This is a question that I had to ask myself recently. It took a lot of soul-searching, but with a bit of assistance from my wonderful marketing coach, I finally realised that my ideal customer is…. Me!
There’s a very good chance that your ideal customer is YOU, too!
If you’re a freelancer, you’re probably competing against lots of other freelancers in your area of specialism. Unless you have a particularly unique service or a skillset that sets you apart, what is the one thing that’s going to make your potential customers choose you over them?
Connection.
When they visit your website, read your blog, or see your social media posts, they feel like you understand them. They feel like they have something in common with you. They feel like YOU are the sort of person that they want to work with.
This is why it’s so important to create a strong, consistent personal brand.
“Personal branding is the projected image of an individual’s personality, skills, experience, and behaviour that defines their unique identity.”
Hubspot (I know that’s a bit of an odd site to quote but honestly, there were SO MANY different definitions of personal branding when I googled it that I just went with the one that resonated the most!)
If you’ve followed me online for a while you might have noticed a subtle change in my presentation on my website and social media. Initially, I thought that because I’m a photographer, the most important thing about my photos was to show off my photography skills. After a short time reflecting, I realised that the “technically good” photos on my site were missing something quite crucial – my personality.
I’ve never been a formal person, and I’ve always fooled around in front of the camera, so I needed to get rid of the standard headshots and replace them with me having fun. I replaced my LinkedIn profile picture with a photo of me eating an ice lolly in Norway. I started posting photos of me fooling around at events on my Instagram. And my blog is now full of pictures of me in my pyjamas, messing around in the shower, and fooling around with props. While my ideal client may not want photographs in these situations, they will likely want to work with a photographer that shows some personality and playfulness.
Your personal brand is about more than just your photos. It’s about aligning your online presence with your actions in person. Your words, your colours AND your images play a crucial role in letting your customer know who they will be working with.
Your personal brand will serve as a filter to eliminate clients that are potentially not a good fit for you*, and encourage your perfect clients to reach out and make contact.
My personal branding photography packages include two pre-shoot meetings in which I can help you with creating your brand from scratch. I also work with some talented graphic designers, videographers, and branding experts to create tailored, cohesive packages across all elements of branding that will help you attract the right customers.
Most importantly for me though, I now feel free to be myself 100% of the time.
It’s incredibly freeing. Let’s talk about how I can help you feel the same.
*NB: Another way I have done this is by having clear and transparent pricing on each service page of my website. It eliminates timewasters and people that do not put the same value in collaborative work as I do.
