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How
to Successfully Network Online
by Rachel Goldstein owner of Allfreelancework.com
- 1000s of freelance jobs
If
you want to get your business name out there, nothing
is better than referrals and networking. Networking
is the act of passing someone's name on to another person.
But, in the new world of technology, networking has
taken on an entirely new face. Since this form of self-promotion
could mean make or break for your freelancing career,
I recommend you use some of the following pointers.
1.
Write Articles - Write articles about your expertise
and submit them to heavily trafficked web sites. Make
sure that you are referenced in these articles. Something
like this works best:
John
Smith
Fake Company
Expert Web Designer
http://www.fake-company.com/
fake-company@server.com
Some
web sites won't let you have all of this information
written as a signature on the article, but they will
let you have a summarized version. If not, at least
insist on your name and website address being added
to the article.
2.
Become an Expert - There is a web site called All
Experts (http://www.allexperts.com/). That is a great
place to network. This site is a hub where people ask
advice of experts. Take advantage of this marketplace
where others in your field can ask advice of you. If
these people are pleased with your expertise, you might
receive future gigs from them.
3.
Message Boards and Chat Rooms - Message boards and
chat rooms attract individuals in need of advice. Take
advantage of this. Just make sure not to blatantly market
your services. This might infuriate people and you could
get flamed or kicked out among other things. The way
to network in this situation is to be as helpful and
knowledgeable as you possibly can. If you are in a graphic
design message board and someone is baffled about to
use layers in Photoshop … explain the process. You could
maybe mention that you use Photoshop daily when running
your design business. THEN at the bottom of the page
use a signature. Find out about signatures in #4 below.
4.
Signatures - Every email that you send out should
contain a signature. A signature is at the end of your
emails and should look something like this …
John
Smith
Fake Company
Providing Professional Brochures at a Discount Price!
http://www.fake-company.com/
fake-company@server.com
You
never know will need your design services, why risk
missing out on a potential client?
5.
Post Your Profiles - Yes, posting your profiles
on the freelance job sites is a perfect way to network.
How else better to get your name out in the freelance
world than placing your name on a freelance site?
6.
Reciprocal Link - If you have a web site, ask for
a reciprocal link from others in your profession or
similar professions. For example, if you are a graphic
designer, ask for reciprocal links from fellow graphic
designers, illustrators, photographers, etc. I get more
traffic to All Freelance from reciprocal links than
I do from search engines.
7.
Introduce Yourself - Search and find other professional's
websites and email them. Introduce yourself and your
services to them. Let them know that you are available
for work if they ever need to outsource. Ask questions.
How long have you been freelancing? Where do you find
clients? What is your specialty? Would they want extra
work you have in the future? Etc.
8.
Place your site in directories and search engines
- It is good to get your name out in searchable directories
… this is much more preferable than to search engines
that don't really pick up any good matches. I recommend
going to the following web sites to get listed
http://www.dmoz.org/
http://www.looksmart.com/
http://www.yahoo.com/
For
a listing of search engines to get listed in go to :
http://www.searchiq.com/
http://www.beaucoup.com/
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http://www.Allfreelancework.com
- 1000s of freelance jobs, articles, and resources.
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