Freelancer in the Spotlight:

How to Build Your

Professional Brand

Ever dreamed of skipping endless resume submissions and interviews, with clients coming directly to you, offering exciting, well-paid projects? How great would it be to choose projects that inspire you without always proving your expertise?

While some pre-work will always be necessary, we’re here to help you get closer to that goal and improve your chances of success!

This is the first article in our new series on online visibility, where we’ll reveal tips on building a professional brand.

What’s a Professional Brand?

Your professional brand is how others in your field see you as a specialist. It answers the question, “Why am I the best in my area?” and it’s built by showcasing your skills, experience, and accomplishments. A solid professional brand can open doors to better opportunities, boost your income, and bring you more clients.

The main goal of a professional brand is visibility.

Step one? Create a solid profile on the right platforms.

In this article, we’re sticking to professional branding tools. In the next one, we’ll dive into managing social media and other platforms in detail.

Getting Started

Create a contact page with links to all your professional networks and projects. Platforms like About.me, Linktree, Lnk.Bio, and Taplink work great as modern “yellow pages” for you, and search engines pick them up well.

Having a personal website is also a big plus! Your website can be the central hub for all your social media, media mentions, and platform links. It’s a space to share your services, portfolio, career highlights, and contact information.

Pick platforms that align with your niche and client needs. Being on the right sites increases your chances of being noticed and landing good opportunities.

Social Media is also part of your visibility strategy.

LinkedIn and Xing – These are top choices for career milestones and networking.

LinkedIn is essential for freelancers of all kinds. Here, you can showcase your experience, skills, and client recommendations. Especially for B2B, consulting, IT, and management pros, LinkedIn is a must.

Xing is similar to LinkedIn but more popular in German-speaking countries, so it’s worth considering for expanding your network and finding major projects in Europe.

Add traditional social platforms like Instagram, Threads, Telegram, or TikTok, depending on your audience and content style.

Being present on relevant platforms lets you interact with peers, clients, and industry experts, showcase your work, and share insights. Regular updates will help raise your profile and build your authority.

Behance and Dribbble – These are must-haves for designers who want to stand out in the creative industry.

For designers, a portfolio on Behance and Dribbble is non-negotiable. Not having one can mean you’re almost invisible to clients in the creative field. Running an Instagram page is also a great bonus, showcasing your work visually. At the very least, create a portfolio page there for potential clients.

GitHub, StackOverflow, LeetCode – Key sites for developers to show their expertise.

GitHub is a popular platform for software development. Having some projects here lets clients see how you work and your contributions to open-source projects.

Developers often gain visibility by helping others solve problems on platforms like StackOverflow, Reddit, Hacker News, Dev.to, CodeProject, and Quora.

Clients today frequently ask developers about their achievements on LeetCode, a platform for problem-solving and peer support. Similar platforms include HackerRank and Codewars, where engaging in discussions and challenges can be beneficial.

Don’t limit yourself to just one platform – be present on as many as you can, especially those related to your field.

If regular updates aren’t possible on all platforms, at least create accounts and fill in your info.

Pick one platform where you’ll be actively sharing results, projects, professional thoughts, or trend analysis.

Extra Tools to Boost Your Professional Brand

1. Blog, Podcast, or YouTube Channel

Sharing valuable content (articles, videos, or audio) lets you position yourself as an expert, grow your audience, and connect with potential clients.

2. Speaking at Conferences and Industry Events

Public speaking, workshops, and masterclasses are great for expanding your network, showcasing expertise, and strengthening your reputation.

3. Creating Useful Side Projects

Mini-projects like templates, tools, or research can showcase your skills and build trust in you as a professional.

4. Joining Competitions (Hackathons)

Recognition or awards from competitions are powerful endorsements of your skills and a testament to your brand.

Building a professional brand is a steady process that pays off in the long term. Set aside an hour or two each week for planned activity on each platform. Consistent efforts in online presence and content creation will raise your visibility, authority, and appeal to clients.

In the next article, we’ll cover what to post on social media, how to keep it quick, and start seeing results!

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