How Freelancers Can Build a Creative Portfolio on Funnel
First impressions matter. When you join Funnel as a creative professional, it’s important to build a profile that displays exactly who you are and what makes your skills unique. Why should buyers choose you over another professional on the Funnel platform?
If you’d like to start selling your services to those who need your expertise, you should begin by building and optimizing your creative profile. Whether you’re a photographer, a videographer, or a graphic designer, the process is nearly the same. The best creative profiles on Funnel are eye-catching and engaging, with accurate descriptions of a freelancer’s services and detailed pricing information.
Imagine yourself as a buyer on the Funnel platform. Ask yourself: If you were looking to hire a photographer, videographer, or graphic designer, what would you be looking for? How would you judge a seller’s profile? What features would make you take notice and want to hire a creative professional on the spot? Would positive customer reviews sway your decision? What about the quality of the seller’s portfolio?
Buyers on the Funnel platform want to feel secure that the freelancer they’re working with is experienced, honest, and professional. Putting together a high-quality profile is the best way for freelance creatives to signal their trustworthiness to potential clients.
Funnel is a great place for freelancers to earn extra income on the side. It’s even better than some other freelance marketplaces because it’s free for buyers and sellers to use. As a seller, you can create a profile and show off your work for free. Clients come straight to you.
Getting Started on Funnel
The most important part of being a freelance professional on Funnel is building an optimized profile. Buyers have plenty of choices on Funnel because there are thousands of creative professionals to choose from.
The first thing most new buyers do when they join Funnel is browse seller profiles. Before deciding any other parameters of their projects, most buyers will begin their search for a freelance professional by browsing the creative profiles for sellers who do work in their state.
As a seller, it’s incredibly important that you optimize your creative profile on Funnel to attract potential buyers. Investing the time up-front, and creating a profile that accurately depicts who you are and the services you provide, is the single best way to set yourself apart. Use your profile as the place to show off your skills and your personality, and to tell buyers exactly why they should hire you for their freelance job.
So, what should your Funnel profile look like? Your Funnel profile should be about your work and your skills, with plenty of examples in an online portfolio to show what you’re able to accomplish.
Building a Creative Profile on Funnel
Before you can build a creative profile on Funnel, you’ve got to create an account.
Step 1:
From the homepage, click “Create an Account” and type in your information. Make sure to include an email address where buyers can reach you, along with a company name, if you have one. The personal data you include in this section will be used to process your order and support your experience throughout Funnel.
Step 2:
Once you click “Sign up now,” the next step will be to set up your public profile. This is where the fun begins. Under the section titled “Your Profile,” enter your company name and upload a company logo or profile image. Setting a banner hero image will help your profile stand out, so it’s worth selecting a banner image that reflects the services you offer, as well.
Step 3:
Next up, type out a brief overview of your professional freelance skills, and then choose the specific services you offer from a dropdown menu. Funnel lets you choose from dozens of options within the general categories of design, photography, and videography. The more detail you can provide about the creative freelance services you provide, the more accurate your profile will become.
The Services section of the My Account page is also where you’ll select the locations where your creative services are offered. For example, if you offer graphic design services nationwide, click “Select All.” If your graphic design services are limited to a certain geographic area, then select only those states where you’re willing to work.
Step 4:
Now you’re ready to add links to your freelance profile pages on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, along with your public telephone number and an average hourly rate or a project rate. The more social media profile pages you enter, the more authority your profile has.
Step 5:
Upload images or videos of previous projects you’ve completed to your profile. This part of the process is one of the most important. Having a Featured Work section that’s filled with high-quality projects is the single best way to attract attention from prospective buyers on the Funnel platform.
Funnel Profile Tips
You’ve built a profile and saved your work. If buyers haven’t started knocking down your door, it might be because your profile isn’t optimized.
We know how disheartening it can be to list your freelance services online and get virtually no response. Nobody enjoys that. But the truth is, generating attention on the Funnel platform isn’t very hard. Having an optimized creative profile will lead to double, or even triple, the freelance project requests.
Even if you already have a Funnel account, and you have gotten a few gigs in the past, there’s always room for improvement. Use these tips to start getting more attention and making more money on the Funnel platform.
- Use a professional logo or profile image.
- Ask previous customers to post their reviews of your work.
- Include more contact information on your profile, such as a phone number.
- Write a description (Overview) that’s descriptive and engaging.
- Add keywords to your Overview.
- Display more recent projects in your portfolio.
- Upload more details about previous work experience in the Overview section.
- Expand the number of states where your services are offered.
- List any professional honors or awards you have received.
- Add degrees and certifications to your profile description.
Funnel for Freelancers — Advanced Strategies for Profile Optimization
Professional profiles get more clicks on Funnel, plain and simple. That’s true for videographers, photographers, and graphic designers. A buyer who browses through thumbnail images in search results is looking for something—anything—to catch their attention. Maybe it’s a professional logo or a witty business name.
Customizing your Funnel profile image is a simple strategy that can make your profile stand out from the rest. The point of the profile image is twofold: to share the creative services you offer and to encourage buyers to scroll down your profile. With hundreds of pages worth of listings to scroll through, some buyers can feel overwhelmed. Something as simple as an appealing title or business name is often enough to win that coveted click and generate engagement from a potential buyer.
Make sure the company name you’ve selected highlights your unique selling point, and don’t be afraid to make an adjustment if your profile isn’t getting as much attention as you’d hoped.
An optimized creative profile will include at least three customer reviews, as a way to demonstrate expertise to potential buyers. If you’re just starting out, consider asking your customers to leave a review. The total number of reviews received is viewable in your analytics dashboard. This is also where you’ll go to approve pending reviews.
One of the most common mistakes creative professionals make when setting up their online profiles is not choosing the right subcategories. Funnel lists multiple subcategories for each service category. For example, if you’re a photographer, you can select the type of projects you offer, such as wedding, lifestyle, product/e-commerce, drone operations, brand collaboration, landscape, sports, or real estate. Most buyers on the Funnel platform will click one of these categories as a way to filter their choices and pinpoint the most highly-qualified freelance professionals. If you forget to add one or more subcategories to your profile, you’re missing out on these potential buyers.
If you’re regularly getting messages from buyers, but you don’t seem to be landing as many gigs, you should consider optimizing your profile for your skillset and potentially decreasing the number of subcategories on your profile. Having too many subcategories listed can lead to a higher number of irrelevant project solicitations. Narrowing your focus can increase your success rate when connecting with clients through the Funnel platform.
Funnel provides sellers with an amazing analytics dashboard that shows the total profile page views and total lead form inquiries. It’s worth revisiting this page from time to time to see how these figures compare to the total number of projects you’ve completed.
When it comes to generating attention on Funnel, it’s about showcasing what makes your company special and unique. Show your true colors, whether you are a photographer, a videographer, or a graphic designer. Treat your creative profile as an opportunity to introduce yourself to the world and optimize your space based on the strategies outlined above. The best seller profiles are both creative and professional, and they inspire confidence and enthusiasm in buyers.
To get started building your creative business on Funnel, click here.