According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prevalence of freelancing is rising in many fields, including writing and editing, translation, and web and graphics design. If you want to be a freelancer, there’s really never been a better time to do it. When the economy starts to decline, businesses still have writing, translation, web design, and other tasks that need to get done. Fortunately for businesses, freelancers are cheaper to hire because they don’t require businesses to pay taxes or Social Security for them, and they don’t take up benefits or office space. Fortunately for freelancers, they can often demand higher pay than they would be able to do as a full-time employee for these exact same reasons!

So, whether you’re already freelancing or are just interested in starting a freelance career in your field, you definitely need to learn to market yourself as a freelancer. It’s a competitive world out there! These three strategies for marketing yourself as a freelancer will help you build business and get off to a booming start!

Get a Website
Having a website as a freelancer is almost essential these dayys. Chances are that you’ll be freelancing for people from around the world, and it’s nice to be able to send them to a centralized location that tells them about you and your business. Some freelancing services, such as Elance.com, give service providers their own profiles, which can function as websites. However, as you get more serious about freelancing, putting some money and time into a full-blown personal website is a great option.

Your website is a great place to showcase your work and customer reviews. It’s also a good place to start a blog, which can draw more traffic to your website. White about tips for businesses who might be looking to hire freelancers like you, and write about your experiences as a freelancer. Adding even a few short blog posts a month allows potential employers to feel like they can really connect with you, which makes you even more desirable as a freelancer.

When you create a website, it’s a good idea to work with a professional designer. Your site should express your personality, but it should be professional-looking at the same time. Have a professional designer present you with a few ideas to see what you might use for your freelance website to boost your business.

Add Yourself to Online Directories
One of the simplest and most effective ways to market yourself as a freelancer is to simply add yourself to various online freelancing directories. Guru and Elance are two popular options, but there are many, many options out there. Try to look for directories that have great records for helping freelancers actually find work, and that also won’t cost you a fortune every month.

One of the good things about adding yourself to a directory is that it can actually help you budget for your freelance promotion a little easier. Sites like Elance charge for some of their advanced promotional services, but you can sign up to have these small charges taken out of your credit card every single month, so you know how to budget for promoting your own freelance career.

Do Some Free Work if Possible
Doing work for free in your community is a great way to promote yourself as a freelancer and to give back to the community at the same time. For instance, if you’re a graphics designer, offer to do some design work for local charity organizations for free. As long as your name is somewhere on the design, brochure, or website, this can net you a ton of repeat business. Freelance writers can gain valuable experience and expertise by doing grant proposals for local charities for free, since successful grant writing can set you up for a very lucrative career in the future!

Doing charity work also helps you network with people in your community. You’d be surprised at how often this simple marketing technique gets you new business, since it seems that someone you’re working with always knows someone else who needs the services you provide. Just providing excellent services for free is a great way to build a great reputation for you and your work.

Freelancing can be a lucrative, flexible, fun career, no matter what your field. However, to make it more successful, you do have to market yourself. Remember: there are tons of other freelancers out there competing for the same jobs you’re interested in. If you want to get the work, you’ve got to work for it first by marketing yourself using these and other strategies!

Raychel Davis is a social media advocate at CreditDonkey, where freelancers can find new business credit cards.  She was a freelancer and hopes this post will help inspire you to take action.

photo credit: Mr. T in DC