Branding is the big word in marketing right now. Branding for start-ups, branding for small business, branding for tech firms—Google will give you a wealth of information on branding for business if you search for it. But what if you are your business? If, like me, you’re a freelance writer, what can branding do for you, and where is the meaningful content for freelance writers on how to do it?

Let’s face it: as freelance writers, most of us spend our time engaged in the branding strategy of our clients. We write articles and web copy that enhance and support their brand. It’s easy to identify and work off of a client’s brand because usually they have something identifiable to sell—in my case, it’s been B2B news, ski tickets, online marketing lessons, keynote addresses, restaurants… even an alpaca farm and a family naturist park. In each case, I knew the brand image towards which I was gearing my writing. Assisting a client with their brand is easy. Developing your own brand as a freelance writer is more challenging.

As I mentioned, finding meaningful information on branding strategy that is specifically targeted at freelance writers is not as easy as finding it for Business. When I come across these types of articles, I find that I have to read them interpretively in order to formulate meaning for myself and my sole-proprietorship with a staff of one.

Here is an example: In an article for Forbes magazine, Simonetta Lein, CEO of Ausonia Partners LLC says, “As the world continues its march toward digital, branding has become a top priority for companies and organizations looking to differentiate their offerings and increase their bottom lines. The power of branding is unstoppable, and as we head further into 2021, it’s interesting to consider how it affects consumer behavior. 86% of consumers prefer an authentic brand image and honest personality, especially when it comes to social media driving digital trends and changing how we look at brands in the future.

Here is my interpretation: I am not a company, and I am not an organization. But I am a business and I am a brand. My consumers (i.e. my clients) are no different in their preference of an authentic brand image and honest personality. Those are things I have and things I can enhance. How? I have a personality in dealing with my clients—I am approachable, easy to work with, and receptive to requests, feedback and guidance. I have a writing style, a tone of voice, a range. I have articles I’ve written in the past, and I have ideas for articles in the future. I have the posts I write for clients, and I have the posts I write on my blog. All of these things provide me with the opportunity to enhance my overall brand as a freelance writer.

To give an example, I share the articles I write for my clients on social media (with their permission, of course). I don’t charge for this, it’s a value-add. It’s all part of what I do as a writer. I’m proud to show off what I’ve written, and I want to see my clients succeed. Sharing their content on social media is a win-win for both of us—we both benefit from the media exposure, after all. Part of my brand, part of who I am as a writer, is caring about my clients’ success. I don’t disappear after the content is submitted and the invoice paid. It’s not radio silence from me until the next pitch I come up with. I follow up, I check in, I share the content I’ve written. I am an invested writer.

If you are a freelance writer, you are a brand, too. Your brand is the kind of content you are capable of writing, and what you are capable of delivering. Your brand is what you are like to work with. Are you punctual? Are you full of ideas and pitches and creativity? Do you write exactly what your client wants every single time? Can you alter your style to suit any need, or do you write in a niche? These are all things that you can identify and build on to create your brand.

Without social media and a website, however, you’re not going to be able to showcase your brand to the public. No one is clamouring at our doors desperate for podcast interviews and television commentary, we freelance writers have to be our own brand ambassadors and carve out our own space in the online universe. Hopefully, you have a blog, a website, and social media accounts… and if you don’t, you need them. Your clients have these platforms, and this is where your work is going. Make sure your own platform is just as strong.

Chuck Thibeault, Executive Director of Central Counties Tourism, has a favourite phrase that I think is brilliant. He tells the tourism businesses which he and his team support that they need to differentiate the time they spend working “at” their business from the time they spend working “on” their business. It’s an appropriate piece of advice for the freelance writer, too (… see? More interpretive reading of advice geared towards businesses). As a freelancer, working at your business is the content you write for clients. But working on your business is the content you write for your own blog, the time you spend cultivating your own website, and the effort you put into what you curate to share on your social media channels.

Why do this, you ask? Why waste time blogging for yourself if you’re not getting paid for it? That’s right, you guessed it: your brand. Make no mistake, prospective clients are checking you out online when they’re deciding whether or not to hire you. Perhaps you’ve pitched an idea and they want to find out more about you, or perhaps they’ve seen something you wrote for another client, and they’re considering approaching you for a new opportunity. Either way, they are looking. Alice Porter, writing for Stylist.uk, points out that “70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process. Ensuring your sense of self is conveyed well on social media can therefore be a vital part of finding and maintaining a job.”

When clients come looking for you online, make sure your brand as a freelance writer is as robust as your portfolio of completed work. It will give you a leg up over all of the other talented freelance writers out there who haven’t figured out how important a brand is for their business… their sole-proprietorship with a staff of one.