5 Ways To Find Support, Opportunities And More As A Freelance Marketer

Freelancing is the process of building your own business, which comes with a unique set of challenges. In the case of working full-time in an office, assignments will generally come to you from your higher-ups. For freelancers, it’s on us to find that work and make ends meet, which can be challenging, especially when you’re first starting out. But for those venturing into the world of marketing, these freelance marketing resources can be a great place to start.

According to Upwork, 2023 hit record highs for the number of freelancers in the United States, with 64 million Americans doing freelance work. I’m one of them. For most of my day-to-day life, I’m a freelance writer, focusing on marketing content writing but often dabbling in other marketing-related endeavors throughout the year.

As a new freelance marketer, I found work and connections through many different freelance marketing resources that I compiled, which I hope can help you on your own freelance journey. Here are some resources and tips on how to grow your freelance business. 

One of the most time-consuming parts of freelance work is finding work opportunities, so one of the best freelance marketing resources helps alleviate that stress. I used to comb through Twitter, Threads, and LinkedIn feeds for freelance opportunities, but I found it more beneficial to subscribe to newsletters that do that work for me. Freelance writer Kaitlyn Arford has a fantastic newsletter that lists job opportunities for the week that cover all the different facets of marketing.

While those sorts of newsletters can be a great place to start, you’re likely still going to need to reach out to more companies you potentially want to work with. As a writer, I often have to pitch story ideas to either publications or businesses, but pitching is an integral part of freelance work in general, as a pitch is essentially a message to a potential client on why you’re the right person to work with.

I like to dedicate at least one hour a week to pitching new clients on what I can offer them, but when I was early in my career, I pitched for an hour a day. Amber Petty has a great course on learning how to pitch. 

You might have heard the phrase “niche down” when talking about freelance marketing work or freelance work in general. This phrase means to pick a particular industry to become an expert in. As you’re able to offer greater expertise, you’ll often see that your income will increase. 

It’s always helpful to study up on your industry to be able to offer more to your clients. If you’re interested in freelancing in the healthcare industry, you may consider taking a look at a book like Alexandria Jones-Patten’s guide to leveraging her skills and insights as a Black registered nurse to become successful in healthcare content writing.

You might think “niching down” and diversifying your skillset are opposing ideas, but they can go hand in hand. Diversifying your skillset doesn’t mean working in various industries. Instead, it means figuring out what you have to offer to your current industry, which can be helpful because some freelance work sometimes dries up for a time. During that time, you may have to pivot.

Although content writing is my general work, I also have experience in influencer and social media marketing. When content writing is slow, I pivot to these other client offerings. When work is slow, consider taking a class to expand what you can do. Skillshare has many courses and workshops for marketing professionals.

Freelance life can be lonely, which is at odds with the fact that freelancing requires networking. Joining online communities, like Facebook Groups, has helped me immensely with meeting new people, both as fellow freelancers and also as potential clients. 

Keep an eye out for groups that help you connect with people in your industry or simply people that you can relate to. For instance, you might want to check out BlackFreelance’s network if you’re also a Black freelancer.