*Collaborative post.
Having a good reputation as a freelancer can help you to win over the trust of new customers. There are lots of ways to develop a good reputation. Here are just a few ways to give your reputation a boost.
Create an exciting portfolio
Proving a portfolio of your work allows potential customers to see evidence of work you’ve done and get an idea of the quality that they can expect. This could be a portfolio of written pieces if you’re a writer, photographs of cakes if you’re a baker or images of designs you’ve done if you’re a designer. This portfolio could be available as a physical book that you show to customers or it could take the form of a website – you should decide what is the best form based on how you attract most of your clients.
Collect testimonials and positive reviews
You can also boost your reputation by collecting evidence of positive feedback from past customers. Testimonials tend to be pieces of private feedback that you then have the choice to make public. Positive reviews are pieces of positive feedback that you have no part in moderating. You should aim to encourage more positive reviews than negative reviews – this can be done by asking all happy customers to leave reviews, while making a point not to ask unhappy customers.
Build followers and endorsements on social media
Social media has become a useful platform for freelancers wanting to attract new customers. Having lots of followers and endorsements can help you to look more established and trusted. These can be accumulated by asking friends, family and all professional associates to follow and endorse you, as well as encouraging all you customers to follow and endorse you. Buying followers is an option, but this is not recommended due to being dishonest and not always convincing.
Improve your qualifications
Having qualifications can help to provide evidence that you are an expert in your field. For instance, if you run an IT consulting business, it could benefit you to take a Master of IT Leadership online. You can add qualification badges to your website. On top of formal qualifications, you could try seeking out business awards or achieving extra licenses to show off on your site.
Show off your expertise with a blog
Starting a blog can be a great way of boosting your reputation by giving you a platform for showing off your expertise. People largely read blogs to seek advice – you may be able to appeal to customers in your industry by offering related advice. For instance, a freelance realtor could consider blog posts on applying to mortgages, improving the value of one’s home or finding a reliable moving company. On top of writing a blog, you could consider starting a vlog – this involves creating videos. These video could be embedded on your site and could similarly be used to give advice and demonstrate your expertise.
