FREELANCE PRACTICE
HOW TO GET NOTICED AND GET MORE BUSINESS Priya Tew Freelance Dietitian and Specialist in Eating Disorders
So, you’ve decided to go freelance and are raring to go, but then realise you need clients; or maybe you’ve been freelance for a while and the referrals are drying up. Two huge issues are always around how to get noticed and how to get more work…
Priya runs Dietitian UK, a freelance dietetic service that specialises in social media and media work, consultancy for food companies, eating disorder support, IBS and Chronic Fatigue. She works with NHS services, The Priory Hospital group and private clinics as well as providing Skype support to clients nationwide.
When I was researching topics for this article, how to get clients kept cropping up and it made me question how I actually do get clients. I’d probably answer that I don’t do a lot, but that’s because it has become second nature, which I guess is how it needs to be. I probably spend an hour or more of my day focused on promoting my brand and attracting new business. Instead of taking in a flood of work, it is better to drip feed what you do and share your services constantly, a little at a time. First of all, I really think you need to decide what business you are trying to attract. A simple strategy I sometimes use is to ask these questions: 1 What business do you want more of? 2 Therefore, who is your target? Is it a type of brand? A specific disease state? Media work? Article writing? 3 Where does your target tend to hang out or search for things? Social media, the local community, google searches, doctors surgeries? 4 Who could you network with in order to increase your presence and get your name known as an expert in your field? Once you have answered those questions, you can target your focus to the right area. Here’s an example: I specialise in eating disorders clinical work and want to increase my referrals. My target is therefore people with eating disorders and more specifically those who are either not unwell enough for NHS treatment, or who have had NHS treatment and need some ongoing support. So, I target social media, mainly Twitter and Instagram and
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www.NHDmag.com October 2018 - Issue 138
Google searches. I make sure I blog on this topic, sharing top tips and snippets of helpful information. I network with other eating disorder professionals, both in my local area and on social media and I respond to media stories on eating disorders whenever I can, reshaping these stories on my social media and blog. Paid advertising - I’ve tried numerous ideas, thrown bits of money at this and had very little results. For example doorto-door leaflet drops = 0 new clients; paid advertising in a hospital setting on a big screen in the waiting area = 0 new clients; leaflets in bags at events and stalls at events = limited success. All rather disheartening. So I’d say, ignore those phone calls asking you to advertise on the back of appointment cards and in magazines unless it is very low cost and see it all more as exposure rather than a way to draw in instant results. Someone may well see your leaflet and store your name in their heads for the future. Facebook - I have only used Facebook advertising for my pilates business and it works for me. If you have an event, a special offer, or a promotion running, then boosting your post is a great way to spread the word. I find my workshops fill up in about a week when I boost a Facebook post. To do this, click the boost on the bottom of the post and follow the steps to define your target audience. Think about who you are trying to attract and add in keywords. You can set the budget, so if you are new to it, start with £5 to £15 and see what happens!
Social media - This can again be slow as you have to build a following. However, it does pay off in the long term. Concentrate on a couple of platforms and use scheduling software such as Hootsuite or buffer. But, make sure you reply to messages and interact with people a couple of times a day. Posts about your business, top tips, recipes and nutrition facts are always great. Social media is about building trust and using hashtags, so research what others in your speciality are doing. Top tip: build up a document of posts that have been popular so that you can use them again, or adapt them. Quotes, media work and articles - These can be harder and take up more time, but they can be good for profile building and you can share the heck out of them. You won’t see instant results, but it makes you look like an expert in your area. Try putting yourself forward by contacting your local radio stations, the local papers and connect with journalists on social media. Word of mouth - This is the best form of advertising. It can be really hard to ask clients for a testimonial (and I certainly don’t find I always get one), but they are so valuable. Add these to your website and promote them on social media. Video testimonials are also a wonderful idea, but this won’t work for every speciality. Search engine optimisation (SEO) - These days, whenever anyone wants a service, they jump on Google. So, getting your SEO sorted is important. You want to come up top on that Google ranking. I’m definitely no expert, but I do find blogging really helps and then using hashtags, thinking about what people are going to type into that Google search bar. So, for eating disorders I may blog about top ways to help prevent a binge and then hashtag #eatingdisorders #eatingdisorderdietitian #bingeeatingdietitian #bingeeatingsupport #eatingdisorderspecialist #helpforeatingdisorders #helpforbinges #dietitian eatingdisorders #dietitianuk #priyatew. I think of as many as I can. Use Google Keyword Tool to help too. Also, take a look at the hashtags that others in your field are using.
Websites - Your website is your gateway; it showcases your work, your services, your experience and needs to show who you are. If you come up high on a Google search, or someone has your flyer, but your website is disappointing, then why would they contact you? Personally, I think it is worth getting some professional help with your website and then be shown how to update it yourself. However, you can also use WordPress, Squarespace or Wix to build your own - that’s if you have some technical knowhow, time and a lot of caffeine to hand! Networking - There are so many forms of networking, I bet you already do this and don’t realise. There are business networking groups, but I’ve not tried these very often as I find it hard work to attend them regularly and it’s tricky to fit them into my diary. Do not underestimate networking on a day-to-day basis with whoever you meet. My husband is an expert at this, he brings in new clients on a weekly basis for his business and mine by talking to everyone and anyone. Playgroups, school runs, the hairdressers, in the shops, church…you name it. There are people out there who will want your services and if they don’t, they’ll know people who will. If, like me, you don’t get out much, then online networking is the way forward and booking specific meetings with relevant people. Places like Twitter and LinkedIn can be good for finding other professionals who work in your field, be it GPs, surgeons, psychologists, therapists, SLTs, physios. Think of who else in your field is connected with your clients and connect with them. This is also something helpful to do in real life, trying to set up meetings, running free training sessions or workshops can be a nice way to get a foot in the door. Then also do not discount your local community. Places like gyms and GP surgeries, councils and schools can be very open to having a free nutrition session run on their premises. I don’t see this as working for free, but building my profile and in place of advertising. All of us need to be focusing on raising our profile, showing what we do and promoting ourselves. It may not come naturally, but it does get easier with practise. www.NHDmag.com October 2018 - Issue 138
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