Your skills as a freelancer should be shared with others through visual media. It makes a lot more sense than writing up a one page summary that says, “I graduated from so-and-so university in 2010 and worked as a designer for XYZ Agency for three years.” Yes, your history is important, but not as much as what you’re able to do with the knowledge and skills acquired over that time period.
Whether you’re a web designer, graphic designer, web developer, photographer, or another type of digital creative, there’s a lot of value in being able to show off your work online.
However, with all of the different ways there are to share your work and expertise, which channels will guarantee a return? And is that all that should matter when sharing your work online?
The Pros and Cons of Sharing Your Work
While there are dozens of places that make it easy for designers and developers to share their work, as well as other samples they’ve created, many of them won’t be worth your time. It could be because the audience reach isn’t ideal, because they make you pay to share your work, or because it requires too much effort to pitch your idea or work in the first place.
Your Website
First and foremost, your work needs to be published to your website. That’s non-negotiable. However, you should be selective of what you show and how you show it. You should also consider what format you want to share your work and expertise because you have a lot more flexibility with a website. It’s not just a block of client logos that show off who this agency has worked for nor is it a lifeless case studies page with screenshots of websites they’ve designed. These are in-depth, well-written case studies that show their process and results.
PROS
- You have 100% control over what you share;
- There are no distractions from competitors;
- Professionally written and designed content provide no-nonsense proof to prospects that you can do what you promise.
CONS
- It takes time to create case studies and blog posts;
- You have to optimize for search and actively share with others if you want people to see it;
- Because writing is a heavy component, what you write needs to be done well.
2. Social Media
You can do a lot of things on social media. However, there’s no universal use case that applies to all social media channels.
For instance, LinkedIn is a good place to share authoritative content and make professional connections. But it’s probably not the best place to share photos of your work.
