5 Ways to Establish Credibility and Expertise as a Freelancer

While working for yourself offers immense freedom, managing all aspects of a business can be challenging when no one is looking over your shoulder.

Maybe you find it hard to stay motivated (especially with tasks that aren’t as interesting to you). Maybe you’re so overloaded with client work that you don’t have time for the “business” side of your business.

But successful freelancers understand that their success is tied to their credibility and expertise. They work hard to maintain an online presence, and not just on social media.

Clients seek them out because they trust that the freelancer will deliver exceptional value — and will pay more as a result.

1. Stay up-to-date on your niche

The advice is everywhere: niche down, become a specialist instead of a generalist. That’s very true for freelancers. If you niche down, you’ll be able to target a subset of clients that need you instead of another freelancer.

You may not be able to do this when you’re first starting out, and that’s ok. Work to build a portfolio in the niche you’ve identified and take steps to develop your expertise.

You can’t rely only on client work to carve out your niche. You need to truly become an expert. That means following other industry leaders, especially those with decades of practical experience in your field.

Create a regular diet of industry information, including:

• Industry publications
• Podcasts
• Books
• Panels of experts

Do not rely on reading the results of a Google search. Companies that play the SEO game don’t necessarily have the most authoritative information. Chances are, a blog article was written by a content marketer who did some research — and there is no guarantee that the writer knew what they were talking about.

Seek out the experts, make notes, save articles, and build your knowledge. Start incorporating your learnings into your existing client work to establish your credibility.

2. Network with other professionals

It’s one thing to consume information from experts. It’s another to interact with the experts.

It might feel intimidating at first, but many are willing to share their knowledge. And the more you dive into a particular niche, the more you’ll realize that the collection of experts is very small — everyone knows each other. If you network, you’ll become part of the inner circle.

Find an online community where the industry experts hang out, such as a Slack community. You can start by observing and learning how the experts interact with each other. Identify the other “newbies” in the community and engage with them.

When you’re comfortable, ask the industry experts a question. If they share something in the community, reply with a simple question:

“That’s really interesting. Can you share more about X?”

If you’re specific, the expert is more likely to reply. Not only will you gain additional knowledge, but your name will start to appear within the community.

You can do the same thing on LinkedIn or Twitter. Follow the experts, and start commenting. Experts with a large following may not always reply, but some might. Or another expert may jump in and share their knowledge — and now you’re having a conversation with someone in the industry.

3. Publish your own content

While you’re learning about your niche, don’t neglect your own online presence.

You may not be able to share niche knowledge yet, but you can share your generalist knowledge. And you can establish a habit of publishing consistently on social channels in the meantime.

Prospective clients will try to learn about a freelancer before hiring them. They’ll look at your portfolio, yes. But they’ll also look at your online presence to get a sense of who you are. Throw in an occasional post about your hobbies or other interests.

Talk about your life as a freelancer and how you gain knowledge. For example, you can say:

“I listened to X industry podcast, and this was my main takeaway.”

You can also lean on the interactions you have in the niche communities. You can say, “I asked X person a question about Y topic, and this is what I learned.” Be careful about tagging the person — some experts don’t like that.

Once your knowledge starts to increase, take it a step further. “I was thinking about Y topic (from your convo with the industry expert), and this is my take on it.”

4. Share your expertise

While you can share your ideas on social platforms, your reach is limited. It can take time to build up an audience, and not everyone is a potential client.

The best inquiries are inbound: people who find you and are interested enough to fill out the “Contact Me” form on your website. For this to happen, you need to appear in places where potential clients are likely to find you, not just on social channels.

A good way to do this is to appear as a guest in blogs or on podcasts. You’ll probably need to start small, especially if you haven’t yet established your industry authority. But you can pitch a topic where you do have an opinion or some expertise.

It helps if you have an established audience, even if the audience isn’t niche. Your audience is your currency: the blog or podcast will benefit from traffic when you share the content with your audience.

You can also register as a source on Help a B2B Writer. You’ll receive requests from content marketers for quotes on specific topics. If you have something to share, submit your quote. If the writer includes your quote, they’ll link back to your social profile or your website. You’ll get your name out into the industry without needing to write an entire guest post or appear on a podcast.

5. Identify your best channels

It’s important to track your results. Does your engagement on social channels increase? Are you getting more inbound inquiries to your website or DMs on LinkedIn? If so, you’re doing something right. People are paying attention.

And as your pipeline fills, track the source. You may need to add “How did you hear about me?” to the contact form on your website.

Knowing the source allows you to double down on your efforts in that channel. Don’t ignore the others, but if most people find you through the online community, spend more time there.

Align your goals with your expertise

Becoming an industry expert can take a long time. Not only do you have to learn, but you have to show potential clients that you’re the expert. But the payoff is huge: many clients need expertise from their freelancers, and they’re willing to pay for it.

You can meet your income goals with fewer clients and increase your income over time. Niche freelancers are more confident in their rates: they won’t negotiate their pricing because they know their knowledge is worth more than a generalist.

Continue to raise your rates as your expertise increases. You’re worth it.

Check out my free guide for creators looking to better manage their time and content across multiple platforms.