The freelance life: why you should have a personal website

Ahh, the perks of living the freelance life (hello freedom!). Unfortunately, there’s a price to pay for a free, independent, self-employed life. Your life basically consists of pitching the same story over and over again until one person, out of the hundreds you pitched your story to, will finally call you back.

Yep, if there’s one thing you can recognize a freelancer by, it’s her pocket full of business cards. Any socializing event – from her brother’s birthday party to a networking get together – is a possibility to make new contacts and maybe even bring in a (big) new client. The thing with business cards is that they can easily get lost. So why not create a virtual business card (a.k.a. a freelance website)? They’re a brilliant way to showcase all your work and impossible to ‘lose’.

A platform for your work
A personal website is the perfect place for you to expose your work. Whether your portfolio consists of written articles, photographs you’ve taken, photo shoots you’ve done or items you’ve designed – anything that showcases your talent and that you feel proud of can be put on there.

It might take some effort to create a website, but it is definitely worth it. You can tell potential business clients about your work, you can give them your business card, but you will never be able to really give them an impression of your work. By referring your website to potential clients, you can show them exactly what you do. Of course, you will still need to convince them to even take a look at your website (these networking tips might help you with that). But the visualization of your work can be the last nudge they need.

Lead traffic to your website
Once you’ve launched your website, it’s time to get get the news out in the world. Business cards are still the easiest way to lead business(wo)men to your website. So create new cards – with your freelance website on it – and keep them in your pocket. Another way to get more people to your website is by mentioning your website on your social media and in your e-mails. You can add your website to your Instagram and Pinterest description for example, since people in the creative industry often also use these platforms professionally (it’s not the first time someone was hired based on their Pinterest moodboards, just saying).

When it comes to business related e-mails, you should always include your website in the message. The easiest way to do this is by ending every e-mail you send with a signature that includes a link to your website. This way, you won’t forget to mention it and business(wo)men will be able to simply click on it. Keep in mind that you have to make it as easy as possible for them. They probably won’t go through the trouble of looking up your website on the web.

Favorite freelancers and their websites
A freelance website might not work for everyone, but for most people in the creative industry, it can really be a beneficial addition to their business card. So, for those of you who are working their way into this little industry, we’ve made a little selection. Here are three of our favorite freelance websites – from awesome and creative people we know.

One of our absolute favorite freelance websites is the one from ELLE-stylist Nicole Huisman. Her site displays all the photo shoots she’s done and its design is clean and simple. On the homepage, you directly find a photo from each serie she’s styled. Once you click on it, you’re directed to the rest of the photo series. It’s very simplistic and clients can easily get a sense of what her work looks like.

For graphic designers/illustrators – who make their living by creating visually engaging imagery – a personal website is the ideal platform to visualize their work. With a simple business card, you simply can’t show potential employers what your work is like. A great example is Toula Thijssen’s website. Toula, like Nicole, has a clean, minimalistic website that is created solely to showcase her graphic work.

Illustrator Hyshil Sander has her own personal platform too. Her website is slightly more developed – with a homepage that shows her latest work and a menu that links to her work as illustrator, her work as graphic designer and a link to specific projects she’s done too. For those who’d like a more extensive website, this is a very inspiring example.

So tell us, do you have a website of your own? And if so, what do you post?

Photo: Liselotte Fleur

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