How to Work with a Marketing Expert if You’re a Freelancer

As a freelancer, you may find yourself either a) too busy or b) too clueless to handle your own marketing. This happens more often than you might think, and even some excellent freelancers with a strong reputation aren’t doing a very good job at marketing.

But you, you’re smarter than that. And you realize you should get some help to rev up your business and take it to the next level. So you start looking for a marketing expert to give you some advice and counsel, and you find what you think is the perfect person for you.

Someone who’s savvy and experienced. Someone who understands your creative needs and your lifestyle. Someone who’s had a lot of success getting other businesses the attention they need.

Someone who, a month into your working relationship, is driving you up a tree.

It’s inevitable. You’re two talented people with strong opinions about how you should present yourself. The marketer thinks he’s right because he’s the expert. You think you’re right because you’re you. And it feels like you can’t agree on anything, from your brand image to your web copy to what to put on your business cards.

Here’s how to work with a marketer without losing your cool, so you can get on with the important stuff – getting the word out to new clients that there’s a fantastic freelancer in town.

Don’t Get Locked In

One of the most common problems freelancers have when working with a marketer is getting way too precise about what they want.

Most of you reading this are either designers or copywriters, and you feel like you have a pretty good idea on how to create the basic components of a brand that’s marketable. This is what you do for other people every day, after all.

Unfortunately, when you’ve already decided on the layout of your website and the look it needs to have and the tagline you want to use, you don’t give the marketing expert a lot of room to work. And that person needs that room to come up with new ideas that are probably more effective than yours.

I know. That bites. But think about it a minute: you’re a creative artist. Marketing isn’t your thing.

Instead of locking yourself into your ideas right off the bat, decide what you want in abstract terms. Think about what you want to accomplish with your marketing. Think about the type of person you want to work with, and what clients you get along best with. Think about what sort of person you are, so the expert can craft a brand that suits you.

But let the rest go. You need to give marketing experts the space to be creative in their own area of expertise so they can get you the results you want. And they can’t do that if you’ve boxed them into what you think is best for you.

Don’t Be a Pushover

While you don’t want to dig your heels in and completely ruin the marketer’s ability to create great new concepts for your freelance business, you also don’t want to be a pushover. If you absolutely hate the ideas the marketer comes up with, say so – and say so quickly.

Usually when you hate those ideas, it’s because the marketer didn’t really understand what you want. It’s time to go back to the original conversation and reiterate what you do want, who you are, and what impression you want to give to your clients.

It often helps the marketer immensely if you can demonstrate exactly why his ideas won’t work for you. Concrete examples of what works for you and what isn’t lets the marketing expert get a stronger grasp on your needs, and he’s much more likely to come back with better ideas that fit you more.

For example, you can point to a particular tagline and say, “Look, I’m an easygoing, casual sort of person, and this makes me sound like a guy who lives and breathes numbers and results. I don’t think that fits with who I am.”

Don’t let the expert walk all over you. Many might insist that you that you have to go along with their idea, because this is what will sell. That’s all well and good, but if you don’t feel that you can back that up, then it’s not going to work. Stand firm if you’re uncomfortable and ask for new concepts to work with.

And if the marketer won’t back down, find a new one.

Be Willing to Walk

Sometimes you and the marketer just aren’t a good fit for one another. It happens. That person may just not be able to get a good vision on what you’re looking for, or his skills may not be developed enough to deliver a brilliant new concept for what you need.

You can walk away. It’s allowed. It’s okay. As a freelancer, you’ve been on the other side of this equation. Freelancers inevitably get clients who they just can’t satisfy, no matter how hard they try. So you know, personally, that not being a good fit isn’t a measure of how skilled you are at your job.

It’s just that you couldn’t get your visions to mesh.

Be polite when you’re parting ways. This isn’t a judgment on the marketing expert for not doing a good job. If you know that person tried their best, be sympathetic. It didn’t work out, and you’re going to work with someone else, but it’s not a good idea to burn bridges behind you.

You never know – that marketing expert may be looking for someone just like you for their next client’s campaign.

Go out and try again. It’s worth it to find a marketer who gets you and is capable of finding just the right way to sell you to new clients. Be willing to put in the time and money to find the right fit, because it really will pay off in the end.

It’s worth all those new clients, isn’t it?

About the Author: For more tips on how to get the most out of your freelance business, check out James Chartrand’s blog at Men with Pens, where you’ll discover on-target advice that helps you get ahead of the game.