What you need to know about becoming a freelance marketing consultant

What you need to know about becoming a freelance marketing consultant

In the ever-changing labour market, more and more companies are using freelance talent to boost their in-house resources. Although it’s hard to put a precise figure on just how many freelancers there are today, some estimates put this number as high as 1.88 million in the UK alone.

There are number of reasons why using freelance talent is becoming the cultural norm for many companies. Whether they don’t have anyone with the relevant knowledge and expertise on the payroll, or they don’t do enough marketing to justify hiring a full time member of staff, having a freelancer can be just the right amount of help.

But there are also other, more complex, reasons why an organisation might recruit some temporary outside help. These include the need to gain a different perspective or it may be that a company is going through a period of organisational change and needs the help of someone who is not wrapped up in the emotions or the politics of these changes.

A few pointers

So if you’re hoping to become a freelance marketing consultant here are a few pointers that will help to get this new phase in your life off to a great start – and you’ll also be able to find lots of good advice online.

The first thing to do is to make sure you market yourself well. Ensure that your LinkedIn profile’s up to date and it’s also a good idea to join any groups that are particularly relevant to your own area of expertise.

Obviously, you should also scour your list of contacts to find anyone that may have a project coming up for you to get involved with. There are also lots of sites which publish details of freelance opportunities so make sure that you register with them – although do remember that it’s always easier to get work through personal contacts instead of through “cold” leads.

It can be tempting to go for all the opportunities that may arise but in most cases it’s the specialist knowledge of a consultant that a company will be looking for. It’s best to focus on one particular area in which you have a great track record – and make sure that you have a strong portfolio of previous successes to show off and prove your expertise.

It’s also important to remember that as a freelance marketing consultant, you should try to develop a spread of different clients. This isn’t just because it’s never a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket, HMRC takes a keen interest when they suspect that employees who are effectively working full time are being paid as freelancers to minimise the tax and national insurance paid.  If you’re in any uncertainty, your accountant should be able to offer you advice.

There’s no doubt that for many marketing professionals turning freelance has been the perfect move, giving them variety, flexibility and the chance to pick and choose the project’s they take on.

Follow our simple steps and there’s no reason why you can’t soon be enjoying all the fruits of freelance success for yourself.