More than anything else, your business is dependent on the personal vibe that radiates from you in every communication - your emails, your website, your collateral. Are you absolutely nailing this, communicating the confidence that brings in clients day after day … or do you let fears, insecurities and false humility hold you back? If you want more clients, you have to take yourself seriously as a freelancer, and you have to let the rest of the world know that you take yourself seriously too. Here’s a simple checklist you can use to measure how you see yourself.

• Do you have an About page that clearly and confidently communicates why you rock? One of the first things that potential clients do is go to your About page to get some background on you - your experience, your personality, your style. Will they find a page that paints you in a successful light, or one that just looks “thrown up there?”

• Do you guarantee your work? Few things tell a potential client you believe in yourself like an iron-clad guarantee. Without one, a prospect doesn’t know if you can be trusted - but with one, the defenses come down.

• Do you showcase your successes? Your visitors must be able to see themselves succeeding through your services, and it becomes easy to that when they can see others who have done the same. Don’t wait until you have A-list clients to do it, either - display your recent victories, and you’ll have an easier time acquiring new ones.

• Do you value your clients’ time by offering a free initial consultation? People are often hesitant to commit if they’re not sure you’re the right vendor for them. By prominently displaying a free initial consultation on your services page you remove that objection and tell the customer that you want to ensure a perfect fit - and you’ll put a little of your time on the table to prove it.

• Do you have a product or two under your belt? Nothing creates an aura of authority and confidence like being the author of a product that is relevant to your clients (or in some cases, your industry peers). By creating and showcasing a book, a workshop or an audio program you tell your prospects that you truly know what you’re doing, and that doing business with you is a smart idea.

• Do you comment on the posts you read at freelancing blogs? This one isn’t required, but it’s icing on the cake. When you join the conversation on relevant blogs and add value to the discussion that’s happening there, you put yourself in the spotlight and invite potential peers and prospects to learn more about you. Try it right now by leaving a comment below with your own tip for how to take yourself seriously as a freelancer, and do some comment networking today.

Dave

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About the author: Looking to pack stay focused, work smarter and stomp stress flat? Hop over to Rock Your Day where Dave Navarro gives slam-tastic tips and a free chapter of his book, What’s Holding You Back? when you subscribe to the feed.