Interview | 07 Dec 2017

How businesses can benefit from freelancers

Posted in Freelancer, Motivation & inspiration, Freelancer's stories, Interview,

For our ‘Freelancer Spotlight’ this month, we spoke with Sarah, an expert in B2B marketing, communications and PR for technology firms. She gave us her take on ‘why freelance’ and how businesses can benefit from freelancers like herself.

Let’s talk about clients. What is your typical client like?

“Most of the work I do is B2B, particularly for organisations in the technology sector, so my client base is broad. I've worked for clients in everything from biotech to FinTech, cloud computing to cybersecurity, and B2B sectors more widely. I used to work for an integrated PR and design agency, doing everything from copywriting and media relations to overall brand and communications strategy. I've tried to keep that variety going through my freelance career."

What expertise do you offer your clients, and more importantly, what makes you unique?

"I think my combination of professional experience and the fact that I'm working on a PhD is powerful. It means I offer both commercial acumen and academic ability. Working on a PhD teaches you to ask tough questions, to manage a huge project efficiently and independently, and to conduct independent research - all helpful skills for someone working in brand strategy and communications. It helps, too, that my doctoral research is on how young people use digital technology and social media - highly relevant for many of my clients!"

Putting this into perspective, what are you currently working on and how are you achieving success?

"Alongside some retained work, I'm helping a new data compliance consultancy launch in the UK. At this stage, the work is predominantly copywriting for the new website and marketing collateral, and providing input on brand strategy. One of my biggest strengths (I hope!) is taking complicated concepts and 'translating' them for a more general business audience, helping to distil and highlight the benefits of the client's offering. This is vital both for immediate content production and long-term strategy, and I think it's serving the client very well in this instance.”

Why do you think clients come to freelancers like yourself over traditional staffing?

Freelancing offers great flexibility for the client and the freelancer. You can benefit from a broad range of skills and experiences that you might not necessarily want to hire in-house, especially if it's for a one-off project.

And finally, how has The Work Crowd played its part for you?

I love the Work Crowd! I've met some really interesting people and worked on some diverse projects through it. It's worked very well for me so far.

If you’ve considered working with a freelancer like Sarah, or you simply want to find out more…

Contact us today!

 

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