your listeners can choose when and where they want to listen to your talks. Love talking? Whether you have a story to tell or something worthy to share, you can use any of these podcast directories: Podcast.com, Podcast Alley, AllTop, Digital Podcast, or GigaDial.
10. Multi-Casting & Social Bookmarking
Reach more audience by sharing, organizing and managing your contents in a single place. If you hate memorizing passwords, you can use either Ping.fm or Atomkeep to update all of your accounts on the web. For photos and videos, you may try Shozu Desktop. Social bookmarking lets you tag and share contents on the web and you can use top sites like Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Yahoo Buzz, Del.icio.us, or Propeller.
Key Note: Always check any site’s ranking and unique site visitors. The more popular a site is, the higher chances of your content getting noticed. You can check using Alexa, Compete, or Quantcast.
When it comes to self-promotion, it will always be your imagination that will work best. By using the best of traditional media and mixing it with new ways of promoting your skills, you will get hired faster than you can say Hello.
Do you know any other tools on how a freelancer can market his/her skills online? Please feel free to share on the comments below.
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