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on February 16, 2007 at 4:22:28 pm
 

Self-Marketing for the Freelance Web Geek

 South by Southwest Interactive panel, Austin, TX

Sunday, March 11, 5-6PM

 

Why this topic

 

Web geeks are part nerd, part artist - and in many cases, totally missed out on the self-promotion gene. The one thing I've learned in my journey from cog-in-the-wheel programmer to on-my-own freelancer is that I suck at explaining what it is I do, why I'm good at it, what kind of work and clients I want to pursue, and what's not for me. (ie, "oh, you do computer stuff? My brother's company has this old Filemaker Pro database they want to upgrade to Access...")

 

Besides an excuse to get together with a smart people I like in Austin, my goal with this panel is to have a conversation about how freelancers can best establish their expertise and advertise their skills in ways that are effective - but not creepy. Of course there aren't any definitive answers, but tossing around ideas and experiences could be really enlightening for everyone in the room.

 

Official Description

 

This one's going in the SXSW materials: "Tooting your own horn doesn't come easy to geeks and programmers. When you decide to go freelance, how do you market and advertise your skills as an individual?"

 

Format and questions to discuss

 

The panel discussion will be a casual a Q&A session between all the participants. As moderator, I'll throw out questions to get the discussion going and everyone can jump in with their thoughts on the matter. Some items up for discussion (add yours to the list!):

 

  • How do you self-promote without seeming creepy?
  • Best ways to establish yourself as an authority on a topic?
  • Worst mistake one can make when publicizing their services/site?
  • Physical, paper business cards: do you need them?
  • What's a great online business card look like?
  • Personal weblogs that get personal - will they scare off or attract potential clients?
  • How do you communicate what it is you do?

 

Participants

 

We've got a fantastic, diverse group of people at all different points in their freelance/self-employed careers, from all over the country, with different backgrounds and goals. Yay!

 

Introduce yourself here on your very own wiki page:

 

 

Good links

 

Good or bad advice on self-marketing from around the interwebs.

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